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Ridley: Augusta National to continue focus on amateurs, not pros
AUGUSTA, Ga. – The success of the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur doesn’t mean that the club has any immediate plans to host an event for the top women’s professionals.
In his State of the Masters address Wednesday morning, chairman Fred Ridley said that the club will continue to focus its grow-the-game efforts on amateur golf and not necessarily the professional game.
“To date, all of our grow-the-game initiatives have been focused on amateur golf and amateur golfers,” Ridley said. “And in this particular case, we elected to conduct a women’s amateur tournament for the same reason, but we really wanted this to continue in a grow-the-game sort of mode. I do think that what has happened is going to translate and be a real benefit for professional golf and for the LPGA.”
Ridley congratulated winner Jennifer Kupcho and runner-up Maria Fassi, who took part in a media tour earlier this week following their dramatic duel. He even heard reports that they were being recognized on the streets in New York City.
“I think that’s good for women’s golf in general,” he said, “and they are going to be well received by the LPGA and are going to get off to a great start in their careers there.”
Ridley said that adding another professional event at Augusta National would also create a logistical challenge for the club. He pointed to the fact that the first two rounds of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur were contested about 30 minutes away, at Champions Retreat in Evans, Ga., to cut down on some of the demands at the home of the Masters.
“We were trying to balance providing the women competitors with the opportunity to be at Augusta National, to have a championship decided at Augusta National, but be cognizant of the fact that we were just a few days away from the Masters Tournament,” Ridley said.
“So if you put it in the context with the Masters being the epicenter of our competitive tournament administration efforts, we do have some limitations as to what we could do, and we try to balance that in deciding how we can best deploy our resources for the good of the game. I think that’s the approach we are going to continue to take.”
Masters sleepers: Simpson good value at Augusta National
While Rory McIlroy is tabbed as the odds-on favorite to win this week's Masters Tournament, who is flying under the radar entering Augusta National?
Here are three options listed at 100/1 or worse:
Webb Simpson (100/1): He is coming off his best Masters finish in eight starts, a T-20 showing last year after shooting 5-under 67 and notching back-to-back eagles (Nos. 7 and 8) in the final round. He ranks 29th in strokes gained: tee-to-green and is one of the best on Tour hitting into and around the greens. He missed the cut in his last stroke-play event at Valspar, but before that he was T-16 at The Players.
Emiliano Grillo (150/1): In two Masters starts, Grillo has been respectable, tying for 17th in 2016 and finishing 51st in 2017. He ranks 32nd in strokes gained: tee-to-green, and that's with losing -0.322 strokes around the greens. He's missed just one cut this year, though he's failed to finish better than T-22 in any event. He's a good candidate for a top-20 bet.
Matthew Fitzpatrick (150/1): He nearly won earlier this year at Bay Hill, finishing runner-up to Francesco Molinari. And at age 24, he's already making his fifth Masters start. He's made three of four cuts – the missed cut came when he was an amateur – with a best finish of T-7 in 2016. He's not long, but he can place his ball well, ranking 33rd in strokes gained: tee-to-green.
Masters-only ball not on horizon, but change may one day come to 13th
AUGUSTA, Ga. – Changes could be coming to golf’s most famous piece of land – just not yet.
Last year, Augusta National finalized the purchase of a parcel from neighboring Augusta Country Club, giving them ownership of the area directly behind the 12th green and 13th tee. While work has already begun to clear the land and potentially pave the way for a new access road, speculation persists that the end goal could be to lengthen the iconic par-5 13th hole, which currently sits at 510 yards but whose primary defenses have been diminished in recent years with driving distance on the rise.
Club chairman Fred Ridley held his annual news conference Wednesday and admitted that while changes to the positioning of the 13th tee box are currently under consideration, it’s not an alteration he plans to take lightly.
“Amen Corner is a sacred place in the world of golf,” Ridley said. “I am hesitant to move too quickly in that regard.”
Ridley placed much of the onus for the club’s decision on the outcome of ongoing distance studies being conducted by the USGA and R&A. He noted that while the club does now have options available to increase the distance on the hole, Augusta National plans to “wait to see how distance may be addressed by the governing bodies” before taking action.
But there is no debate that strategy on No. 13, described by many as one of the best holes in the world, has evolved significantly from the days when Masters participants faced a difficult choice with a fairway wood or long iron in hand from a steep, downhill lie in the fairway. This week many players will reach the green with a short iron for their second shot, and Bubba Watson famously hit his drive over the stand of trees that marks the left corner of the fairway en route to victory in 2014.
“Admittedly, that hole does not play as it was intended to play by (Bobby) Jones and (Alistair) MacKenzie,” Ridley said. “The momentous decision that I’ve spoken about and that Bobby Jones often spoke about, of going for the green in two, is to a large extent no longer relevant.”
As various stakeholders continue to address the challenges posed by increasing distance, Ridley shot down the notion that the tournament might introduce a dialed-back, Masters-only ball to be used by all participants to ensure the course plays as it was designed to more than eight decades ago.
“I think it’s very unlikely that we would ever produce a Masters ball,” Ridley said. “There are a whole lot of reasons for that, but I think you can be pretty assured that that’s the case.”
But as it relates to No. 13 and the final leg of Amen Corner, the wheels of change are not in motion – yet.
“My preference, as I stated, would be to see what happens, what the governing bodies decide is best for the game, and then we will take appropriate action in response to that,” he said.
Police in Amsterdam say they fired a water cannon at football fans "to put out flares and prevent unsafe situations" ahead of the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinal between Ajax and Juventus.
Local broadcaster AT5 showed images of scores of chanting fans being hosed by the water cannon and responding by tossing fireworks and flares at police before mounted officers charge at them followed by riot police.
There was no immediate word on arrests.
Earlier Wednesday, police in the Dutch capital said they had detained dozens of Italians suspected of possessing flares, a knife, pepper spray and fireworks.
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Pats try to fill Gronk void, add Seferian-Jenkins
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- In their first personnel move at tight end since Rob Gronkowski announced his retirement in late March, the New England Patriots have agreed to a one-year deal with Austin Seferian-Jenkins, a source tells ESPN's Field Yates.
The Patriots have not announced the move, but Seferian-Jenkins confirmed in an Instagram post that he was signing with the team.
The Patriots also hosted former Broncos and Texans wide receiver Demaryius Thomas and former Jaguars running back T.J. Yeldon for a visit on Wednesday, a source told Yates.
The 6-foot-5, 262-pound Seferian-Jenkins immediately becomes the Patriots' most accomplished pass-catcher at tight end, with 116 career receptions for 1,160 yards and 11 touchdowns in 43 games over five seasons.
The other four tight ends on the Patriots' depth chart -- Jacob Hollister, Stephen Anderson, Matt LaCosse and Ryan Izzo -- have combined for 71 career receptions.
Seferian-Jenkins, 26, had 11 catches for 90 yards and a touchdown before going on injured reserve in early October with a core muscle injury that required surgery. He became a free agent when the Jacksonville Jaguars declined his $500,000 option for 2019.
Seferian-Jenkins joined the Jaguars on a two-year, $10 million deal before last season after resurrecting his career with the New York Jets. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers cut him after a September 2016 drunken driving arrest, which ultimately resulted in a two-game suspension by the NFL at the start of the 2017 season.
ESPN's Michael DiRocco contributed to this report.
Follow live: Messi, Barcelona face Man U in Champions League quarters
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Former NBA general manager Jeff Bower has agreed to a deal to become the senior vice president of basketball operations with the Phoenix Suns, league sources told ESPN.
Suns owner Robert Sarver had discussed with prospective job candidates a senior advising role that would allow interim GM James Jones to continue in a lead front-office capacity with decision-making power, league sources said. Jones had sat in on interviews, along with Arizona Cardinals All-Pro receiver Larry Fitzgerald, league sources said.
Bower was the Pistons' general manager under president of basketball operations and coach Stan Van Gundy for four seasons until a change was made in May.
Bower has been a well-respected executive in the league for two decades, earning praise for his organization and scouting acumen in 11 seasons as GM in Charlotte, New Orleans and Detroit. Van Gundy made final decisions on personnel in Detroit.
Bower helped lead Detroit back into the playoffs in 2015-16 for the first time in five years, and he helped engineer trades for All-Star Blake Griffin and point guard Reggie Jackson. Bower has led two NBA franchises -- New Orleans and Detroit -- out of the lottery and into the postseason as a GM.
He also worked in the NBA and college as a coach.
NEW YORK -- Forbes estimates that the New York Yankees are baseball's most valuable franchise at $4.6 billion, up 15 percent from last year's figure.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are second at $3.3 billion, followed by the World Series champion Boston Red Sox at $3.2 billion, the Chicago Cubs ($3.1 billion), the San Francisco Giants ($3 billion) and the New York Mets ($2.3 billion).
The Yankees' YES Network broadcasts Forbes' "SportsMoney" television show.
Forbes' franchise values list released Wednesday estimates that the Miami Marlins are the least valuable team at $1 billion, just behind the Tampa Bay Rays ($1.01 billion).
Invitation extended to European Women’s Coaches Seminar
Supported by ITTF High Performance and Development and organized under the direction of Neven Cegnar, the Development Manager for the European Table Tennis Union, an extensive itinerary is planned.
Overall five sessions are planned, the first on Thursday 6th June from 4.00 pm to 7.30 pm, followed on Friday 7th June with a morning session from 9.00 am to 12.30 pm and an afternoon session from 3.30 pm to 7.00 pm. Proceedings conclude on Saturday 8th June, the final session being held from 9.00 am to 12.30 pm.
The major speakers will be Jaroslaw Kolodziejczyk, Austrian national junior team coach and Lara Broich, the German national cadet girls’ team coach.
Jaroslaw Kolodziejczyk will address the subject entitled: “Coaching of young table tennis players – major technical, mistakes (early detection and correction)”; for Lara Broich it will be “Footwork learning methods for young table tennis players“.
Contact
Eva Odorova, Sports Director Slovak Table Tennis Association
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Zita Pidl, Project Consultant, European Table Tennis Union
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Branislav Kaluzny, Slovak Table Tennis Association
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Neven Cegnar, Development Manager for the European Table Tennis Union
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