Nears

To win last year, McIlroy needed to beat Justin Rose – who finished tied third on Sunday having led by two at the turn – in a sudden death play-off after bogeying the 72nd hole.

And he did not make it much easier for himself this time around. Having scorched the field to take a record six-shot lead after 36 holes, he stuttered to a one-over 73 on Saturday.

Tied with Young going into Sunday, Northern Ireland’s McIlroy heaped pressure on himself with a sloppy double-bogey five on the fourth after three-putting from eight feet.

He dropped another shot at the par-three sixth, but after mixing four birdies with seven pars to build a two-shot lead over world number one Scheffler heading to the last, he said his “greatest stress” on Sunday was not knowing where his ball ended up on the 18th after flailing his drive right and in among the trees.

“It could go anywhere. It could be anywhere,” added the world number two, who also drew level with Americans Phil Mickelson and Lee Trevino on six majors.

“There were a few others. I thought my second putt on 11 was huge to avoid making bogey there.”

Despite falling behind Young and Rose, and with Scheffler creeping up the leaderboard, McIlroy insisted he never felt as though his chance had slipped away.

“If I hadn’t birdied the seventh and eighth holes, I would have started to push a little bit,” added the 36-year-old, who became just the sixth wire-to-wire Masters winner.

“But I think the birdies on seven and eight, Justin bogeying 11 and 12, and then me birdieing 12, I never felt like I was out of it. I never felt like I had to press at all.”

Buyout firm Leonard Green & Partners is reportedly close to acquiring Cumming Group from New Mountain Capital, in a transaction that could value the business at around $3 billion including debt.

The deal, which could be announced within weeks, would transfer ownership

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says US forces are carrying out more strikes on Iran than any day since the start of war.

HOLIDAYMAKERS are on the fast track to sunshine thanks to a massive new £183million railway station.

The huge transport hub is rapidly taking shape and could make jetting off from a major UK airport easier than ever before.

Cambridge South station, set to become a vital link for thousands of passengers, is on tracks to open in June.

The station will offer direct Greater Anglia and CrossCountry services straight to Stansted Airport.

Bosses say the new stop will serve around 1.8 million passengers annually, providing a “seamless journey” to the departure lounge.

The four-platform site is nestled right next to the world-famous Cambridge Biomedical Campus.

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The project features a brand-new footbridge, two station buildings, and enough cycle parking to keep 1,000 bikes safe and sound.

Thameslink and Great Northern trains will also call at the platforms, with up to nine trains per hour zooming through the station.

The project has been a long time coming after being hit by significant setbacks that pushed back the original finish line.

The opening was delayed for a second time in November, after first sliding from December last year to early 2026 and then June 2026.

This latest blow was sparked when a sub-contractor responsible for the electrical and mechanical fit-out of the station went bust.

Despite the firm’s collapse, the project is believed to be back on track for a summer opening this June.

Eagle-eyed commuters have even spotted train timetables for the new hub appearing on third-party websites and the Greater Anglia app.

But Network Rail bosses told the local press that the digital timetables should not be taken as official confirmation of the grand opening date.

The Sun has approached Network Rail for comment.

March 30 (Asia Today) — South Korea’s fertility rate rose to 0.99 in January, nearing the symbolic threshold of 1.0, but experts warn the increase does not signal a sustained recovery.

Statistics Korea reported 26,916 births in January, the highest monthly figure in nearly seven years, while marriages also reached their highest level since 2018. The rise in marriages, a leading indicator of births, has raised expectations that birth numbers could continue to increase over the next two to three years.

Despite the uptick, analysts say the improvement reflects a temporary demographic effect rather than a fundamental shift. The increase is largely attributed to people born in the early 1990s entering peak childbearing years, boosting birth numbers in what is often referred to as an “echo boom.”

Experts caution that broader structural challenges – including population decline, rapid aging and regional depopulation – continue to worsen.

The government is planning to restructure its population policy framework in response. Officials aim to expand the Presidential Committee on Low Birthrate and Aging Society into a “population strategy committee” with broader authority covering labor supply, immigration and regional demographics.

The proposed body would also coordinate policies across ministries and be granted authority to review budgets in advance, signaling a shift toward more centralized management of population-related policies.

The policy approach itself is also expected to change. Rather than focusing solely on raising the birth rate, the government is moving toward strategies that assume continued population decline and aim to adapt to long-term demographic changes.

However, progress has been slow. The vice chair position of the presidential committee has remained vacant for about three months, and plans to expand and strengthen the organization have yet to gain momentum.

Experts say policy must focus less on short-term birth rate figures and more on underlying structural issues.

Ha Hye-young, a senior researcher at the National Assembly Research Service, pointed to Japan’s experience with regional revitalization policies, saying South Korea should adopt models that account for a shrinking population rather than attempting to reverse it.

Kim Jong-hoon, head of a population research institute, said South Korea faces a growing imbalance as the working-age population declines while the burden of supporting older generations increases. He added that many current policies amount to a “zero-sum” effort to attract residents from other regions rather than expanding the overall population base.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260330010009243

Shohei looks sharp

From Maddie Lee: Shohei Ohtani’s three straight strikeouts in the fourth inning of his final spring start Tuesday featured a different putaway pitch for each.

He got Angels slugger Jorge Soler to whiff on a sweeper. Jeimer Candelario went down on a curveball. And Jo Adell struck out on a fastball.

“Just shows the confidence he has and different ways he had to attack guys, to get ahead and also put guys away,” manager Dave Roberts said after the Dodgers’ 3-0 loss to the Angels in the Freeway Series finale. “And today the feel was really good, even better than the first outing.”

Pretty much everything was clicking for Ohtani heading into the regular season, even though it was only his second spring training start on the mound. Ohtani recorded 11 strikeouts in four-plus innings. He held the Angels to four hits, three of which were consecutive singles in the fifth, and was charged with three runs, all scored in the fifth.

For the first time in three years, Ohtani is set to begin the season as a fully healthy pitcher. And it will be the Dodgers’ first time managing his two-way schedule all year. Limited the last two seasons by his recovery and build-up from elbow surgery, Ohtani last made 20-plus starts in 2023 with the Angels.

“The desire is high,” Roberts said when asked about Ohtani’s aim to pitch wall to wall. “I think it’s realistic. Then the bigger question is, how are we going to manage that and navigate it?”

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Can Kurt Suzuki lead Angels to success?

From Steve Galluzzo: Anxious may be the best word to describe the vibe in Anaheim before the Angels fly to Houston ahead of Thursday afternoon’s season opener versus the Astros.

New manager Kurt Suzuki has infused enthusiasm into a club that has not finished above .500 since 2015 and has missed the playoffs for an MLB-worst 11 straight seasons. The Angels went 72-90 and finished last in the American League West, though they were nine games better than 2024 — when they set a franchise record for losses with 99. Time will tell if the Halos have enough talent to contend in a division the Seattle Mariners are heavily favored to win.

A special assistant for the Angels the last three seasons, Suzuki signed a one-year contract last October and is the team’s fifth full-time manager since Mike Scioscia stepped down in 2018 after compiling a franchise-record 1,650 victories over 19 seasons. Suzuki spent 16 seasons as a major league catcher, retiring in 2022.

“It’s been fun,” Suzuki said prior to Sunday’s Freeway Series game, a 13-5 loss to the Dodgers at Angel Stadium. “Obviously I’ve never managed before but just being out of the game just as recently as a few years ago I understand the situations of the game, the speed of the game and those type of things. I’m not saying it’s going to be easy by any means. It’s a lot of work, but I’m having a great time, we’re surrounded by great people and the guys have been awesome so it’s been all good.”

As a former player, Suzuki will trust his instincts.

“For me, it’s attention to detail, it’s fundamentals, it’s just really being a baseball player,” he said. “Sometimes in this day and age of analytics and all that stuff you can kind of get lost in that sometimes. Not to say forget about it, but I think the more you can just play baseball how it’s supposed to be played, move guys over, situational hitting, things you grew up doing, if we can kind of keep that style and play hard and all that, I like our chances.”

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Drop Los Angeles from the Angels?

From Bill Shaikin: Two decades after owner Arte Moreno decided the Angels should play under the Los Angeles name, elected officials representing Anaheim are pursuing two paths toward getting their hometown back into the team name.

Assemblyman Avelino Valencia, whose district includes Angel Stadium, has introduced state legislation that could require any sale or new lease of the stadium property be conditioned upon the team reverting to the Anaheim Angels name.

Meanwhile, Anaheim Mayor Ashleigh Aitken has asked the city attorney to explore whether the Angels have violated their current lease by dropping the Anaheim name from legal documents.

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Why UCLA women might not win it all

From Mirjam Swanson: Absolutely, this is the best team in UCLA women’s basketball history.

Not the best team in the country this year, but truly a testament to teamwork and hard work and talent retention.

Whether UCLA wins it all this season or not, the Bruins are the envy of teams everywhere, including Oklahoma State, whose season they ended with an 87-68 second-round victory Monday. Afterward, UCLA’s six seniors joined their teammates in one last victory lap around the court, waving to fans, soaking in the adoration, on their way to the Sweet 16 for the fourth consecutive season.

“Seeing a team who gets to host, a team who has stayed together, for the most part, they get to experience all the things that all of us want, and that is so incredibly rare and hard and special,” Oklahoma State coach Jacie Hoyt said.

But how much further those things will take these Bruins in the NCAA tournament after they fought off Oklahoma State?

Maybe all the way, but maybe not.

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Kings lose to Flames

Yegor Sharangovich scored in the fourth round of the shootout to lead the Calgary Flames to a 3-2 victory over the Kings on Tuesday night.

Olli Maatta and Zayne Parekh, each with their first goals of the season, scored in regulation time for the Flames, who have won four games in a row for the first time this season. Dustin Wolf stopped 23 shots.

Quinton Byfield scored both goals and Darcy Kuemper made 21 saves for the Kings, who have points in seven of their last nine but just three victories. They have dropped four straight.

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Kings summary

NHL standings

First-place Ducks beat Canucks

Mikael Granlund scored twice, Alex Killorn had a goal and an assist, and the Ducks beat the Vancouver Canucks 5-3 on Tuesday night.

Mason McTavish and Troy Terry also scored for the Ducks, while John Carlson had three assists and Lukas Dostal stopped 27 shots.

The Ducks grabbed a 2-1 lead in the second period, only to see Vancouver rally and tie the score twice before McTavish scored the winner at the 5:45 mark of the third.

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Ducks summary

NHL standings

This day in sports history

1934 — Horton Smith wins the first Masters golf tournament by one stroke over Craig Wood.

1947 — Holy Cross, led by George Kaftan, beats Oklahoma 58-47 in the NCAA basketball championship.

1958 — Sugar Ray Robinson regains the middleweight title for a record fifth time with a 15-round decision over Carmen Basilio.

1961 — Cincinnati ends Ohio State’s 32-game winning streak with a 70-65 win in the NCAA basketball championship. In the third-place game, St. Joseph’s beats Utah 127-120 in quadruple-overtime.

1967 — UCLA, led by sophomore Lew Alcindor’s 20 points, beats Dayton 79-64 for the NCAA basketball championship.

1972 — Bill Walton scores 24 points to lead UCLA to an 81-76 victory over Florida State and the NCAA basketball title.

1972 — Maryland beats Niagara 100-69 in the NIT championship, becoming the first team to score 100 points in the finals of the tournament.

1973 — The Philadelphia 76ers post the worst mark in NBA history at 9-73 under coaches Roy Rubin (4-47) and Kevin Loughery (5-26).

1982 — Wayne Gretzky becomes the first NHL player to score 200 points in a season.

1995 — Scotty Bowman gets his 900th regular-season coaching victory as the Detroit Red Wings beat the Canucks 2-1 in Vancouver.

2006 — Following the tradition of teenage American women pulling off big upsets, 16-year-old Kimmie Meissner uses the performance of her life to soar to the World Figure Skating Championships title.

2008 — Tennessee gives coach Pat Summitt her 100th NCAA tournament win, a 78-52 rout of host Purdue. The win sends the Lady Vols to the NCAA regional semifinals.

2011 — The Southwest regional is the first in NCAA men’s basketball history with three double-digit seeded teams in the semifinals. Virginia Commonwealth, an 11th seed beats 10th seed Florida State 72-71 in overtime and the top-seeded Kansas Jayhawks beat No. 12 seed Richmond 77-57 in the region’s other semifinal.

2012 — In the NBA’s first quadruple-overtime game since 1997, Joe Johnson scores 37 points and Josh Smith adds 22 as the Atlanta Hawks beat Utah 139-133. The four overtimes tie for the third-longest game in NBA history.

2016 — Klay Thompson scores 40 points and Stephen Curry adds 33 to help the Golden State Warriors become the second team to post back-to-back 65-win seasons with a 128-120 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. The Warriors improve their record to 65-7 following a 67-win season a year ago. The only other team to win at least 65 games in consecutive seasons was Chicago in 1995-96 and 1996-97.

2017 — Arrogate shows his class again in the $10 million Dubai World Cup as he comes from last place to win by an impressive 2 1/4 lengths.

Compiled by the Associated Press

Until next time…

That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.