David White

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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.


Vanderbilt Men’s Basketball advances to the Second Round. VU Women’s Basketball in action Saturday along with the Men. Baseball, Women’s Tennis, Men’s Golf and Tennis

March 20, 2026
T Tanner (left) and Duke with big days in round 1 in OKC to lead us to victory. (Photo courtesy of YouTube).

Tyler Tanner dropped in 26 on 7-of-16 from the field, 3-of-8 from triple, and 9-of-10 from the stripe, and added 7 boards and 5 assists, as our Vanderbilt Commodores Men’s Basketball team advanced through the first round of the NCAA Tournament with a 78-68 victory over a scrappy McNeese team at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.

We moved to 27-8 on the season, and, most importantly, “matriculated” to the second round of the tournament where we’ll face the fourth-seeded Nebraskas Cornhuskers (27-6, 15-5 Big Ten) at 7:45 P.M. CT/8:45 ET Saturday. TNT will broadcast our game with Nebraska.

The Cornhuskers reached the second round by blasting Troy,76-47 in the game before us at the Paycom Center. We are the fifth seed in the South Region. We are a 1 1/2 point favorite over Nebraska as this time. 

Duke Miles added 13, and Tyler Nickel and Devin McGlockton chipped in 12 apiece. AK Okereke finished with only seven points, but led us in rebounding with 9. Devin added 8. We out-rebounded them, 37-34. We were 26-of-51 from the field, 51%, 9-of-24 from trifecta, 38%, and 17 of 20 from the stripe, 85%. We held them to 36 percent from the field, but they sank 9 threes like we did. They were a scrappy team and had our number for a while in the first half. But we picked up our intensity in the last 25 minutes and played solid basketball from that point on.

Coach Mark “By” Byington calls this “a road game” for us Saturday against Nebraska. Hopefully we can have a strong contingency there. If you live in the Oklahoma City area and you’re an alum, please come out and support our stellar team.

Nebraska got 23 points out of their 6’7″, 210 junior forward Pryce Sandfort Thursday vs Troy. He was 7-of-12 from trifecta, and 2 of 2 from the stripe for his 23 points. Jamarques Lawrence and Braden Frager added 13, and 6’10”, 250 center Reink Mast finished with 11 and 6 boards.  

Nebraska’s coach is Fred Hoiberg, who had a lot of success at Iowa State from 2010-2015, going 115-56 (67%) with four trips to the NCAA Tournament. The Cyclones went to the Sweet 16 in 2014 under Hoiberg.

He moved on to the Chicago Bulls of the Association after that and went 115-155 before getting fired in 2018-19. It’s hard for any college coach to succeed in the pros either in Football and Basketball.

Just ask Nick Saban, Steve Spurrier, Rick Pitino or John Calipari. Four of the greatest coaches of all time  in their respective sports, each of whom could not succeed on the professional level. Those guys like discipline, and in the pros you have to be a player’s coach, and those guys just didn’t want to do that. But they had superior success in college, and Pitino and Calipari are still going strong with teams that can do some major damage in this NCAA Tournament with Pitino at St. John’s and Cal at Arkansas. 

Hoiberg probably ran into the same issues.Billy Donovan, who was so successful at Florida winning back to back national championships in 2006 and 2007, is finding the same struggles in the NBA with the Chicago Bulls. His teams either miss the playoffs or barely make it to the Play-In games every year. Right now, Donovan’s team is at 28-42 and in 12th place and looking not too swift to make the NBA Playoffs. He’s a superb coach and would make an excellent coach in college again if he wanted to come back.

Hoiberg looked like he faced the same issues.
 He’s doing very well after a slow start at Nebraska. He started in 2019-20 and went 7-25, then 7-20 in 20-21, 10-22 in 21-22, but broke through in 23-24 going 23-11 and making the NCAA Tournament where the Huskers lost in the first round. Last year they won the CBC Champions Tournament, a level below the NIT, and this season has been a spectacular one for Nebraska.

So what do we need to do to be successful Saturday? We need to guard them hard on the three, win the boards or stay equal, and we need EVERYBODY to contribute. We’ll need big games from Tyler Tanner, Tyler Nickel and Duke and we’ll need Devin, Jalen Washington, AK and Chandler Bing to give their usual stellar contributions on offense AND defense. As By always says, “we’ll have to guard.”

I like us to bring our lunch pales, hit big shots, defend well and stay equal or a little better on the boards and come out victorious in a tremendously hard fought game. This is a very good Nebraska team.

Vanderbilt 75, Nebraska 73

Our No. 2 seeded Vanderbilt Women’s Basketball team (Fort Worth Regional) tips off at 6 P.M. CT/7 ET vs No. 15 seed High Point at Memorial in Nashville on Saturday. The game will be broadcast by ESPN News. 

The amazing Mikayla Blakes was named first team All American by the Associated Press earlier this week. Mikayla leads the country in scoring at 27 points per game. In my opinion, Mikayla should be the National Player of the Year. Will keep you posted Coach Shea Ralph and our women’s progress. Will send out a full briefing on Monday.

A couple of brief things which I want to elaborate more on Monday, our baseball team plays at No.6 Mississippi State today through Sunday. The game today is at 7 CT/8 ET on the SEC Network. Saturday’s game is at 6 P.M. CT/7 ET on SEC Network+, and Sunday’s game commences at 1 P.M. CT/2 ET on SECN+ as well. We are 13-9, far from our standards. We gotta learn how to pitch if we want to have a chance to have any success this season. Got a long way to go there. We’re hitting .308, so usually we’re good at the plate, and we’re fielding well at .979, but our team ERA is 4.89, which is unacceptable for Vanderbilt University Baseball under Tim Corbin. We’ve had some detrimental injuries to our pitching staff, but there are no excuses. Need to figure it out starting tonight or it could be a long, painful season.

Our No. 12 Women’s Tennis team is on a roll after defeating No,37 Ole Miss yesterday, 5-2. No.33 nationally ranked Bridget Stammel, No.25 Valeria Ray, Trinetra Vijayakumar and Sophia Webster all won in singles and we won the doubles point as well. We moved to 16-4 overall and 6-2 in the SEC. We have now won 5 straight SEC matches with one coming over then No.1 Georgia and another over then No.11 South Carolina, both at the Lummis Family Tennis Center at VU. We are @ No.11 LSU Saturday at 11 A.M.Great stuff from Coach Aleke Tsoubanos and our team. Our usual number one player, Celia- Belle Mohr, is not playing at this time. I’m going to do some investigating and “get back to you” on this on Monday. Need Celia-Belle back for sure. But we’re doing well even without her.

Men’s Golf is presently tied for fourth after the first round of the Linger Longer Invitational at the Great Waters Course at Reynolds Plantation Lake Oconee in Eatonton, GA. We are -10. Georgia leads at 21 under. We’re playing solid golf. Michael Riebe, Jon Ed Steed and Ryan Downes all shot 3 under/69, today on the par 72 course. Wells Williams finished at 1 under/71. Need to get back in it on Saturday and win it on Sunday. Two more rounds left. Need a big performance Saturday. Our guys tee off at 8:24 A.M. CT/9:24 ET with Wells leading us off.

The Men’s tennis team is ranked 13th nationally by the ITA Rankings, which also ranks our women. The guys are playing @ No.3 Texas right now. We lost the doubles point, but are highly competitive in the singles right now.

Will keep you apprised on everything on Monday, with a blast on Sunday on our men’s and women’s basketball teams with hopefully successful outcomes. 

Have an awesome weekend and Anchor Down. 

The 52nd Players Championship

March 11, 2026

Scottie Scheffler goes for his third Players Championship after going back to back in 2023 and 2024, the first time it had ever been done, and would join the only other player, Jack Nicklaus (1974, ’76, ’78), to accomplish the feat of three time winner at TPC Sawgrass. (Photo courtesy ofGolf Monthly).



The classic “Fifth Major” kicks off Thursday at TPC Sawgrass as the 52nd Players Championship, a tournament every player wants to win with first place prize money of $4.5 million, a $25 million purse, the largest in golf, and the status of being a champion of a tournament that is the closest to a major in golf. It’s the fifth most important tournament on tour every year (except for when the Ryder Cup is played, then it’s the sixth), and there is “major” prestige that comes with winning this historic tournament on this iconic course in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL. where the PGA Tour is headquartered.

The field consists of 123 players as the PGA is shooting for smaller fields to speed up play. The field is usually 144 players. The cut after the second round Friday will consist of the top 65 players and ties. The rough will be at 3 1/2 inches. The greens will be overseeded Poa trivialis over Bermuda, which grows better in cooler months. They’ll top out at 13 on the stimpmeter. Poa trivialis is different from Poa Annua, which is found on the California courses. The Poa trivialis gives a lot smoother roll than the Poa Annua. TPC Sawgrass is a stock par 72 and tips out at 7,352 yards. The winner of this classic also qualifies for the next five editions of the Players and all four majors this season. So, a lot to play for. Pete Dye was the architect. Dye worked on TPC Sawgrass from 1978-80 and it was opened in 1980. Dye passed away in 2020 at the age of 94.

Key holes include the 137 yard iconic, and, many times, treacherous 17th, with the island green leaving no margin for error. The green is 26 yards wide, and if you miss it, you are in the water and looking at bogey or worse. Classic, intense pressure on Sunday with the tournament on the line. To me, and I’ve said this before, No.18 is the most underrated and challenging hole on the tour. It’s a par 4, 468 yards and is a dogleg right to left. Water runs down the entire left side, and if you miss right you’re behind the trees. Tiger Woods made his “stinger” shot famous on this hole in winning in 2013. It’s the hardest hole on the course with the players getting zero relief after 17.

Tiger also won in 2001, with his “better than most” 40 foot birdie putt on 17 on Sunday, the highlight of that tournament and historically great in golf lore.

No. 12 is a high risk/high reward 369 yard par 4, with water running down the left side and pot bunkers on the right side. No. 16 is the famous 523 yard, par 5 that always has fireworks on Sunday as the leaders aim to enhance their chances of winning. A lot of players bail out to the left on their second shots to try and get up and down for birdie. It takes a lot of bravery to go for the green in two on 16 with water guarding the right side. All in all, this course is just a tremendous test of golf.

Rory is the defending champion. He won last year and then went on to complete the career Grand Slam at the 89th Masters in 2025, with high tension in both. He defeated J.J. Spaun in a Monday finish at the Players in a three hole aggregate playoff on 16, 17 and 18. He also defeated Justin Rose in a playoff at Augusta National to win his first Green Jacket and complete the career Grand Salome. Spaun went on to win the 125th U.S. Open with a 64 foot birdie putt of his own on Oakmont’s 18th hole. I’ve talked about how clutch that was.I was superbly clutch. Justin Rose is still playing at a high level at 45 years old, winning the Farmers in late January, early February.

A lot of drama will ensue this week/weekend at the Players. Here is the weather forecast, the TV times, some key tee times along with those players’ odds of winning..

Weather

Thursday, Scattered t-storms developing in the afternoon. 59% chance. Wind WSW 10-20.

Friday, 76, Partly cloudy/sunny, 14% chance. Wind ENE 11.

Saturday, 79, Partly cloudy/sunny, 12% chance. Wind ENE 12.

Sunday, 80, rain showers in the morning with t storms in the afternoon, 67%. Wind SE 11.

So weather will be a major factor Thursday and Sunday if the forecast holds up, and the wind will make 17 a bear all four days, especially Sunday for somebody trying to win the fifth major.

TV

Thursday-Friday, 12-6 P.M. CT/1-7 ET. Golf Channel.

Saturday, 1-6 P.M. CT/2-7 ET. NBC.

Sunday, 12-5 P.M. CT/ 1-6 ET. NBC.

ESPN+ will carry early round coverage.

Key tee times Thursday/odds

7:28 A.M. CT/8:28 ET. No.1 -Akshay Bhatta, 40/1, was iron at the Arnie in winning; Brooks Koepka, 65/1; Tony Finau, 100/1.

7:40 A.M. CT/8:40 ET. No.10, Collin Morikawa, 16/1. AT&T Pebble Beach winner, and certainly one of the favorites at TPC Sawgrass; Ludvig Aberg, 22/1. Another threat; Si Woo Kim, 20/1. Same for him. 2017 champion

7:52 A.M. CT/8;52 ET. No.10 Scottie Scheffler, 4/1. The favorite and back to back winner in 2023 and 2024. Tries to join Jack Nicklaus as the only three time winner ever at the Players; Tommy Fleetwood, 25/1. 2025 Fed Ex Cup champion. Has a shot; Justin Thomas, 33/1. 2021 winner at TPC Sawgrass, and starting to figure it out. Had back surgery in November, 2025.

8:04 A.M. CT/9:04 ET. No 10. Vik Hovland, 35/1. Possible; Russell Henley, 25/1. Very accurate off the tee and an excellent putter when the flat stick is clickin’; Bob McIntyre, 50/1. He hasn’t done much lately.

12:18 P.M. CT/ 1:18 ET. No.10 Keegan Bradley, 125/1. Don’t see it. Failed captaincy at the Ryder Cup still looms large; Ryan Fox, 150/1; Chris Kirk 300/1.

12:18 P.M. CT/1:18 ET. No.1. J.J. Spaun, 80/1. Good value from the U.S. Open champion and second place finisher in last year’s Players in a playoff; Sepp Straka, 40/1. Good player with a shot; Shane Lowry, 55/1. Not buying him after his implosion at West Palm Beach in the Cognizant Classic two weeks ago where he had a three shot lead with three to play and went double, double on 16 and 17 to lose to Nico Echavarria?

12:30 P.M. CT/1:30 ET. No.1,. Sahith Theegala, 70/1. He’s getting closer and closer to winning a big tournament, Signature or major; Rickie Fowler, 55/1. Possible, but not really seeing it even though he’s playing a lot better; Jordan Spieth, 70/1. Do NOT see this happening.

12:42 P.M. CT/1:42 ET. No.1. Xander Schauffele, 27/1. Possible ;Rory, 16/1. Sore back. Not seeing it this week, though possible; Hideki Matsuyama, 33/1. Has to putt A LOT better to win.

12:54 P.M. CT/1:54 ET. No.1 Chris Gotterup, 45/1. This guy has won the Sony Open and the Waste Management already this year. He’s a factor; Justin Rose, 80/1. Still a prolific player. Not out of the question, and he Can win going forward and not out of the major conversation this season by any means; Min Woo Lee, 35/1. Definite shot.

12:54 P.M. CT/ 1:54 ET. No.10. Cam Young, 33/1. Certainly has a shot; Davis Thompson, 115/1. Fifth on the tour in Strokes Gained: Putting. Always helps your chances; Sam Burns, 80/1. Not seeing it. Can’t seem to close very well.

Winner

My choices were between Min Woo Lee, Chris Gotterup and this now veteran. Lee has great stats off the tee leading the tour in total driving, which measures distance and accuracy, which is critical at TPC Sawgrass with all the water. He’s also seventh in strokes gained total. Gotterup is a total winner. Bigger fella.

But this 30 year old from Seoul, South Korea has some seriously strong stats on tour this year. He’s tied for fourth in driving accuracy percentage. He’s second in strokes gained: approach to the green. He leads the tour in proximity to the hole, a huge stat on any course. And he also leads the tour in strokes gained: approaches from 100 yards or more. Some people, who I don’t trust, say statistics are for losers. I like what two time Super Bowl winning coach Bill Parcells (1986, 1990, Super Bowls 21 and 25, respectively) said about stats: “The numbers don’t lie.”

So, I’ll take these stats of a four time winner on tour. He won the 2016 Wyndham Championship, the 2021 American Express, the 2023 Sony Open, AND, is the 2017 winner at the Players.

This season he’s finished T-11 at the Sony, T-6 at the AMEX, T-2 at the Farmers, T-3 at the WM Phoenix, T-45 at Pebble, T-34 at the Genesis, and finished in a tie for 13th at the Arnie last week. He has 7 top 15’s in his last nine starts. He’s 151st in Strokes Gained: Putting, but he putts well on these Poa trivialis greens. Besides his 2017 victory at the Players, he has two top 10’s at Sawgrass. Give me:

Si Woo Kim

I’ll take Si Woo at the 52nd Players. (Photo courtesy of Golfmagic).

Winner at the 61st Arnold Palmer Invitational

March 4, 2026

I’ll take the 26 year old from Inman, South Carolina by way of Clemson University. He won the Genesis and has finished well in other tournaments this year.

Jacob Bridgeman

I’ll take Jacob Bridgeman to capture the Arnie. (Photo courtesy of Instagram).

Vanderbilt Men’s Basketball with a massive victory in OxVegas Tuesday Night

March 4, 2026

Our superb graduate senior, AK Okereke gave us another terrific performance Tuesday Night in a thrilling victory for the Commodores. (Photo courtesy of x.com).

The awesome Tyler Tanner finished with 34 points, 5 boards, 7 assists and 5 steals as T Tanner and the Dores outlasted Ole Miss last night, 89-86, in overtime before 7,300 fans at The Sandy and John Black Pavilion in Oxford.

With the victory, a spectacular one on the road against an athletic, pretty talented team, our Dores moved to 23-7 overall and 10-7 in the SEC, and still in contention for a double bye in the SEC Tournament, which commences next Wednesday, 3/11, and runs through Sunday, 3/15, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

Will get more into that in a second.

First, on last night’s  game. Tyler Tanner connected on big shot after big shot and helped propel us to a critical SEC road victory as we now gear up for a trip to Knoxville to face the Tennessee Volunteers to close out the season this Saturday at 1 P.M. CT/ 2 ET on ESPN. Should be an epic game with a hopefully favorable outcome.

Duke Miles sank a pair of clutch buckets at the end of regulation, and finished with 16, while another great, graduate senior AK Okereke, from? Cornell University, added 16, 5 boards and 5 assists. Dev McGlockton only finished with 4 points, but pulled down 16 rebounds, eight of them on the offensive glass. Wow. We out-boarded them, 44-40, and outboarded them on  the offensive end, 22-12. We also wreaked some havoc on their offense as they turned it over 17 times to our 9.

We shot only 39% from the field, we were 9-of-32 from triple, 28%, and we were 22-of-30 from the line, 73%. It was our work on the glass and the turnovers along with some critical buckets late in the game that won the contest for us. Tyler Nickel finished with 9 points, but sank a critical trifecta late in the game, and pulled down a critical carom right after that.

Dev was brilliant on the boards. He kept two shots alive with consecutive rebounds, the first one he pulled down, and the second he tapped out to T Tanner who then laid the ball in off the glass for a 65-64 lead with 5:11 left. Seemed big at the time. It was our first lead in a long time.

T Tanner was so good last night. Tyler is a phenom. He was driving, dishing, scoring, and played defense like Gary Payton, “The Glove.” Payton played for the Seattle Supersonics back in the day (1990-2003), and was an electric, historically tenacious defensive player. 

And T Tanner drained a three that looked like it came from Big Bad Breakfast on the north side of town. What a player.

So, here we are heading into a critical Saturday season finale @ the Vols with a lot at stake. Right now we are tied for fifth with Missouri, A&M and Kentucky at 10-7. Texas is 9-7, and could join us, but they have to play @ Arkansas tonight at 6 CT/7 ET on ESPN2. That’ll be tough for them and a Razorbacks’ win would help us as Texas holds the head to head over us with a victory over us in Austin on January 14th.

Florida has won 10 in a row and is at 15-2 and leading the conference standings. Alabama, which lost on the road last night to a very solid Georgia team, is second at 12-5. Arkansas is third at 11-5, and would tie the Tide for second with a victory, but Alabama holds that head to head tiebreaker over the Hogs by virtue of a victory over them a couple of weeks ago in Tuscaloosa.

Tennessee is in fourth at 11-6. If we defeat the Vols Saturday, we would be tied with them in the standings, and not sure about the tiebreaker in that scenario, yet, because they defeated us in Nashville a week and a half ago. I’ll work on that and, “get back to you,” as my high school U.S. History Teacher/Football Coach would say when we asked him questions like who was the explorer who founded Florida (Ponce de Leon-FYI, I wonder if he ever found that out. He never “got back to us.”). I will though.

Other key games for our purposes this  Saturday are: Arkansas @ Missouri (need Missouri to lose, 11 A.M. CT/12 East, ESPN), Florida @Kentucky, (3 P.M. CT/4 ET, E-S-P-N. Need a Florida W), Texas A&M @ LSU (5 P.M. CT/6 ET, SEC Network-we do hold the tiebreaker with the Aggies), and Oklahoma @ Texas (7:30 P.M. CT/8:30 ET. Need a Texas loss tonight or Saturday).

But we need to hold up our end of the bargain first and pull off what would be considered a slight upset in Knoxville as they will be favored in all likelihood. The point spread will be decided closer to game time, tomorrow or Friday, but I’d imagine anywhere from 2 1/2- 5 1/2, Vols.

The Vanderbilt Women’s Basketball team will play Friday at 5 P.M. CT/6 ET on the SEC Network in the quarterfinals of the SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament. We play the winner of Thursday’s  No.7 seed Ole Miss and the winner of tonight’s Auburn/A&M matchup (Thursday, 5 P.M. CT/6 ET, SEC Network). We are ranked fifth in the country and can really make a statement for a number one seed in the NCAA Tournament with tremendous success this weekend at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, S.C.

Baseball has several injuries right now, and it’s’ a struggle. We’re 7-6 now after losing to Central Arkansas Tuesday, 5-4. We’re playing Troy right now. Troy is always scrappy and usually pretty darn strong in football, basketball and baseball. Those Alabama country boys are terrific athletes and fierce competitors.

The Trojans are 5-6, but have already knocked off No. 8 Georgia, 6-5, in Athens on Wednesday, February 25th, two weeks ago. Georgia is currently ranked 11th nationally by D1Baseball.com. It’s 0-0 going into the bottom of the fourth.

Have a terrific rest of your week. I’ll “get back to you” in the near future. I promise I will. 

Vanderbilt Men’s Basketball in a Critical Game today, Women’s Basketball excelling, Men’s Tennis, Baseball, Women’s Tennis, Men’s Golf

March 3, 2026

No way to sugarcoat it, we got our tails kicked in Lexington on Saturday, and HAVE to regroup tonight in Oxford as we face the Ole Miss Rebels (4-12, 12-17), which are fresh off an upset @ Auburn and aiming to get revenge from our earlier victory over them this season at Memorial. The game tips at 8 CT/ 9 ET on ESPN+. Probably not staying up for the second half, but will watch it first thing in the morning in my office and have a write up if we’re successful.

 We are now 22-7 overall and 9-7 in the SEC. We are ranked 24th in the AP Poll, the Ken Pom rankings has us ranked 14th, with an offensive rating of 9th nationally, and a defensive rating of 26th, which are still solid numbers as far as our ability to matriculate in the NCAA Tournament. 

But the effort Saturday was not there. Kentucky seemed un-guardable that day, too, but we have to get better. The Net Rankings has us at 19th, and the latest Lunardi bracketology has us as a 5 seed and playing Liberty in the Midwest Region in Portland in round one. Michigan is the Number one seed in the Midwest, according to Lunardi. Will get into that more as we get closer to that time, but we’ve got to concern ourselves with the SEC right now.

We are tied for 7th place with A&M presently as both of us are at 9-7. Florida, which looks like a juggernaut, but not unbeatable, is in first place at 14-2.  Alabama is second at 12-4, Arkansas is third at 11-5, and Missouri, Tennessee and Kentucky are at 10-6 and tied for fourth. So tremendously important game for us tonight.

Tyler Tanner will give us everything he has as always, and so will AK Okekere, but we’ll need Devin McGlockton, Tyler Nickel, especially him, and Duke Miles to play well and get good minutes off the bench from Chandler Bing, Jalen Washington, etc. Gotta have this one. Ole Miss is playing a lot better and there is skill and talent down there, so we will HAVE to play well.

We finish off the season Saturday at Tennessee for a 1 P.M. CT/ 2 ET tip on ESPN2. 

Women’s Basketball

Our fifth-ranked Commodore Women put on a spectacular performance at Knoxville on Sunday as the great Mikayla Blakes was dominant with 34 points, six boards, and four assists in another masterful performance from our sophomore from Somerset, New Jersey. The awesome Mikayla is leading the country in scoring at 27 per game. If Mikayla is not player of the year nationally that would be a travesty. Simply the most impactful player in the country.

Our tremendous freshman point guard from Deerfield, Illinois, Aubrey Galvan, added 24 and 5 dimes. Sacha Washington, our terrific graduate power forward from Lawrenceville, GA., finished with 16 and 8 boards. We defeated the Vols, 87-77, to close out the regular season at 27-3 and 13-3 in the SEC. 

ESPN Bracketologist Charlie Creme has us as a No.2 seed in Region 2, the Sacramento Region, facing No. 15 Navy in Nashville, which would be tremendous. We could play the first two rounds in Nashvegas. We can get to a Number one seed if we win the SEC Tourney.

And first things first. The SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament starts tomorrow, Wednesday, at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, S.C. We have a double bye and don’t play till Friday as we finished second in the SEC behind the Gamecocks, and are the second seed.

We’ll either play Auburn/Texas A&M (first round game Wednesday Night) or No.7 seed Ole Miss, which has a bye to Thursday. We’ll play Friday at 5 P.M.Central/ 6 East on the SEC Network. Will keep you totally apprised on our phenomenal women’s team. Coach Ralph is superb.

Men’s Tennis

We swept a pair of SEC matches last weekend, winning 4-3 at Oklahoma, and 4-3 at then No.14 A&M. Great stuff from third year Coach Scott Brown and the guys. We have now jumped to 11th nationally (ITA Rankings) after being 37th last week. So, superb stuff from the fellas.

We’re at No. 41 Arkansas Friday at 5:30 P.M. CT/ 6:30 ET, then, on Sunday, 3/8, we’re at No.31 Ole Miss starting at 1 P.M. CT/2 ET. We are 11-3 overall and 3-1 in the SEC with our other SEC victory coming over No.61 Tennessee, 4-2. Our only loss is to No.5 Mississippi State, in a tightly contested match, as we just barely fell, 4-3. So a lot to be excited about with the men’s tennis program.

Baseball and Women’s Tennis

No sugarcoating this either: Both teams got their respective tails kicked over the weekend. Baseball lost all three games in the Live Like Lou Las Vegas College Classic, losing 9-4 to UC Irvine, 5-1 to ‘Zona, and 6-4 to Oregon. We were terrible.

We have Central Arkansas at home today at 4:30 P.M. CT/5:30 ET on SEC Network+, and we play at home Wednesday at 3 P.M. CT/4 ET versus Troy on SECN+.  We host North Dakota State this weekend at the Hawk. Will have more on the team once they decide to show up this season.

 Women’s Tennis lost a pair of matches at home last weekend to then No. 4 A&M, 5-2, and No.16 Texas, 5-2. We’re presently 35th in the country according to the ITA Rankings. We host No.1 Georgia Friday at 5 P.M. CT/6 East, and then we host No.11 South Carolina Sunday, 3/8, at the Currey Tennis Center at 1 P.M. CT/2 ET. Need to get our act together and start playing a lot better tennis. Tough matchups this weekend, but need to see if we can find a way to emerge victorious. 

Men’s Golf 

Our Men’s Golf team has had a terrible performance at the Cabo Collegiate as we are in 12th place out of 16 teams at 17 over par. No idea what happened. A lot of room for MAJOR improvement. 

Will keep you apprised. Thanks a lot. 

Senior Night a resounding success for the Vanderbilt Men’s Basketball team; Baseball with a weekend trip to Vegas; Men’s Golf in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

February 26, 2026

Dev McGlockton had a huge night for the Dores in our victory over Georgia. (Photo courtesy of x.com).

Six Vanderbilt players scored in double figures, as Dev McGlockton, Tyler Nickel, Coleson Messer and Miles Keeffe were honored for their hard work and dedication to the program on Senior Night with the team giving the Memorial crowd of 10,460 a night to remember as the 25th ranked Commodores defeated Georgia, 88-80.

Dev and Tyler Tanner led the way for the Dores with 17 points each. Dev had several critical buckets down low, as he was 7-of-10 from the field. Glock added 10 boards and 2 blocks.

Tyler T stuffed the stat sheet once again with his 17 to along with 6 boards and 5 assists. Duke Miles had a nice game and is looking like himself now as he finished with 15 points, 4 boards, and was 3-of-5 from trifecta.

Our great forward, AK Okereke, finished the night with 13 points, six boards and 6 assists. Excellent night from our grad transfer from Cornell. He’s such a key component to this basketball team. We’ve always had a 6’7″ small/power forward who can score and do all the blue collar work. AK is an outstanding player for us and will be a critical piece and leader for us in March/April.

Tyler Nickel finished with 10. Not Tyler’s best night shooting as he was 1-of-8 from triple, but he hit a key trifecta late and was a leader as always and hustled like always. Our stellar grad transfer from UNC, Jalen Washington, finished with 10, 4 boards and 2 blocks. I’d like to see Jalen finish a little better around the rim, but certainly believe he can and will.

Chandler Bing once again gave us solid minutes off the bench. Love what our freshman can do going forward this season. Chandler finished with 6 and gets after it on the defensive end.

We moved to 22-6 on the year and 9-6 in the SEC. It was a key victory for us as Texas and Texas A&M both lost, which helps us in the SEC Standings. We are now tied for fifth in the conference standings. No.7 Florida moved to 13-2 last night and 22-6 overall with its victory over Texas, 84-71 and is in first place. No. 17 Alabama is tied for second with No. 20 Arkansas, which blasted A&M last night, 99-84.The Crimson Tide is 11-4 and 21-7 overall after blasting Mississippi State last night at home, 100-75. The Razorbacks are 11-4, and 21-7. No.22 Tennessee is fourth at 10-5 and 20-8 overall after its loss to Mizzou Tuesday Night on the road.  We are tied for fifth at 9-6 with Missouri, Texas A&M and Kentucky. We’ve got Kentucky on the road Saturday at 1 P.M. CT/2 ET on E-S-P-N.

We control our own destiny as far as getting a double bye in the SEC Tournament (Wednesday, March 11th-Sunday, March15th, Bridgestone Arena, Nashville), so there’s plenty of work left for our team.

But we pulled off an excellent victory over a solid, athletic and physical Georgia team, that looked every bit the part of an NCAA Tournament team. We were just as physical beating them on the boards, 36-29. Just a real nice effort from the guys.

I said yesterday that I wanted to tell you about these interesting NCAA Tournament stats, and I won’t go into elaborate detail as I don’t want to nerd you out. But these Ken Pom stats are pretty prophetic as far as NCAA Tournament advancement for a team. Ken Pomeroy is the smart nerd who compiles numbers like offensive and defensive efficiency ratings. We are 12th in the country in our offensive rating, and 21st defensively, which, and I looked this up, correlates to a deep run in the NCAA Tournament. It’s very indicative and accurate of how a team will fare in March/April. Ken Pom ranks us 13th in the country in his overall rankings.

Duke is No.1 by Ken Pom with an offensive rating that’s 7, and a defensive rating that is Numero uno. And the top teams are all top caliber defenses.

I say bring’em on. We’ll match up with all these outfits and have a real shot at making it into April and going the distance. We have a team with skill, physicality andleadership, and we have a superb coach in Mark Byington. Mark has kind of shortened his rotation to seven players with Tyler Tanner, T Nick, McGlockton, Okereke, Washington, Duke and Bing. We’d take Frankie Collins back, but who knows? I read the SEC Availability Report the night before and the day of every one of our games, and he’s always out. But after last night, I like our chances with the guys we’ve got. I’m sure Coach Byington and the players would welcome Frankie back, but it’s unclear what’s going to happen with him. I’ll keep checking every night before and day of games and let you know.

Okereke and Nickel can help Tanner and Miles with ball handling. We were only 7-of-26 from trifecta last night, but we were 21-of-24 from the line, 88%, and we shot 30-of-61 from the field, 49%. If the threes aren’t falling, you’ve got to find other ways to win and our team did. Georgia shot 41% from the field and 42% from three. They were burying some 3’s in the second half, but our defense was overall solid, we out-rebounded them and we just have clutch players.

The other metric that’s interesting, and this is more for NCAA Tournament seeding purposes, is the Net Rankings. We are 17th in the Net, so we want to improve on that and improve our seeding possibilities. ESPN’s Joey “Brackets” Lunardi will come out with his latest 68 team field projection tomorrow. You can check it on the ESPN website under “Bracketology.” Joe puts it out at 9 A.M. ET/8 CT on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Major game in Lexington Saturday for SEC and NCAA prospects, and we do enjoy defeating those guys. It’ll be a major challenge for sure, but believe in the guys. Will have more on Monday on the team. 

Vanderbilt Baseball

The Vandy Boys, at 7-2, are in Las Vegas at the Las Vegas Ballpark to play in the Live Like Lou Vegas Collegiate Classic.

Friday, Braden, Brodie and the Boys face UC Irvine, which is 6-3. First pitch is at 4 P.M. CT/5 ET and will be streamed by D1 Baseball.com. You can go to vucommodores.com or D1baseball.com to sign up if you’re inclined to do so. Saturday’s game versus Arizona (1-7) is at 6 P.M. CT/7 ET, and will also be streamed on D1.

Sunday’s game, on D1, is versus Oregon, which is 8-0. First pitch is 1 P.M. CT/2 ET on D1. The Ducks are not ranked yet, but will be if they have a good weekend.

Need a good weekend out of all 3 phases of the game for our team to be successful. Gotta pitch, defend and hit at a high level. Will let you know about our results on Monday. We are unranked by D1, but we are ranked 25th by Baseball America. Baseball America goes more in-depth on its analysis on its top 25 on its weekly rankings, so I trust them just as much if not more than D-1. We need a good weekend though to keep advancing as a team.

Vanderbilt Men’s Golf

Our 5th-ranked Vanderbilt men’s golf team heads to Cabo San Lucas Mexico for the Cabo Collegiate Sunday, 3/1-Tuesday, 3/3 for a 54 hole team event at the Twin Dolphin Club, a 7,156 yard, par 71 layout.

Other ranked teams (Scoreboard by Clippd rankings) include No.7 Arizona State, No.9 Arkansas, No. 17 Georgia Tech, No. 18 Tennessee, No.20 Stanford, and No.27 Arizona.

We finished second at the Watersound Invitational in Panama City in mid February, after taking a 6 shot lead into the third and final round. But we shot +2 the final day and Arkansas had a good day and overtook us to win it. Freshman Michal Riebe did tie for the individual title. Coach Scott Limbaugh has another stellar team as always. Our freshman class was the No.1 class in the country in 2025, and our 2026 forthcoming class is also ranked No.1 in the country. Just need to get over the top soon. We certainly get in position.

We need senior Wells Williams to really lead this group. Wells will need some help in order for us to be highly successful in 2026.

I want our guys, coaches and all the teams to be careful down there after one of the leading drug cartel guys, “El Mencho” was killed by Mexican military and security forces. It can be dangerous down there with all the drug cartels and unrest from the killing of the drug lord, which was a great thing for Mexico and the U.S. And I think we’d not go if it wasn’t safe. 

Will keep you posted on these three key Vanderbilt teams and other key teams in the winter and spring as we matriculate into March. Thanks a lot, have a good evening and Anchor Down. 

Tyler Tanner, Vanderbilt Basketball, Braden Holcomb, Vanderbilt Baseball, Mikayla Blakes, Aubrey Galvin, Vanderbilt Women’s Basketball. All unplugged.

February 25, 2026

Tyler Tanner playing through the flu, is a warrior as always. (Photo courtesy of WRAL- Raleigh-Durham. N.C.)

Tyler Tanner did everything he could last week despite having the flu.

He scored 27 points in a heart-breaking loss to @Missouri, 81-80, missing a beyond half court shot at the buzzer by maybe an inch after he intercepted a Missouri pass. The shot would have won the game for us.

Saturday, in another real heartbreaker, Tyler played through the illness again, which is tough, and looked to struggle some, but still came away with 16 points in a hard fought 69-65 loss to the Vols. 

Tyler should be a lot better tonight as we face a solid, athletic Georgia team, which is 19-8 overall and 7-7 in the SEC, and has its sights set on knocking us off. The game tips off at 6 P.M. CT/ 7 ET on the SEC Network.

The games are all big now. We’ve got 4 left and are 8-6 in the SEC and 21-6 overall and ranked 25th in the country. Joey Brackets has us as a 5 seed in the Midwest Regional playing 12 seed Belmont, which would be difficult as Belmont is always a sharp-shooting team that plays solid D.

But a lot of work left before that starting today at Memorial. We are tied for 8th in the conference as of today, but still have a shot at the double bye in the SEC Tournament, which starts Wednesday, 3/11, and runs through Sunday 3/15, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. Florida leads the SEC standings at 12-2 and is 21-6 overall. Alabama and Arkansas are tied for second at 10-4. Tennessee is 4th at 10-5 after losing at Missouri last night, 73-69. A&M is fifth at 10-5, Missouri and Kentucky, which both played last night, Kentucky defeated South Carolina, 72-63, on the road, are tied for 6th at 9-6. We are at 8-6 and so is Texas, and the two of us are in 8th. Georgia is right behind us at 7-7, so crucial game today.

Thankfully for Tyler and the team, Duke Miles is back on the court. Duke was a little rusty on Saturday going 3-for-13, but sank an acrobatic 3 late in the game. With Duke and Tyler, we’ve got a shot to do well the rest of the season. Frankie Collins is out again tonight. There’s talk about him taking a medical redshirt this season, but we need him. I say as soon as he’s ready, we need him out there. There is a lot of basketball left this season, so if he can get on the floor, he should.

Freshman Chandler Bing is giving us some really solid minutes, and big man Jalen Washington pulled down 10 boards and blocked six shots against Tennessee. We’ve got to have Tyler Nickel, Devin McGlockton and AK Okereke  play well, also. Mike James and Tyler Harris can help us off the bench, and I like freshman center Jayden Leverett. He’s shown signs that he can be a really good player for us. I don’t know if Mark is totally comfortable with the freshman out there for a lot of minutes yet, just because he’s young. But I like what I’m seeing from Jayden. Mark might try him more. At 6’11”, 257, he can really help us in the paint. He’s physical, and skilled at  shooting and passing. 

So, major game today at Memorial. Georgia is good, so we HAVE to play well to get over the top. The Bulldogs are hungry to enhance their SEC prospects and NCAA Tournament resume, so they’ll come after us at full bore. We need to be ready. I’ll get more in depth tomorrow on the game, particularly if we’re successful, and  show some interesting metrics that the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee uses to seed the teams, and metrics, the Net Rankings and these really interesting Ken Pomeroy rankings, that can not only project your seeding, but also project how deep you can go into March/April. April is certainly the goal for this team, but one game at a time, beginning today against an athletic, talented Georgia team.

Vanderbilt Baseball cookin with the bats.

Braden Holcomb is hitting .471 with 6 long ones and 21 Ribbies, and our team has been run-ruling teams achieving their 6th in 9 games this season Tuesday afternoon/early eventing in a 15-3 victory over Evansville. The run rule is when a team in an out of conference game leads another by 10 or more runs after the seventh, home or away. Braden, our junior Floridian center fielder, was named SEC player of the week this week for last week’s performance in which he .579 with 3 homers and 10 Ribeyes. Just phenomenal performance by Braden. We are now hitting .355 as a team, which is stellar. Our pitching staff has a 3.50 ERA, which is solid also. Our bullpen struggled in losses to TCU, 5-4, and a really disappointing 11-1 loss to Oklahoma State with both games played at the Shriners Children’s College Showdown at Globe Life Field in Arlington, TX. We did run rule Texas Tech on that Saturday, 13-3, in 8 innings. And we’ve snapped back. And while the competition hasn’t been as challenging, we’ve played well. We play in the Live Like Lou Las Vegas College Classic this Friday through Sunday in Vegas. It’s to honor people with ALS and the great New York Yankee Lou Gehrig, who the difficult disease is named after. More on that tomorrow, Thursday.

We’ll play three good teams, so we’ll need to maintain this level, particularly with the pitching and defense. We’ll, of course, need to hit, too.

We’re fielding at a .973 clip, which is solid. Need to keep that up and even improve on that. More coming Thursday. We are 7-2 overall now. Not ranked at present, but we can get in the top 25 with a good weekend.

Women’s Basketball

The dynamic duo of Mikayla Blakes, who leads the country in scoring at 26.2 ppg and is a strong candidate for National player of the year, and freshman point guard Aubrey Galvan, led us to a critical 81-79 victory over No.16 Kentucky Sunday at Memorial. Our No.5 nationally ranked women’s team moved to 25-3 overall and 11-3 in the SEC, and secured the double bye for the SEC Tournament, which will be played Wednesday, March 4th-Sunday, March 8th at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, S.C. That means we won’t play till Friday, a huge bonus.

Mikayla poured in 35 in a typical Mikayla performance, and Aubrey added 20, including the game winner with 54 seconds left. We hung on, and advanced in the Southeastern Conference. South Carolina leads the SEC standings at 13-1. We are tied with Texas for second at 11-3. We are 25-3 overall.

Charlie Creme, ESPN’s NCAA Tournament Bracketologist for Women’s Basketball, has us as a 2 seed and playing in the Sacramento Regional. We would open in Nashville, and, according to Charlie, would play No.15 Navy.

But we can enhance our resume even more with strong performances against Alabama at home, Thursday at 6:30 P.M. CT/ 7:30 ET on SEC Network+, and Sunday @ Tennessee at 1 P.M. CT/ 2 ET on ESPN. So, a ton to play for going forward.

Coach Shea Ralph has done an amazing job building her program. She’s impressive.

And, as I always say, Corbs is Corbs. Trust the great one.

I’ll get more in-depth on our three teams along with our Men’s Golf team, and our Men’s and Women’s Tennis teams on Thursday. Will check and see if there is any football intel to pass along, also.

Have a super day. 

A look at Alabama and Auburn’s Basketball-what’s coming up for the two programs; the 100th Genesis Invitational, Preview/Prediction

February 18, 2026

Labaron Philon and Coach Nate Oats hope to continue the Crimson Tide’s march towards March with a critical game on tap tonight at Coleman Coliseum. (Photo courtesy of The Tuscaloosa News).

The No. 25 Alabama Crimson Tide, which are now 18-7 overall and tied for third in the SEC at 8-4, plays host to No. 20 Arkansas (19-6, 9-3) in an electrically important SEC matchup tonight at Coleman Coliseum at 6 CT/7 ET on E-S-P-N.

The Tide has played well since Charles Bediako was ruled ineligible by a different circuit court judge in Tuscaloosa, Daniel Pruet, after the original judge, James H. Roberts, gave Bediako a temporary restraining order allowing him to play in five games despite the fact he had signed an NBA contract. Sorry for the kid that it didn’t work out, but it was the right decision. The rules are clear that a player who signed an NBA contract and has been out of college basketball for now three years cannot come back and play again in college. That would have been a disaster if that injunction was upheld. The floodgates would have been wide open for NBA players to come back to college and play, and the cluster that is college sports would have become even more dysfunctional. I understand Alabama’s argument on Euros, who had played professionally overseas, coming back to play college basketball seems a little out of line with the college model. But everything is out of line with the college model now, and there has to be some limitations on these athletes coming back to college just to enhance themselves and create an unfair competitive situation for other teams. There have to be rules in college sports. So, it was the right decision by Judge Pruet, and the Crimson Tide has moved on very well from it. They’ve put together a pair of nice victories over Ole Miss on the road, 93-74, and South Carolina at home, 89-75.

Philon, Philon, Philon! According to Slay of the SEC Network, WP and me, is lighting it up. Labaron is averaging 21 points per game. He’s awesome. Latrell Wrightsell Jr. scored 21 against Ole Miss on 7 of 13 from trifecta. He added 19 versus South Carolina. Aiden Holloway continues to excel, averaging 17 per game. Power forward Amari Allen is putting up 11 1/2 per game and pulling down 7 1/2 boards, while Aiden Sherrill, who is playing center pretty much, is averaging 10 1/2 and 5.7 caroms. Allen and Sherrill are big boys, and while it would be nice to have the seven foot Bediako, the Tide is adapting well without him. Florida is leading the conference at 10-2 and are 19-6 overall. They are ranked 12th in the country. The SEC is such a gauntlet, more so than football at this juncture, baseball’s a beast, too, that the teams just beat each other up and it’s a season of attrition. But the Crimson Tide is navigating it well. They are a 4 1/2 point favorite over Arkansas tonight and the total is 185.5. I’ll take the Crimson Tide, 96-91.

ESPN’s Joey “Brackets” Lunardi projects the Crimson Tide as a 4 seed in the East Regional and playing No.13 seeded High Point in Portland in the first round. Duke is the No.1 seed in the East, according to Brackets, and it filters into D.C. for the Regional semis and final. Now “Brackets” is not Robert Oppenheimer, but his projections are pretty darn accurate, so I trust him. This doesn’t mean that the Crimson Tide will be playing High Point in Portland for sure, but the 4 seed is a good projection at this point. If the Tide keeps “matriculating,” as E and I like to say, they could move up two or three more spots in the NCAA Tournament, that will start on Thursday, March 19th and continue through Friday, March 20th in venues throughout the country. The Selection Show is Sunday, March 15th, at 5 P.M. CT/6 ET on CBS. The NCAA Tournament will be broadcast by CBS, TBS, TNT and TBS. TBS will televise the Final Four and National Championship Games on April 4th and April 6th, respectively. The Final Four and championship games will be played at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indy.

But there are sill 6 games left in the conference, so a lot of work for both Alabama and Auburn. The SEC Tournament will be played once again at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville from Wednesday, 3/11 to Sunday, 3/15. The Championship Game is Sunday, 3/15, at 12 P.M. CT/1 ET on ESPN. The semis are on ESPN Saturday, and the quarters are on the SEC Network and ESPN on Friday. Friday’s games start at 12 P.M. CT/1 ET, and Saturday’s semifinal games start at the same time, 12 CT/1 ET. The first and second round games are Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. The coveted double bye is what the Tide is playing for. That goes to the top four finishers in the SEC regular season. Playing on Friday and only having to win three games is a tremendous advantage. The Tide has Arkansas tonight at 6 CT/7 ET on ESPN, @ LSU, Saturday at 5 P.M. CT/6 ET on the SEC Network, @ home vs Miss State on Wednesday, 2/25, at 8 P.M. CT/9 ET on ESPNU, @ Tennessee Saturday, 2/28, at 5 P.M CT/6 ET. If things go well it will most likely be televised by ESPN. Then Georgia Tuesday, 3/3, at 5:30 P.M. CT/6:30 ET on ESPN News. And the Tide closes it out versus the Auburn Tigers in T-town Saturday, 3/7, at 7:30 P.M. CT/8:30 ET on ESPN. So, an electric time ahead for the Crimson Tide faithful and throughout the conference. “Brackets” has 10 SEC teams going to the NCAA Tournament, tied with the Big Ten for the most in the country. What a conference. What a basketball game tonight! Very much looking forward to it.

Keyshawn Hall is back in the lineup tonight for the Tigers. They need him. (Photo courtesy of Hoops HQ).

Stephen Pearl and his Tigers will try to right the ship tonight @ Mississippi State at 8 CT/9 ET on ESPN2. The Tigers are 14-11 overall and 5-7 in the conference. They are tied for 10th in the conference. They have lost four in a row, so they desperately need a victory at Starkvegas. Coach Pearl decided to sit Keyshawn Hall in the second half of the Vanderbilt game, and he was suspended indefinitely @ Arkansas on Saturday as Pearl wants his freshman to get his act together. I highly respect that. Hall is available tonight, so hopefully for MB and all Tiger fans, Hall has made an attitude adjustment. He’s a stud, no doubt. He averages almost 21 points per game, and pulls down 6.8 rebounds. Tahaad Pettiford has been solid at 14 points per game, and almost 4 assists. Kevin Overton is at 12.2 and KeShawn Murphy averages 11 and pulls down 7 boards. “Brackets” has the Tigers as an 8 seed and playing in the South Regional in Philly versus No.9 Indiana. Would be a nice matchup. UConn is the present No.1 seed in the South, which filters to Houston for the Regional Semis and Final. Finding a way in each game is critical for the Tigers from here on out. After tonight, they host Kentucky, Saturday, at 7:30 P.M. CT/8:30 ET on ESPN, then play @ Oklahoma next Tuesday, 2/24, at 6 CT/7 ET on ESPNU. On Saturday, 2/28, the Tigers host Ole Miss at 7:30 CT/8:30 ET on the SEC Network. On Tuesday, 3/3, they host LSU at 9 P.M. CT (are you kiddin’ me?)10 ET on the SEC Network. The Tigers finish it off with the Iron Bowl of Basketball at Tuscaloosa Saturday, 3/7, at 7:30 CT/8:30 ET on ESPN.

So a lot to be decided for the state teams, and for the SEC, and for the National scene. In the Midwest, “Brackets” has Michigan as the No.1 seed and they are the projected, at this time, as the No.1 overall seed by ‘Brackets.” And I believe it. They are a juggernaut. They have former UAB power forward Yaxel “Andrea” Lendborg, who is averaging 14.4 and 7 1/2 caroms. He’s spectacular. Michigan has several terrific players as they certainly opened up the checkbook to buy this team. It’s free agency these days for many teams in football and basketball and even in college baseball too. But we’ll see. When the pressure of the NCAA Tournament intensifies and the team you’re playing is sinking trifecta after trifecta and out-hustling you, any team can be beaten. Michigan is strong, however. In the west, “Brackets” has Arizona as his one seed, but that could change as they lost twice last week. Houston and Iowa State are lurking in the Big 12, and several other teams could sneak into that one seed, Alabama included, if they can turn it on and win out. Auburn just needs to win tonight and get this thing turned around and heading in a positive direction.

Genesis Invitational Prediction

While he’s grimacing in pain here from a poor shot, Hideki Matsuyama is having a very nice 2026 and won the Genesis the last time it was played at Riviera CC in 2024. (Photo courtesy of The New York Times).

The 100th Genesis Invitational will take place once again at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, CA. after a one year hiatus due to the wildfires in the L.A. area in 2025. Last year’s Genesis, played at Torrey Pines, was won by Ludvig Aberg. The last time the Genesis was played at Riviera in 2024, Hideki Matsuyama won it. So while Aberg is the official defending champion, Hideki was the last to win it on this course.

This is a Signature Event with a purse of $20 Million with the winner receiving 20% of the purse, or $4 Million. This tournament is hosted by Tiger Woods, so it, the Arnie, and the Memorial hosted by Jack, are the three tournaments that have 36 hole cuts and higher first place prize money. They are hosted by the legends, l so the winners’ share and the cut lines are different and more elite. The other 5 signature events (the AT&T Pebble Beach, won last week by Collin Morikawa, the RBC Heritage, April 16th-19th), the Cadillac Championship (Trump National Doral, April 30th-May 3rd.), the Truist Championship (May 7th-10th Quail Hollow), and the Travelers Championship (June 25th-28th) don’t have cuts, but the winner gets “only” $3.6 Million, or 18% of the purse. Not a bad deal there either if you can excel that week. The Arnie is March 5th-8th, and the Memorial is June 4th-7th. Second place at the Genesis pays $2.2 M, third gets $1.4 M, fourth gets a mill. $840K for fifth, $760K for 6th and $700K for 7th. So if you have a good week, it’s lucrative. Amazing stuff ahead on tour.

Riviera will be playing at 7,383 yards and a par 71. The 4th could very well be playing as a 270+ yard par 3, though Todd Lewis of Golf Channel reported it would be more like 240. But I’ve looked it up and it could be at 273. Will be extremely interesting watching that hole. No. 10 is a high risk/reward, 315 yard par 4. A lot of the players go for it on the 10th, and some have success. No.18, a historic hole, will play at 499 yards as a par 4. That’s a par 5 for the Bush Hogs, Strokers and Due Rights, and maybe a Par 6 for some of us at this age, but it’s still a challenging uphill, blind tee shot and tight with trees on the right causing problems on a PGA player’s approach if he cuts it too much off the tee. The green is like a stadium with the stands backing up and surrounding some of the green for a stadium-like atmosphere. Of the last four winners, two of them have led the field in strokes gained: approach. Jon Rahm did it in 2023, and Joaquin Niemann did it in 2022. However, they’re both on the LIV Tour, so they’re irrelevant. They’ve had a lot of rain in L.A., so it’s a soft course. They got an inch of rain today and expect a half an inch tomorrow. I like the proximity to hole stat and the strokes gained: putting stat, along with scrambling. Gotta be good off the tee as well. Golf asks a lot of you.

Weather: Thursday, 56, rain, 100%, should clear up in the afternoon. Wind at 10 MPH. Friday, 60, Partly sunny, wind 4. Saturday, 66, cloudy, slight chance of a shower, Wind 3. Sunday, 72, sunny. Wind, 4. Now that’s more like it in Southern California.

TV

Thursday-Friday- 3-7 P.M. CT/4-8 ET, Golf Channel.

Saturday, 12-2 P.M. CT/1-3 ET, GC; 2-6 CT/3-7 ET, CBS.

Sunday, 12-2 P.M. CT/1-3 ET, GC; 2-5:30 CT/3-6:30 ET, CBS.

The fairways are Kikuyu grass and the rough is also Kikuyu and will be 2 inches at its highest. There is no intermediate rough though.The greens are Poa annua and will be stimping at 12, so pretty quick for a PGA event.

Odds

Scottie Scheffler: 3/1; Rory, 11/1; Xander, 19/1; Hideki, 20/1; Tommy Fleetwood, 20/1; Morikawa, 25/1; Patrick Cantlay, 27/1; Russell Henley, 30/1; Si Woo, 30/1; Cameron Young, 30/1; Matt Fitzpatrick, 33/1; Jake Knapp, 33/1; Sam Burns, 35/1; Chris Gotterup, 35/1; Harris English, 35/1; Min Woo Lee, 35/1; Ludvig Aberg, 40/1; Vik Hovland, 40/1; Bob McIntyre, 40/1; Sepp Straka, 40/1; Mav McNealy, 40/1. Ben Griffin, 40/1. Justin Rose, 45/1. Rickie Fowler, 45/1; Adam Scott, 55/1; Shane Lowry, 55/1. There are 72 players in the field with the top 50 and ties after 36 holes playing on the weekend.

Winner

Sometimes you have to go obvious, and while golf and horse racing are the most unpredictable sports in existence, with horse racing leading the field, and with a field like this playing on a classic course like this, anything can happen. But I’m going to take Sea Biscuit once again. He’s the only guarantee on who can win or finish in the top 5. I like him to win at Riviera.

Scottie Scheffler

Give me Scheffler, the Texan, to win his 21st event on The PGA Tour at age 29. (Photo courtesyof Golf. com).

Sleeper

Give me this 26 year old from Easton, Maryland, by way of Rutgers University, to have a serious shot at raising the hardware on Sunday. He’s already won the Myrtle Beach Classic in May of 2024, the Genesis Scottish Open in July of 2025, and has also already won twice this year at the Sony Open in Hawaii in January, and the Waste Management Phoenix Open on Feb. 8th. This guy is no sleeper, but I’ll pick him that way this week with everybody else picking Scheffler, McIlroy, Matsuyama, Morikawa, etc…

Chris Gotterup

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