Tiger Woods will inevitably say he is there to win the Masters when he gives his pre-tournament press conference on Tuesday.

Woods has always insisted he only enters events if he thinks he can “get the W”, no matter the state of his game or his body, and writing off the 15-time major winner has always been a dangerous game.

Yet there is no escaping the fact that the 48-year-old has played fewer than five and a half competitive rounds since undergoing ankle surgery in April last year after withdrawing from the Masters during the third round.

Having made a record-equalling 23rd consecutive cut at Augusta National last year, Woods’ most realistic target appears to be separating himself from Fred Couples and Gary Player in the record books by extending that streak to 24.

Two-time US Open winner and ESPN analyst Andy North said: “I think playing on the weekend would be a win.

“He’s going to tell you that he’s there because he thinks he can win the tournament but to be realistic, what he’s gone through you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy.

“What he has to do to get ready to go out and try to play golf every single day is very, very difficult.

“Just to get him there and get around for the week and play some good golf and hit some nice shots, I think that would be awesome.

“We saw him in LA (at the Genesis Invitational) and I thought he looked a lot better walking around from that standpoint. Then his back went out on him. We haven’t seen him since.

“There’s talk he’s been playing some golf, he’s been practising. He’s been doing what he needs to do, but we really don’t know. Is his back okay?

“We’ve talked so much since the (car) accident about his leg and how hard it is to walk and all these other things, but we really don’t know.

“To me, it’s always interesting to see what we see out of him. What he’s given us over the last 25 years has been just second to none. It’s been such a joy to be able to watch him.

“If he were to say this is the last time he’s going to play, we’ve seen so much greatness out of him, good for him if he wants to walk away.

“I mean, he doesn’t have to do this for anybody else other than himself, and I think he still wants to prove that he can do it.

“Would we love to see him come in here and hit a lot of good shots on Thursday and be under par and be in the mix of it? Of course we would.

“Again, if he shoots 68 or 78 the first day, you wouldn’t be surprised that anything could possibly happen.”

Paddy Twomey is in an enviable position as he considers where to send Guineas hopefuls One Look and Purple Lily.

Both fillies ran twice as two-year-olds and both showed a great deal of promise when winning their respective starts in good style.

One Look, a Gleneagles bay out of a Holy Roman Emperor mare called Holy Salt, made her debut in the Goffs Million at the Curragh last September having been purchased as a yearling via the auction house for €65,000.

There she faced a field of expensive purchases but made light work of them all when powering to a six-length success over seven furlongs and pocketing just shy of 10 times her purchase price as the first place purse was €610,000.

Earmarked as a top prospect for the 2024, One Look started her campaign in a Cork auction race and maintained her reputation with an easy three-length victory there.

“That was a good starting point for her, she won the Goffs Million last year and I was keen to get another run into her,” Twomey said.

“She went there ready to run and acquitted herself well in the circumstances, on the heavy ground, she’ll go for one of the Guineas in England or Ireland.

“Over the next few days we’ll make a decision on who goes where when we’ve run most of them.”

Purple Lily, who is by Calyx, also started her career on a good note when winning a Galway maiden last August and proved she had progressed into her three-year-old season when lining up in the TRM Equine Nutrition Race at Naas in March.

There she prevailed by three lengths from the Group One-placed Portland, and like her stablemate she now holds entries for the 1000 Guineas contests at both Newmarket and the Curragh.

“Purple Lily came out of her win in Naas in great form, I’m very happy with her,” Twomey said.

“She’s trained very well since, we’re looking forward to the year ahead and we’ll decide soon which of the Guineas she’ll go for – hopefully it’ll be either the English or the Irish Guineas.

“We’re lucky to have some nice horses in and we’re just hoping they can have a good year.”

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff insists Max Verstappen’s fourth consecutive title is already a foregone conclusion after the Red Bull driver cruised to victory at the Japanese Grand Prix.

Verstappen returned to winning ways in dominant fashion as the reigning drivers’ champion triumphed at Suzuka.

Having retired last time out in Australia, it was normal service resumed for the Dutchman as he led home a Red Bull one-two with Sergio Perez finishing second.

Verstappen twice led into the first corner off the line after the race was restarted following a first-lap incident which saw both Daniel Ricciardo and Alex Albon crash out after making contact.

From there, Verstappen controlled the pace and the result never looked in doubt, as he took the chequered flag and the fastest lap to open up a 13-point lead at the top of the drivers’ championship.

His brake failure in Melbourne aside, Verstappen has looked in imperious form in the opening four rounds of 2024.

In what is Formula One’s longest-ever season there are still 20 races remaining, but Wolff was in no doubt that he feels Verstappen will once again be untouchable.

“No one is going to catch Max this year,” he said.

“His driving and the car are just spectacular. You can see the way he manages the tyres and basically this season now is best of the rest.

“If I was to look from a pure sporting point of view it is P1 what matters, not P2, P3 or P4 but this is the reality that we are facing at the moment.

“We’re trying to do the best out of this new reality and that is to beat our competitors whilst acknowledging that somebody is just doing a better job and setting the benchmark that we eventually need to set ourselves again.”

Wolff’s prediction of another year of Red Bull dominance was brushed aside by opposing team principal Christian Horner.

Horner and Wolff have history as rivals and have never been shy of mixing words.

“It’s very early to write off the year,” Horner said.

“There’s still 20 races to go. I’ve learned not to listen too much to what Toto says over the years.

“It was great to bounce back after the DNF in Australia, after such a great start to the season, it was important to bounce back quickly.

“I think that we’ve done that emphatically here at Suzuka this weekend. It’s a great performance.”

Verstappen, meanwhile, took the statement in a lighter mood: “Lately Toto’s been really nice! Saying a lot of nice things about me.”

Meanwhile, Carlos Sainz took the last step on the podium with a strong strategy from Ferrari enough for him to leapfrog Lando Norris, with McLaren misjudging a call to pit the Briton early for his final stop.

A strong showing from Ferrari saw the sister car of Charles Leclerc come home fourth ahead of Norris, Fernando Alonso hung on to take sixth for Aston Martin with a late push from George Russell seeing him pass the second McLaren of Oscar Piastri on the closing lap to secure seventh.

Lewis Hamilton had said after qualifying that his Mercedes felt better than it had in the last three years but he struggled for genuine pace and dropped back through the field during his first stint, eventually having to settle for ninth as home favourite Yuki Tsunoda became the first Japanese driver to score points at Suzuka in 12 years by coming 10th for RB.

Aidan Coleman has announced his retirement from the saddle having failed to recover from a knee injury.

The 35-year-old suffered a fall at Worcester in June and has been battling to return ever since, undergoing several surgeries on his knee and a shattered tibia.

Coleman, who will possibly be best remembered for his association with the recently-retired Paisley Park, has undergone a lengthy rehabilitation process but has conceded he will not recover sufficiently to resume his riding career.

“The prognosis early was quite bleak about returning to ride,” he told Racing TV’s Luck On Sunday.

“But around September when the rehab was early I was kidding myself that I could get back from this. In early December I had another operation and since that the progress has really plateaued.

“The gym is good because it’s a stable surface but I can’t run or jump. I can’t ride a horse really. A lot of people would say I couldn’t anyway so what’s the difference!

“Since Christmas, every time I’ve tried to ride a horse it’s not really gone well and I just can’t really do it and I definitely wouldn’t be able to ride in a race or anything like that.

“Speaking to Jerry Hill (the BHA’s chief medical adviser) and my surgeon, my chances of improving are negative now, so that’s it. My knee won’t stand the demands of being a jockey or get anywhere near it, so that’s it.”

Coleman enjoyed a successful association early in his career with Venetia Williams but overlooked her 100-1 Grand National winner Mon Mome in favour of stablemate Stan.

There were many good days in a stellar career, though, with Emma Lavelle’s Paisley Park winning the Long Walk Hurdle three times and the Stayers’ Hurdle in 2019.

Coleman also picked up the rides on Epatante, winning an Aintree Hurdle and two Fighting Fifths, and Jonbon, on whom he won multiple Grade Ones.

“I think the last few years I’ve been at my happiest, riding horses like Paisley Park has been a mainstay since 2019, we picked up Epatante, Jonbon, winning the Champion Chase on Put The Kettle On. I would have a good army of behind me when I got to September and they hit the board regularly,” said Coleman.

“I kind of gave up the idea of being champion jockey and being a slave to the game, that just wasn’t for me. I enjoyed the good horses so much I just wanted to focus on them rather than the numbers and since I did that I think I rode better.”

Leopardstown’s Classic trials card will go ahead as planned after the track passed a 7.30am inspection.

The P.W. McGrath Memorial Ballysax Stakes is one of the highlights having produced several top-class performers over the years, including three subsequent Epsom winners in Galileo (2001), High Chaparral (2002) and Harzand (2016).

Two other Group Three events in the Ballylinch Stud “Red Rocks” Stakes and the Ballylinch Stud “Priory Belle” Stakes also take place on ground described as heavy.

Clerk of the course Lorcan Wyer said: “The track at Leopardstown is fit for racing and the fixture scheduled for today goes ahead.

“The ground remains heavy but we had no measurable rain at the track in the last 24 hours and some strong winds. Today looks to be mainly sunny and breezy.”

The track at Carlisle also passed a 7am inspection allowing the final day of the Go North Series Finals to go take place, although conditions are heavy.

Tuesday’s meeting at Hexham has been called off though, with areas of false ground and standing water on the course.

Max Verstappen returned to winning ways in dominant fashion as the world champion cruised to victory at the Japanese Grand Prix.

Having retired last time out in Australia, it was normal service resumed for the Dutchman at Suzuka where he led home a Red Bull one-two as Sergio Perez finished second.

Verstappen twice led into the first corner off the line after the race was restarted following a first-lap incident.

From there he controlled the pace of the race and the result never looked in doubt, with Verstappen taking the chequered flag and the fastest lap to open up a 13-point lead at the top of the drivers’ championship as he aims for a fourth successive title.

Perez did well to overcome a minor threat from Ferrari as Carlos Sainz took the last step on the podium with a strong strategy enough for him leapfrog Lando Norris, with McLaren misjudging a call to pit the Briton early for his final stop.

A strong showing from Ferrari saw the sister car of Charles Leclerc come home fourth ahead of Norris, while the fight for the minor points places proved to be the most exciting battle of the afternoon.

Fernando Alonso hung on to take sixth for Aston Martin with a late push from George Russell seeing him pass the second McLaren of Oscar Piastri on the closing lap to secure seventh.

Lewis Hamilton had said after qualifying that his Mercedes felt better than it had in the last three years but he struggled for genuine pace and had to settle for ninth as home favourite Yuki Tsunoda took the final point, coming in 10th for RB.

Greg Rusedski announced his retirement from tennis on this day in 2007 after helping Great Britain defeat the Netherlands in the Davis Cup.

Rusedski partnered Jamie Murray to a crucial 6-1 3-6 6-3 7-6 (5) doubles win over Robin Haase and Rogier Wassen, which gave Britain an unassailable 3-0 lead in Birmingham.

The former world number four, then aged 33, revealed his retirement plans in an emotional courtside interview.

“It was a proud moment as it’s going to be my last match,” he said, fighting back tears. “I’m officially retiring on a win today.”

Rusedski had played just one previous match in 2007 – losing in the first round of a Challenger event in Sarajevo – as he struggled with a nagging hip injury and plummeting world ranking.

He had been expected to retire at some point during that year and ended speculation after helping Britain secure an elite World Group play-off, which they went on to win 4-1 against Croatia the following September.

Great Britain captain John Lloyd paid tribute to the world number 283, saying: “It’s good to go out playing a match like that but we’ll miss him. We’ve had a great team and Greg has been a big part of it.”

Born in Montreal, Rusedski turned professional in 1991 and became a British citizen in 1995. He made his Davis Cup debut later that year and played a total of 43 rubbers, finishing with a win-loss record of 30-13.

The former British number one was named BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1997 after losing to Pat Rafter in the US Open final.

His booming serve-and-volley game seemed ideally suited to Wimbledon, but the furthest he got was the quarter-finals, losing to Frenchman Cedric Pioline in four sets in 1997.

He won 15 ATP Tour titles, securing his last one in Newport, Rhode Island, in 2005 on the same court he had won his first 12 years earlier.

Austin Riley had the tie-breaking RBI single in the eighth inning and the Atlanta Braves overcame a six-run first-inning deficit in a 9-8 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday.

Arizona squandered a 6-0 lead after it blew a 5-2 advantage in a 6-5 loss in 10 innings on Friday.

The Diamondbacks scored six off Max Fried in the first, triggered by Ketel Marte’s homer and capped by his RBI double.

Atlanta scored twice in the fourth on Marcell Ozuna’s double and Michael Harris’s triple. Ozuna hit a three-run homer in the fifth and Matt Olson and Harris singled home runs in the seventh to cut the deficit to 8-7.

Jarred Kelenic opened the eighth with a double and scored on Ronald Acuna Jr.’s single to tie it before a throwing error and Riley’s single put the Braves on top.

Yamamoto earns first career win

Yoshinobu Yamamoto struck out eight over five scoreless innings for his first major league victory and Max Muncy had a two-run single to lift the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 4-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs.

Yamamoto, who signed a record $325 million, 12-year contract with the Dodgers in the offseason, worked out of a bases-loaded, no outs jam in the first inning and another bases-loaded situation in the second. He allowed three hits and two walks.

Three relievers worked an inning each before Evan Phillips surrendered a run in the ninth.

Miguel Rojas had two hits and one RBI for the Dodgers, who improved to 8-3 and ended the Cubs’ five-game winning streak.

Chicago starter Jordan Wicks gave up two runs on six hits and struck out seven in 4 2/3 innings.

Cardinals keep Marlins winless

Steven Matz pitched five scoreless innings and the St. Louis Cardinals dropped the Miami Marlins to 0-9 with a 3-1 victory.

The Marlins are off to the worst start in the franchise’s 33-year history and remain the majors’ only winless team.

Giovanny Gallegos and JoJo Romero each worked one scoreless inning before Andrew Kittredge gave up Miami’s lone run on Josh Bell’s RBI single. Ryan Helsley got the final three outs for his third save.

Ivan Herrera and Brendan Donovan each had two hits and Jordan Walker delivered an RBI double for the Cardinals, who have won four of five.

American golfer Akshay Bhatia is edging closer to his second PGA victory at the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio.

Bhatia heads into the final round on Sunday with a four-shot lead.

Fellow American Denny McCarthy is in second place at 11-under.

US golfer Brendon Todd is trailing behind him by another three shots while Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama and American Russell Henley sit at five-under.

If Bhatia is to win, it will extend his PGA Tour card and give him the green light to play next week’s Masters.

Bhatia qualified for and made the cut at Torrey Pines, the 2021 US Open, and won last season’s Barracuda Championship in Truckee, California.

Aside from that, the 22-year-old has not participated in any other major championships.

Swedish golf star Ludvig Aberg sits at six-under at Valero alongside four players who round out the top 10 on the leaderboard with a score of five-under.

D’Angelo Russell scored 28 points and Anthony Davis had 22 points and 13 rebounds as the Los Angeles Lakers won their fourth straight, 116-97 over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday.

LeBron James added 24 points and 12 assists for the Lakers, who have won nine of 10 to move into eighth place in the Western Conference for the first time since Dec. 29.

Los Angeles is still in position for a play-in tournament spot, but finishing seventh or eighth means it would only need to win one game to earn a playoff spot.

Darius Garland scored 26 points and Caris LeVert added 21 off the bench as Cleveland dropped its third in four games but remained in third place in the East.

The Cavs held a 73-69 lead in the third quarter, but Davis scored nine points during a 19-0 run to give the Lakers an 88-73 advantage. They led by at least 10 the rest of the way.

Nuggets rout Hawks to move atop West

Nikola Jokić notched another triple-double and Jamal Murray scored 16 points in his return as the Denver Nuggets routed the Atlanta Hawks, 142-110 to move atop the Western Conference.

Jokic had 19 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists for his 25th triple-double of the season even though he sat out the fourth quarter. 

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added a season-high 24 points, Michael Porter Jr. had 20 points and Murray handed out six assists in his first appearance since he was hurt March 21 against the Knicks. Denver moved a half-game ahead of idle Minnesota for the West lead.

Embiid powers 76ers to 4th straight win

Joel Embiid tallied 30 points and 12 rebounds in only 23 minutes and the Philadelphia 76ers rolled to a 116-96 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.

Embiid was 9 of 13 from the field and hit both of his 3-point attempts before exiting with seven minutes remaining in the third quarter. Philadelphia was never seriously threatened after that, so coach Nick Nurse left his star center on the bench.

Kelly Oubre Jr. added 17 points as the 76ers pulled within a half-game of seventh place in the Eastern Conference and within one game of Indiana for sixth and a guaranteed playoff spot.

Frankie Dettori fell just short of producing an American version of his famous magnificent seven when riding six straight winners on the Santa Anita Derby card.

The Italian memorably won every race at Ascot back in September 1996, on a day which cost British bookmakers an estimated £40million.

Now based across the Atlantic after abandoning plans to retire last year, Dettori looked set to rewrite the record books when rattling off six consecutive victories on Saturday night, including a Santa Anita Oaks triumph.

Sadly, he couldn’t add to his tally from four more rides but it was still a special occasion for the 53-year-old.

He stated: “I adore this place and to be able to say that I won six races on Derby day is beyond my wildest dreams.

“I don’t know how to put it into words. Is it real? Am I dreaming? Is this really happening? It’s incredible. I just don’t know what to say.”

After missing out on Danzingwith Maxine in the opening race, Dettori began his hot streak with maiden winner Ball Don’t Lie.

He then struck on Recinto Rompere in a claiming race before landing the $125,000 Evening Jewel Stakes with Roberta’s Love at big odds.

After that success, Dettori said: “I was surprised, she jumped like a rocket and within 50 yards we were clear of the field and at the rail. I thought if nobody hassled with me, I’d be very hard to catch and that was the case. We went right up to the line.

“I tried to just save as much ground as I could – the filly is ultra consistent and was very well prepared. There were some good fillies in the race, but she put up a good performance.”

Next up came another maiden winner in Kathynmarissa and Dettori then partnered Nothing Like You to victory in the $300,000 Grade Two Santa Anita Oaks.

She was regarded as trainer Bob Baffert’s second string behind odds-on favourite Kinza but swept past her stablemate entering the home straight and ultimately romped home by seven and a half lengths.

“The filly didn’t like the kick-back too much last time but I was lucky to get a decent break and could take up a decent position where I wasn’t getting any kick-back,” said Dettori.

“I was fully loaded at the quarter pole, I just needed a bit of room and she took off.

“What can you say about Bob Baffert, he’s a genius and just lets me do what I do best and we got the job done. We’ve got a good working relationship – he trains them and I ride them, so we’ll keep it that way.”

Baffert added on the Santa Anita website: “He’s just a phenom. He is world class and has brought his talent to every stage. He’s just that good.”

Dettori’s sixth straight success soon followed when Royal Charter, a former William Haggas inmate now trained by Leonard Powell, swept to victory on her American debut.

The veteran did not have a ride in race eight and then had to settle for third place on board Getthemoney in the Grade Three Monrovia Stakes.

A narrow second on the Baffert-trained favourite Imagination in the $750,000 Grade One Santa Anita Derby was the closest Dettori came to reaching seventh heaven again.

That blow was at least softened by losing out to compatriot Antonio Fresu, who dedicated his first Grade One victory in America to fellow Italian Stefano Cherchi, who tragically died from injuries suffered in a fall in Australia recently.

Dettori finished unplaced on Ottoman Prince, formerly handled by Sir Mark Prescott, and Last Call London as he came up one short of the track record of seven wins at a meeting, set by Laffit Pincay Jr back in March 1987.

Young English star Lottie Woad birdied the final two holes to win the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.

The 20-year-old Florida State University student had led going into the final round at Augusta National but was overtaken by American Bailey Shoemaker, who shot a bogey-free 66.

Heading down the 17th Woad was one shot behind, but a birdie three drew her level and she showed nerves of steel on the 18th to hole a lengthy putt for a round of 69.

That gave her a three-round total of eight under par, one shot clear of Shoemaker and four ahead of Sweden’s Ingrid Lindblad in third.

Woad, from Farnham, also birdied the 15th but she told reporters: “I feel like the three birdies I got were probably not as important as my par save on 14. I think if I had gone three back at that point it would have been pretty difficult.

“Teeing off only having a two-shot lead I knew someone was probably going to overtake me. I was prepared for someone to go low and they did.

“When I was two back, I thought, ‘OK, I’ve got the birdie chances they had,’ and just gave myself the chances at the end and luckily holed some putts.

“I was hoping it was going to be a nice stress-free day but it was far from that. But in the end it was a cooler way to finish.

“To be in the mix on the back nine at Augusta is something everyone dreams about. I just tried to really embrace it. It’s really cool to be standing in the same place as the Masters champions have stood and just follow in their footsteps a little bit.”

Woad’s victory earns her a place in the field for the Women’s Open and the US Women’s Open, and she said: “I want to be a professional and be playing in these events.

“To get this experience so early on will be great for me. I’ve never played in a major before, I’ve played in a couple of pro events but never a LPGA event. It’s going to be really exciting for me.”

Luke Donald and Justin Rose were among those to send their congratulations on social media.

Young English star Lottie Woad birdied the final two holes to win the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.

The 20-year-old Florida State University student had led going into the final round at Augusta National but was overtaken by American Bailey Shoemaker, who shot a bogey-free 66.

Heading down the 17th Woad was one shot behind, but a birdie three drew her level and she showed nerves of steel on the 18th to hole a lengthy putt for a round of 69.

That gave her a three-round total of eight under par, one shot clear of Shoemaker and four ahead of Sweden’s Ingrid Lindblad in third.

Woad, from Farnham, also birdied the 15th but she told reporters: “I feel like the three birdies I got were probably not as important as my par save on 14. I think if I had gone three back at that point it would have been pretty difficult.

“Teeing off only having a two-shot lead I knew someone was probably going to overtake me. I was prepared for someone to go low and they did.

“When I was two back, I thought, ‘OK, I’ve got the birdie chances they had,’ and just gave myself the chances at the end and luckily holed some putts.

“I was hoping it was going to be a nice stress-free day but it was far from that. But in the end it was a cooler way to finish.

“To be in the mix on the back nine at Augusta is something everyone dreams about. I just tried to really embrace it. It’s really cool to be standing in the same place as the Masters champions have stood and just follow in their footsteps a little bit.”

Woad’s victory earns her a place in the field for the Women’s Open and the US Women’s Open, and she said: “I want to be a professional and be playing in these events.

“To get this experience so early on will be great for me. I’ve never played in a major before, I’ve played in a couple of pro events but never a LPGA event. It’s going to be really exciting for me.”

Luke Donald and Justin Rose were among those to send their congratulations on social media.