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Scottie Scheffler has become the first player in the 50 years of The Players Championship to win back-to-back. This was the hardest. Not only was he dealing with neck pain all week, he started the final round five shots behind. Scheffler closed with a 64. That matches the lowest final round by a winner. He also tied a Players Championship record with a five-shot comeback. U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark, British Open champion Brian Harman and Xander Schauffele all finished one shot behind. All of them had their chances over the final three holes to force a playoff.

Scottie Scheffler has become the first player in the 50 years of The Players Championship to win back-to-back. This was the hardest. Not only was he dealing with neck pain all week, he started the final round five shots behind. Scheffler closed with a 64. That matches the lowest final round by a winner. He also tied a Players Championship record with a five-shot comeback. U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark, British Open champion Brian Harman and Xander Schauffele all finished one shot behind. All of them had their chances over the final three holes to force a playoff.

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Denny Hamlin has won the NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway after passing Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. in the final laps. It's his fourth victory at the famed short track. Hamlin also won at NASCAR’s bullring last September. This one was much different. Tire issues hampered most everyone all afternoon as only five cars finished on the lead lap — the first time that has happened in the Cup Series in 20 years. The Gibbs cars were the class of the field.

Defending champion Connecticut, along with Houston, Purdue and North Carolina are the top seeds in a March Madness bracket that started going haywire even before the pairings came out. Of the four top seeds, only UConn heads into the tournament coming off a win. That played into the Huskies receiving the No. 1 overall seed. The other three top seeds lost in their conference tournaments.

Defending champion Connecticut, along with Houston, Purdue and North Carolina are the top seeds in a March Madness bracket that started going haywire even before the pairings came out. Of the four top seeds, only UConn heads into the tournament coming off a win. That played into the Huskies receiving the No. 1 overall seed. The other three top seeds lost in their conference tournaments.

DAHLONEGA, Ga. – The second-seeded USC Aiken men's basketball team lost a 70-69 heartbreaker to seventh-seeded Emmanuel in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday.

The nine Bowl Subdivision conferences and Notre Dame have reached an agreement on a six-year deal to continue the College Football Playoff through the 2031 season. The move establishes a revenue-sharing plan and allows the CFP to finalize a new media rights agreement. Executive Director Bill Hancock says the agreement doesn't lock in a format for the CFP for 2026 and beyond. The playoff is expanding this season from four teams to 12, but that number could grow after the current contract with ESPN expires after the 2025 season. The new deal guarantees playoff access for at least five conferences through 2031.

NFL teams have spent hundreds of millions of dollars this week to add new players, re-sign their own and try to improve their chances of winning. From Kirk Cousins and Saquon Barkley changing teams soon after the league’s tampering window opened to Chris Jones and Mike Evans staying put before hitting the open market, it’s been a wild spending spree. The grades are in and the Eagles, Buccaneers, Packers and Commanders get the highest scores. The Cowboys are the only failure.

Rory McIlroy had 10 birdies, two water balls and one lengthy dispute on where to take a penalty drop. It added up to a 65 at The Players Championship. That's his lowest start at the TPC Sawgrass and it gave him a share of the lead with Xander Schauffele and Wyndham Clark. One tee ball went into the water on the 18th. The one causing issues was on No. 7, his 16th hole of the round. Jordan Spieth and Viktor Hovland were questioning whether the ball landed above the red hazard line. McIlroy says he was comfortable with where he dropped.

The No. 3 USC Aiken golf team is set for the upcoming Bobcat Invitational, which will take place March 18-19 in Eatonton, Ga.

PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan isn't offering any details on negotiations with the Saudi backers of LIV Golf. But he expresses confidence the tour can strike a deal with the Public Investment Fund and that golf's fractured landscape can be repaired. He also sounded a confident tone that he's the best person to lead the way. Monahan held a news conference Tuesday for the first time in nearly seven months. Since then, the tour got a minority investor pumping up to $3 billion into golf. And LIV persuaded Masters champion Jon Rahm to join. Monahan did not set a timetable for an outcome.

Scottie Scheffler is the best in golf from tee to green. He was hot with the putter at Bay Hill and the result was predictable. Scheffler demolished a strong field to win by five shots. It's the largest margin at the Arnold Palmer Invitational since Tiger Woods in 2012. Scheffler shot a 66 in the final round while playing in the last group. That was the best score by two shots on Sunday. U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark had a 70 and was runner-up. Shane Lowry shot 72 and finished third. Lowry started the final round tied for the lead with Scheffler.

Brice Garnett wasn't sure how many PGA Tour events he could play this year with only past champion status. He played his first one in the Puerto Rico Open and came away a winner. Garnett made a 15-foot birdie putt on the fourth playoff hole to beat Erik Barnes. The victory gives him a two-year exemption. That's effectively the next three years on the PGA Tour. It sends him to The Players Championship next week and the PGA Championship in May. Barnes narrowly missed a 12-foot birdie putt to extend the playoff. He was looking for his first win.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Scottie Scheffler was losing ground and losing his mind Saturday at Bay Hill, and he wasn't alone at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

After a second consecutive Peach Belt Conference regular-season championship for the USC Aiken men's basketball team, Tyler Johnson has been named PBC Player of the Year presented by College Ave while Tehree Horn and Jalen McCoy also earned all-conference honors. Head coach Mark Vanderslice …

National League MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. is expected to be ready for opening day with the Atlanta Braves after a more thorough examination of his sore right knee found no serious issues. Acuña left the Braves’ spring training site in Florida to be examined by Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles on Monday night. The team says ElAttrache found only irritation in the meniscus of his right knee. Acuña will be able to gradually increase his baseball activities and is expected to be cleared when the Braves open the regular season at Philadelphia on March 28.

Scottie Scheffler isn't the first player to struggle with one part of his game. The putting stands out because everything else about his game is so good. And it doesn't help that he gets extra attention as the No. 1 player in the world. Scheffler is coming up on the one-year anniversary of his last official PGA Tour win. He made five straight birdies on his way to a blowout victory at The Players Championship. Scheffler can't dodge questions now about his putting and he understands why everyone is talking about it. He's keeping patient through more quiet reflection.


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