MADRID — Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez has called for new elections at Real Madrid and says he will seek another term after claiming he is the victim of a campaign to unseat him.
He dismissed rumours that he was tired of the job or sick, saying these had been spread by opponents.
The president spoke Tuesday after a meeting of the club’s board of directors, two days after Madrid lost 2-0 at Barcelona and saw the Catalan rival clinch its second straight Spanish league title.
That meant Madrid has endured a second consecutive season without a major trophy, despite having France star Kylian Mbappé on the squad.
Olympic refugee swimmer Alaa Maso had never planned to come to Germany. But close to 10 years after first arriving along with about 1.2 million other asylum seekers as Germany opened its doors amid a migration crisis, it is a country he is now hoping to make his permanent home.
“I don’t believe that home is where you grew up or where you were born,” Maso told DW in a recent interview at his training base in Hanover. “I just believe that home is wherever you feel yourself at home. You’re given that feeling by the people surrounding you.”
Back in 2015, with his native Syria in the full throes of civil war, Maso had little choice but to leave if he wanted to pursue a career in swimming.
Hailing from Aleppo, a major battleground in the war, he was going for months on end without training.
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“It always had to depend on how safe the situation was and what the priorities were,” he said.
And so, together with older brother, Mo, he took the long and arduous journey to Europe via Turkey.
Civil war slowed career
The brothers had originally intended to settle in the Netherlands with some other family members.
But because they had been fingerprinted while transiting through Germany, European Union rules meant their asylum applications had to be processed here.
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Since then, it has been a case of making up for lost time, even though the 25-year-old Maso prefers not to dwell on the past. But there is no hiding the fact that the civil war held back his budding career.
“It’s never possible to replace such damage,” he said.
“The four years in which I was not able to train are some of the most important years in the life of a swimmer. It’s where you put in the basics, the groundwork for everything that’s coming in the future.”
Immigrants ‘can reach their goals’
Maso was four years old when his father taught him to swim. Later inspired by Michael Phelps and his eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Games, he resolved to one day compete at the Olympics himself.
“From that day on I wanted to be there,” Maso said. “I knew that it’s a stage that every swimmer would love to be on.”
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Maso’s wish was granted in 2021, when he was picked to represent the Olympic refugee team at the Tokyo Games. The refugee team first appeared at the Rio Games in 2016 after the International Olympic Committee decided to give displaced people an opportunity to compete when they otherwise would have been unable to because of their situation.
In a moment that went viral on social media, Maso embraced his brother at the Tokyo opening ceremony. Despite their journey together to Germany, Mo was competing in the triathlon for Syria.
“It’s only because he had better connections with the Syrian federation than I did,” Maso said. “I don’t see it as a political position or support for any side in Syria.”
While Mo has since retired, Alaa competed for the refugee team in Paris. But a year on, in 2025, injury forced him to withdraw from the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore.
After the fall of Bashar Assad in late 2024, Maso resumed conversations with the Syrian swimming federation about representing the country, but no decision has been made. Despite the regime change, he doesn’t foresee returning to the country, which is still in some turmoil, to live again.
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In fact, Maso has applied to become a German citizen. His application has received strong support, including a letter from former Lower Saxony Premier Stephan Weil, recognizing Alaa’s contributions — particularly his role in supporting the integration of fellow refugees through sport and community work.
Political plan for integration
Integration is a topic to which Maso has given much thought, at a time of simmering anti-immigrant sentiment in Germany. That sentiment was confirmed by Germany’s federal election in February 2025, when the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party took second place, with 20.8% of the vote.
Maso initially hesitated to wade into the political debate months ahead of that election, before eloquently outlining what he thinks needs to happen.
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“Some workshops have to be done for new refugees to try to install [in them] the new culture they are trying to enter,” he said.
“I’m not saying people are supposed to let go of their culture or their background, but [you should] also try to integrate into the new society you are trying to live in.
“That, for me, is a crucial way of helping people with different backgrounds than the German and European backgrounds to adapt and get a glimpse of how it’s going to be for the next 10 years. Because nobody comes here to live for one or two years. You’re trying to build a new life, and that’s going to be a very long process.”
Maso is hoping to become a German citizenImage: Soeren Stache/dpa/picture alliance
AfD leader Alice Weidel, has not shied away from calling for “large-scale repatriations” of those who have arrived in Germany from elsewhere. “And I have to be honest with you: if it’s going to be called remigration, then that’s what it’s going to be: remigration,” she said at a party conference just before the election.
Though Germany’s other major parties have historically resisted working with the far right since World War Two, that so-called “firewall” has weakened in recent years. If a plan such as Weidel suggested were ever to come to fruition, Maso could be forced out of the country if he hasn’t received citizenship. However, he insists he isn’t scared.
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“I know that no matter how big the party is or how many seats each party has, they cannot decide everything on their own,” he said. “That’s the good thing about Europe and democracy in Europe. Just because you’re the ruling party, you’re not able to do anything you want.”
Despite the difficult political climate, Maso is upbeat about his own future. Should he be successful in becoming a citizen, would he like to compete for Germany, his adopted country?
“I would totally be OK with that,” he said.
This article was originally published on July 7, 2024. It was updated on August 25, 2025 to reflect political changes in Syria and Alaa Maso’s immigration status. An earlier version of this article referred to Stefan Weil as Lower Saxony premier. This has been updated to reflect the fact that he stepped down as premier in May 2025. Dana Sumlaji contributed to this report.
Manchester United are looking to bolster their midfield in the summer transfer window with Champions League football on the horizon
Manchester United are broadening their horizons this summer as they look to strengthen. It is understood Atalanta’s defensive midfielder Ederson is on the Reds’ radar after Atletico Madrid have seemingly hijacked a move for Wolverhampton Wanderers star Joao Gomes. Atletico had been interested in Ederson in January.
However, talks between the two clubs broke down and the La Liga side have since turned their attention to Gomes. This has opened the door for United to make a move for Ederson. The Reds are still weighing up the pros and cons of a player who has made 178 appearances in Italy.
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He is expected to cost £40m thanks to his contract expiring at the end of next season. But with United looking to sign two midfielders, or three if Manuel Ugarte leaves, they are unlikely to rush to sign Ederson if he does not represent good value for money.
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So with this in mind, MEN Sport has taken a look at what United could be getting if they agree to move for Ederson.
Style of play
Ederson has been utilised as a holding midfielder at Atalanta. Alongside their captain Marten de Roon, the 26-year-old has flourished and become a key asset for the Serie A club. However, he is not a direct replacement for Casemiro.
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While he is known for being combative, Ederson is unlikely to favour a crunching tackle like the Brazil icon. Instead, he will want to carry the ball up the pitch for United, look for those progressive forward passes and try to create key opportunities for the attackers.
If United want someone to anchor the midfield to allow Kobbie Mainoo to press forward, Ederson is perhaps not the man for the job.
High praise
Atalanta’s previous managers have not tended to sing the praises of Ederson in interviews. The job he is doing has sometimes slipped under the radar but former England head coach Fabio Capello was keen to praise the midfielder last season.
“I still believe Inter are the favourites, but [Gian Piero] Gasperini can certainly play his cards,” Capello said in December 2024. “And he has a midfielder worthy of a top European club: Ederson. He’s out of this world with his ability to combine running, physicality, technique, and intelligence.”
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Happy with the attention
That same year, Ederson was linked with Newcastle and Juventus. While he did not express a desire to leave, he was happy to have the attention of some of European football’s bigger clubs.
“Being looked for by big clubs like Juventus? This is normal when the transfer market opens, for some situations to come up,” he explained.
“It happened in Brazil, it happened when I was at Salernitana. For me it’s better this way, it means that I’m doing well and that there are many people watching me.
“It always happens with the market, but the most important thing is to do well at Atalanta and I’m doing very well here.”
FC Barcelona striker Lamine Yamal held a Palestinian flag during the club’s La Liga title parade, after the team secured their 29th Spanish league title by beating Real Madrid 2-0 in the Clasico.
The 2026 PGA Championship kicks off Thursday, May 14, with the opening round at Aronimink Golf Club in Pennsylvania. You can find full PGA Championship tee times for Thursday’s first round at the bottom of this post.
Featured tee time for Round 1
In April at the 2026 Masters, Rory McIlroy captured his second consecutive green jacket. This week at Aronimink, Scottie Scheffler will try to accomplish a similar feat: winning back-to-back PGA Championships.
Scheffler, the longtime No. 1, won two major titles last season, including his first PGA Championship title at Quail Hollow. Beginning the season with four career majors, Scheffler nearly added a fifth at the Masters. But he came up one shot short as McIlroy collected his second Masters trophy.
Though he hasn’t won since his first start of the year back in January, Scheffler has three straight runner-up finishes coming into PGA week.
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Scheffler will tee off for the opening round in his pursuit of his second PGA win on Thursday at 2:05 p.m. ET alongside Matt Fitzpatrick and Justin Rose.
You can watch Thursday’s first round of the PGA Championship from 12-8 p.m. ET on ESPN. You can also stream exclusive online coverage via PGA Tour Live on ESPN+ starting at 6:45 a.m. ET Thursday morning.
Check out the complete Round 1 tee times for the 2026 PGA Championship below.
With an ESPN+ subscription, you gain access to PGA Tour Live, where you can stream the best PGA Tour events live from wherever you want.
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2026 PGA Championship tee times for Thursday: Round 1 (ET)
Tee No. 1
6:45 a.m. – Braden Shattuck, Alex Fitzpatrick, Ben Griffin 6:56 a.m. – Francisco Bide, Harry Hall, Ryan Gerard 7:07 a.m. – Johnny Keefer, Rico Hoey, Nicolai Højgaard 7:18 a.m. – Shaun Micheel, Michael Brennan, Garrick Higgo 7:29 a.m. – Y.E. Yang, Jhonattan Vegas, Matt McCarty 7:40 a.m. – Lucas Glover, Tom McKibbin, Stephan Jaeger 7:51 a.m. – Daniel Brown, Adrien Saddier, Harris English 8:02 a.m. – Jacob Bridgeman, Bud Cauley, Alex Noren 8:13 a.m. – Chris Kirk, Max Greyserman, Kristoffer Reitan 8:24 a.m. – Maverick McNealy, Thomas Detry, Padraig Harrington 8:35 a.m. – Ryan Lenahan, Ryan Fox, Kazuki Higa 8:46 a.m. – Jared Jones, Michael Kim, Ryo Hisatsune 8:57 a.m. – Tyler Collet, Kota Kaneko, Brandt Snedeker 12:15 p.m. – Andrew Novak, John Parry, Jordan Gumberg 12:26 p.m. – Ben Polland, Kurt Kitayama, Nico Echavarria 12:37 p.m. – Akshay Bhatia, Ricky Castillo, Michael Thorbjornsen 12:48 p.m. – Luke Donald, Jesse Droemer, Stewart Cink 12:59 p.m. – Hideki Matsuyama, J.J. Spaun, Max Homa 1:10 p.m. – Ben Kern, J.T. Poston, Russell Henley 1:21 p.m. – Adam Scott, Corey Conners, Daniel Berger 1:32 p.m. – Viktor Hovland, Collin Morikawa, Shane Lowry 1:43 p.m. – Chris Gotterup, Robert MacIntyre, Tommy Fleetwood 1:54 p.m. – Cameron Young, Keegan Bradley, Justin Thomas 2:05 p.m. – Scottie Scheffler, Matt Fitzpatrick, Justin Rose 2:16 p.m. – Zach Haynes, Alex Smalley, Chandler Blanchet 2:27 p.m. – Bernd Wiesberger, Sudarshan Yellamaraju, Andy Sullivan
Tee No. 10
6:50 a.m. – Aldrich Potgieter, David Puig, Denny McCarthy 7:01 a.m. – William Mouw, Chris Gabriele, Taylor Pendrith 7:12 a.m. – Tom Hoge, Bryce Fisher, Joaquin Niemann 7:23 a.m. – Keith Mitchell, Billy Horschel, Ian Holt 7:34 a.m. – Gary Woodland, Jason Day, Sam Burns 7:45 a.m. – Wyndham Clark, Cameron Smith, Brian Harman 7:56 a.m. – Patrick Cantlay, Min Woo Lee, Sahith Theegala 8:07 a.m. – Si Woo Kim, Derek Berg, Joe Highsmith 8:18 a.m. – Bryson DeChambeau, Ludvig Aberg, Rickie Fowler 8:29 a.m. – Xander Schauffele, Brooks Koepka, Tyrrell Hatton 8:40 a.m. – Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Jon Rahm 8:51 a.m. – Daniel Hillier, Ryan Vermeer, Max McGreevy 9:02 a.m. – Paul McClure, Mikael Lindberg, Angel Ayora 12:10 p.m. – Michael Block, Rasmus Højgaard, Dustin Johnson 12:21 p.m. – Mark Geddes, Steven Fisk, David Lipsky 12:32 p.m. – Sungjae Im, Austin Hurt, Casey Jarvis 12:43 p.m. – Andrew Putnam, Michael Kartrude, Matt Wallace 12:54 p.m. – Martin Kaymer, Elvis Smylie, Davis Riley 1:05 p.m. – Jason Dufner, Haotong Li, Jimmy Walker 1:16 p.m. – Nick Taylor, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, Jordan Smith 1:27 p.m. – Emiliano Grillo, Patrick Reed, Pierceson Coody 1:38 p.m. – Brian Campbell, Adam Schenk, Christiaan Bezuidenhout 1:49 p.m. – Marco Penge, Sepp Straka, Patrick Rodgers 2:00 p.m. – Aaron Rai, Travis Smyth, Sami Valimaki 2:11 p.m. – Sam Stevens, Jayden Schaper, Garrett Sapp 2:22 p.m. – Timothy Wiseman, Matti Schmid, Austin Smotherman
NEW DELHI: Gujarat Titans outclassed Sunrisers Hyderabad by 82 runs to take the top position in the Indian Premier League 2026 points table with a compelling all-round show at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.After half-centuries from Sai Sudharsan (61) and Washington Sundar (50) took the Gujarat Titans to 168 for seven, Kagiso Rabada (3/28) and Jason Holder (3/20) ran through SRH’s batting to script a fifth consecutive victory for the IPL 2022 winners.
Chasing 169, SRH were boweled out for 86 in 14.5 overs to suffer a heavy defeat.Gujarat Titans captain Shubman Gill had all smiles when he came for the post match presentation. “Teams batting first…worked out for us nicely. We bowled very well. We knew if we bowled well, we would always be in the game. We spoke about if we get anywhere near 160-170, it will not be easy for them with our bowling attack,” Shubman said. Shubman also lauded opening batter Sai Sudharsan. Sudharsan struck a dogged half-century to give Gujarat Titans a solid start. He cracked five fours and two sixes on way to a vital 61 off 44 balls.Apart from Sudharsan, Washington Sundar chipped in with a fluent fifty. Washington’s 33-ball 50 with seven fours and a six was instrumental in adding crucial late runs on a surface which demanded application from the batters.“The way Sai and Washy batted, getting us close to 170, and then the way we bowled in the powerplay, kudos to both of our bowlers. It is all about being consistent and being ruthless. We are not a team who play a particular style and brand, and assess the conditions (and play according to it). (On Holder adding balance) he is such an experienced campaigner. He has been relentless for us, bowling four on the trot and he is doing a terrific job for us,” Shubman said.Gujarat Titans will next face Kolkata Knight Riders on Saturday at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. — It was bound to happen, and Tuesday morning, in a white tent almost in the shade of the massive stone clubhouse of the Aronimink Golf Club, where the 108th PGA Championship is being played this week, it did: The stealth work of the Committee to Resurrect Walter Hagen went public.
It happened during a press conference with Rory McIlroy, a two-time winner of the PGA Championship, both times at stroke play. Hagen won it five times, all at match play.
“Have you heard about this stealth committee, the Committee to Resurrect Walter Hagen?” McIlroy was asked.
That word, again.
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There had been speculation, not widespread, that McIlroy knew about the committee’s work. Hagen is one of the great sporting legends from Rochester, N.Y., where Erica Stoll, McIlroy’s wife, grew up. Plus, McIlroy is so in the loop. He knows Jimmy Dunne, for one thing. But McIlroy had not heard.
The reigning Masters champion leaned in (in the modern, figurative sense of the phrase), seemingly eager to learn more.
The Hagen Committee is working to combine the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am with the PGA Championship in a unique stroke-play/match play format by which the PGA Championship would be the first major of the year, played in February.
The PGA Championship — with AT&T as its sponsor and continuing to raise vast sums for the for the many good works done by the Monterey Peninsula Foundation — would begin with a 54-hole qualifier played at the Pebble Beach Golf Links on a Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in late winter. The medalist would receive the Bing Crosby Medal, along with an automatic spot in the fields of the year’s three remaining Grand Slam event, plus a place in the FedEx Cup playoffs and a winner’s check large enough to send all his kids through college and grad school.
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(The Crosby Medal, per circulating early artist renderings, depicts the iconic singer and golf impresario in follow-through, pipe in mouth.)
The top-16 finishers from the 54-hole Crosby event at Pebble then qualify for the match play weekend portion of the PGA Championship. Eight matches Saturday morning (loser goes homes), four matches Saturday afternoon (ditto), two Sunday morning (again), one Sunday afternoon. The player who goes 4-0 on the weekend receives the Wanamaker Trophy as the PGA Champion, the player’s named etched on it, alongside Walter Hagen’s, Rory McIroy’s and other luminaries of the game.
The weekend play would be held down the road (17 Mile Drive) from Pebble Beach, at the golf course of the Cypress Point Club.
Tied matches would be settled in by sudden-death playoff beginning on the pitch-shot par-3 15th hole, sometimes cited as the most aromatic hole in golf.
You might want to let that comment settle in you for a moment before you continue.
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“I thought we didn’t like 54-hole tournaments, though?” McIlroy asked.
The reporter reiterated that was the 54 holes of stroke play was the qualifying portion of the five-day event, the preamble to the match play weekend at Cypress Point.
“Ah — OK,” McIlroy said. “That’s just the qualifying? OK, that’s nice.
“Any opportunity to play Cypress Point would be good with me, absolutely,” McIlroy added, warming to the subject. “And match play has been a big talking point, possibly talking about it for the Tour Championship at the end of the year going forward.”
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“I think match play is the purest form of the game,” the career Grand Slam winner and Ryder Cup stalwart said. Some have speculated that Tiger Woods’s greatness at stroke-play stems from uniquely adapting a match-play mentality to 72-hole stroke-play events. “I think it’s a shame that we don’t have any match play really on the schedule apart from the Ryder Cup or the Presidents Cup. It would be nice to get some more match play on the schedule, for sure.”
Per a committee source, McIlroy is expected to receive an invitation to join the committee before the U.S. Open. This website, and likely other news sites devoted to golf, will have updates as warranted.
Welcome to our weekly PGA Tour gambling-tips column, featuring picks from GOLF.com’s expert prognosticator, Brady Kannon. A seasoned golf bettor and commentator, Kannon is a host and regular guest on SportsGrid, a syndicated audio network devoted to sports and sports betting, and is a golf betting analyst for CBS Sportsline. You can follow Brady on X at @LasVegasGolfer, and you can read his picks below for the 2026 PGA Championship, which gets underway Thursday in Pennsylvania.
Two days before the second major championship of the golf season begins, there are still some questions about how this golf course will play — one of which involves the weather.
The forecast currently looks beautiful with mostly sunshine, but there are a couple of areas of interest that figure to have an impact on this tournament. Around midnight ET on Wednesday evening, there is a better than a 50 percent chance of some showers, expected to last for a few hours. This could, of course, make for a soft and very vulnerable golf course come Thursday’s opening round. As the day goes on, the sun is expected to shine with winds in the 15 mph range. This not only looks like the early tee times could see an advantage but that the golf course could also dry out over the course of the day. At the same time, the early wave looks to experience chilly temperatures with an expected high for the day only in the low 60s — a stark contrast from Sunday’s final round expected high temperature in the high 80s.
Golf course restoration specialist Gil Hanse has said Aronimink is at its best when conditions are firm and fast. It looks like we will get there eventually but Thursday could be different. It appears on the surface that there will be an opportunity to get out to a fast start on Thursday morning, taking on a rain-softened golf course.
The other question mark that exists for me is whether or not the bombers will be able to bomb entirely — or will this test be more tilted toward accuracy and positioning off the tee as it seems is the architect’s intention? We may not know this for sure until early on Thursday or even late on Friday — and for our purposes, it certainly matters in which type of player we are figuring will have the best skill set required for what the golf course is presenting.
It is also interesting to note that when Hanse was brought in to perform his overhaul in 2016, he was under the assumption that this PGA Championship would be played in its normally scheduled month of August, when conditions would almost certainly be firm and fast. Of course, the PGA Tour moved this event from August to May in 2019. From a fan’s perspective, I am hoping Mother Nature cooperates and we get the perfect test. We saw Valhalla play soft and receptive in 2024 and Xander Schauffele won with a winning score of 21 under par. I can tell you that one of the finest golf oddsmakers in the world, Jeff Sherman, at the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas, has made the winning score proposition bet this week Under/Over 267.5 — meaning 12.5 under par. If he is correct, I believe we get our wish of Aronimink, the weather, the rough, etc., providing the proper test and producing a well-deserving champion.
We provided an early look at Aronimink and a few of our selections to win the 108th PGA Championship last week. I have since come up with five additional players who I believe have a legitimate shot to hoist the Wanamaker Trophy and are being offered at a fair price.
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Patrick Cantlay (55-1)
I hemmed and hawed on Cantlay last week but eventually pulled the trigger on Monday. I was concerned with his putting numbers but I do like just about everything else that I am seeing. First, in his last four starts, which include the Masters and two Signature Events, he’s finished 7-12-8-10. Strong. Secondly, he has performed very well at what I believe make sense as correlated courses. He was third at Pinehurst in 2024, 14th at Los Angeles Country Club in 2023, and was fourth, not far away, at the Philadelphia Cricket Club last year for the Truist Championship. He’s been runner-up at Detroit Golf Club and at East Lake Golf Club. Cantlay has finished fifth, seventh, runner-up, and has won the Tour Championship. He ranks 51st on Tour in SG: Approach and in Driving Accuracy. He is 20th for Greens in Regulation and in Scrambling.
Jordan Spieth (65-1)
I have actually seen as high as 90-1 on the three-time major champion. Amazing number. I believe somewhere around 60-1 is the correct price. This will be Spieth’s 10th time trying to win the PGA Championship and thus complete the career Grand Slam. I believe this golf course gives him a good chance and that his game is definitely capable of contending. I said Speith finishing top 15 at the Masters was reasonable and if he found a little magic, that he could win it. He finished 12th. I feel similarly here. He is doing just about everything very well, especially the short game and the mid- to short-iron play. And I believe we will know right away if this is Spieth’s week or not as he has only once in his career completed Round 1 of a PGA Championship inside the top 20 on the leaderboard. If he finds himself as such heading into Friday, I believe he will have a shot.
Adam Scott at the 2025 U.S. Open.
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Adam Scott (70-1)
The veteran Australian has been experiencing a bit of a resurgence to his career in the last couple of seasons, sitting second heading into the final round of last year’s U.S. Open at Oakmont and now twice finishing fourth this season: once at Riviera, and again three weeks ago at Doral. He hasn’t missed a cut since the Open Championship last July. The ball striking is impeccable, ranking third on Tour for SG: Approach, third for Hole Proximity from 150-175 yards, second from 175-200 yards, and third from 200+ yards. Scott ranks 19th on Tour in Total Driving and is 46th in Scrambling. He finished ninth at Pinehurst in 2014.
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Kurt Kitayama (80-1)
Speaking of ball striking. Wow. Like his fellow UNLV Rebel golfer, Adam Scott, Kitayama too has been striping it and ranks seventh on Tour in Total Driving. The approach numbers are very similar to Scott’s as is his scrambling, ranking 54th on Tour. Unfortunately, the SG: Putting numbers are similar too as Scott is 90th on Tour and Kitayama 109th. Kitayama was runner-up this year at Riviera and has gone 8-9-19 in his last three starts at Harbour Town, Doral, and Quail Hollow respectively.
Sahith Theegala (150-1)
This is certainly a long shot and we are invested at very low risk. Theegala has been struggling off the tee, ranking 125th on Tour for SG: Off the Tee. However, if the bomb and gouge strategy is in play, it could work for Theegala. Also, if taking something less than driver off the tee for accuracy and positioning purposes works, that too could benefit Theegala. What we know for sure is that his approach play is very solid and his short game can be elite. He’s done well in the past at other Ross designs like Pinehurst, Oak Hill, and East Lake. Some will say the sloping fairways and large greens resemble the Plantation Course at Kapalua where Theegala finished runner-up in 2024. Some will say Aronimink aligns with Silverado in Napa, where Theegala has won, finished seventh, and sixth. At low risk, 150-1 or better is fine and finish position plays for top 40, top 30, or even top 20 could be very lucrative.
As usual, he looked dangerous with the puck, playing with pace and confidence. He was effective offensively, which wasn’t always the case in the playoffs during the talented winger’s five playoff runs with the Carolina Hurricanes. Necas set up Nazem Kadri’s power-play goal.
But his most revealing shift was in the final minute. With the Wild desperately pushing for a tying goal they probably needed to maintain a chance at winning this second-round series, Necas was on the ice for coach Jared Bednar, defending Colorado’s 3-2 lead. He read a rim-around in the defensive zone and beat Quinn Hughes to the puck inside the blue line, sidestepped the Minnesota star and passed to Avalanche linemate Nathan MacKinnon for an empty-net goal.
The move from Carolina at last season’s trade deadline has allowed Necas to grow (and get rich) and improve his reputation as a playoff performer — someone whose offensive game doesn’t shrivel when checking and intensity ramp up, someone who can be trusted defensively.
If the Avalanche eliminate the Wild in Game 5 here Wednesday, they will be halfway to the Stanley Cup. Maybe they’ll meet the Hurricanes in the final, which would be a pretty fabulous matchup.
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“I feel like it’s just different now,” Necas, 27, told Sportsnet before the series shifted to Minnesota for the weekend. “Obviously, we created some chemistry here with Nate. Last year was hard, but this year it’s different. Compared to Carolina, here I’ve got way more room to shine. Obviously, Carolina had their guys and, like, I’m not saying I wasn’t one of them. But here, I’m playing on the first line, so it’s a little different.
“Everybody looks at the (points) producing side, right? That’s what everybody looks at, but I’m feeling comfortable here. I love the big-time games. It’s the same thing that you guys were asking about for the Olympics; I was excited because I love those kind of moments and games. And I think that the playoffs, it’s the same. And as the rounds go longer and longer, I like it more.”
Necas finished fourth in scoring at the Olympics in February, leading Czechia with three goals and eight points in five games.
At mid-career, Necas has been a development story for the Avalanche.
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He had a breakthrough, 100-point season playing with MacKinnon and, mostly, winger Artturi Lehkonen. Gabriel Landeskog replaced the injured Lehkonen on the top line for Game 4.
Necas’ 38-goal season came after he signed an eight-year, $92-million contract extension in October. His previous highs were 28 goals and 83 points.
“Listen, some of the criticisms on Marty from his younger years prior to being here, they may have been valid,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar told reporters after Game 2 a week ago. “Marty and I talked about this. Just because something’s true one day doesn’t make it true the next, especially over time.
“Marty put in a lot of hard work to be a trusted player on our team defensively. It’s one of the talks we had when he got here, and a handful of times after that: if you’re going to play with Nate and play against the opposition’s best guys every night, I’ve got to be able to trust you. You can’t play there (just for) how good you are offensively, right? So he buys into that. The style of the players he plays with, it’s important that he’s on that line because he helps them a lot, and his game has grown. So, I think those criticisms now are invalid.”
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Through eight playoff games, Necas has one goal and nine points, and an 11-3 goal differential at even strength.
In Carolina, his points production during the playoffs fell to 0.51 points per game from 0.73 in the regular season. And although Necas rode the Hurricanes’ high tide on puck possession and was never a glaring liability defensively, his shots-for percentage relative to teammates was modest, and overall, he was a minus player in the playoffs.
“Absolutely, I think he’s definitely gotten more aware of what the moment calls for when you don’t have the puck,” Landeskog, the Colorado captain, said after Monday’s morning skate. “His defensive systems and just his checking ability has gotten better and better every month, really, throughout the season. So yeah, he’s definitely becoming a trustworthy player.
“I think he’s always been, obviously, a very talented player and super gifted. The way he thinks the game, and he’s able to execute at such a high speed, not everybody can do that. But now he’s adding kind of the checking mentality to it, and that checking mindset is what you need (in the playoffs) because the margin for error is so small this time of year. He’s done a great job, and continues to be a big factor for us.”
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Necas was unaware of what Bednar said about him earning trust — and dispelling the earlier knocks against him — until we told him.
“I agree with Bedsy; he helped me a lot in terms of defence,” he said. “You know, I’m going to be here for a long time, and I know that I want to play in all those situations. Obviously, I’m out there if we’re losing. But he’s been putting me out there when we’re winning, too, you know, when we’re trying to defend the lead. And obviously he has to have the trust in me to do that. So I’ve been trying to play better D. The whole coaching staff helped me a lot with it.
“It’s been cool, like, being the guy.”
Necas is one of them, for sure.
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• Tuesday was a travel day for the teams, which did not practise … After getting hit in the face by teammate Devon Toews’ clearance near the end of the second period on Monday, MacKinnon returned for the third period but declined to do interviews after the game. He did tell a couple of reporters, “I got lucky,” that it was the flat side of the puck that hit him on the nose and mouth. He did not require stitches.
“If he was going to be able to get out there, he was going to be out there,” Bednar said post-game of his superstar’s return. “I don’t think that was ever in doubt. I just felt for him because I just went through that. It doesn’t feel very good, so you’re just hoping that the guy’s OK. That’s the main thing, and then you feel for him because it sucks.”
Bednar missed two games behind the Avalanche bench in April after getting hit in the face by a deflected puck during a game against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Las Vegas will join the league in time for next season, The Athletic‘s Hailey Salvian reported on Tuesday.
An announcement is expected Wednesday with youth hockey teams already invited to an event that day, per Salvian. The team would likely play at T-Mobile Arena, which hosts the NHL’s Golden Knights.
Earlier Tuesday, The Hamilton Spectator reported that Hamilton, Ont., would also be getting a team.
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The additions would put the league at 11 teams for next season after it announced expansion to Detroit earlier this month.
One more franchise could be added as well, per Salvian.
Vancouver and Seattle joined the league before this season, but both missed the playoffs.
The original six teams are in Toronto, Boston, Montreal, New York, Boston and Minnesota.
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In addition to the Golden Knights, Vegas is home to the WNBA’s Aces and NFL’s Raiders.
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