AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) The Latest on the Masters (all times local):

5:25 p.m.

Jordan Spieth admittedly felt a little panic last month at the Valspar Championship in Palm Harbor, Florida.

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Spieth shot a 6-over 76 in the opening round and missed the cut the following day.

”I made big strides in the last two weeks to get from kind of a panic place to a very calm, collected and confident place,” Spieth said two days before the Masters. ”It’s difficult to do in two weeks. Sometimes it takes years. And I feel like I’ve been able to speed that process up a lot over the last couple weeks.”

Spieth believes he got off to a slow start in 2018 partly because he was sick for most of December. Taking a few lengthy flights in January didn’t help him recover. He missed the cut in Phoenix in early February and reached a low point – especially with his usually steady putter – in the Tampa Bay area two months later.

He says, ”You’re like, `What the heck happened?”’

The 2015 ..

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) The Latest on the Masters (all times local):

2:45 p.m.

Rory McIlroy knows how significant this Masters could be in terms of golf history.

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Once again, he’s got a shot at the career Grand Slam.

The Masters remains the only major championship to elude McIlroy, who has won the U.S. Open, the British Open and the PGA Championship. Only five players have captured all four of the modern major championships, making it one of golf’s most exclusive clubs.

McIlroy says he needs to ”relish the opportunity that’s been put in front” of him, and then ”go out and grab it.”

Amazingly enough, McIlroy nearly won his first major at Augusta National in 2011. He led after each of the first three rounds and seemed to be cruising toward the green jacket, only to collapse on the back nine Sunday.

McIlroy says that experience made him ”a better golfer, a better person.” Without the lessons learned that day, he doubts that he would’ve had so much success.

Wh..

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) Jordan Spieth wants to be sure he is fully prepared at the Masters this year.

That starts when he takes off his golf shoes Tuesday and puts on his green jacket.

In a tradition that dates to 1952 when Ben Hogan hosted a dinner for all previous winners at Augusta National, the ”Masters Club” is as exclusive as it gets. The defending champion serves as the host, selecting the menu and sitting at the head of the rectangular table next to Ben Crenshaw and Masters chairman Fred Ridley.

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Hosting is the easy part.

It’s what happens the following year that causes so much consternation.

Where is one supposed to sit?

There are no instructions. There is no seating chart, no stylish name placards. One year after hosting the dinner, Spieth was stumped.

”I didn’t know where to sit,” he said. ”And what was awkward about it was I figured that everyone had their seat. I didn’t want to sit in someone’s spot in between two people who are used to sitting..

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) Justin Thomas no longer gets questions about when he’s going to capture his first major title.

He took care of that last year at the PGA Championship, which made his news conference Tuesday at Augusta National a lot more pleasant.

”Not getting questions on a day like today: When do you feel like you’re going to get your first major? Or, do you feel like you’re one of the best players without a major?” Thomas said. ”I was glad to get that over with as quick as I could.”

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Thomas is coming off an amazing season that included five victories in all, as well as a FedEx Cup championship. He’s off to another stellar start in 2018 with a pair of wins.

That makes Thomas one of the players to beat at the Masters, the first major of the season.

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For more AP golf coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/apf-Golf

The Houston Astros are new to this whole World Series thing. They're also Jedi masters of total, comic failure. At their home opener on Monday night, that unstoppable force met the historically immovable object, and the failworks inevitably ensued. LADIES AND GENTLEMAN, YOUR WORLD CHAMPION HOUSTON ASTROS!!!
https://twitter.com/espn/status/980950133054623749
So to recap: Last year, the Astros won a World Series for the first time in their 55-year history, and on April 2nd, 2017—the final, triumphant night of their months-long coronation—they couldn't even rig a damn bed sheet to fall without the assistance of three leaf blower-armed stooges. Now if that ain't 'Stros baseball, hoo boy, I don't know what is.
In their defense, though, reigning AL MVP Jose Altuve still seemed to enjoy this spectacular clusterf—k more than meeting the President of the American republic (another spectular clusterf—k, depending on who you ask):
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We're all about golfers pushing style boundaries to look less like, well, golfers. But the Mizzen+Main button-down dress shirt Phil Mickelson is wearing during Tuesday's practice round with Tiger Woods (and Fred Couples and Thomas Pieters) pushes boundaries in a questionable direction.
FacebookPinterestAndrew RedingtonAn ill-fitting gingham shirt screams, “I trade stocks on Wall Street from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.,” far louder than, “I'm teeing it up at Augusta National on a humid, 90-degree day.” Phil's Mizzen+Main Kennedy button-down, which is plastered with a “Workday” logo and doesn't fit quite right, is generating plenty of chatter.
RELATED: More golf style content from Golf Digest
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Some notable comments from our Instagram post above:
@johnc14: Phil going to work at KMPG after the round?
@doraziojohn: When you have to play a practice round with Tiger at 9 but you have work at 10
@mr_jayking83: Phil just left the office to catch a quick 9 😂..

Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm and Jordan Spieth all want to win the Masters for obvious reasons. But a victory will help the trio achieve even more

Our picks for the best beginner, intermediate and transition junior clubs all achieve the same result: Helping children become the best golfers they can be.

A synthetic back-yard practice green has long been a golfer's dream, and Southwest Greens remains our choice to get the job done.

Who better to turn to than a golfing meteorologist when it comes to golf gear for the rain? TV meteorologist Rick Reichmuth designed the Weatherman golf umbrella, and it has everything you need for a rainy round.