We don't follow golf the way we used to, and no tournament has showcased our changing habits better than the first major of the year

Doug Band, a former aide to President Bill Clinton and former Chief of Staff of Clinton's foundation, has raised multiple concerns about an account of a 2006 golf round between the former president and Tiger Woods.

Consider this another tradition unlike any other.

Two or three or more of the best players win tournaments in the months leading to April, golf fans hear the familiar, soothing notes of ”Augusta” in TV spots and declare that this is shaping up to be the best Masters of them all.

No doubt, there has been enough happen in 12 weeks to start counting the days.

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Dustin Johnson started the year with an eight-shot victory that featured a 432 -yard drive on a 433-yard hole. He remains at No. 1 in the world. Two players have had a mathematical chance to replace him, most recently Justin Thomas, who was one match away.

Phil Mickelson, a three-time Masters champion, won a World Golf Championship for his first victory in nearly five years. Bubba Watson, a two-time Masters champion, had not won in two years and now has won twice in his last four starts.

The career Grand Slam became a popular topic again when Rory McIlroy won the Arnold Palmer Invitational, his first..

Who is in the field at Augusta National as the golf world prepares for the first major championship of the 2018 season

If Tiger Woods wins the Masters, Jones Golf will send you money.

Billie Weiss/Boston Red SoxThe MLB has been floating some dumpster fire ideas lately. First, they casually leaked a proposal to let managers bat whoever the hell they want in the ninth, cotton candy guy presumably included. Then they went and doubled down on the arcade mode silliness, introducing a minor-league rule that will see teams start with a runner on second base in extra innings. On Tuesday, however, they somehow sort of managed to get something right, thanks to a big assist from the folks over at ESPN:
They mic'd up Mookie Betts mid-game and let him do the rest.
https://twitter.com/iamjoonlee/status/978697625439531011
So there you have it, not only the best moment of Spring Training and the most personality we've gotten from a baseball player since the Carter administration, but also the quick, cheap, ridiculously entertaining innovation that baseball—and more specifically, baseball broadcasting—has been crying out for.
If the MLBPA, or the organizations themselves, ..

Donald Miralle(Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images)The Zurich Classic of New Orleans instituted a team format in 2017, one that was well-received by fans and players. Count David Hearn among the latter group.
The 38-year-old journeyman fell outside the FedEx Cup Top 125 last season, and ranks 170th on this year's list. A standing that hasn't earned qualification into the New Orleans event. However, though Hearn's not eligible he could still gain entry via an invitation from a fellow player, similar to Chase Koepka teaming up with his brother Brooks last spring.
So Hearn did what any reasonable man would do: he took to Twitter to try and get invited back.
https://twitter.com/HearnDavid/status/978344889468547074
We applaud the effort, along with the humility it takes to make such a public appeal. (That said, he is Canadian; pretty sure “pride” is not in their vernacular.)
For Hearn's sake, we hope someone marinates on his plea. It would be far from charity; as stated..

Fantasy Baseball season is officially upon us and with it some of the most abhorrently nerdy male behavior this side of a D&D panel at Dragon Con (a real thing). In living rooms across the nation, grown men with hundreds of dollars riding on NL-only 10-year dynasty leagues where you must carry at least two prospects on your roster at all times have gathered to drink beer, talk WHIP, and escape their personal realities for at least an afternoon. Generally speaking, actual ball players whose actual livelihoods are getting wheeled and dealed by a bunch of neckbeards on farty couches take a dim view of the whole thing, but this season Kris Bryant—Cubs third baseman and noted golf guy—was willing to play along.
Teaming up with Red Bull, Bryant, disguised as a pizza delivery man, crashed three separate fantasy drafts, all held by men so entitled and self-important that they actually believed it when producers told them the cameras were capturing footage for a documentary on fantasy baseball ..

Get your trusted source for golf instruction—reimagined. Golf Digest anywhere, anytime.

Even as azaleas and dogwoods are blooming, it’s worth noting The Players Championship is six weeks away. That’s how much time the PGA Tour has remaining to put the finishing touches on a major shift in the golf calendar.

Commissioner Jay Monahan has said his goal is to announce the 2018-19 schedule at The Players the second full week in May. That might sound ambitious, but the fall, winter and spring portions of the schedule have come together.

The biggest change is the PGA Championship moving from August to May, with The Players going to March and the FedEx Cup ending on Labor Day right before the start of the NFL season. There remain sponsorship holes to solve in Texas (Houston, Colonial) and a few moving parts with the FedEx St. Jude Classic taking over as a World Golf Championship for Firestone.

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The start of 2019 should look familiar – two stops in Hawaii, the California desert, Torrey Pines, Phoenix, Pebble Beach and Riviera. The Mexico Championship..