Augusta, Georgia: Three-time major winner Brooks Koepka and fellow American Bryson DeChambeau share the lead at the Masters after carding rounds of six-under 66 on the first day. Five-time major winner Phil Mickelson finished with five birdies in seven for a five-under 67 – his lowest opening round since he won in 2010. Replay England’s … Continue reading "Koepka and DeChambeau share lead, Scott's hot start, Day's injury woe"

Augusta, Georgia: Not much troubles Cameron Smith. Except one thing. We’ll come to that later. The 25-year-old Australian has a PGA Tour victory to his credit – as well as two Australian PGA titles, and last year wowed the Augusta galleries with his incredible shot-making in finishing fifth. He played the back nine on Sunday … Continue reading "Smith masters the art of keeping calm in bid for Green Jacket"

Australia's Cameron Smith is confident he can repay a big compliment after being placed in a marquee group with history-chasing Rory McIlroy at the Masters. Smith will play the first two rounds alongside world No.3 McIlroy, as the Northern Irishman attempts to complete a career grand slam, as well as American star Rickie Fowler, the … Continue reading "Australia's Cameron Smith grouped with Rory McIlroy for Masters"

Augusta, Georgia: Jason Day has defied crippling back pain to be in contention at Augusta National but his Masters campaign is in mortal danger. The former world No.1 somehow posted a two-under-par 70 on day one and sits only four shots from the lead despite aggravating his chronic back injury and needing medical treatment just … Continue reading "Day defies crippling back pain at Masters"

Patrick Reed has had the best year of his life after winning last year’s US Masters. To celebrate, his Green Jacket is always within sight. “I position the jacket everywhere I go so every time I wake up I see it and every time I come home I see it,” he said. As is tradition, … Continue reading "The curious case of Patrick Reed, the Masters' most unpopular defending champ"

American star Brooks Koepka has been handed extra motivation to land his third golf major title in 10 months at the Masters after being slammed over weight loss. The strapping Koepka revealed in March he had dropped about 10 kilograms since November. He also lost some edge from his game, with just one top-20 finish … Continue reading "'Reckless self-sabotage': Golf star Koepka lashed over weight loss"

Adam Scott's habitual radar-watching as an avid surfer has come in handy as wild weather in Augusta threatens to take a full day of practice away from Masters hopefuls. A combination of rain, strong winds and thunderstorms forced tournament officials to suspend practice on Monday and send patrons from the hallowed turf of Augusta National … Continue reading "Bad weather could shorten Masters practice"

Online scalpers are gouging Masters fans, charging exorbitant prices to attend the Augusta National major with the cheapest ticket to watch all four rounds starting at $10,000 ($A14,000). Users of platform StubHub – an online ticket exchange owned by eBay – have swallowed up a considerable amount of tickets to this year's Masters in an … Continue reading "Scalpers gouging Masters fans up to $14,000 for a four-round ticket"

Augusta, Georgia: Before Adam Scott became the first Australian to win the Masters at Augusta National in 2013, Scott and his countrymen had some agonisingly close calls and collapses. Here is a look at the highs and lows for Australian golfers at the Augusta major. First Australian at the Masters Jim Ferrier, born and raised … Continue reading "History and heartbreak in Australian quest for Masters glory"

Early this decade, the Masters was in Jason Day’s destiny. He exploded onto the PGA tour and the reverberations were felt most at Augusta. In his debut tournament in 2011, he finished tied second with fellow Australian Adam Scott, beaten by South African Charl Schwartzel whose win would most likely stump even golfing train-spotters in … Continue reading "Day struggles to talk up chances as back hampers Masters lead-up"