The Masters might not have delivered drama in the last few holes of the final round.
But it certainly delivered a few storylines to take away from it – particularly with The Open in St Andrews in mind.
Scottie Scheffler’s performance is a reminder that in sport, sometimes you can over-complicate things and get in your own way.
So often you see golfers changing their routines going into a major and treating it differently to a regular event.
I don’t think Scheffler will worry about how long this spell of good form will last.
He strikes me as a guy who will be pretty philosophical when it ends and then be ready to take advantage when he gets in another groove.
How long the streak will last is a big post-Masters sub-plot but the two big names in golf will be dominating the agenda in The Open build-up – Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.
Of course it’s easier to play better golf when the pressure is off and maybe that was the case at the start for Rory on Sunday
But don’t try to tell me there was no pressure on the last few holes.
TIGER WOODS 🆚 RORY MCILROY
McIlroy produced a fabulous bunker shot at The Masters this year – but was it better than Tiger's chip in 2005? 👀pic.twitter.com/ASJopCriRN
— Sky Sports (@SkySports) April 11, 2022
He knew there was a chance of posting a score that could win the Masters – and he stayed strong.
That could be a huge turning point for him.
And, as for Tiger, he’ll be in better physical condition in July than he is just now and the Old Course is a far easier and flatter walk than Augusta.
We won’t see much of him before then but, as with Rory, both will have a real shot at winning.
What a prospect that is.
At the time of writing, it’s a case of ‘so far, so good’ at the Players’ Championship in Toronto.
Winning our first two games got us into the A Road final.
That’s ✌️ points for @Team_Muirhead in the third end to extend their lead to 4-1 vs. @TeamLWalker
Princess Auto Players’ Championship scores and stats: https://t.co/dQq0RLJ3Ab | #curling #GSOC pic.twitter.com/Bo38BB8B1r
— Pinty's Grand Slam of Curling (@grandslamcurl) April 13, 2022
Considering our last competition was the Olympics, we’ve got to be happy with that.
Bizarrely, this is our first Grand Slam of the season (and Hailey’s first one ever).
It’s still hard to believe that we got to world number one without playing in any!
I’m running out of things to say about Team Edin.
In my eyes there isn’t a debate about the greatest men’s team of all time.
The Swedes have got that sewn up.
Four World Championships in a row and six in total is an unbelievable achievement, especially when you consider they are always going up against a Canadian rink battle-hardened from winning their national championships.
The ice did look a little challenging in Vegas and I know that Brad Gushue, the Canadian skip who came away with silver, said afterwards it was the worst conditions he’d ever played in.
I wouldn’t have liked to be the ice technician that week!
But I do have sympathy for the organisers.
When it’s over 25 degrees outside, trying to keep consistent conditions is really, really hard.
There’s a reason curling is a winter sport.
A legend. @NiklasEdin 🇸🇪👑#WMCC2022 #Curling pic.twitter.com/PFMii0uS6j
— World Curling (@worldcurling) April 11, 2022
It certainly doesn’t diminish Team Edin’s achievement.
There’s a great stat about Niklas Edin and Silvana Tirizoni from Switzerland.
They have been world champions for the full four-year Olympic cycle!
I’m pretty sure that won’t have ever been done before in the men’s and women’s games.
To have been part of a true golden era for the sport – and won an Olympic gold during it – will be something really special to look back on.
