Author: Johanna Lakämper

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Highlights Tours

The Masters Tournament 2024 Live Blog: Scottie Scheffler’s Way to Victory

Live Blog: Scottie Scheffler during The Masters Tournament 2024. (Photo: Getty)
Live Blog: Scottie Scheffler during The Masters Tournament 2024. (Photo: Getty)

2022 was Scottie Scheffler’s finest hour. The young up-and-coming player first appeared on the radar of the golf world when he won four tournaments in the space of six weeks. Among these four victories, he celebrated the biggest success of his career: Scottie Scheffler won the Green Jacket at the Masters Tournament.

Scottie Scheffler and the Masters Tournament

2022 was not Scheffler’s first time taking part in golf’s most traditional major tournament. He had already made his debut two years earlier in 2020, where he finished tied 19th, improved to tied 18th the following year and 2022 ultimately celebrated one of his greatest triumphs. The then 25-year-old beat the experienced Rory McIlroy by three strokes to secure not only the famous Green Jacket but also his position at the top of the world rankings.

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With four rounds under par (Scheffler was the only one to achieve this that year), he proved that he could cope with the extraordinary challenges of Augusta National Golf Club. Scottie Scheffler makes no secret of his love for the tournament. In his acceptance speech after his 2022 victory, he reveals: “I love this place. I love this golf course. If I had to choose one tournament to win, it would be this one.”

Scheffler’s chances at the Masters Tournament 2024

Last year, the now 27-year-old was unable to defend his title and was beaten by Spaniard Jon Rahm. However, the American has nothing to hide with his tied tenth place and records his fourth top 20 finish in his fourth Masters start. This year, the cards will be reshuffled.

Scottie Scheffler will once again start the race as the world number 1 and is therefore one of the favorites. Having been in top form for several years now, he will go into the first major of the year in a stronger position and will certainly be in for an exciting battle with his strongest rivals. He has also impressed with his performance in the current season. In eight starts, Scottie Scheffler has finished in the top 20 eight times and won two of the tournaments. Among his two victories, the Players Championship was the unofficial “fifth major” of the PGA Tour – there could not have been a better dress rehearsal for Scheffler.

Besides his Masters victory in 2022, Scottie Scheffler has yet to win another major, but has finished in the top 25 at every single major since 2020. Last year, he finished three out of four majors in the top 10.

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Highlights Tours

The Masters Tournament 2024: Prize Money without Making the Cut?

Who gets prize money at the Masters Tournament? (Photo: Getty)
Who gets prize money at the Masters Tournament? (Photo: Getty)

As a rule, the following applies to all tournaments on the PGA and DP World Tour: after two rounds of play, there is a cut that only the 65 best players and equals survive. This selection fights for the final ranking in two further rounds. The total prize money that can be won at a tournament is divided among all players who have survived the cut – the players who had to go home after two rounds go home empty-handed. However, the rules are different at Augusta.

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Missed the cut: Who gets prize money at the Masters Tournament 2024?

Starting with the size of the starting field: in the majority of events, around 150 players take part – in Augusta, the field is limited to around 80 to 90 players. There are also special conditions for qualifying for the Masters Tournament. This year, there were a total of 19 different, strictly regulated ways to qualify. Starting with the Masters champions, who receive a ticket for life, to champions and top-ranked players from other majors and big tournaments, who qualify for certain periods of time, such as five years. In addition, current PGA Tour winners and the 50 leaders of the official world rankings, which are published in the week before the current Masters tournament, will start. Various amateur champions will also have the opportunity to play in Augusta.

Follow Scottie Scheffler at the Masters Tournament live

The Masters Tournament is the first major tournament of the year and probably the biggest highlight of the season for many golfers and fans. Only the crème de la crème are allowed to compete in the tournament at Augusta National and fight for the Green Jacket. The rules of the tournament are slightly modified compared to the usual tournaments of the leading tours in golf.

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Although the cut is also made after 36 holes have been played, only the 50 best and equals are entitled to a ticket for the weekend. This means that the Major journey is already over for more players than usual on Friday. However, there is another change that comes into effect at the Masters Tournament: all players, even those who miss the cut, are entitled to prize money. Anyone who has played two rounds will receive 10,000 US dollars in prize money. The only exceptions are the amateurs in the starting field.

Jon Rahm’s Tee Times for The Masters Tournament

The trip to Augusta therefore not only brings the fulfillment of a dream and memories of a very special tournament for all players, regardless of how they fared, but also guaranteed prize money of 10,000 US dollars. An icing on the cake that makes participation in the Masters Tournament even more attractive.

Other majors are similar

At the PGA Championship, in which no amateurs take part, every player who misses the cut receives prize money of 4,000 US dollars. The US Open pays out the same amount as the Masters: 10,000 US dollars go to those who miss the cut. The British Open staggers the prizes: The ten best golfers who missed the cut, for example, receive 7,200 US dollars. The worse the performance, the less money the players are entitled to.

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Highlights Tours

The Masters Tournament 2024: Scottie Scheffler makes a flawless start to the tournament

Scottie Scheffler in the first round of the Masters Tournament 2024. (Photo: Getty)
Scottie Scheffler in the first round of the Masters Tournament 2024. (Photo: Getty)

Despite the challenging wind in Augusta, Scottie Scheffler makes a promising start to the tournament. Scheffler won the Masters Tournament two years ago and was beaten by Jon Rahm last year. So far this season, Scottie Scheffler has delivered one top performance after another – expectations of the 27-year-old are correspondingly high. Scheffler withstood the pressure in round 1.

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Bogey-free start to the 2024 Masters Tournament

The scorecard of your dreams: Scottie Scheffler was unimpressed by the course and the atmosphere at Augusta on the first day. Undeterred, the 2022 Masters champion played the first 18 holes in a joint flight with Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele. He made two birdies on the front nine: On the 2nd and 6th. Scheffler then ignited his turbo on the back nine. He conquered the infamous “Amen Corner” with two birdies and delivered two more birdies on holes 15 and 16. The American did not allow himself a single mistake and thus played the first bogey-free round of his still young career at the Masters Tournament. With a total of six strokes under par, he finished his round in second place, one stroke behind Bryson DeChambeau, who was leading at the time.

Scottie Scheffler about his round

Due to the weather conditions, Scheffler was just as surprised by his score as he was by Bryson DeChambeau’s good round (-7): “

When I was walking up to the first tee, I was fairly surprised with how many people were under par already. Going into today with the forecast the way it was supposed to be, and I’ve played this tournament once before in some pretty high winds, and it’s an extremely challenging golf course.

And, yeah, I felt like today I just did a really good job of — Teddy, I would say, did a really good job of kind of guessing the wind correctly, if that makes sense. You know, we stole a few shots on the par 3s, I felt like, and then I played the par 5s well.”

The fact that DeChambeau produced such a low score did not distract the world No. 1 from the essentials: “

Yeah, I wasn’t really thinking too much about my score out there. I mean, it’s the first day of the tournament. Like I said, I was just trying to hit good shots and stay patient out there. You cannot force yourself into making birdies around this golf course. It just doesn’t really lend itself to that, especially with the high winds.

And so, I mean, I saw that he shot 7-under, and I thought to myself, wow, that’s a really good round of golf, and I kind of put my head down and focused on what I was doing.”

The course at Augusta has a total of four par-3s. Scheffler scored birdies on three of them. After the round, Scheffler sums up his game on the par-3s despite the strong wind: “

Yeah, I felt like I definitely stole some shots there on the par 3s today. Like you said, you do have to take advantage of the par 5s out here. Most of them are reachable. So you definitely have to do your best to take advantage of those.

Today, yeah, definitely stole a couple shots there. All that’s going through my head is just trying to execute, and like it all really depends on the pin location and setup. Like No. 4 is a good example. The tee box was up today, and it’s a challenging pin, but I put myself in a good spot there under the hole.

Then No. 6, we got the wind right, and our goal was just challenging the top of the slope. And that’s exactly what we did, and it stayed up there on top and made a nice putt.

No. 12, hit a good shot, and doesn’t hit the green. That happens out here.

16, we had a good wind direction and the pin was, you know, down low, which made that hole significantly easier, and was just able to hit a nice shot in there.”

Follow Scottie Scheffler at the Masters Tournament live

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Panorama

Rory McIlroy and his wife: Who is the woman at the Northern Irishman’s side?

Rory McIlroy, his wife Erica and hier daughter Poppy. (Photo: Getty)
Rory McIlroy, his wife Erica and hier daughter Poppy. (Photo: Getty)

Rory McIlroy is one of the most successful players in the world and travels the globe week after week to secure his position in the world’s top three. His current wife, Erica Stoll, has been by his side for nine years. The American from New York and the Northern Irishman first met at the 2012 Ryder Cup, have been a couple since 2015 and celebrated a dream wedding in Ireland in 2017. They have been parents to a healthy daughter since 2020.

Rory McIlroy and his wife: from faux pas to dream wedding

Rory McIlroy and Erica Stoll met at the 2012 Ryder Cup, when McIlroy almost overslept his tee time and arrived at the tee just 10 minutes before the start of the round. Erica Stoll, who was working for the PGA at the time, was right in the middle of the action. Three years later, McIlroy and Stoll appeared as a couple for the first time, followed by their wedding in 2017.

The couple didn’t let themselves get carried away and celebrated a real fairytale wedding. An Irish castle from the 13th century was to be the location. The wedding lasted four days and is estimated to have cost the couple between 250,000 and 500,000 euros. The guest list is said to have included golf stars, One Direction singer Niall Horan and actor Jamie Dornen. Stevie Wonder and Ed Sheeran, among others, provided the musical backdrop. A real line-up of celebrities. Afterwards, the newlyweds enjoyed their honeymoon in the Caribbean.

Parents of little Poppy

Five years later, on August 31, 2020, the couple’s happiness was made complete with the birth of their daughter Poppy Kennedy McIlroy. After the birth, Rory McIlroy wrote on Instagram: ” She is the absolute love of our lives. “

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Panorama

Alongside Michael Jordan: How Justin Thomas got his first car of his own

Justin Thomas in "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert". (Foto: Youtube/@The Late Show with Stephen Colbert)
Justin Thomas in "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert". (Foto: Youtube/@The Late Show with Stephen Colbert)

Justin Thomas was recently a guest on Stephen Colbert’s ” The Late Show” and chatted about his appearance in the second season of the Netflix series “Full Swing” and his love of the Ryder Cup. He also explained how he ended up on the golf course alongside basketball legend Michael Jordan at the age of 15.

Justin Thomas: At the age of 15 at Michael Jordan’s side

Through a mutual friend, Michael Jordan ended up playing golf for several years in a row at the golf club in Kentucky where Justin Thomas’ father Mike was head coach. Justin Thomas himself initially had the task of accompanying the golfers as a caddie – until he was allowed to swing a club in the flight himself at the age of 15. He was allowed to play seven holes in a team with Michael Jordan, surprised everyone, holed out four times for birdies and won a lot of money. The money with which he was subsequently able to finance his first car. Watch the video for the whole story:

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Panorama

“Happy Gilmore 2”: Paige Spiranac as part of the cast?

Adam Sandler plans "Happy Gilmore 2". Will Paige Spirinac be part of the cast? (Photo: Getty)
Adam Sandler plans "Happy Gilmore 2". Will Paige Spirinac be part of the cast? (Photo: Getty)

The legend lives on: it seems that there will soon be a sequel to the 1996 comedy “Happy Gilmore” – “Happy Gilmore 2”. Producer and leading actor Adam Sandler is working on a second version of the film, as Christopher McDonald aka Shooter McGavin revealed. The hearts of “Happy Gilmore” fans are beating faster at this news and the first wish casts are spreading on the Internet. Definitely set, according to social media users: Instagram star Paige Spiranac in the role of the “Public Relations Lady”.

Paige Spiranac seems to be made for the role

Back in 2021, Adam Sandler had already hinted that he would like to see a sequel to the comedy. Now it seems to be getting serious, as McDonald reported. “I saw Adam about two weeks ago, and he says, ‘McDonald, you’re gonna love this. He shows me the first draft of Happy Gilmore 2,” the actor said in an interview in Cleveland, “He did show me that, and I thought, ‘Wow, that would be awesome.’ So it’s in the works. Fans, demand it, damnit!”

Since the news has been doing the rounds on the internet, fans have already been fantasizing about a possible cast: alongside Will Zalatoris and Tiger Woods, they also want to see Paige Spiranac. The 30-year-old used to play professional golf but has been concentrating on golf training and social media since 2017 for health reasons. She regularly shares photos and videos from her life and the golf course with her 4 million followers on Instagram.

She recently posted a photo of herself on Twitter, which she originally took in 2022, in which she sees herself in the role of the “public relations lady”. With the words “I was born ready”, she agrees with the fans’ suggestion. Will we see Spiranac on Netflix soon?

This is “Happy Gilmore”

The 1996 film comedy is about Happy Gilmore (Adam Sandler), a clumsy but talented ice hockey player who decides to use his talent on the golf course to earn money. In the process, he gets into numerous absurd and comical situations as he struggles through the world of professional golf. The film is known for its quirky humor and over-the-top golf tournaments, as well as the unconventional way the main character approaches the sport.

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PGA Tour

Players Championship 2024: How the prize money of 25 million US dollars is distributed

The Players Championship celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. (Photo: Getty)
The Players Championship celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. (Photo: Getty)

As the unofficial fifth major, the Players Championship 2024 awaits us this week as a major highlight in the PGA Tour’s tournament calendar. The absolute elite of the golf world will meet at the TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, to compete for a unique total prize fund of 25 million US dollars.

Players Championship 2024: players can expect this prize money

The PGA Tour increased the prize money for the Players Championship to 25 million US dollars last year. Just three years ago, it was USD 15 million, was raised to USD 20 million and has stood at USD 25 million since last year. This amount puts the tournament on a par with all LIV Golf events, which are also endowed with 25 million US dollars each, and overtakes the prize money of the four major tournaments, which usually have a total prize money of 20 million US dollars.

The Tee Times of the first round of the Players Championship 2024

The PGA Tour recently published an overview of the distribution of the prize money that will flow this year. The winner will receive 4.5 million US dollars. The rest of the money will be distributed among the 65 best and tied players who make the cut after two rounds. While the sole runner-up can expect over ten percent of the total prize money with 2.725 million US dollars, the other three players in the top five can also look forward to seven-figure sums – provided there are no ties with the fifth-placed player.

Beyond the prize money

In addition to the large sums of money, other lucrative prizes await the winner. He will receive 750 FedEx Cup points as well as a five-year exemption for the tournament and the guarantee of a PGA Tour card for the same period. In addition, he secures a starting place at The Sentry, where all Tour winners from the previous year meet at the beginning of the year, as well as the right to compete in all four majors over the next three years. The winner will also receive 80 official world ranking points, just 20 less than the players who win this year’s Majors.

Prizemoney Payout Players Championship 2024

Pos. Player Earnings
1Scottie Scheffler4,500,000.00
T2Brian Harman1,891,666.67
T2Xander Schauffele1,891,666.67
T2Wyndham Clark1,891,666.66
5Matt Fitzpatrick1,025,000.00
T6Si Woo Kim875,000.00
T6Hideki Matsuyama875,000.00
8Ludvig Åberg781,250.00
T9Maverick McNealy706,250.00
T9Sahith Theegala706,250.00
T11Joel Dahmen606,250.00
T11Taylor Montgomery606,250.00
T13Corey Conners489,583.34
T13Christiaan Bezuidenhout489,583.33
T13Nate Lashley489,583.33
T16Doug Ghim406,250.00
T16Sam Ryder406,250.00
T16Sepp Straka406,250.00
T19Harris English285,535.72
T19Shane Lowry285,535.72
T19Dylan Wu285,535.72
T19Kurt Kitayama285,535.71
T19Rory McIlroy285,535.71
T19Alex Noren285,535.71
T19Adam Schenk285,535.71
T26Mackenzie Hughes186,250.00
T26Chris Kirk186,250.00
T26Matt NeSmith186,250.00
T26Matti Schmid186,250.00
T26Nick Taylor186,250.00
T31Mark Hubbard152,812.50
T31Sungjae Im152,812.50
T31Ben Martin152,812.50
T31Taylor Moore152,812.50
T35Lee Hodges119,285.72
T35Denny McCarthy119,285.72
T35Jimmy Stanger119,285.72
T35Jason Day119,285.71
T35Tommy Fleetwood119,285.71
T35Brice Garnett119,285.71
T35Aaron Rai119,285.71
T42David Lipsky93,750.00
T42Grayson Murray93,750.00
T42C.T. Pan93,750.00
T45Sam Burns70,062.50
T45Austin Eckroat70,062.50
T45Tony Finau70,062.50
T45Jake Knapp70,062.50
T45Ryan Moore70,062.50
T45Collin Morikawa70,062.50
T45J.T. Poston70,062.50
T45Adam Scott70,062.50
53Andrew Putnam60,250.00
T54Zac Blair57,500.00
T54Emiliano Grillo57,500.00
T54Tom Hoge57,500.00
T54Martin Laird57,500.00
T54Min Woo Lee57,500.00
T54Francesco Molinari57,500.00
T54Sami Valimaki57,500.00
T54Cameron Young57,500.00
T62Thomas Detry55,000.00
T62Viktor Hovland55,000.00
T64Tyler Duncan53,500.00
T64Max Homa53,500.00
T64Seamus Power53,500.00
T64J.J. Spaun53,500.00
T68Patrick Cantlay51,500.00
T68Rickie Fowler51,500.00
T68Chan Kim51,500.00
T68Peter Malnati51,500.00
72Gary Woodland50,250.00
73Keith Mitchell49,750.00

Pos. Pct. Amount
1 18% $4,500,000.00
2 10.90% $2,725,000.00
3 6.90% $1,725,000.00
4 4.90% $1,225,000.00
5 4.10% $1,025,000.00
6 3.63% $906,250.00
7 3.38% $843,750.00
8 3.13% $781,250.00
9 2.93% $731,250.00
10 2.73% $681,250.00
11 2.53% $631,250.00
12 2.33% $581,250.00
13 2.13% $531,250.00
14 1.93% $481,250.00
15 1.83% $456,250.00
15 1.83% $456,250.00
16 1.73% $431,250.00
17 1.63% $406,250.00
18 1.53% $381,250.00
19 1.43% $356,250.00
20 1.33% $331,250.00
21 1.23% $306,250.00
22 1.13% $281,250.00
23 1.05% $261,250.00
24 0.97% $241,250.00
25 0.89% $221,250.00
26 0.81% $201,250.00
27 0.78% $193,750.00
28 0.75% $186,250.00
29 0.72% $178,750.00
30 0.69% $171,250.00
31 0.66% $163,750.00
32 0.63% $156,250.00
33 0.60% $148,750.00
34 0.57% $142,500.00
35 0.55% $136,250.00
36 0.52% $130,000.00
37 0.50% $123,750.00
38 0.48% $118,750.00
39 0.46% $113,750.00
40 0.44% $108,750.00
41 0.42% $103,750.00
42 0.40% $98,750.00
43 0.38% $93,750.00
44 0.36% $88,750.00
45 0.34% $83,750.00
46 0.32% $78,750.00
47 0.30% $73,750.00
48 0.28% $69,750.00
49 0.27% $66,250.00
50 0.26% $64,250.00
51 0.25% $62,750.00
52 0.25% $61,250.00
53 0.24% $60,250.00
54 0.24% $59,250.00
55 0.24% $58,750.00
56 0.23% $58,250.00
57 0.23% $57,750.00
58 0.23% $57,250.00
59 0.23% $56,750.00
60 0.23% $56,250.00
61 0.22% $55,750.00
62 0.22% $55,250.00
63 0.22% $54,750.00
64 0.22% $54,250.00
65 0.22% $53,750.00
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PGA Tour

The 17 of the Players Championship 2024: This is how many balls went down in round 1

The calm before the storm: The 17 in the morning sun. (Photo: Getty)
The calm before the storm: The 17 in the morning sun. (Photo: Getty)

The course at the TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach is not the favorite course of many golf pros for nothing. The course impresses with its challenging design and first-class conditions. The highlight of the course is hole 17, a par-3 where the ball has to be hit over a large pond directly onto the island green. The slightest mistake is severely punished: year after year, numerous balls go astray at the Players Championship, as even the pros miss the green from time to time.

Live blog of the Players Championship 2024

Ten balls disappeared into the water

About 127 yards had to be overcome in round 1 of the Players Championship 2024. The flag was stuck on the front edge of the green, which made the approach even more difficult. Out of 138 players who passed the hole before the interruption due to darkness on the first day, ten players sank their ball in the water. It was particularly annoying for Sam Ryder, whose ball missed the hole by a hair’s breadth before rolling into the water (double bogey). Tom Kim, who was playing with a fever of over 39 degrees and gave up shortly afterwards, also sank his ball in the water (triple bogey).

Nevertheless, there was great jubilation on the par-3. 23 players mastered the hole with a birdie, but were eclipsed by Ryan Fox. Fox achieved what most golfers dream of: he holed out for a hole-in-one. With just the right amount of backspin, his ball rolled straight into the hole after landing. In combination with another eagle, which he scored on the 16th, Fox is the first player in the history of the tournament to achieve two double stroke wins in a row.

In addition to the ace and the 23 birdies, there were a total of 86 pars, 20 bogeys, seven double bogeys and Tom Kim’s triple bogey. This results in an average score of 3.087, which is slightly higher than last year’s 3.03. Last year, almost twice as many balls landed in the water: a total of 16.

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European Tour

DP World Tour: Marcel Siem and Nick Bachem in the scramble

Nick Bachem and Marcel Siem vs. Pablo Larrazábal and Guido Migliozzi. (Photo: DP World Tour)
Nick Bachem and Marcel Siem vs. Pablo Larrazábal and Guido Migliozzi. (Photo: DP World Tour)

Week after week, the stars of the DP World Tour play against the competition in the individual rankings of the tournaments. However, the tour also regularly pits its players against each other in various challenges outside of tournaments. For example, Marcel Siem and Nick Bachem recently competed together against Spaniard Pablo Larrazábal and Italian Guido Migliozzi in a scramble format.

In addition to first-class entertainment with plenty of emotion and numerous jokes, the four of them also offered a hot match with very good golf at the Dubai Creek Resort. See for yourself which team won the match.

Video: The stars of the DP World Tour in a scramble

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PGA Tour

Video: From near ace to double bogey at the 2024 Players Championship

Sam Ryder at th 2024 Players Championship. (Photo: Getty)
Sam Ryder at th 2024 Players Championship. (Photo: Getty)

That’s golf: just millimeters away from one of the greatest moments of your golf career to a costly double bogey in just a few minutes. When Sam Ryder teed off on the famous signature hole, the 17th, in round 1 of the 2024 Players Championship, thousands of fans cheered him on.

Live Blog of the Players Championship 2024

Hole 17 – the highlight of the Players Championship 2024

Hole 17 of the TPC Sawgrass – the dreaded island green of the course, which has been the undoing of many a player. While Ryan Fox was able to celebrate an ace on this special hole on Thursday, things turned out differently for Sam Ryder. His ball headed straight for the flag after hitting the green and missed it by a hair’s breadth. The back spin that Ryder had put on the ball then drove the ball off the green, over the narrow edge of the rough and into the water. In the end, Ryder recorded an annoying 5 on the par-3. He found a conciliatory finish with a birdie on the 18th and is tied 37th after round 1.