David White

Articles in
April 2026

The 5th Signature event on the PGA Tour, The Cadillac Championship, WP’s birthday

April 29, 2026

Can Scheffler get over the hump this week after finishing second at Augusta National to Rory by a shot and losing to Matt Fitzpatrick in a playoff at the RBC Heritage? (Photo courtesy of Wikipedia).



Trump National Doral, the Blue Monster course, aptly named, will host the 5th Signature event of the PGA Tour season Thursday as 72 tour players tee it up in Miami for the Cadillac Championship. This will be the 56th time the tournament will be played at Doral. It was played as the Doral Open from 1962-2006, and as the WGC Cadillac from 2007-2016. It took a hiatus from a while after some controversy with President Trump. But it’s back now and ready to roll.

Leading the field is Scottie Scheffler, as Matt’ Fitzie” Fitzpatrick, as Bama Golf likes to call him, is taking the week off after winning three of the last four events he’s entered, which includes the Valspar Championship, the RBC Heritage, the fourth Signature event this year, good for a $3.6 million first place check, and last week at TPC Louisiana in the Zurich Classic playing with his brother Alex, who, thanks to big brother hitting a bunker shot to a foot on the par 5 18th for birdie, earned his tour card and is in the field this week.

Per the Trump National Golf Club website, there are many terrific and intensely challenging holes on this course sand and water all over the track. The 15th hole is a 157 yard, Par 3 with a peninsula green demanding the player to land it safely over the water and accurately onto the green with water on all four sides of the green. With the wind playing a role this week, 15 could be somewhat a bear for the players. Hole 16 is a 370 yard, Par 4, that is drivable for the longest hitters, Scheffler being one of them, but there are four bunkers surrounding the green, so the best play may be to hit a fairway wood or a 4 or 5 iron and play for birdie. Hole 17 is a 458 yard, par 4, it doglegs left to right, so a good drive carries the right hand fairway bunker and gives the player an optimal second shot. Could be a birdieable hole, but with the wind coming up this week/weekend, maybe not. I want to go back one more hole before describing the terrifically challenging 18th at the Blue Monster. The 12th hole is a 667 yard, par 5 with the wind definitely impacting how the players navigate this hole. Several bunkers align the 12th. There is one on the right side of the fairway, one on the left, and the green is heavily bunkered with five surrounding it. These guys are the best, so they can handle these holes better than anybody in the world, so it may not be as daunting as it sounds to a weekend player. But with the wind this week, it may very well be. The 18th is a 473 yard, par 4 and is considered one of the toughest holes on the PGA Tour. Water runs all along the left side of the hole, so hitting it to the right side of the fairway is a must. Getting in the right rough and dealing with those palm trees is no bargain, so the player will need to keep it in the short grass. The bermuda rough will be at 3 inches, so the player will have to probably chip it out of the rough on 18 and try to get up and down for par. Any slight draw, and the player is “dead in the water.”

The course is playing 7,739 yards and is a stock par 72. At 7,739, according to Rob Bolton of PGA Tour.com, the Blue Monster is the second longest course on tour this year only 26 yards shorter than Torrey Pines. The fellas will be tested.

The bermuda greens will be stimping at 12, so decent speed, but, as of now, the wind will be a major factor. Dick Wilson designed the course in 1962. He’s known for several other courses, including Bay Hill in 1961, and The Greenbriar. Gil Hanse redesigned the course in 2013-14. Hanse also redid Olympic Club in San Francisco, Southern Hills in Tulsa, and Winged Foot in New York. All of three of those courses are consistent major venues.

Collin Morikawa is in pretty good form right now and looks to capture his second Signature Event in 2026 after winning the AT&T Pebble Beach in February.( Photo courtesy of Official World Golf Rankings).

Weather

Thursday: Sunny, 85, winds SSW at 10-20 MPH.

Friday: Partly sunny, 86, winds SSE 10-15.

Saturday: Sunny, 88, Winds, S 15-25.

Sunday, not so great, as of today, but could change. T-storms likely, 82. 90% chance of t-storms. Winds NNE 10-15. So, the wind will totally change direction on Sunday.

Challenging wind conditions are in store. I know the players are hoping Sunday won’t be an inclement day. Florida has intermittent spurts of t-storms and they can pass through quickly. Remains to be seen.

TV Coverage

Thursday-Friday: 2-6 P.M. CT, 3-7 ET, Golf Channel.

Saturday-Sunday: 11 A.M.-2 P.M. CT/ 12-3 ET, GC; 2-5 P.M. CT/3-6 ET, CBS, Paramount+.

Odds

Scheffler: 3/1; Cam Young: 12/1; Morikawa, 20/1; Chris Gotterup, 25/1; Tommy Fleetwood, 27/1; Min Woo Lee: 27/1; Russell Henley: 27/1; Sam Burns, 27/1; Jake Knapp, 30/1; Si Woo Kim, 33/1; Hideki, 33/1; Adam Scott, 35/1; Maverick McNealy, 35/1; Vik Hovland, 35/1; Kurt Kitayama, 40/1; Jacob Bridgeman, 40/1; Justin Rose, 40/1; Nicolai Hojgard, 40/1; Harris English, 40/1; Michael Thorbjornsen, 40/1; Jordan Spieth, 50/1; Akshay Bhatia, 50/1; Gary Woodland, 50/1: Sepp Straka, 55/1; J.J. Spaun, 60/1; Shane Lowry, 70/1; Jason Day, 70/1; Justin Thomas 70/1.

White’s World’s winner

I’m going to kind of go out on a limb here and take the 36 year old from Valdosta, Georgia (great high school football country), by way of the University of Georgia, and now living in Sea Island. He finished tied for 4th at the RBC Heritage two weeks ago, and played pretty solidly at Augusta National finishing tied for 30th at one under. He’s won 5 times on tour. He won the 2013 Fed Ex St. Jude Classic in Memphis at TPC Southwind, the 2017 OHL Classic at Mayakoba in Mexico, the 2021 Sentry of Champions in Hawaii, the 2021 Travelers Championship, the final Signature event this season, the 8th one, and he won the 2025 Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey. He’s an excellent putter as he is 8th on tour in Strokes Gained: Putting. He putted very well at Harbour Town two weeks ago at the RBC Heritage. Give me:

Harris English

I’ll take Harris English to capture the Cadillac Championship at the Blue Monster Course at Doral. (Photo courtesy of The Travelers Championship).

Sleeper

I’ll take the guy who ate at Craft’s/ 280 a few nights ago. He was with his family, so I don’t think he made it to the Fennec. Derrick doin work.

Sepp Straka

‘

And Last, but most importantly…

Today is Walter “WP” Pittman’s 35th? birthday. Just joshin’ Walter. You’re better at your age than many of these early to mid 30 somethings are at their’s. Hope you’re having a phenomenal day. The Blog appreciates you.

Saturday

The 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby: Preview/Prediction.

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Joseph, Brombey doin work; NBA, Stanley Cup Playoffs Predictions

April 28, 2026
Bama Golf, Joseph D. with an excellent prediction of Matthew Fitzpatrick, the hottest golfer on the planet, winning the Signature Event RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head. (Photo courtesy of Baggett Transportation).

Joseph “Bama Golf” Donald made a prophetic prediction a couple of weeks ago when he predicted Matt “Fitzie” Fitzpatrick to win the RBC Heritage. Great stuff from Bama G, who is a terrific predictor.

“Spike Me Up” John “Brombey” Bromberg, another winner in his own right, correctly picked the three year old thoroughbred, Commandment, ridden by Flavien Prat and trained by Brad H., Cox, to win the Florida Derby. Brombey was down at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, FL. about 20 miles north of Miami. It’s in between Miami and Fort Lauderdale.

Brombey’s reaction was epic. This is called, as now LSU basketball coach (again) Will Wade , would say (paraphrasing), “a strong — reaction.” Here’s Brombey’s electric moment when he showed his ticket that he would be cashing on Commandment.

Brombey’s classic reaction. (Video courtesy of Amy “Sweetie” Bromberg).

Great stuff from the fellas. I care a lot about my commenters. Walter, Excedrin, Bama Golf, Spike Me Up, MB, Derrick, WT, EHS ’80, and Charles B. Perkins make my day when I see their comments on the Blog, and also relish getting private emails from K Sevier, my illustrious wife, Chris “CK” King from Nashville and Bo.C. from Dallas.

Matt “Fitzie” Fitzpatrick hit a four iron from 204 yards to 13 feet in the playoff of the RBC Heritage and canned the birdie putt to outlast the great Scottie Scheffler and capture the Tartan Jacket and the $3.6 million first place check that came with it. I texted Joseph and he told me he just likes Fitzie’s toughness. I agree with that. Fitzie and his brother, Alex , just won the Zurich Classic at TPC Louisiana at 31 under, as ‘Fitzie” hit a bunker shot from 20 yards to a foot on 18, and Alex tapped in the birdie putt on the par 5 to secure the one shot Fitzpatrick brothers’ victory over a couple of other teams and earned Alex his PGA Tour card. Alex will now be playing in the Signature Event this week, the Cadillac Championship, at Trump National Doral, the Blue Monster Course. Should be terrific. Fitzie, Matt that is, is sitting this one out. The first place prize is once again $3.6 million as is the custom for Signature events, and there is a stellar field with Scheffler the 3/1 favorite at this point. More on the Cadillac tomorrow in my Preview/Predictions column on that classic tourney.

And the 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby is Saturday. At present, the favorite is Renegade, the Arkansas Derby winner from March 28th at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas, 55 miles southwest of Little Rock. That was the same day Brombey won at Gulfstream Park with Commandment. Renegade is a 9/2 favorite presently. Commandment is at 9/1. Renegade, trained by Todd Pletcher, a two time Derby winner, will be ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr.. The horse is in the No.1 Post position, a pretty tough post to win at. Commandment, trained by Brad H. Cox, will be ridden by Luis Saez, is at 9/1. Flavien Prat, the winning jockey on Commandment at the Florida Derby, will be riding Louisiana Derby champion Emerging Market. Emerging Market’s odds are at 13/1. Chad C. Brown is the horse’s trainer.

I’ll have a lot more on Saturday with a Preview and Predictions column for the 152nd Run for the Roses.

Now to the Playoffs in the NHL and NBA, along with my predicitions of which teams I like to win those respective Leagues’ championships.

Stanley Cup Playoffs

Eastern Conference

Conference Semifinals

TB Lightning over Buffalo Sabres in 7

Carolina Hurricanes over Pittsburgh Penguins in 7

Both hard fought series.

Conference Finals

Hurricanes over Lightning in 7

Carolina edges out a superbly talented Tampa team to make the Stanley Cup Finals.

Western Conference

Conference Semis

Anaheim Ducks over Utah Mammoth in 7

Colorado Avalanche over Dallas Stars in 6

Conference Finals

Avalanche over Ducks in 5

Stanley Cup Finals

The Avalanche won the you would call it the “dreaded” President’s Trophy for having the best record/most points during the regular season. The last team to win the President’s Trophy and the Stanley Cup was the 2012-13 Chicago Blackhawks. See a lot of Blackhawks games on the TV and banners on the walls on my favorite TV shows, Chicago Fire and Chicago PD. Fire is on for its 14th season and PD is in its 13th season. Both are renewed for 2026-27. Amazing shows. I’m on season 9 of Fire and season 6 of PD. A lot of Blackhawks stuff on those shows. But I believe in this curse that is winning the President’s Trophy. So I’m going to take a very strong Carolina team in a thriller.

Hurricanes over Avalanche in 7

Conn Smythe Trophy, Most Valuable Player in the Stanley Cup Playoffs

Sebastian Aho

Center Sebastian Aho and Carolina capture Carolina’s second Stanley Cup in its 29 year history in Raleigh. They also won the Cup in 2006 over Edmonton in 7 games. (Photo courtesy of NBC Sports).

Coverage on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, TNT, TBS and truTV with the Finals exclusively on ABC. Goes into June.

NBA Playoffs Predictions

Eastern Conference

Conference Semis

Cleveland Cavaliers over Orlando Magic in 7

Celtics over Knicks in 6

Conference Finals

Celtics over Cavs in 6

Western Conference

Conference Semis

OKC over Lakers in 6

Denver Nuggets over San Antonio Spurs in 7

Conference Finals

OKC Thunder over Nuggets in 6

NBA Finals

I’ll take the Boston Celtics to win their 19th Championship in their 80 year franchise existence. The Celtics have won 18 now and the Lakers have 17. Interesting competition still ongoing.

Celtics over Thunder in 7.

Finals MVP

Jaylen Brown

Jaylen Brown leads his Celtics to another NBA Championship denying the OKC Thunder back to back world championships. (Photo courtesy of Reuters).

Coverage on ABC, ESPN, NBC, Peacock and Amazon Prime with the Finals exclusively on ABC.

Wednesday: The Cadillac Championship, Preview/Prediction.

Vanderbilt Baseball and Men’s Basketball “Jammin'” as the Great Bob Marley said

April 24, 2026
Our great right hander Connor Fennell leads our charges today at 6 P.M. versus No.4 Texas (Photo courtesy of The Tennessean).

Pitching matchups for this weekend as we host the No.4 Texas Longhorns  at the Hawk.

Friday, 6 P.M. CT/7 ET, streaming on SEC Network+.

Vanderbilt: Junior right hander Connor Fennell, from Londonderry, New Hampshire. 3-1, 4.74 ERA, 57 IP’s, 14 BB’s, 70 K’s, 12 homers given up. .239 batting average against. Connor’s been excellent the past two Fridays. Against OU on Friday, 4/9, Fennell went 7.1 innings, gave up 7 hits, 3 earned runs, with no walks and 10 K’s in a Commodores’ 10-0 victory. Last Friday @ Kentucky, Fennell went 6.1, giving up 5 hits, 1 earned with 2 walks and 3 K’s. We lost that game in the ninth inning on a grand slam, 5-2, but Connor got the job done and deserved better. He’ll compete. He’s a bulldog.

Texas will go with lefty Dylan Volantis, 5-0, 2.13 ERA,16 walks, 69 K’s, 1 homer, .196 BA against.

Saturday, 7 P.M. CT/8 ET, SEC Network.

VU pitcher, to be determined. I’ll guess freshman righty Nate Schlote (Fairway, KS.), 3-1, 0.50 ERA, 18 IP’s, 17 walks, 20 K’s. 0 homers. .125 BA against. Been good, needs to throw strikes. Other candidates are junior right hander Luke Guth (Franklin, PA.), 1-1, 4.12, 24 IP, 15 walks, 27 K’s. 2 homers. .250 BA against. Or possibly junior righty Brennan Seiber (Newport Beach, Cali.- nice place to live). 5-1, 5.04, 17 BB’s, 20 K’s. 2 homers, .257 BA against.

For Texas, right hander Ruger Riojas, 5-1, 3.25 ERA, 12 walks, 83 K’s. Two homers. .222 BA against.

Sunday, 12 P.M. CT/1 ET. ESPN2, The Deuce. 

Vanderbilt: Freshman right hander Wyatt Nadeau (Gorham, Maine). 1-2, 5.40 ERA, 38.1 IP, 32 BBs, 51 K’s, 4 homers given up. .207 BA against. When Wyatt throws strikes, he’s very effective.

Texas:

LHP Luke Harrison. 4-2, 4.09 ERA, 50.2 IP, 22 BBs, 54 K’s. 2 homers. .242 BA against.

Their closer is righty Sam Cozart, 5-0, 1.83, 6 saves. 7 walks, 49 K’s. 3 homers, .104 BA against. 

***Keys to success***
1. Throw strikes
2. Keep the ball in the ball park. 
3. Let our defense make plays. 
4. Play very solid D.
5. Hit in the clutch.

Always the formula for success.

I’ll be back over the weekend with a report if we’re having success.

Men’s golf is struggling today and doesn’t look like they’ll make the Match Play. We’re +6 today, and -5 for the tournament. Eighth place Arkansas is -14. We’re through holes 12-16. We’ve got four teams in front of us below Arkansas. So really disappointing performance by the team. We’ve got the NCAA Tournament, but this is just not the way Vanderbilt Men’s Golf is supposed to compete. Auburn and Florida are both at -32 in the lead. Both are on holes 9-12. Very disappointing performance.

Men’s Basketball,
now this is something to be ecstatic about, particularly if we get two more guys back on the team. 

Here are our 2026 signees for the 2026-27 team. All of these ratings are from 247 Sports.

Incoming freshmen 1. Ethan Mgbako, 6’6″, 215 small forward out of Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia. 92, 4-star.

2.Anthony Brown, 6’1″,160 point guard, Archbishop Carroll, D.C. 91, 4-star.

3. Jackson Sheffield, 6’9″, 240 Center, Hoover, Alabama. 90, 4 star.

Transfers

1.T.O. Barrett, 6’4″, 200, shooting guard. Missouri transfer. Originally from Edmond, OK. 93, 4-star out of high school and 91 4 star from Missouri. 

2. Sebastian Williams-Adams, 6’8″, 230 power forward. Auburn transfer. Originally from Houston. 98, 4 star out of high school. 94 from Auburn.

3. Bangot Dak. 6’11”, 185 Power Forward. From Lincoln, Nebraska originally. Colorado transfer. 84 out of high school, and 89, 3- star from Colorado.

4. Ace Glass. 6’2″, 170, shooting guard. Washington State transfer. From Rancho Cucamonga, CA. 91, 4 star out of high school. 91 from Wash State.

5. Berke Buyuktuncel. 6’10”, 244 power forward. Nebraska transfer. Originally from Bursa, Turkey. Reminds me of when I was trying to call a basketball game at UAB back in 1986 as I was  auditioning for potential broadcasting jobs and I had my friend, and frat brother Skins with me and this Turkish player hit a deep trifecta, and Skins said, “He just hit that from downtown Constantinople!” Berke was a 99 4 star out of high school and a 91, 4-star from Nebraska.

So, awesome class by Coach By. Our team ranking is 14th in the country by 247 Sports and our transfer class is 15th. We can do some damage with these guys. 

Two other guys we need to lock down  are superstar point guard Tyler Tanner, who is weighing his options with the NBA. The deadline for underclassmen to declare for the draft is April 24th, today. May 10-17 is the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago, and June 13th is the deadline for college players to withdraw from the draft and maintain their eligibility. Tyler is getting a very healthy offer from VU to stay, somewhere in the $2.5 to 3 Million range for next season. Tyler should come back. The pay is great and he can be a star and not the 11th or 12th guy on the bench in the NBA. Hopeful Tyler will choose to come back. One thing we have working for us: Tyler is an awesome kid. 

The other player is our super solid small forward AK Okereke. He’s trying to get a waiver for a fifth season from the NCAA to get another season at VU. AK’s argument is he played at Cornell, which doesn’t give out athletic scholarships as per Ivy League rules. Would love to get the big fella back as well.

And two guys I would be highly remiss to leave out are our stud freshman small forward this season, Chandler Bing. Chandler, from Atlanta, had a really solid frosh season and is primed to be a big time player for us. And Jayden Leverett, our 6’10”, 205 center, from El Paso, Texas. Jayden showed flashes of being a really nice player for us down low. He’s got good handles, getting more size and he’s already a physical player, good rebounder, can affect the rim, and has a pretty solid offensive game that’s developing.

So, that’s what we’ve got in baseball and basketball. Looking stellar in both sports.

I’ll keep you apprised on baseball this weekend.

Have an awesome weekend. 

Vanderbilt Baseball, Men’s Basketball, Football, Men’s Golf Excelling. Here’s VU Insider

April 23, 2026

Our outstanding sophomore third baseman from Ooltewah, TN., Brodie Johnston is pounding the baseball right now. (Photo courtesy of The Vanderbilt Hustler).

Our baseball team is picking it up as third baseman Brodie Johnston and right fielder Braden Holcomb, among many others, are pounding the baseball right now. And, just as importantly, we are pitching MUCH better, which we had to have. The defense has been stellar lately.

I’ll have some more on Friday with details on Brodie, Braden, Mancini, Ryker Waite, Ruston Rigdon, etc, and what to look for as No.4 Texas (D1 Baseball Rankings) comes to Nashville for a three game set at the Hawk. Couldn’t be more gigantic of a series.

Our RPI, as reported by Warren Nolan, an expert in the field, is 69, which is probably not good enough yet to get us in the NCAA Tournament. But we’ve improved markedly in the last week after taking 2 of 3 from Kentucky in Lexington and defeating Xavier, 11-1, in 8 innings by the run rule, a 10 or more run lead after the trailing team has hit in the 7th. We are now 25-17 overall and 9-9 in the always rugged SEC. We started out slowly in the non-conference and the SEC has been as brutal as ever. But we’ve held our own. But we’ve got work to do. 

Connor Fennell has been pitching well on Friday Nights, and our bullpen was better last weekend in Lexington. We just need to get better starting pitching on Saturday and Sunday, and our bullpen needs to keep progressing.

Brodie’s been awesome hitting .367 with 13 homers and 38 steaks. Braden is also hitting well at .329 with 12 and 39. Waite, our shortstop, is hitting .301 with 5 and 32 and is 9 for 12 in base stealing, and our great senior, second baseman Mike Mancini, is hitting .301 with 12 and 39. Mancini is also 12-for-12 in stolen bases. We always need to manufacture runs. It can be the difference between winning and losing, and we’ve been pretty strong lately in the stealing and bunt games along with our hitting prowess.

Braden was 4 for 5 Tuesday versus Xavier, and our superb sophomore first baseman, Tommy Goodin, who has taken over at first, was three for 5 with a three run shot and 5 Ribeyes. Waite hit a grand salami. Tommy is hitting .295 with 9 long ones and 29 Ribbies.

Game one Friday versus Texas is at 6 P.M. CT/7 ET on SEC Network+. Saturday’s game is at 7 P.M. CT/8 ET on the SEC Network. And Sunday’s finale is at 12 P.M.CT/1 East on ESPN2.

Major weekend ahead at the Hawk, and we’ll have to pitch well because Texas hits .303 as a team and has a 3.41 team ERA. Texas is 30-8 and 11-6 in the SEC, good for third in the conference behind No.5 Georgia, which is 13-5 and 32-10, and No.7 A&M, which is at 12-5 and 31-7. We are in 11th place in the conference standings, so A LOT on the line on West End starting Friday. 

 We’re hitting .294 as a team and are 4th in the country in home runs with 87. Defense is solid at .975, and we turn a ton of double plays. Defense could even be a little sharper, but it was very sharp against Kentucky and Xavier.

The pitching ERA is where we need to pick it up. It’s at 5.38 right now. We’ve Got to get better on the mound if we want to have a highly successful season. We’ve had some injuries, but now have guys coming back, and we’re pitching four or five freshmen, so it’s been a learning curve. But now is the time for the staff to step it up. The freshmen have been through a lot of battles in the pre-conference and now in the SEC. So, they’re veterans at this point despite the fact that they’re  freshmen. They’re just going to have to lock it down. We’ve got to have those young guys and the veterans produce for us to have good, if not great success this season. The talent is there. Just need to be mentally tough on the hill and throw strikes and let our defense make plays. Connor is definitely giving us that. Fennell is our leader on the staff. Our other juniors and underclassmen have to follow suit.

I’ll have more on our team through the weekend.

I’ll have more on “By,” Coach Mark Byington, and the men’s bball team coming up Friday. By was extended by Candice and rewarded our program and our University for it by pulling in a tremendous incoming freshmen and transfer class. I’ll have many more details on what By has done. Keeping Tyler Tanner as a Dore is preeminent in our plans for 2026-27. Tyler did not transfer, so it’s a matter of if we can keep him from going to the NBA. There are deadlines for declaring for the draft and staying in. I think we’ve got a shot to keep him and possibly get AK Okereke back. AK is trying to win his case in court for an extra year of eligibility. Will get into more detail on Men’s bball Friday. It’s going very well. By’s the man.

It was such a downer losing to Nebraska because I loved the guys on the team and they had such a sensational season. Sorry to see Tyler Nickel, and Devin McGlockton have to move on due to the fact that they’re out of eligibility. Nickel is kind of up in the air still though. He probably won’t be back, but there’s talk of him trying to get another year of eligibility. He was a little erratic as a shooter, but gave great effort and was a leader. Glock was a terrific leader and teammate and gave us a lot. I really liked what Jalen Washington did, too, in his one season as a Commodore. Wish those guys all the very best and will be pulling for them in their future endeavors. Will get more in depth on our newcomers Friday.

Football had an awesome spring. Clark has this program fine tuned to be a powerhouse in the near future. I love what five star freshman quarterback Jared Curtis can do for us. The QB competition is still ongoing into August, and we’ve got three other pretty good players. Curtis has the most talent. He can really sling it. Can a freshman quarterback really lead his team to prominence in the SEC? If anybody can do it, Jared can. It’s not a done deal, but I’m banking on Jared being our starting QB in game one vs. Austin Peay at FirstBank on Saturday, Sept 5th. And the talent around Jared, or whomever it is, is as good as we’ve ever had. The defense is loaded, too. We’ll have to fine tune our offensive line, but there’s great size and ability, and plenty of depth. And I’m a huge fan of O Line coach Chris Klenakis. With Coach Klenakis, and OC Tim Beck at the helm, and our chief Consultant to Clark and senior offensive Advisor Jerry Kill, we’ll have good offense. Seddy Alexander, MK Young and Junior Sherrill are back among others. I like our material on offense. And Clark and DC Steve Gregory can do super things with our talent on defense. Our defense can be elite. Couldn’t be going any better in football.

Our Men’s Golf team shot 9 under today in the second round of the SEC Tournament at Sea Island Golf Club at St. Simons Island, GA. and are in 9th place heading into Friday’s final round of stroke play at 11 under. We are one shot back of 8th place South Carolina, which is at -12. The top 8 finishers in stroke play matriculate to the Match Play on Saturday and Sunday. There are quarterfinal and semifinal matches on Saturday, and the Championship Match is Sunday. I like where Coach Scott Limbaugh and our team stands heading into Friday.

We are ranked 11th in the country. We have really improved throughout the season. We’ve got a young team, for the most part, as two freshmen are in the starting lineup of 5 players in the team competition. But the two freshmen were 2 of the three players in the No.1 recruiting class in the country in 2025, so they know what it takes. But our senior from West Point, Mississippi, Wells Williams, has been the story for our team through the first two rounds.  Wells is at nine under for the tournament, and tied for fourth, three shots back of Auburn stud Jackson Kolvun.

We’ll need Wells, freshman Will Hartman, from Marvin, N.C., who is at -4, freshman Jon Ed Steed from Enterprise, Alabama, who has been superb for us this season, junior Chase Nevins, from Great Falls, VA. and sophomore Ryan Downes, from Longmeadow, Massachusetts, to lock down tomorrow and get us into the match play, where it’s anybody’s game then. No.1 Auburn leads the team leaderboard at -27.

Will have more VU Confidential stuff Friday with the 2026-27 Basketball team makeup, more on these tremendous signees, and a running diatribe (not overkill, but up to date information) on the Men’s golf team as they home in on round 3 and advancing to Match Play. 

Thanks, have a great evening and Anchor Down.

The 4th Signature event on Tour, The RBC Heritage

April 16, 2026

Scheffler is the favorite once again after falling agonizingly short to Rory last Sunday at Augusta National. (Photo courtesy of Britannica).



Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head, S.C. (7,213 yards, Par 71) will host the 58th playing of the RBC Heritage, the fourth signature event on tour this season which features a $20 million purse, no cut and a $3.5 million first place check to go along with a Wimp Sanderson look-alike jacket. Eighty two players are competing. The tournament is presently underway.

The two big stories in golf heading into this weekend are Rory’s winning a second Green Jacket in a row last Sunday at the 90th Masters, and the possibility of the LIV Tour disbanding. Rory did what he had to do to capture his second Green Jacket, the $4.5 million first place check, and his sixth major championship to catapult him into the discussion of a top 10 elite player in history. He was fortunate on the 18th tee that he only needed a bogey to win because he promptly drove it right-into the woods, but got out and chipped up on the green and two putted for bogey. Scottie Scheffler shot 65 Saturday and 68 on Sunday, but came up a half inch to the left of sinking his 20 foot birdie putt on 17 and really putting some pressure on McIlroy. But he finished at -11, and Rory, who played solid golf on Sunday, took care of business to capture the Green Jacket. Not as dramatic a finish as you’d like, but surely another classic at the hallowed grounds of Augusta National.

Now to the LIV Tour. There are reports that Saudi Arabia, dealing with the bombings from Iran, could stop funding the LIV Tour and call it quits. The Public Investment Fund that has $900+ billion in assets, which seems like it’s unbreakable, is losing interest in the tour as has been reported. Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed defected back to the PGA Tour, and Bryson DeChambeau does not have a new contract with LIV Golf. LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil is disputing the report, saying the Tour plans on continuing operations at full speed ahead, but there’s no word from the Public Investment Fund. It’s worth keeping an eye on. Definitely would be nice to get DeChambeau, Rahm, guys like that, back on the tour, though there should be punitive measures for them to rejoin. Koepka had to forfeit several million dollars in future earnings, but I think maybe these guys need to earn their way back on tour by playing more events than are required. They did turn their backs on the PGA Tour, so there should be consequences for that. This will be an interesting story to follow the next couple of days.

But back to the PGA Tour and the RBC Heritage which features a terrific field of major winners including 4 time winner Scheffler, two Masters, a PGA Championship and an Open Championship, defending champion Justin Thomas, a two time PGA Championship winner and a 16 time tour winner who looks to be regaining his form. Two time major winner in 2024 Xander Schauffele (PGA Championship and Open Championship), 2022 U.S. Open winner and 2023 RBC Heritage champion Matt Fitzpatrick, and this year’s Players Championship champion Cam Young, who looked like he had a serious shot of winning the Masters last Sunday, but fell back due to putting miscues. Rory is not in the field this week, which makes sense. Any player would take a week off after winning the Masters. This is the fourth of eight Signature events this season with the $20 million purses and $3.6 million first place checks and no cuts for five of them, and $4 Million for the player sponsored events with a cut. Jacob Bridgeman won Tiger Woods event, the Genesis Invitational, and Akshay Bhatia won the Arnie. Jack’s event, the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday, which will be played at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio, will take place June 4th-7th. The other three Signature events are the Cadillac Classic at Trump National Doral in Miami, April 30th-May 3rd; the Truist Championship at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, May 7-10; and the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut, June 25th-28th.

The rest of the majors this season are, in order: The PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club in Newton Square, PA., 15 miles from downtown Philly, May 14-17. It’ll be the 108th edition of the PGA Championship. The 126th U.S. Open will be played at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, a classic, in Southhampton, New York, June 18th-21st, Father’s Day weekend. And the 154th Open Championship will be played at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport England, July 16-19. So a lot of electricity in golf is forthcoming.

Harbour Town Golf Links’ greens are some of the smallest on tour and will be stimping at 12 1/2. The greens are Bermuda and the rough will be at approximately 1 1/2 inches. No.18 is the classic lighthouse hole with a lighthouse behind the green. Eighteen is a 478 yard, par 4, with a wide landing area for the player’s tee shot, but trouble on the left with marsh and water if the competitor overcooks it. The second shot is tough to a narrow, small green. There have been dramatic moments on the 18th including JT’s 22 foot birdie conversion on the first playoff hole in 2025 to prevail over Andrew Novak. Here are odds for the tournament.

Scheffler, 4/1, Schauffele, 14/1, Fitzpatrick, 16/1, Cam Young, 17/1, Russell Henley, 17/1, Tommy Fleetwood, 18/1, Ludvig Aberg, 20/1, Collin Morikawa, 22/1, Patrick Cantlay, 24/1, Si Woo Kim, 28/1, Jordan Spieth, 29/1, Bob McIntyre (he and Sergio Garcia were sure asking to be suspended for a year from Augusta after their behavior last weekend on the course. They should be suspended from next year’s Masters in my opinion) 29/1, Harris English, 30/1, Vik Hovland, 34/1, Sam Burns (had a shot at the Masters, just couldn’t finish over the weekend), 35/1, Jack Knapp, 37/1.

Weather looks outstanding. Mid 80’s, sunny, though we could use some rain here and a lot of other places in the south sometime soon. But for this weekend, there will be stellar golf conditions. Wind will be a factor at 10-20 MPH each day.

Broadcast Schedule

Today-Friday: 1-5 P.M. CT/2-6 ET Golf Channel.

Saturday-Sunday: 12-2 P.M. CT/1-3 ET, GC; 2-5 P.M. CT/3-6 ET, CBS, Paramount+.

Winner

I liked what I saw from this recently turned 37 year old at the Masters. He went 66, 68 on Saturday and Sunday and finished tied for third at 10 under par. He finished tied 8th at the RBC in 2025. I’ll take the man who turned 37 this past Sunday at Augusta National, April 12th, who is a native of Macon, Georgia, by way of the University of Georgia, to take home the Tartan Jacket and the $3.6 million first place check.

Russell Henley

Give me the stellar Henley, a 5 time winner on tour, to capture the 58th RBC Heritage. (Photo courtesy of Golf Monthly).

Darkhorse

I’ll go with the 34 year old eight-time tour winner on tour from Long Beach, Cali, by way of UCLA. The Bruins captured the women’s college basketball national championship, and have the No.1 ranked team in college baseball right now. Cantlay can “augment” (as Bill Gates Bates and I like to say) that success with a Tartan Jacket.

Patrick Cantlay

The Masters

April 8, 2026

Justin Rose was runner-up to Sergio Garcia in 2017, and Rory in 2025 losing to both in a playoff. But the 45 year old British gentlemen is undaunted about his chances heading into Augusta National this week. (Photo courtesy of Golf.com).



Ninety one players convene at Augusta National Golf Club on Thursday for the 90th playing of the Masters with only one guy emerging to put on the coveted Green Jacket on early Sunday evening. It’s as good as it gets in sports with Sunday at the Masters “a tradition unlike any other,” as the prolific Jim Nantz says. That’s one sports phrase that never gets old because it’s a unique and spectacular sporting event. So, who will be that stellar and fortunate player who earns the Green Jacket along with the $4+ million first place check and an exemption for life to the Masters and exemptions into the other three majors through the early 2030’s, and have his name etched in history as the Masters champion? Legacy still matters too. Here’s a look at the players, the details, and who I like to capture this one of a kind major championship; the greatest championship there is in all of sports for all golf fans.

The defending champion is Rory, who made it quite interesting on Sunday in 2025 as he hit several heroic shots and some not too stellar shots also. McIlroy’s shank into the water on 13 with a four shot lead that led to a double bogey was a critical miscue. But he persevered with a beautiful approach to three feet on the first playoff hole, number 18, to prevail over the savvy veteran Justin Rose and capture the 89th edition, completing the career Grand Slam. Rory had not won a major since the 2014 PGA Championship at Valhalla, and had never won the Masters, falling apart many times while in contention or leading before last year’s breakthrough. So it was both elation and relief for McIlroy when he sank the three foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole. This year Rory is back to defend and squaring off with the 2022 and 2024 champion, the elite Scottie Scheffler, along with 2023 champion Jon Rahm, 2018 winner Patrick Reed, Brooks Koepka, a five time major winner, Collin Morikawa, a two time major winner at the Open Championship in 2021 and the PGA Championship in 2020, Cameron Young, on a roll after his Players Championship victory in March, Matt Fitzpatrick, the 2022 U.S. Open champion, Rose, Xander Schauffele, a two time major winner at the 2024 PGA Championship and the 2024 Open Championship. The always dangerous Bryson DeChambeau, the 2020 and 2024 U.S. Open champion, and the young stallion, Ludvig Aberg, among a terrific field of the world’s best. Here are odds for key players in this week’s Masters.

The 26 year old Aberg is a strong contender this week. (Photo courtesy of Golf Monthly).

Scottie Scheffler: 4/1; Jon Rahm: 9/1; Rory: 10/1; DeChambeau: 11/1; Aberg: 18/1; Xander Schauffele: 19/1; Cameron Young: 24/1; Tommy Fleetwood: 25/1; Fitzpatrick: 26/1; Morikawa: 31/1; Rose: 36/1; Jordan Spieth: 38/1; Koepka: 38/1; Hideki Matsuyama: 39/1; Robert McIntyre: 40/1; Chris Gotterup: 43/1; Patrick Reed: 45/1; Viktor Hovland: 46/1; Justin Thomas: 55/1; Tyrrell Hatton: 69/1; Russell Henley: 42/1; Si Woo KIm: 47/1; Min Woo Lee: 54/1; Patrick Cantlay: 51/1; Akshay Bhatia: 66/1; Jason Day: 69/1; Corey Conners: 82/1; Ben Griffin; 100/1.

Those are several key contenders, and, typically, one of those guys will win.

Weather

Perfecto all weekend

Thursday: 74, Sunny, Wind NE 9 MPH

Friday: 79, sunny, Wind ENE 5

Saturday: Sunny, 86, Wind WNW 5

Sunday: 86, Sunny, SSE 10.

Wind will be a factor on Thursday and Sunday. The backside will be intense on Sunday with wind playing a big role on certain holes. The 155 yard, Par 3, 12th will be pressure packed, as will the par 5’s,13 and 15. No.18, a 465 yard par 4 with a chute like drive that on Sunday looks like you’re trying to throw a football through a tire from 20 feet away, always tests the contenders. And No.11 is the hardest hole on the course, a 520 yard, par 4. It’s the start of Amen Corner. Numbers 11, 12 and 13 has oftentimes sealed the fate of guys who didn’t win. Augusta National is a 7,565 yard, Par 72. The greens will be stimping at 13-15, lightning quick, and with the slopes and undulation on the Bentgrass surfaces, the players will be stressed out to the max several times this weekend.

Broadcast Coverage

Thursday/Friday, Rounds 1&2: 12-6:30 P.M CT/1-7:30 ET, Masters.com, Masters App. 12-2 P.M. CT/1-3 ET, Amazon Prime Video. 2-6:30 P.M. CT/3-7:30 ET, ESPN.

Saturday: Moving Day: 11 A.M.- 6 P.M. CT/12-7 ET, Masters.com, Masters app, Paramount+. 1-6 P.M. CT/2-7 ET, CBS.

Sunday, A lot of coverage from 9:15 A.M. CT/10:15 ET on the Masters app, the ESPN app, Paramount+ and Prime Video. 11 A.M.-1 P.M. CT/12-2 ET, Paramount+. 1-6 P.M. CT/2-7 ET, CBS.

Winner

Sometimes you out-think yourself trying to predict sports as I did Monday Night by picking UConn over Michigan. My final record in the college basketball postseason from the SEC Tournament on was SU: 11-15; ATS: 11-15; O/U: 15-11. As Coach Lombardi used to say: “We didn’t lose, we just ran out of time.” I’ll take the Great One’s advice on that.

I’ve been through a lot of possibilities with the talent off the charts at Augusta National. No Tiger Woods. He wouldn’t be a factor anyway, and he’s got a long way to go to get his life in order. But all the real contenders are at Augusta National this week. I was leaning towards going out on a limb and picking J.J. Spaun at the beginning of this week. The 2025 U.S. Open Champion at Oakmont is mentally built for any major track. Then I started getting more bullish on Cam Young. The last two Players Championship winners have gone on to win the Masters; Scheffler in 2024, and Rory in 2025. Ludvig Aberg is a popular choice, as is Matt Fitzpatrick. Don’t sleep on Justin Rose, either. A lot of people like Rahm, DeChambeau, and, of course, the defending champion, Rory. But I’m going to take the old reliable. Give me the 29 year old from Ridgewood, New Jersey by way of the University of Texas and now living in Dallas. He just had his second son over the weekend, Remy, to join his nearly two year old son, Bennett. The guy’s just so solid and stable on and off the course. He’s also extremely cool under pressure. I’ll take the two time champion at Augusta National and four time major winner, which also includes the 2025 PGA Championship played at Quail Hollow, and the 2025 Open Championship played at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland. Give me:

Scottie Scheffler

I’ll take the two time Masters champion to prevail again this week at Augusta National. (Photo courtesy of The Los Angeles Times).

Sleeper

Justin Rose

I like the 45 year old to have a shot at, as Excedrin Bates and I like to say, “circumventing” the field and capturing the Green Jacket after near misses in 2017 and 2025.


UConn vs. Michigan for the National Championship

April 6, 2026

Tarris Reed Jr. leads the Huskies into the National Championship Game. The 6’11”, 265 pounder from St. Louis finished with 17 points and 11 boards versus Illinois in a 71-62 UConn victory over the Illini Saturday in the first semifinal game of the Final Four. (Photo courtesy of Athlon Sports).

The UConn Huskies and the Michigan Wolverines square off tonight at 7:50 CT/8:50 ET (pretty late) to determine which team will cut down the nets in Indy as the 2025-26 National Champion in NCAA Men’s College Basketball. It’s the superbly talented Wolverines versus the talented, and scrappy underdog Huskies. The Wolverines have the weaponry for sure, but the Huskies have weapons as well, and a stellar national championship pedigree as they have won national championships in 1999, 2004, 2011, 2014, 2023 and 2024. They are 6-0 in National Championship Games. Michigan’s only national championship was in 1989. So while the talent favors Michigan, the ability to close games in the big moments under intense pressure favors the Huskies. Here is White’s World’s Prediction for tonight’s contest.

Final Four record: SU- 2-0, ATS- 2-0, O/U- 1-1.

Overall from SEC Tournament through the Final Four: SU- 11-14, ATS- 10-15, O/U-15-9.

Michigan (36-3) vs. UConn (34-5)

Lucas Oil Stadium, Indy, 70,000

7:50 CT/8:50 ET

TBS/truTV/HBO Max

Ian, Grant, Bill, Tracy, Gene-rules

Michigan by 6 1/2, 145 1/2

Who wins tonight?

I’m going to go with the Al Michaels, “Do you believe in Miracles?” Theory and’ll take the great Dan Hurley and the Huskies to make it 7-0 in National Championship Games. Hurley’s is a character and can sometimes rub some people the wrong way, but I think he’s refreshing and a heckuva coach as his back to back National Championships attest to in ’23 and ’24. Jim Calhoun won three at UConn in ’99, 2004 and 2011, and Kevin Ollie won it all in 2014. Geno Auriemma is an elite coach on the women’s side, the best of all time, though the late Pat Summit of Tennessee, and, lately, South Carolina’s Dawn Staley gave and have given him a run, respectively. Geno’s won 11 national titles. Hard to argue with. Pat won eight, but lost a battle with Alzheimer’s disease at 64 years old, so her career and life were cut too short.

Staley, who Geno got into it with on Friday Night in South Carolina’s 62-48 victory over the Huskies in the Final Four at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Clevelend, as Geno thought Staley’s players were mugging his players, and also thought Staley was working the refs to get away with it, has three and going strong although her team did lose to UCLA in the national title game on Sunday. Geno is now 71 and Staley is 55, and will be 56 in May. So she has more time left than Geno, maybe. But he’s got a lot of energy and may increase that title number next season to 12.

So I’ll take the championship pedigree. Do I believe in miracles? Heck yes I do.

UConn 76, Michigan 74

Final Four MVP: Tarris Reed Jr.-UConn

Wednesday

The 90th Masters, Preview/Predictions.



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