Moving day at the Masters and in Knoxville. (Photos from Google images)
Moving day is the third round (of four rounds) of a golf tournament. It was also moving day in Knoxville, TN.
Tennessee had their annual spring game today and the Vols are moving on from QB1, Nico Iamaleava. Head Coach, Josh Heupel, informed the team Saturday morning that Nico is no longer a Tennessee Vol.
I-ama-leavin
Here’s the short summary of what we know. Tennessee did everything they possibly could to win over the five star recruit from Long Beach, CA. Nico Iamaleava was given the largest NIL deal (at the time), UT sued the NCAA to keep him eligible, and they gave his family a house in Knoxville. The March 2022 NIL contract was set to pay him more than $8 million by the end of his third year with the Vols. (Reminder, Tennessee is a state with no income tax.) Nico’s team wanted to increase his pay to $4 million per year and a brand-new Bugatti Chiron sportscar may or may not have been requested. If their demands were not met, Nico would enter the transfer portal that opens next week. Nico attended a team dinner on Thursday and then he was a no-show for practice on Friday. Talk about Nico I-ama-leavin.
This is not the type of leadership you want from your QB. He’s a 20-year old kid, who became a millionaire overnight. His family was taken care of, Vol Nation loved him, and he was the future of Tennessee. But now, Nico is the past and Tennessee is moving on without him. This is what happens when you have your family as your agent and the NCAA hasn’t set rules to prevent hostage style situations. I’m proud of the University of Tennessee for standing ground and not caving to the demands.
The Masters
Moving day in Augusta, GA ended with Rory McIlroy 18 holes away from completing the Grand Slam (winning all four of golf’s majors in his career). Only five golfers have achieved a career grand slam. Going into Sunday’s final round, Rory is currently leading the Masters by three strokes.
Let’s not forget how hard it is to win a golf tournament, much less a Major. The Masters was the 100th Major tournament for Sergio Garcia. (There are only four Majors a year.) For at least 25 years, Sergio has played in Majors and he has only won one Major in his career. In 2017, Sergio won the Masters and that win came down to the first sudden-death playoff against Justin Rose. Said in another way, golf is difficult. Sergio failed to make the moving day cut.
Scottie Scheffler, the defending champion, has made it to round four without being arrested this year. The number one golfer in the world was the favorite to win the Masters, but he’s now seven strokes behind Rory. It’s rare that the Masters champion hasn’t come out of one of the final pairings.
After four decades playing in the Masters Tournament, Bernhard Langer made the 2025 Masters his 41st and final start. What an incredible career. Gary Player holds the record for most appearances (52) in the Masters Tournament from 1957 to 2009.
And because I’m a twin I have to mention Nicolai Hojgaard and Rasmus Hojgaard are the first set of twins to compete in the same Masters tournament. Rasmus survived moving day and is going into the final round tied for 21st. Nicolai missed the cut.
If you spent moving day unpacking the drama in Tennessee or watching the most beautiful golf course, you had a heck of a day.
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