AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Rory McIlroy leads by a record six strokes after 36 holes at the Masters. He birdied six of the last seven in a second-round 65 on Friday that left him at 12 under par for the tournament. Now this could go a few different ways at Augusta National. McIlroy could cruise to victory and become the fourth player to win back-to-back Masters. He could maintain this level of domination and challenge Tiger Woods’ 12-shot record for margin of victory. Or he could blow the lead and make history that way — 36 holes is a lot of golf still to play.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Rory McIlroy has a record six-shot lead after 36 holes in the Masters. The previous mark of five shots was shared by six players and it usually ended well. Harry “Lighthorse” Cooper was the only player with a 36-hole lead of five shots who did not win. Here's a look at what happened to the six players who held such a big lead going into the final two rounds at the Masters.
Plenty of players sat out as NBA teams played their second-to-last games of the season. Among them were all the regular starters for the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Denver Nuggets. Three-time MVP Nikola Jokic needs to play one more game to be eligible for postseason awards, so he'll probably play Sunday for the Thunder. San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama also reached the 65-game threshold on Friday night. The Boston Celtics secured the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference while matching an NBA record with 29 3-pointers. And the Atlanta Hawks clinched a playoff spot in the East.
SEATTLE (AP) — A statue has been unveiled of Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki at the Seattle Mariners' T-Mobile Park. There was just one problem at the ceremony Friday — a broken bat. As the club pulled the curtain off the statue, the bat in bronze snapped and flopped down as confetti sprouted up. Suzuki joked through an interpreter that Mariano Rivera got the best of him again. It did not take long for the Mariners to fix the statue. Suzuki’s bat was soon turned upright and reconnected at the handle. Suzuki last year became the third Mariners player to have his number retired by the franchise.
Arsenal’s Premier League title bid was hit by a stunning 2-1 loss to Bournemouth. The league leader blew the chance to move 12 points clear of second-place Manchester City after losing for the third time in four games in all competitions. Alex Scott struck a 74th-minute winner at the Emirates to pile pressure on Arsenal ahead of next week’s top of the table clash at City. Mikel Arteta’s team has played two more games than City, which could close the gap to six points if it beats Chelsea on Sunday.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani has surpassed Ichiro Suzuki for the longest on-base streak by a Japanese-born player. The Los Angeles Dodgers star singled in the fifth inning against Kumar Rocker of the Texas Rangers, extending his streak to 44 games. Suzuki reached base in 43 consecutive games in 2009 with the Seattle Mariners. Ohtani has said he admired Suzuki while growing up. Ohtani is tied for the fifth-longest on-base streak in Dodger franchise history. He finished the night with an intentional walk and a strikeout.
Brittney Griner is finalizing a deal to join the Connecticut Sun, according to a person familiar with the negotiations. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Friday night because contracts can’t be signed until Saturday. The 10-time All-Star spent last season with the Atlanta Dream after playing the first 11 years of her career for Phoenix, which drafted her No. 1 in 2013. The 35-year-old Griner is from Houston and the Connecticut franchise is moving there in 2027. The 6-foot-9 forward won a WNBA title in 2014 with Phoenix and was the league’s leading scorer in 2017 and 2019.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Robert MacIntyre made headlines for all the wrong reasons at the Masters. He flashed some fiery behavior amid rounds of 80 and 71 that caused him to miss the cut. He finished at 7 over while the cut came at 4 over. MacIntyre flashed the middle finger during his round on Thursday, and more than once he was caught by cameras slamming clubs. Bryson DeChambeau also struggled, finishing at 6 over after a triple bogey on the 18th to miss the cut. Brian Harman, Rasmus Hojgaard and Jon Rahm managed rallied Friday to make the cut, but all of them have a long way to go.
NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball says the percentage of Black players on opening day rosters increased in consecutive years for the first time in at least two decades. MLB says 6.8% of players on opening day rosters, injured lists and the restricted list were Black, up from 6.2% at the start of the 2025 season and 6.0% at the beginning of 2024. This year’s 0.6% increase was the most in a season since a 0.7% rise from 2017 to 2018. The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at Central Florida issued annual studies that showed the percentage was 18% when its reports started in 1991.
The NFL draft is seeing fewer longshots from small schools. The rise of NIL deals and the crowded transfer portal have concentrated talent in power conferences. The shift is impacting the draft, with fewer players from nonpower conferences being taken during the three-day event. Only 24 of 257 NFL draftees last year came from nonpower conferences. The NCAA's policy changes on name, image, and likeness, along with transfer rules, have altered scouting strategies, focusing more on traditional football powerhouses.
Finals
INTERLEAGUE
Final Detroit 2 Miami 0
Final L.A. Angels 10 Cincinnati 2
Final Athletics 4 N.Y. Mets 0
Final Atlanta 11 Cleveland 5
Final San Francisco 6 Baltimore 3
Final St. Louis 3 Boston 2
Final L.A. Dodgers 8 Texas 7
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Kansas City 2 Chicago White Sox 0
Final Tampa Bay 5 N.Y. Yankees 3
Final Toronto 10 Minnesota 4
Final Seattle 9 Houston 6
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Pittsburgh 2 Chicago Cubs 0
Final Arizona 5 Philadelphia 4
Final Washington 7 Milwaukee 3
Final San Diego 5 Colorado 2