Rory McIlroy has revealed that his mother and father came close to staying away from Augusta National this year after they were absent when he clinched his historic career Grand Slam triumph 12 months ago.The Northern Irishman's parents, Rosie and Gerry, remained at home in Northern Ireland during last year's breakthrough victory but ultimately decided to make the journey to Georgia for his title defence."There was a piece of them that didn't want to come this year after not being here last year but I'm so glad they got to experience this today," McIlroy said.Their decision proved worthwhile as they watched their son secure his sixth major championship by a single stroke.TRENDINGStoriesVideosYour SayMcIlroy's final round proved far from straightforward as he battled through a turbulent Sunday at Augusta.Beginning the day level at the top of the leaderboard, he made an encouraging birdie at the third before disaster struck at the par-three fourth, where a three-putt resulted in a double-bogey.A further dropped shot at the fifth saw him lose more ground, but the 36-year-old responded with consecutive gains from the sixth hole.Back-to-back birdies from the 12th then propelled him three clear with five holes remaining.His closing round of one-under 71 proved sufficient to fend off Scottie Scheffler's weekend challenge and claim victory by a solitary stroke.McIlroy expressed astonishment at the timing of his Augusta success, having endured a lengthy wait before finally breaking through at the tournament.LATEST SPORTS NEWS:Rory McIlroy atones for Erica Stoll mistake after securing second Masters victoryTyson Fury set to lose millions in tax after bagging huge purse from Arslanbek Makhmudov victoryScottie Scheffler makes complaint after Rory McIlroy makes history with Masters triumph"I can't believe I waited 17 years to get one green jacket and now I get two in a row," he remarked in the Butler Cabin.The 36-year-old had completed the third leg of golf's Grand Slam back in 2014 but then suffered 10 unsuccessful attempts to capture the Masters, the sole major missing from his collection.His consecutive victories came in his 17th and 18th appearances at the famous Georgia venue."I think all of my perseverance at this golf tournament over the years has really started to pay off," McIlroy added.McIlroy acknowledged that triumphing at Augusta presents immense challenges regardless of the circumstances surrounding the victory."I thought it was so difficult to win last year because of trying to win The Masters and the Grand Slam, then this year I realised it's just really difficult to win The Masters," he admitted.The champion also reflected on building his winning position during the opening two days of competition."I obviously did the bulk of my work on Thursday and Friday. I don't think I would have believed anyone if they said to me all you have to do is shoot even-par for the weekend and you'll win," McIlroy explained."I definitely thought I was going to need to go out there and at least shoot a couple of under-par scores. I just had to hang in there."Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter

Failing to appreciate the danger the killer posed led to "catastrophic consequences", an inquiry finds.

More than two decades after scientists identified a fossil as the world's oldest octopus officials now say it wasn't one at all.A recent study published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B found that the fossil Pohlsepia mazonensis a 300-million-year-old sea creature found in the Mazon Creek fossil beds of northeastern Illinois was closer to a nautilus than an octopus.Researchers now believe the creature was a relative of the nautilus, which is a shell-covered cephalopod with tentacles.NEW 'HELL HERON' SPINOSAURUS SPECIES FOUND IN REMOTE SAHARA 70 YEARS AFTER FOSSIL CLUECephalopods are a class of marine animals that includes octopuses, squids and cuttlefish, and are known for their tentacles and advanced nervous systems and for lacking rigid skeletons.The fossil was identified as the world's oldest octopus in 2000 but is now considered the oldest soft-tissue nautilus in the world.University of Reading zoologist Thomas Clements, the lead researcher of the new study, told The Associated Press the fossil is a "very difficult [one] to interpret."He added, "To look at it, it kind of just looks like a white mush."ARCHAEOLOGISTS FIND ARTIFACTS OLDER THAN STONEHENGE BENEATH BRITAIN'S HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT: 'INCREDIBLY RARE'"If you look at it, and you are a cephalopod researcher, and youre interested in everything octopus, it does superficially look a lot like a deep-water octopus."The determining factor, Clements said, was its teeth which researchers examined using a synchrotron to peer inside the fossil.They found that each row had 11 teeth more than the seven or nine typically found in octopuses.TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ"This has too many teeth, so it cant be an octopus," Clements said."And thats how we realized that the worlds oldest octopus is actually a fossil nautilus, not an octopus."The fossil had the same teeth as a nautiloid called Paleocadmus pohli, an ancient creature found in the same area.CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTERResearchers say the mix-up likely occurred because the creature decomposed and lost its shell before it was fossilized.The next oldest-known octopus fossil is about 90 million years old around 210 million years younger than the fossil Pohlsepia mazonensis."Its a huge gap," Clements said, noting it had long raised questions.CLICK HERE FOR MORE LIFESTYLE STORIES"And so that big gap got researchers sort of questioning, Is this thing actually an octopus?'"The fossil is currently held in the Field Museum in Chicago.Paul Mayer, who manages the museum's fossil invertebrate collections, said he was "a little surprised" by the new classification, but acknowledged that scientists have questioned the finding for years."People have been questioning whether it was an octopus ever since the original paper was first published in 2000," Mayer told the AP.He added that the news "is great for our collections, and hopefully new discoveries will be made and new stories will be revealed."The Associated Press contributed reporting.

Javokhir Sindarov hat alle Chancen, Herausforderer von Schach-Weltmeister Gukesh Dommaraju zu werden. Beim Kandidatenturnier ist ihm der Sieg kaum noch zu nehmen.[mehr]

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eyes will now be on the International Olympic Committee (IOC), who in December recommended

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