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The final round of the 84th Masters will begin and end earlier than normal, because of less available daylight in November and CBS Sports' TV schedule.

Augusta National officials will implement split tees and threesomes for the fourth consecutive round. Here's a look at the full-field tee times for Sunday in the men's final major of the year.

OFF NO. 1
7:50 a.m.: Matt Wallace, Adam Scott, Lee Westwood
8:01 a.m.: Danny Willett, Billy Horschel, Marc Leishman
8:12 a.m.: Tiger Woods, Scottie Scheffler, Shane Lowry
8:23 a.m.: C. T. Pan, Webb Simpson, Xander Schauffele
8:34 a.m.: Cameron Champ, Corey Conners, Paul Casey
8:45 a.m.: Hideki Matsuyama, Patrick Cantlay, Kevin Na
8:56 a.m.: Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka, Tommy Fleetwood
9:07 a.m.: Sebastian Munoz, Patrick Reed, Jon Rahm
9:18 a.m.: Cameron Smith, Dylan Frittelli, Justin Thomas
9:29 a.m.: Dustin Johnson, Sungjae Im, Abraham Ancer

OFF NO. 10
7:50 a.m.: Louis Oosthuizen, Justin Rose, Nick Taylor
8:01 a.m.: Bryson DeChambeau, Charl Schwartzel, Bernhard Langer
8:12 a.m.: Si Woo Kim, Shugo Imahira, Bubba Watson
8:23 a.m.: a-Andy Ogletree, Ian Poulter, Mike Weir
8:34 a.m.: Collin Morikawa, Charles Howell III, Jazz Janewattananond
8:45 a.m.: Rickie Fowler, Chez Reavie, Sung Kang
8:56 a.m.: Tony Finau, a-John Augenstein, Christiaan Bezuidenhout
9:07 a.m.: Victor Perez, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Zach Johnson
9:18 a.m.: Jordan Spieth, Phil Mickelson, Rafael Cabrera Bello
9:29 a.m.: Jimmy Walker, Brandt Snedeker, Bernd Wiesberger

AUGUSTA, Ga. – So, Jon, how would you describe your day?

“Seriously? How would I describe it? Pretty awful.”

Jon Rahm was in no mood to rehash his third-round 72 at the Masters Tournament, which dropped him from a share of the 36-hole lead to seven shots back entering the finale.

Rahm’s day included a topped shot, a ricochet into an unplayable lie and a double bogey – and that was just one hole.

Rahm had fallen four shots back of red-hot playing competitor Dustin Johnson as their group played the par-5 eighth. Needing to get things going, Rahm couldn’t get his second shot off the ground, courtesy a “great mud ball.”

His ball skirted into the left pines and his third shot struck one of the trees, kicking further left, under a bush. Rahm had to take an unplayable and eventually made double-bogey 7.

Six back at the time, Rahm tried to rally with birdies on Nos. 14 and 15, but finished his day with a bogey at the last.

“I mean, playing good golf, got a great mud ball on 8, a great mud ball on 18, and I didn't make a single putt. No way I can be happy about it,” Rahm said after his even-par round. “The golf course was there for scoring, I was playing good, and couldn't take advantage of anything.”

Rahm, the world No. 2 in search of his first major title, stands at 9 under par through 54 holes, with Johnson at 16 under, tying a Masters record. The Spaniard is currently T-7.

“Fought my ass off at the end to try to salvage an under par round, and I couldn't. Hit some decent drives down the stretch – besides 17 – and couldn't really get it done. Simple as that,” he said.

“Really far back to start tomorrow, that's all I can say. I've got to hope to shoot a miracle score to have a chance.”

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Before last week’s Vivint Houston Open, the PGA Tour had been playing without fans since its return to competition in June. But Sunday’s final round at the Masters will be where the relative silence will be most evident.

The Sunday roars at Augusta National are part of Masters lore, with players able to tell what happened on a specific hole without even looking at a leaderboard.

That won’t be the case on Sunday.

“I think it's a really big deal there's no patrons here,” said Justin Thomas, who pulled to within two strokes of front-runner Dustin Johnson before making four bogeys over his last seven holes. “That would have really played to my advantage or other guys trying to chase DJ.”

There are different schools of thought on how the lack of fans and atmosphere impact different players. Some say the scene favors players with less experience since they don’t feel the pressure that comes with trying to win a major championship with thousands of patrons cheering.

Thomas, however, said it would be Johnson who will benefit without patrons since he won’t have to hear the roars as players make runs at him on the back nine.

“It makes it harder when you can hear the birdies and eagles and putts being made,” said Thomas, who is in sixth place and six shots off the lead. “Unfortunately, that won't be the case tomorrow, but there's nothing I can do about that.”

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Internally it’s called “inside the bamboo,” which is shorthand for the sprawling property that includes Augusta National’s iconic course and clubhouse, where time seems to stand still.

Scoreboards at the Masters are still manually operated and egg-salad sandwiches will set you back $1.50. "Inside the bamboo" is a window back to simpler times. Outside of the bamboo. nothing feels right - not in 2020 - but within the manicured walls of the outsized hedges that ring the property, there is order.

Not complete, unquestioned order, that’s not happening at a November Masters. But there are bedrocks that neither a pandemic nor politics can shake.

That the golf world even made it to Augusta National this year is a testament to the tournament’s enduring agelessness. Unlike other sports, the only consideration when it came to playing the 2020 Masters was the competition - not TV contracts or revenue streams or anything else. And it’s that competition that ultimately separates life inside and outside the bamboo.

With an alarmingly few exceptions, the Masters produces compelling finishes and although Dustin Johnson appears determined to be a ginormous exception, the course will have the final say.

The world No. 1 will take a four-shot advantage into the final round thanks to a brilliant 65 on Saturday to separate himself from the field. The 72-hole scoring record at the Masters is 18 under par, set by Tiger Woods in 1997 and matched by Jordan Spieth in ’15. DJ is at 16 under - tying the 54-hole Masters record (Spieth, '15) - and doesn’t appear to be in protect mode with 18 holes to play.

But even if DJ runs away from the field on his way to Butler Cabin – it’s worth noting that he’s held at least a share of the 54-hole lead 21 times in his PGA Tour career with a 10-11 record – there’s still a measure of normalcy in his domination.

In Johnson’s last six starts he’s finished T-2 (Houston Open), T-6 (U.S. Open), first (Tour Championship), second (BMW Championship), first (The Northern Trust) and T-2 (PGA Championship). Mixed in amid that ruthless dominance was a bout with COVID-19 and an extended trip to the IR.

DJ hasn’t won a green jacket, but most agree he’d look good in one. His distance, towering ball flight and this week’s putting performance has turned the soft layout into a par 67, with apologies to Bryson DeChambeau.

“I would say the game is in really, really good form right now. Very similar to what it was back in 2017,” said Johnson, who is the first player with two rounds of 65 or better at the same Masters. “It's just very consistent. I feel like I've got a lot of control of what I'm doing, controlling my distance well with my flight and my shape. I'm very comfortable standing over the golf ball right now, and obviously that's a really good feeling.”

That’s not to say there aren’t variations on this isolated norm and some of those differences can be jarring, like the utter lack of atmosphere at a place that’s been built on buzz.

Late Saturday, as Johnson’s group rounded Amen Corner, the only backdrop was a smattering of applause from a handful of volunteers and club members and the hum of an overhead drone.

There will be a hole in Sunday’s canvas.

“It's a different challenge. It's still a brilliant challenge, it's just a different challenge to April, which is what this whole week has really been about. But it's still the Masters,” Paul Casey said.

This week’s low scoring, which includes Johnson’s record pace and featured the lowest cut (even par) in Masters’ history, is also a standard deviation. Thursday’s storm that forced officials into catchup mode opened the door for aggressive play and the vast majority of players were more than happy to walk through.

“It got a little bit faster, yes. But the putts just still aren't quite breaking,” said Tiger Woods, who drifted 11 shots off the lead with a third-round 72 and will tee off In the last round of his title defense at 8:12 a.m. ET on Sunday.

For all the differences a November Masters has created, it’s the tournament and this course that’s pulled golf back to something so intimately familiar with the club welcoming some of those imperfections like never before.

In recent years, the PGA Tour reinvented its schedule to avoid conflicts with football. This week, Augusta National embraced the conflict, hosting ESPN’s "College GameDay" on the adjacent par-3 course. An afternoon of Masters viewing, followed by an evening of college football. How’s that for a tradition?

This Masters is DJ’s to win and yet Augusta National’s second nine routinely plays spoiler. It was just last year when Francesco Molinari took a two-stroke lead into the final nine holes on Sunday and finished tied for fifth.

There’s also Johnson’s tortured status as a forlorn front-runner. The 2010 U.S. Open seems like ancient history and there’s no reason to rehash the ’15 U.S. Open, but it was just three months ago when he lost the PGA Championship after taking a one-shot lead into the final round. But if DJ is haunted by his near-misses it doesn’t show.

“The only thing you can do out here as a player is give yourself as many chances to win as possible and that’s what he’s done,” said Johnson’s swing coach, Claude Harmon III. “I can tell you the 54-hole leads he has not converted he does not think about.”

Without patrons it will be eerie around Amen Corner early Sunday afternoon (we’re looking at a 3 p.m. ET finish) and the way DJ is playing it might be too much to hope for some 11th-hour theatrics, but you just never know with golf inside the bamboo.

Werner double lifts Germany past Ukraine

Published in Soccer
Saturday, 14 November 2020 14:35

Germany striker Timo Werner scored each side of the break to steer his side from behind to a 3-1 win over Ukraine in their Nations League match on Saturday as they topped the group with a game left to play.

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- UEFA Nations League on ESPN+: Stream LIVE games and replays (U.S. only)

Werner scored twice after Leroy Sane had cancelled out a surprise 12th minute lead for the visitors, who had four players, including top striker Andriy Yarmolenko, ruled out after testing positive for COVID-19 on the eve of the game.

The Germans, in the midst of an overhaul following their 2018 World Cup first round exit, are now top of Group A4 on nine points, one ahead of Spain who they visit on Tuesday. The top team qualify for the final stage of the competition.

Ukraine are third on six points.

"I think we did it well," Sane said. "They went in front and we could have avoided it because we started well. But the way we came back was strong.

"There were some mistakes from our side but that's part of this process. What was important was to get the three points and that's what we did."

The Germans got off to a strong start but had to come from behind after Roman Yaremchuk scored against the run of play.

Leon Goretzka set up the next two goals, first launching a quick break and sending Sane through for the equaliser in the 23rd minute and then controlling a Robin Koch cross and lofting the ball for Werner to head the hosts in front 10 minutes later.

Germany, with the full Bayern Munich contingent back in the squad after being rested in Wednesday 1-0 win over the Czech Republic in a friendly, still showed gaps in defence, having now managed just one clean sheet in their last seven matches.

Ukraine almost equalised in the 53rd when Oleksandr Zinchenko's deflected shot beat goalkeeper Manuel Neuer but bounced off the post.

Werner fired in his second goal of the evening in the 64th before Ukraine hit the woodwork twice more in a strong finish.

France beat Ronaldo's Portugal to reach semis

Published in Soccer
Saturday, 14 November 2020 14:35

France handed defending Nations League champions Portugal a rare defeat on Saturday, winning 1-0 in Lisbon with N'Golo Kante's second-half strike to reach the competition's final four at the expense of the holders.

- ESPN Insider Notebook: LiVARpool: Klopp's top nemesis
- UEFA Nations League on ESPN+: Stream LIVE games and replays (U.S. only)

Anthony Martial missed three clear-cut first half chances for France before Kante scored only his second international goal in the 54th minute, and his first since 2016, to end Portugal's run of five successive clean sheets.

World champions France went top of Group A3 with 13 points from five games, three ahead of Portugal and with the better head-to-head record to give them an unassailable lead. It was only Portugal's second defeat since the 2018 World Cup.

"Given the quality of the opposition, it's of course one of our best performances of recent times," France coach Didier Deschamps said of Portugal, who are the European champions.

"We deserved the win and we've fulfilled our objective of finishing top. I'm very proud of the players. They proved tonight that France are still a great team."

Antoine Griezmann set up Martial's first chance in the 12th minute with a slide-rule pass but Portugal's excellent goalkeeper Rui Patricio blocked it at point-blank range.

Martial then diverted Adrien Rabiot's acrobatic effort onto the bar with his head and saw another effort brilliantly saved at close range by Patricio from Lucas Hernandez's cross.

At the other end, Cristiano Ronaldo forced a diving save from France captain Hugo Lloris and also wasted a free kick which he drove straight into the wall.

France finally broke through just as Portugal appeared to be imposing themselves. Griezmann slipped another ball through to Rabiot whose shot was parried by Patricio and Kante was on hand to score from the rebound.

Portugal had three chances go begging in the same attack, including a Jose Fonte header against the post, and Lloris made a one-handed save to parry a raking drive from Joao Moutinho, who then saw his cross evade three forwards as France held out.

"I don't know what went wrong in the first half, it wasn't what I expected but it was my responsibility," said Portugal coach Fernando Santos.

"We were better in the second half but then conceded the goal which settled the game... we had three or four chances to equalise."

Carlos Brathwaite re-signs with Sydney Sixers for 2020-21 BBL

Published in Cricket
Saturday, 14 November 2020 13:11

Defending Big Bash champions Sydney Sixers have signed Carlos Brathwaite, who returns to the club after playing four games for them in 2017-18.

Brathwaite is the Sixers' third overseas signing after Englishmen James Vince and Tom Curran, and like Vince will be available for the full tournament. He is set to form part of a power-packed lower-middle order alongside Curran, who has been used as a finisher in recent seasons, and new recruit Dan Christian.

During his stint three years ago, Brathwaite proved more important with the ball than with the bat: he faced only six balls, but took six wickets in 14.4 overs as the Sixers won all four games he played. He has previously played for cross-town rivals Sydney Thunder, and will arrive in Australia this week after his Peshawar Zalmi side were knocked out of the Pakistan Super League in the first Eliminator.

ALSO READ: BBL squads lists

"I have very fond memories of Sydney," Brathwaite said. "I have good memories of playing at the SCG in my second Test match and even better memories of playing BBL for Sixers. I remember great times dancing at the games and the times in the dressing rooms with our team."

The announcement means that only one team, the Melbourne Stars, are yet to confirm the availability of at least three overseas players, with the limit per team increased from two to three for this season.

The Stars are set to confirm a third international player this week. With Haris Rauf - the Pakistan fast bowler who was a breakout star last season - unavailable for most of the competition, it is understood their signing is a wristspinner to complement Adam Zampa in the middle overs.

Marshall wins on 50th anniversary of plane crash

Published in Breaking News
Saturday, 14 November 2020 16:36

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -- Quarterback Grant Wells grew up knowing the story of Marshall football. The 1970 plane crash. The university's decision to continue playing. The winning years that eventually would come.

And the importance of representing the school and honoring the fallen on the crash's golden anniversary.

The redshirt freshman threw a season-high five touchdown passes and No. 16 Marshall commemorated the 50th anniversary of the worst disaster in U.S. sports history with a 42-14 victory over Middle Tennessee on Saturday.

"We knew that this game was going to mean so much to this fan base and this community," Wells said. "That's huge, no matter wherever we're playing or whoever we're playing. The fact that we could do this on the 50th anniversary is amazing.''

Marshall (7-0, 4-0 Conference USA) got another standout performance from its defense and turned three turnovers into scores on a day when the university remembered the 75 people killed on Nov. 14, 1970.

"Just a great day," Marshall coach Doc Holliday said. "A special day."

Marshall wore special black uniforms and the No. 75 on its helmets to honor those who were lost, which included most of the Thundering Herd football team. The crash occurred as the team's plane was returning from a game at East Carolina. There were no survivors.

Wells played high school football 50 miles away in Charleston and learned about the tragedy as a young child.

"Walking out, there were a lot of emotions," Wells said. "Then after that, I had to snap back into playing Middle Tennessee.''

And play, he did. After several early overthrows, Wells found his groove and Marshall kept the momentum for good. Wells finished 25-of-37 for 336 yards, all season highs. He threw a pair of TD passes each to Corey Gammage and Willie Johnson.

"I see it every week now," Holliday said. "I see a young kid that's growing up. His teammates have so much respect for him. Just proud of the way he's maturing and growing up. He's getting better each week.''

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Seahawks without RBs Carson, Hyde vs. Rams

Published in Breaking News
Saturday, 14 November 2020 16:36

The Seattle Seahawks will be without running backs Chris Carson and Carlos Hyde for a third straight game when they play the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.

Seattle downgraded Carson (foot) and Hyde (hamstring) to "out" on Saturday after initially listing them as questionable, announcing that news along with several roster moves. The Seahawks activated cornerback Neiko Thorpe off injured reserve, placed defensive tackle Bryan Mone on IR and elevated two players for Sunday's game: running back Alex Collins and defensive tackle Damon Harrison.

Defensive end Benson Mayowa (ankle) was also downgraded to out.

Collins will join Seattle's short-handed backfield for the second week in a row, and Harrison will make his long-awaited Seahawks debut.

The Seahawks' available running backs against the Rams will be rookie DeeJay Dallas, Travis Homer and Collins, plus fullback Nick Bellore. Dallas has started the past two games, but Homer played more snaps last week, 31 to 20, while Collins played 13 snaps in his first game since 2018. Dallas leads Seattle's running backs over that span with 72 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries.

The Seahawks will be without their top two cornerbacks Sunday, with Shaquill Griffin (hamstring) and Quinton Dunbar (knee) ruled out. Tre Flowers will fill one starting spot, but it's not clear who will fill the other. Thorpe, Seattle's captain on special teams, is one candidate. Others include Linden Stephens, D.J. Reed and Ryan Neal, who previously started at strong safety while Jamal Adams was out.

The Seahawks are 6-2 despite allowing the most passing yards (2,897) through eight games in NFL history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau data. In fact, no team has ever allowed that many passing yards through nine games.

Harrison has been waiting to make his Seahawks debut since joining their practice squad on Oct. 7. The holdup initially was that the 350-pound Harrison had to work himself back into football shape. He had been undecided over the offseason about playing in 2020 due to concerns about the coronavirus pandemic, which he said were eased once he saw how the league was handling travel protocols and other safety measures.

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll has said for the past few weeks that Harrison is physically ready to play. The obstacle, according to Carroll, has been the absence of an opening in Seattle's defensive tackle rotation, which has consisted of Jarran Reed, Poona Ford and Mone. The ankle injury that landed Mone on IR creates that opening.

"We had a plan when I was coming in," Harrison said Thursday in his first comments to reporters since joining the Seahawks. "I needed to work myself back into football shape. The only way you can get into football shape is actually playing football, so I was at home working out, trying to do as much as I could without exposing myself in too many public situations. But I spoke to the coach, I spoke to the general manager before I got here, and we knew it was going to be a process. That's why I've been OK with it just working from the ground up."

The Seahawks will also be without starting center Ethan Pocic (concussion) against the Rams. Kyle Fuller will make his first career start in Pocic's absence.

Tiger out of contention after 'long' day at Masters

Published in Breaking News
Saturday, 14 November 2020 16:36

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Tiger Woods has not yet come to terms with the idea that the green jacket he won 19 months ago will be staying at Augusta National when he leaves the grounds on Sunday.

But it has been in the back of his mind all week, knowing that as his title defense loomed at the Masters, the possibility that the signature item for winning this major championship might stay put in his locker here.

His even-par 72 in the third round -- after playing eight holes to complete the second round on Saturday morning -- knocked him out of contention. A 4-shot deficit turned to 11 shots as the five-time Masters champion was simply unable to make much happen.

Woods said that attending and speaking at the Champions Dinner on Tuesday was an emotional experience for him, likely knowing the difficulty of defending his title this week after a year of lackluster performances.

"I have not thought about tomorrow yet,'' said Woods, who managed just two birdies and two bogeys after beginning the third round just 4 shots off the lead. "I was focused on trying to get myself in contention going into tomorrow. ... We'll see how emotional it'll be after tomorrow's round.''

Woods will be putting the green coat on someone else after another early tee time on Sunday.

That didn't help him much Saturday, as the restart of the second round began at 7:30 a.m. in cool, moist conditions. Woods managed a single birdie to finish the second round with a 71 and was 4 back of five co-leaders.

But those cool temperatures and a quick break in between rounds did Woods' back no favors. Now 3½ years removed from spinal fusion surgery, Woods at times has issues with back stiffness, and it was apparent during the third round, as several times he winced after tee shots and gingerly bent over to pick up his tee or mark his ball on the greens.

"It's just part of the deal," Woods said. "If you have long days like this, I'm going to be a little bit sore, which I definitely am. ... I can walk all day. The hard part is bending and twisting. I think that's part of the game, though, and so that's always been the challenge with my back issues and I guess will always continue to be."

This is just Woods' ninth tournament of 2020 and seventh since the coronavirus pandemic shut down the sport for three months. In that span since June, Woods' best finish is a tie for 37th at the PGA Championship. He has not been in contention during any final round and has seen his world ranking slip from sixth to 33rd.

With rounds of 68-71-72, Woods is at 211, 5 under par and 11 shots back of third-round leader Dustin Johnson. Woods is tied for 20th place.

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