A visit to Pebble Beach last year helped set up Rory McIlroy for one of the biggest moments of his golf career.

McIlroy earned a two-shot victory at the 2025 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, kickstarting a stellar run that saw him win the Players Championship before completing the career Grand Slam by capturing the Green Jacket at the Masters.

The 36-year-old Northern Ireland native is back on the Monterey Peninsula this week to defend his Pebble Beach championship.

“Obviously last year was a great way to start the 2025 season,” McIlroy said. “Historically I haven’t played Pebble Beach that well. I’ve played OK, but nothing spectacular.

“I think winning on a golf course that I hadn’t won on before, hadn’t really contended on before, I feel like it gave me a lot of confidence going into the rest of the season.”

He added of his triumphant performance at Pebble Beach Golf Links that he was pleased with “how in control I was with my ball flight, especially in tough conditions last year on the Saturday. There was a lot of things that I worked on in the offseason that I brought with me into here. Yeah, it was a massive confidence boost and obviously then went on to play well in that early part of the season, won at The Players and then obviously into the Masters.

“Yeah, it was a perfect way to start the year here last year. Hoping for something similar this.”

An aggressive approach and clutch work on the greens were key to prevailing at Pebble Beach, McIlroy believes.

“I hit driver a lot, giving myself short irons in,” he said of his 2025 strategy. “I think last year as well, it was probably the best putting performance I’ve ever had on poa greens. I usually come to the West Coast and I struggle a little bit on the poa, and last year I didn’t. I holed a lot of putts and that was a big difference.”

McIlroy finished last season and started this season well, too. After the PGA Tour playoffs concluded, he captured the Irish Open, tied for third in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and finished second at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

After tying for 14th at the Australian Open to end 2025, he tied for third and tied for 33rd in two Middle Eastern events to kick off 2026.

“Game feels in good shape,” McIlroy said. “I had two weeks in Dubai to sort of shake the rust off. Played OK, wasn’t anything spectacular. But I’ve had two nice weeks at home and done some practice. … I feel pretty good coming in here.”

–Field Level Media

Kevin Durant and Alperen Sengun combined for 48 points as the Houston Rockets turned a rally to start the fourth quarter into a 102-95 victory over the visiting Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday.

Durant scored 26 points and hit three 3-pointers while Sengun tallied 22 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Amen Thompson added 16 points and six rebounds for the Rockets, and his transition dunk with 11:20 remaining gave the Rockets their first double-digit lead at 83-72.

Kawhi Leonard totaled 24 points and eight rebounds for his 32nd consecutive 20-point game, while John Collins had 17 points and eight rebounds for the Clippers. Leonard and Collins were the lone double-digit scorers for the Clippers, who emptied their bench down 15 with 5:28 left.

Reed Sheppard scored 16 points off the bench for Houston. His running layup pushed the Rockets to an 89-74 lead with 9:15 to play, and his two fourth-quarter 3s kept the Clippers at bay. The Rockets did not allow a field goal in the final period until Bennedict Mathurin scored through a foul at the 7:45 mark, with his subsequent free throw cutting the deficit to 89-77.

The Rockets finished 14 of 28 from behind the arc, helping offset 18 turnovers the Clippers converted into 17 points. Jabari Smith Jr. (13 points, 10 rebounds) added a double-double for the Rockets, who have won seven of their last 10.

The Clippers’ early prowess in the paint allowed them to overcome a quiet start from Leonard, who scored two points in the opening period. The Clippers trailed 27-26 entering the second after scoring 16 paint points in the first and converting four Houston turnovers into five points.

After Sengun and Smith scored in the paint to lift the Rockets to a 35-31 lead, the Clippers responded with consecutive 3-pointers from Brook Lopez and Derrick Jones Jr. They ignited a seesaw stretch that continued through the remainder of the half, with the teams combining for seven lead changes and six ties in the second quarter alone.

Behind a combined 24 points from Collins and Leonard, the Clippers led 52-51 at the break.

–Field Level Media

Quenton Jackson scored seven points in overtime Tuesday night for the visiting Indiana Pacers, who outlasted the New York Knicks 137-134 in a back-and-forth clash between the Eastern Conference rivals.

The two teams combined for 39 lead changes, the most in the NBA this season.

Jackson opened overtime with a driving layup to put the Pacers ahead for good at 126-124 and spark a 9-0 run for Indiana, which opened another nine-point lead at 135-126 before surviving a furious rally in the final 20 seconds by the Knicks.

Jalen Brunson and Landry Shamet combined for eight straight points before Jackson sank two free throws with four seconds remaining. Shamet was fouled by Aaron Nesmith with one second left but missed both free throws.

Jackson finished with 19 points and was one of eight players to score in double figures for the Pacers, who snapped a four-game losing streak as they improved their Eastern Conference-worst record to 14-40. Indiana is 4-22 on the road.

Andrew Nembhard (24 points, 10 assists) posted a double-double while Pascal Siakam had a team-high 30 points. Nesmith had 11 points and Micah Potter scored 10 points while T.J. McConnell (13 points), Jay Huff (10 points) and Ben Sheppard (10 points) all got into double figures off the bench.

Jalen Brunson scored a game-high 40 points while Josh Hart (15 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists) recorded a triple-double for the Knicks, who have lost two of three following an eight-game winning streak.

Karl-Anthony Towns, who forced overtime by draining two free throws with 0.2 seconds left, had 22 points and 14 rebounds but fouled out when he was called for a moving screen on Jackson with 2:14 left in OT.

Mikal Bridges had 22 points while Shamet added 17.

The teams combined to shoot 53.5% (23-for-43) in the fourth quarter and were never separated by more than four points. The Pacers didn’t trail after Nesmith’s jumper with 3:38 remaining, which put them ahead 115-114.

Siakam had a chance to give Indiana a three-point lead with five seconds left but missed one of his free throws. Shamet missed an open 3-pointer before Towns was fouled on the rebound by Nesmith.

–Field Level Media