On Sunday, Scottie Scheffler was able to pull away from the field to win the Masters by four shots over Swedish rookie Ludvig Aberg with a score of 11-under par.
It was extremely windy in the first two days of the tournament. There was a high cut of six-over par because of the weather conditions. Up until the last nine holes, it was a very close tournament. In the middle of the final round, four players were tied for the lead, including Aberg, Max Homa, Colin Morikawa and Scheffler. Scottie was the only one who didn’t make a mistake the whole back nine. He was the favorite to win when the week started. As the No. 1 player in the world, he was up to it.
Tiger Woods was able to make the cut, but he fell apart over the last two rounds. He had to play 23 holes Friday to complete his second round and it took a toll on him. He needs to decide for himself if it’s worth it anymore to get prepared for the tournaments if he’s going to finish last in the field on the weekend.
The Phillies are making some progress this week. They were able to sweep the Colorado Rockies in a three-game series at home. The Phillies play the Chicago White Sox next. The Sox are the worst team in the American League so far this season. If the Phillies can start to score about five runs a game, they should be able to win consistently and get past the Atlanta Braves to first place, especially if third starter Ranger Suarez continues to pitch as well as he is now.
I don’t have as positive of a mindset about the 76ers’ prospects in the first round of the NBA playoffs, which will start on Saturday. Their star player, Joel Embiid, does not look anywhere close to 100% healthy since his knee injury. They almost lost to the Miami Heat in the first play-in game. I think it will be difficult for the 76ers to beat the No. 2 seed Knicks in the playoffs.
I personally do not like the new format for the NBA playoffs which gives more teams a chance to make the playoffs so they don’t tank for draft picks. I like the eight-teams-per-conference format more than 10. I don’t think that if you make the playoffs, that you should be eliminated after losing one or two games, but I’m not the commissioner, so my opinion doesn’t matter.
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A 2002 Cape grad and 2007 UD grad, Lewes resident Sumner Spence is one of the Cape area's biggest sports fans. Although he’s used a wheelchair his entire life, he has lived vicariously through his sports-playing father, brother, and friends, who gave him his love of sports. He hopes to provide new and interesting perspectives on the sports stories and issues of the day. Email Sumner at sumspence@gmail.com.
