Justin Rose, Scottie Scheffler start strong at Masters; NBA’s final playoff push; WNBA mock draft 5.0

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Happy Friday, everyone! The second round of the 2025 Masters is underway, and I hope you’ll follow along with us on our live blog. Let’s get right to it.

🏌Good morning to all, but especially to …

JUSTIN ROSE AND SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER

The top of the leaderboard after one round of the 2025 Masters features an extremely common name … and then several big names behind him. Justin Rose, who just got his second round started, fired a 7-under 65 to take a three-stroke lead over Scottie Scheffler and others through 18 holes. Here’s where the top of the Masters leaderboard stood overnight:

• 1. Justin Rose (-7)
• T2. Scottie Scheffler, Ludvig Åberg, Corey Conners (-4)
• T5. Bryson DeChambeau, Tyrrell Hatton (-3)
• T7. Jason Day, Akshay Bhatia, Harris English, Aaron Rai (-2)

This is the eighth time Rose has led or co-led after a round at the Masters, most by any player who has never donned the famed green jacket. He’ll have a whole host of talented players to hold off, most notably Scheffler, who put himself in a great spot with an impressive, straightforward 68, Patrick McDonald writes.

• McDonald: “Unaffected by the narratives, Scheffler settled into his tournament early. … It’s all part of what makes Scheffler so hard to crack. Well, that and matching a career-low 26 putts in a round at Augusta National. He’ll saunter on and let the chaos and wind swirl around him while remaining focused on what’s directly in front. The rest bounces off.”

Here’s more:

😊 Honorable mentions

😬 And not such a good morning for …

RORY McILROY

Standing in the middle of the fairway at the par-5 15th hole at 4-under, Rory McIlroy was off to the start he has failed to produce again and again at Augusta National.

Then came the meltdown.

McIlroy sent his second shot long, chipped back over the green and into the water and eventually made a double-bogey 7. Two holes later, a similar scenario played out: second shot long, chip too far past, then a three putt for a double-bogey 6. A round that had so much promise a mere hour earlier ended as an even-par 72, seven shots behind Rose. And that leads us to a history lesson.

• Seven shots is the largest 18-hole deficit ever overcome to win the Masters, done by Tiger Woods in 2005 and Nick Faldo in 1990.
• But the last Masters champion to have multiple double bogeys in a week — much less in the same round — was Craig Stadler in 1982.
• McIlroy has been at least six shots back of the leader after the first round in seven straight Masters.

McIlroy often improves greatly after slow starts at Augusta National — he finished second in 2023 after an opening-round 73 — but he’s never been able to overcome one and actually win. He’s certainly not here to come up just short again. Unfortunately, his finish Thursday may just set the table for that, Patrick writes.

• McDonald: “This 2025 version of himself can chase anyone down from seven back. This version of Rory is different. But at the Masters? At Augusta National Golf Club? With a chance to complete the career grand slam? Maybe, this isn’t that Rory.”

👎 Not so honorable mentions

🏀 Warriors control destiny in wild West; Suns fade out

Sunday marks the end of the NBA season, and while we know which 10 teams (seeds 1-6 into the playoffs, seeds 7-10 into the play-in) from each conference will play beyond that date, the matchups remain to be determined.

Here are the standings and scenarios.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

1. Cavaliers (63-17) — Locked into 1 seed
2. Celtics (59-21) — Locked into 2 seed
3. Knicks (50-30) — Could be 3 or 4 seed
4. Pacers (49-31) — Could be 3 or 4 seed
5. Bucks (46-34) — Could be 5 or 6 seed
6. Pistons (44-36) — Could be 5 or 6 seed
7. Magic (40-40) — Locked into 7 seed
8. Hawks (38-42) — Could be 8, 9 or 10 seed
9. Bulls (37-43) — Could be 8, 9 or 10 seed
10. Heat (36-44) — Could be 8, 9 or 10 seed

WESTERN CONFERENCE

1. Thunder (66-14) — Locked into 1 seed
2. Rockets (52-28) — Locked into 2 seed
3. Lakers (49-31) — Could be 3, 4 or 5 seed
4. Nuggets (48-32) — Could be 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8 seed
5. Clippers (48-32) — Could be 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8 seed
6. Warriors (47-33) — Could be 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8 seed
7. Grizzlies (47-33) — Could be 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8 seed
8. Timberwolves (47-33) — Could be 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8 seed
9. Kings (39-41) — Could be 9 or 10 seed
10. Mavericks (38-42) — Could be 9 or 10 seed

The Timberwolves beating the Grizzlies last night was also a big win for the Warriors, who now control their destiny to avoid the play-in.

You’ll notice the Suns are not listed. Phoenix — with championship aspirations considering it had a nucleus of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal — didn’t even make the postseason, and it’s a cautionary tale for other teams, Sam Quinn writes.

🏀 WNBA Draft: Get to know the player getting Victor Wembanyama comps; the rebound of Hailey Van Lith

Freshly minted NCAA champion Paige Bueckers has been all but locked into the No. 1 pick to the Wings for a while, with Olivia Miles emerging as the likely choice for the Storm at No. 2 in recent weeks. But when Miles opted to remain in school and transfer from Notre Dame of entering the WNBA Draft, it threw a major wrench into things.

Now? It’s wide open as to who will go second, but one opinion — the opinion of Jack Maloney in his mock draft — is that the pick could be 19-year-old, 6-foot-6 French center Dominique Malonga, a player who’s even garnering Victor Wembanyama comparisons. Jack has a deep dive on this slam-dunking phenom.

• Maloney: “Malonga’s fluidity of movement is one of the primary reasons she is such a unique prospect. Very few players her size in the history of women’s basketball have moved as gracefully as she does. … Being big and athletic obviously helps, but those traits alone don’t make you a great player. Malonga has a chance to be just that because she possesses incredible on-ball skills for a center.”

As for another intriguing prospect, Hailey Van Lith saw her draft stock rise with an impressive NCAA Tournament. Jack also has the breakdown as to how Lith found her way back.

Finally, here’s what general managers had to say Thursday ahead of Monday night’s draft.

Isaiah Bond turns himself into police on outstanding warrant for sexual assault

Isaiah Bond, a 2025 NFL Draft wide receiver prospect out of Texas, turned himself into police on an outstanding warrant for sexual assault. He posted bond and was released from custody.

• “Regarding the accusation made against me, I would appreciate the time and opportunity to defend myself and prove the claims made, patently false,” Bond said as part of a statement.
• Bond, who spent 2022 and 2023 at Alabama, had 34 catches for 540 yards and five touchdowns for the Longhorns in 2024.
• A speedy deep threat, Bond is 67th in our prospect rankings.

📺 What we’re watching this weekend

⛳ We’re watching the 2025 Masters. Here’s how.

Friday

⚾ Pirates at Reds, 6:40 p.m. on Apple TV+
🏀 Bucks at Pistons, 7 p.m. on NBA TV
⚾ Tigers at Twins, 8:10 p.m. on Apple TV+
🏀 Rockets at Lakers, 10:30 p.m. on NBA TV

Saturday

🏒 Capitals at Blue Jackets, 12:30 p.m. on ABC
🏒 Rangers at Hurricanes, 3 p.m. on ABC
⚾ Giants at Yankees, 3:05 p.m. on FS1
⚽ Angel City FC at Houston Dash, 5 p.m. on NWSL+/Paramount+
🏒 Frozen Four championship: Western Michigan vs. Boston University, 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2

Sunday

🏀 Pistons at Bucks, 1 p.m. on ESPN
🏒 Islanders at Devils, 1 p.m. on TNT/truTV
🏀 Clippers at Warriors, 3:30 p.m. on ESPN
🏒 Bruins at Penguins, 3:30 p.m. on TNT/truTV
⚽ Inter Miami CF at Chicago Fire FC, 5 p.m. on MLS Season Pass
⚾ Cubs at Dodgers, 7 p.m. on ESPN
🏒 Avalanche at Ducks, 10 p.m. on ESPN