David White

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Golf

The 126th U.S. Open commences Thursday; Preview/Prediction

June 17, 2026

Rory goes for Major Number 6 and his second U.S. Open Championship. (Photo courtesy of The Independent–London).



The 2026 U. S. Open, the 126th edition, returns to the iconic Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southhampton, New York, 100 miles east of New York City on Long Island, a 2 to 2 1/2 hour drive, unless it’s the summer or the weekend, then it becomes a 3 1/2 hour drive.

With the New York Knicks celebrating their historic NBA Championship Thursday with a respective victory parade, and with the FIFA World Cup transpiring presently, with one of the venues being Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, 12 miles from the city, New York is busy. However, the Open is an elite sporting event, one of the best of the year, and it will get plenty of attention.

The defending champion of the Open is J.J. Spaun, a blue collar player, which is what is required to win an Open. He’s the ultimate warrior and sank a 64 foot birdie putt on 18 at Oakmont in 2025 to win the 125th Open. I like Spaun’s chances here. I had a text exchange with the Fellas, my commenters on the Blog, last week, and Brombey is real high on Spaun. I agree with him. J.J. is a serious factor at Shinnecock.

The course is a 7,440 yard, Par 70 that was designed by William Flynn and opened in 1891. It has hosted five Opens with the most recent in 2018 in which Brooks Kopeka captured the championship, one of his five majors. Tommy Fleetwood shot 63 on Sunday to make it interesting, but missed a six foot birdie putt on 18 that would have most likely gotten him into a playoff with Koepka. Koepka was a blue collar player then, those were his roots, though he’s a very wealthy guy now, so you’re not sure if the drive is still there. But he is doing pretty well now on tour, so the drive could be back. He’s got a wrist injury he’s battling, but he’s won two U.S. Opens, so he could be a factor.

Of course, Scottie Scheffler will attempt to obtain the career Grand Slam with a victory at Shinnecock. He’s been real low key about this achievement if it happens; too low key in my opinion. He said that if he wins the Open, people will ask him what’s next.

Maybe so, but winning a U. S. Open is monumental, and completing the career Grand Slam at 30 years old, he turns 30 on Sunday, 6/21, would be a any professional golfers lifetime dream. I would be a little more passionate about it if I were Scheffler.

Rory is playing better than ever and has figured out how to handle the pressure as he has earned the career Grand Slam and now owns 6 majors. If he putts well, he’s got a real shot.

There are 172 bunkers on Shinnecock, four less than Oakmont (176). The greens are Poa Annua and will be stimping at 10 because they’ve lost the greens before at there and the wind will more than compensate for the slower greens. They’ll be faster and firmer than that with no rain forecasted this Thursday/weekend.

Weather

Windy.

Thursday. 74. Very little chance of rain, but wind gusting 20 to 30. It was hard at the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club outside Philly with strong winds. The players will see that again Thursday.

Friday-79. Wind 10-20.

Saturday- 81. Wind 10-20.

Sunday, mostly sunny. 77. Wind 10-15.

The 156 player field will be fiercely challenged by this formidable course along with the windy conditions that will come with it. As of today, rain looks unlikely this week/weekend.

TV

Thursday: 5:30 A.M.-4 P.M. CT/6:30 A.M.-5 P.M. East, USA. 4-7 P.M. CT/5-8 ET, NBC Sports, Peacock.

Friday: 5:30 A.M.-12:30 P.M. CT/6:30-1:30 ET, NBC Sports Network, Peacock. 12:30-6:30 P.M. CT/1:30-7:30 ET, NBC. 6:30-7:30 P.M. CT/7:30-8:30 ET-NBC Sports Network, Peacock.

Saturday-9-11 A.M.CT /10 A.M.-12 P.M. ET, USA. 11 A.M.-7 P.M. CT/12-8 ET, NBC.

Sunday, 8-11 A.M. CT/9 A.M.-12 P.M. ET, USA. 11 A.M.-6 P.M. CT/12-7 P.M. East, NBC.

Odds-Scheffler, 5/1; Rory, 10/1; Jon Rahm, 10/1; Xander Schauffele, 19/1; Cam Young, 20/1; Matt Fitzpatrick, 22/1; Tommy Fleetwood, 25/1; Ludvig Aberg, 26/1; DeChambois, 27/1; Koepka, 33/1; Collin Morikawa, 35/1; Russell Henley, 37/1; Wyndham Clark, 37/1; Sam Burns, 38/1; Chris Gotterup, 44/1; Justin Thomas, 44/1; Tyrrell Hatton, 46/1; Patrick Cantlay, 46/1; Patrick Reed, 49/1; Justin Rose, 52/1; Vik Hovland, 54/1; Spaun, 61/1; Hideki, 65/1; Bob Mc, 66/1; Spieth, 69/1; Maverick McNealy, 76/1.

Those are several key players who are capable of surviving and winning at one of golf’s sternest tests.

Winner

You gotta like the Blue Collar player on this course. It was between this guy and Spaun for me. Brombey appreciates the blue collar work ethic and battle it out type player, and I do too. It’s a tough call between this 26 year old Easton, Maryland native, by way of Rutgers University and the University of Oklahoma, and the 35 year old stud Spaun, who’s from LA, by way of San Diego State University. But I’ll slightly take this workhorse to capture his first major on this historic and difficult course. All the tougher with the blustery conditions Thursday and through the weekend.

Chris Gotterup

I’ll take the young stallion Gotterup to capture the 126th edition of the U.S. Open. (Photo courtesy of Golf Channel).

Major contender with a real shot to win

J.J. Spaun

Talk about toughness. Spaun plays golf while dealing with Type 1 diabetes. I have personal experience with the Type 1 illness as my sister, nephew and a great friend have Type 1. Dealing with that every day is grueling, and I care deeply about all three of them. Let’s hope and pray there is an ultimate cure soon. Breakthrough T1D is making good progress.

Give me the great Spaun to make a serious run at the national championship.

J.J. has a real shot of capturing back to back U.S. Opens. (Photo courtesy of T1D Strong).

Predictions for the NBA Finals, Stanley Cup Finals and the 50th Memorial Tournament, the seventh Signature Event on the PGA Tour this season

June 2, 2026

Stephon Castle, the stellar 21 year old player for the San Antonio Spurs from UConn, where he won a national championship in 2024, leads a young, hungry San Antonio Spurs team into the NBA Finals versus the New York Knicks. (Photo courtesy of NBA.com).



It’s down to the Eastern Conference champions, the New York Knicks, and the Western Conference champions, the San Antonio Spurs, competing for the NBA Championship and the Larry O’Brien Trophy as World Champions.

The Spurs, led by seven foot, three inch phenom center Victory Wembanyama, from Le Chesney, France, he does that Bo Jackson France thing, leads a talented, elite group of young players. They will square off with the talented former Villanova trio of Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, and Mikal Bridges, all winners of a national championship at ‘Nova, along with superb big man 7’0″, 245 Karl Anthony Towns, from the University of Kentucky, and an 11 year veteran.

The Spurs have the home court advantage as they finished with the better regular season record. The Spurs average 23 to 24 year olds on their team, while the Knicks are led by 30 year old Karl Anthony, the 29 year old Brunson, the 31 year old Hart, and the 29 year old Bridges.

The Knicks haven’t won an NBA Championship since 1973, when the great Willis Reed, Walt “Clyde” Frazier, Earl “the Pearl” Monroe, Bill Bradley, a future senator from New Jersey, the great Dave DeBusschere, one of the greatest NBA names of all time and a heckuva player, and their elite sixth man, Phil Jackson, an 11 time winner as a coach for the Chicago Bulls and the LA Lakers, as well as his championship with New York as a player played in Madison Squeeh Gaaden. Dick Barnett was another terrific player for the Knicks as was Jerry Lucas in their heyday in the early ’70’s. Just a classic team coached by a classic coach in Red Holzman. Those guys were vintage New York. Tough, scrappy, unflappable, incredible talents. Several have passed away, but they say that Walt “Clyde” Frazier is still one of the best dressed men in the City at 81 years old. He was stylish, and, and also scored 36 points and dished out 19 assists in their 1970 game seven championship victory over the Lakers, a game in which Reed played despite having a torn thigh muscle he suffered in game 5, which kept him out of the rest of that game and game 6. He hobbled onto the court at Madison Square Gaahden for game 7 in front of a raucous, passionate crowd, scored the first four points and made it through the game. It was an incredible inspiration to his teammates and the city. It will go down as one of the all time most courageous performances in NBA history. Don’t make’em like they used to.

The Spurs have quite a tradition as well. With “The Big Fundamental,” Tim Duncan, the amazing Tony Parker at point guard, and the exceptional Manu Ginobili, the Spurs won 5 titles, in Duncan’s case, and 4 with Parker and Ginobili. Duncan won it with the Admiral, David Robinson, in 1999, and the trio of Duncan, Parker and Ginobili won it all in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2014. The Hall of Famer Gregg Popovich coached all of those teams. Duncan, Parker and Ginobili are all in the Hall of Fame, as are Reed, Frazier, Earl the Pearl, Senator Bradley, Dave D. and Coach Jackson from the Knicks. A lot of great memories, but it’s been a minute for these two teams to be in the spotlight. The Spurs defeated the Knicks in the 1999 NBA Championship in 5 games.

Here is the TV Schedule.

All games are at 7:30 P.M. CT/8:30 ET and all will be broadcast by ABC. Best 4 of 7

Game 1: Wednesday, June 3rd: Knicks @ Spurs

Game 2: Friday, June 5th: Knicks @ Spurs

Game 3: Monday, June 8th, Spurs @ Knicks

Game 4: Wednesday, June 10th, Spurs @ Knicks

Game 5: Saturday, June 13th, (if necessary), Knicks @ Spurs

Game 6: Tuesday, June 16th (if necessary) Spurs @ Knicks

Game 7: Friday, June 19th (if necessary) Knicks @ Spurs.

The Spurs are favored by 67-33% to win the series and the Larry O’Brien Trophy.

The Decision

My heart is with the Knicks. Both my daughters and my son in law live in New York, and I’ll be there seeing them the weekend of game 5 in San Antonio, so we’ll be going to dinner that Saturday night and then at a sports bar in the city watching the game with passionate New Yorkers at 8:30 P.M. ET/7:30 CT.

Friday Night, we’ll be at the Mets-Braves game at Citi Field. Friday morning we’ll be at the New York Metropolitan Museum, the Met. Saturday morning we’ll be at Rumble Boxing Studio, and at Hamilton Saturday afternoon. Pumped to see them and watch our New York Knickerbockers capture their third ever NBA Championship. Give me Brunson, KAT, Hart and Bridges, the veterans, to lead the Knicks to their first NBA Championship in 53 years (1973).

Knicks over Spurs in 6

MVP

Jalen Brunson

I’ll take the great Jalen Brunson and the Knicks. (Photo courtesy of Athlon Sports).

Stanley Cup Prediction

Carolina Hurricanes vs. Las Vegas Golden Knights

TV Schedule, All games at 7 P.M. CT/8 ET on ABC, Best 4 of 7

Game 1 Today, Vegas @ Carolina

Game 2, Thursday, 6/4, Vegas @ Carolina

Game 3, Saturday, 6/6, Carolina @ Vegas

Game 4, Tuesday, June 9th, Carolina @ Vegas

Game 5, (if necessary) Thursday, June 11th, Vegas @ Carolina

Game 6, (if necessary) Sunday, June 14th, Carolina @ Vegas

Game 7 (if necessary), Wednesday, 6/17, Vegas @ Carolina

Verdict

I’ll take my pre-playoffs pick to win it all before the Stanley Cup Playoffs commenced and take my pre-playoffs MVP, the Conn Smythe Award winner for most valuable player in the NHL Playoffs. I had Carolina over Colorado before the playoffs started. Here I’ll take:

Carolina over Vegas in 5

Conn Smythe Award winner

Sebastian Aho, center ‘Canes

Give me Sebastian Aho and the Hurricanes to capture their second Stanley Cup. Their first came in 2006. (Photo courtesy of NBC Sports).

Winner at the 50th Memorial Tournament

It’s the seventh Signature Event on the PGA Tour, and the prolific Jack Nicklaus’s Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin Ohio as the 50th Memorial Tournament commences Thursday with an elite field playing for a $20 Million purse and a $4 Million first place paycheck. The course is a stock 72 and plays at 7,569 yards. No.18 is a beast of a par 4 to finish off the round, especially on Sunday. It’s 480 yards with bunkers on the right off the tee and a slope into the woods on the left hand side off the tee. The green is long, but not wide, with a deep sand trap on the left side. The greens will be stimping at 13, very quick, and the rough will be 4 inches high.

Jack’s there to greet the players on Sunday, so that’s always special. Always a thrill to shake hands with the greatest of all time with 18 major championships under his belt. 6 Masters, 1963, ’65, ’66, ’72, 75, and ’86 (at 46 years old), 4 U.S. Opens, 1962, ’67, ’72, ’80. Three Open Championships (British Opens), 1966, ’70, and ’78, and 5 PGA Championships, 1963, ’71, ’73, ’75, and ’80. That personifies the greatest of all time in golf. And he was and is the classiest ambassador of the game along with Arnie, Gary Player, Ben Hogan, Sam Sneed, Bobby Jones, Lee Trevino, Tom Watson, those guys. Still don’t make’em like they used to.

Odds: Scheffler, 3/1; Rory, 10/1; Cam Young, 16/1; Xander Schauffele, 18/1; Ludvig Aberg, 18/1; Matt “Fitzie” Fitzpatrick, 22/1; Si Woo Kim, 22/1; Russell Henley, 30/1. He put on a clinic at the Charles Schwab at Colonial in Fort Worth last Sunday taming Hogan’s Alley with three straight birdies on 16-18 in regulation, and a birdie from 5 feet in the first playoff hole, number 18, versus Eric Cole. Henley hit his second shot to 5 feet and drained the putt to capture the title. Henley was iron. Tommy Fleetwood, 30/1; Patrick Cantlay, 30/1; Ben Griffin, 33/1; Bob McIntyre, 40/1; Sam Burns, 40/1; Min Woo Lee, 40/1; Rickie Fowler, 45/1; Justin Thomas, 45/1; Hideki, 45/1; Maverick McNealy, 50/1; Jordan Spieth, 55/1; J.J. Spaun, 55/1; Chris Gotterup, 60/1; Harris English, 60/1; Adam Scott, 60/1; Justin Rose, 65/1; PGA Championship Champion Aaron Rai, can’t get over that 68 foot birdie putt on 17 at Aronimink Golf Club in Newton Square, PA. on Sunday to capture the 108th PGA in mid May. Rai is at 80/1. Seems like a good sleeper pick.

Weather

Thursday, 84, Sunny, winds SSW 8 MPH.

Friday: Partly sunny, 86, SW 12.

Saturday, 40% chance of t-storms in afternoon. 83. Wind SW 14.

Sunday, 30% chance of showers in the morning, then clearing up in the afternoon. 85, Winds, W 10.

TV

Thursday-Friday, 1-5 P.M. CT/2-6 East, Golf Channel

Saturday-Sunday, 11:30 A.M.-1:30 P.M. CT/12:30-2:30 East, GC; 1:30-5 P.M.CT /2:30-6 P.M. ET, CBS.

This is the seventh of the eight Signature Events in 2026. Collin Morikawa won the first, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am (2/12-2/15), Jacob Bridgeman won the second, The Genesis Invitational (2/19-2/22), Akshay Bhatia won the third, the Arnie (3/5-3/8), Matt “Fitz” won the fourth, the RBC Heritage (4/16-4/19), Cam Young won the fifth, The Cadillac Championship (4/30-5/3), and Kristoffer Reitan? of Norway, won the sixth, The Truist Championship (5/7-5/10). The eighth Signature Event will be the Travelers Championship, 6/25-6/28 played at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, CT.

There are 72 players in the field at the Memorial as the field is smaller for the Signature Events than they are for regular tour events with most all of the elite players competing in the Signatures.

The cut is top 50 and ties, and anyone within 10 shots of the lead after the first 36 holes, Thursday-Friday. The purse is $20 million with $4 Million going to the winner as this is a player sponsored event like the Genesis was by Tiger Woods, and the Arnie was. The first place check for the other 5 is $3.6 Million. Second place at the Memorial gets $2.2 M, third gets $1.4 M, and 4th a mil, so a good week at the office for the top guys come late Sunday afternoon. Everybody also wants to win this tournament because it’s Jack’s event.

Winner

I’m going to take the 30 year old from Seoul, South Korea. He’s knocked on the door several times this season and I expect him to knock it down at Muirfueld Village.

Si Woo Kim

Give me Kim to win at Jack’s Tourney. (Photo courtesy of Golf.com).

Saturday

The 158th Belmont Stakes, Preview/Prediction

Onto the Elite Eight Quarterfinals for the Vanderbilt Men’s Golf Team

June 2, 2026

West Point Mississippi native and Vanderbilt senior golfer Senior Wells Williams led his team with a terrific round Monday in Round 4 of the NCAA Championships. (Photo courtesy of The Vanderbilt Hustler).

Our super senior leader, Wells Williams, shot a 2 under par 70 yesterday and Jon Ed, Ryan Downes and Will Hartman all birdied the par 5, 18th to lead our team to a third place finish at 12 under par, and put us in the Elite Eight Quarterfinals, where we are facing No.6 Arizona right now. More on that in a second.

Auburn finished first at -26, Texas was next at -23, we finished -12, OK State and Florida tied for 4th at -11, ‘Zona was sixth at -3, and UCLA and Stanford rounded out the field at -2.

We are now in the match play on the La Costa Resort and Spa North course and in our matches: 1. Chase Nevins is tied with Zona’s Taishi Moto after 5 holes. 2. Jon Ed is 1 up on Tianyi Xiong after 5 holes. 3. Will is 3 Up on Filip Jakubcik through 4 holes. 4. Ryan Downes is 2 Up on William Wistrand through 4 holes. 5.Wells is all tied with Zach Pollo through 3 holes.  So we have a 4-1 lead right now.

Got a long way to go, but our guys are playing superb, confident golf right now. Wells is so solid, and Will and Jon Ed are playing like seniors instead of freshmen. Ryan, a sophomore from Longview, Massachusetts, has been good throughout the Championships, and Chase, a junior from Great Falls, Virginia, is getting his first start today, and doing well.

Our guys have been through the wars this season, both in the high level tournaments we’ve played in and the SEC Championships. We’ve taken our lumps at times, but are playing our best golf right now.

I’ll keep you apprised. Thanks for reading.    

Will Hartman, Vanderbilt Men’s Golf moves into round 4 of the NCAA Championships Today; Luuuke

June 1, 2026

Our great freshman from Marvin, North Carolina, Will Hartman, is carrying his team on his back as we qualify for round 4 today at the NCAA Championships in Carlsbad, California (Photo courtesy of On3).

Freshman Will Hartman shot four under 68 for the second day in a row on Sunday and is now 10 under for the NCAA Championships and led our team  into the fourth round of the NCAA Championships today at La Costa Resort and Spa North Course in Carlsbad, Cali.

We are presently in third place at nine under par after day 3 after a 3 over par round Sunday. Auburn leads the field at 22 under and Texas is next at 19 under. Then we’re at -9, UCLA, ‘Zona, and OK State are at -8, Chapel Hill is at -6, Duke is -1, Oklahoma is Even, UVA and the Gators are at +1, while L-S-U, San Diego, Tennessee, and Stanford round out the top 15 teams that qualified for today’s fourth and final stroke round, as those four teams finished +2.

So, we’re right there heading into round 4. The goal today is to play outstanding golf, make the top 8 and qualify for the match play quarterfinals, which will commence Tuesday.

Coach Limbaugh is excellent at keeping his team locked in on the task at hand, so all we need to concentrate on a shot at a time. Pardon the triteness of that comment, but it’s a fact. 

Scott said we need to quickly get over any mistakes and move forward. We need very short term memories on the 7,538 yard, par 72 La Costa North Course.

Jon Ed and Wells are at -1, while Ryan Downes is at +4, and Michael Riebe is at +18.

Will is tied for 2nd individually at -10, with Flip Jakubcik? of ‘Zona and William Jennings of Alabama, who is competing as an individual, as Alabama didn’t make the team tournament, but Jennings was one of the top 6 individual qualifiers from his region to make it to the NCAA Championships. 

Preston Stout of Oklahoma State leads the individual competition at -11. The low medalist/individual National Champion will be decided after today’s final stroke round.

Gordon Sargent won the individual national championship for us in 2022.

We need Will to keep on truckin, as the Grateful Dead sang, and Jon Ed to get back to playing the type of golf he has been playing until yesterday. Wells needs to be good, and Ryan and Michael will HAVE to help us.

We need to be in the top 8 out of the 15 teams competing today to qualify for Tuesday’s quarterfinals match play.

We tee off today at 2:20 P.M. CT/3:20 East with Riebe for us playing with Auburn’s Cayden Pope and Texas’s Daniel Bennett. At 2:31/3:31- Ryan Downes for us, Logan Reilly for Auburn, and Matt Comegys for Texas. At 2:42/3:42-Jon Ed, Jake Albert for Auburn, and Christiaan Maas for UT. At 2:53-3:53-Wells for us, the great Jackson Koivun for Auburn, and Luke Potter for Hook’em. At 3:04/4:04- Will for us, Josiah Gilbert for Auburn, and Tommy Morrison for Texas.

Golf Channel will televise and stream today at 4:30-8:30 P.M. CT/5:30-9:30 East.

Will keep you very much apprised. 

Luuuke Kornet had a heckuva game changing block for the San Antonio Spurs in replacing the great Victor Wembanyama, who was saddled with five fouls, making the play of the game that led the Spurs to the NBA Championship as they defeated the defending NBA Champion OKC Thunder, 111-103, at Oklahoma City in game 7 of the Western Conference Finals.

Luke and the Spurs will square off with the New York Knicks starting this Wednesday at 7:30 P.M. CT/8:30 East for the NBA Championship. The Spurs, with the better regular season record than the Knicks, will host the first two games, the Knicks the next two, then @ the Spurs, @the Knicks and @ the Spurs if games 5,6 and 7 are necessary.

Luke, at 30 years old, is having a really nice NBA career and is a stellar backup to Wemby.

Anchor Down!

Jon Ed, Will, Wells lead the way in the Vanderbilt Men’s Golf charge at the NCAA Championships

May 31, 2026

Jon Ed cookin at the North Course of the La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, Cali. (Photo courtesy of x)

Hope everybody is having a nice weekend. Our Men’s Golf team sure is cookin’.

Jon Ed Steed is at -7 overall after a 67 yesterday on the par 72 North Course at La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, CA., near San Diego, and fellow freshman Will Hartman is at -6 after the first two rounds, as our frosh from Marvin, N.C., 20 miles southeast  of Charlotte, is playing exceptional golf as well.

Senior Wells Williams of West Point, Mississippi is at -2 under. And we are now 13 under as a team in the third round of the NCAA Championships.

We are tied with No.3 Texas in second place and are 8 back of Auburn, which sits at 21 under. All five of our players are now on the course. Sophomore Ryan Downes, from Longmeadow, Massachusetts, has two birdies already to get us to -13 overall. We came into today at -12.

Jon Ed dropped a shot on 1. Michael Riebe bogeyed one and Wells and Will are at even through one. Ryan just birdied the 383 yard, par 4 fourth. We are on holes one through four. The top 15 teams after today’s round will qualify to play Monday in an 18 hole event with the scores carrying over from today. 

Monday, the top 8 teams from the group of 15 will qualify for the quarterfinals of match play to be played Tuesday.

So, great stuff from the Fellas. Will keep you updated today.

Thanks. Enjoy your Sunday.   

Vanderbilt Sports with superb year, Vanderbilt Men’s Golf aims to break down that door

May 29, 2026

Our great freshman, Jon Ed Steed, and his teammates home in on capturing the NCAA Championship in Men’s Golf. (Photo courtesy of On3).

Super freshman Jon Ed Steed helps lead the Dores into La Costa Resort and Spa for the NCAA Championships (Photo courtesy of On3)

Our 11th ranked Vanderbilt Commodores are trying to augment what our 10-3 football almost did, our men’s and women’s basketball teams accomplished, our women’s soccer team accomplished, and our baseball team, though not what we wanted, played extremely hard and there is a lot of hope for 2027. When you have a coach in Tim Corbin, who has won national championships in 2014 and ’19, there is always room to be optimistic.

There’s a lot of optimism for all our teams. Clark has reloaded and brought back some studs in wide receiver Junior Sherrill, running back Seddy Alexander and company to go along with 99, 5 star frosh quarterback Jared Curtis, and some nice pieces out of recruiting and the portal. And we have excellent returnees. We’ll be good.

The SEC is always a battle of attrition, but we’re well equipped for 2026 and beyond. Clark is already assembling a solid 2027 class led by 94, four star linebacker Omarii Sanders, 6′ 3 1/2″, 210. Love what Clark did in his fifth season with the great Diego and company and love what the future holds.

Coach By just recruited a stellar freshmen class and also landed some major transfers. Chandler Bing is coming back for his sophomore season, and I like what Chandler brings to the table with his athletic ability, driving and scoring and improving ability from beyond the arc. He averaged 28 points his senior year in his school in Atlanta. He also plays lockdown defense.

And the news of the year in Vanderbilt Sports happened on Tuesday when the amazing Tyler Tanner decided to return for his junior season. That’s tremendous. Tyler averaged 19 points, almost 6 assists and 2.4 steals. He’s looking at an All American Wooden Award season in ’26-27.

Get your season tickets for football and men’s basketball as soon as possible. It’ll be a spectacle at First Bank and Memorial Gymnasium in 2026-27.

Not to be outdone, Coach Shea Ralph led her women’s basketball team to an awesome season. Love the future with Mikayla Blakes and company returning. Coach Ralph is tremendous.

Also, Coach Darren Ambrose took our soccer team to the Elite Eight and we have incredible prospects for 2026.

Those respective teams banged hard on the door, and now Coach Scott Limbaugh, players senior  Wells Williams, freshmen Jon Ed Steed and Will Hartman will home in on breaking it down at the NCAA Championships which commenced today and is being played at La Costa Resort and Spa North Course in the San Diego metro area.

Our great golf team, led by freshman Will Hartman’s tie for low medalist honors, won the Athens, GA. Regional defeating teams like No.1 Auburn to earn one of the 30 spots in this field. We tee off at 3:07 P.M. CT/ 4:07 ET/ 1:07 Pacific.

We’ll start senior Wells Williams, sophomore Ryan Downes, freshmen Jon Ed, Will and Michael Riebe. Jon Ed, Will and Michael were part of the No.1 recruiting class in the country in 2025. Coach Limbaugh also secured the No. 1 class in the country for 2026.

The North Course at La Costa will play over 7,500 yards with a couple of long par 5’s in the 616 yard 2nd hole, and the 609 yard 18th. No.6 is the No.1 handicap hole. It’s a par 5 at 576. Good bit of water on the backside. Greens will be a certain kind of  bentgrass that will be quick, stimping at 12 1/2 to 13.

Coach Limbaugh, in his 14th season, has led his teams to 50 tournament titles, with the most recent one being the Athens (GA.) Regional, we’ve had 37 low medalists (winners of tourneys), 12 NCAA Championship Appearances, 7 Match Play appearances, 3 Final Fours, 2017, ’19 and ’22, and Gordon Sargent won the NCAA individual title in 2022. It’s a laundry list of excellence. There’s more, players in the pros, etc.. 

The format for the major championship of college golf is a 30 team field with the field playing 3 rounds, 54 holes, today through Sunday, with a cut to 15 teams after the third round on Sunday.  On Monday, the field gets cut down to 8 teams after 18 holes, and those 8 will play match play starting Tuesday. The quarterfinals and semis will transpire Tuesday, and the Championship match is Wednesday. Golf Channel will stream the Championships over the weekend and televise  on the Golf Channel Monday through Wednesday, starting at approximately, 5-5:30 P.M. CT/ 6-6:30 East/ and 3-3:30 P.M. Pacific.

Coach Limbaugh said the teams that are favored are Auburn, Florida, Texas and UVA.

We’ll home in on breaking this door down this time. Regardless, we’ve had a heckuva season, and the future is through the roof bright.

And we could very well get over the hump and capture our first Golf National Championship over the next 6 days.

Will keep you apprised.

Anchor Down and have an awesome weekend. 

Kranzler dominant, Bats get going in Vanderbilt Baseball W over KY, FL preview for today; Men’s Golf playing superbly well

May 20, 2026
Junior Alex Kranzler incredible versus Kentucky on Tuesday at the Hoover Met. (Photo courtesy of Instagram).

Junior right hander Alex Kranzler locked it down for the Vanderbilt Commodores Tuesday, and the bats got going in the bottom of the 6th, as the Vandy Boys defeated Kentucky, 8-5, in the first round of the SEC Tournament at the Hoover Met. 

We moved to 33-24 overall and earned our 15th SEC victory as we set our sights on advancing much further in this tourney and solidifying our spot in the NCAA Tournament.

Our No. 12 seed Commodores now face 5th seed and 18th ranked Florida in the second round today with an approximate 1 P.M. first pitch. Could be 1:30 ish or a little later depending on how Miss. State-Mizzou goes. State is up 3-1 in the top of the 4th presently.

Connor Fennell got the start and fought hard like he always. The SEC Network broadcasters interviewed Coach Corbin in the third and Corbin said Fennell was not at his best as he had just gotten 5 days rest. Normal rest time is 7 days for a weekend starter. But Fennell battled, as always, going 4.2, giving up 7 hits, 4 earned with a walk and 5 K’s.

Then Alex Kranzler came in and shut the door on the Kentucky offense. Kranzler went 4.1 innings, gave up 1 hit, 1 run, in the 9th when the game was close to secure, with 1 walk and 5 K’s. It was a spectacular performance from our junior from Norwood, Jersey. 

Meanwhile, the bats took a while to get going, but once they did, it went well. We were down 4-1 going into the bottom of the 6th when the offense woke up. After two outs, right fielder Logan Johnstone walked, first baseman Tommy Goodin singled putting runners at first and second, and shortstop Ryker Waite singled driving in Johnstone. Then, our centerfielder, Rustan “Rooster” Rigdon singled up the middle to drive in Goodin to cut the deficit it to 4-3. DH Brandon Barczi singled to left driving in Waite to tie it at 4-4. Jaxon Jelkin, the Kentucky pitcher, who had been dealing on us, was knocked out of the game. Jack Sams came in and with runners on first and second, catcher Korbin Reynolds hit it to third and the KY third baseman threw it away, and the fleet footed Rigdon scored to put us up, 5-4.

With Kranzler dominating Kentucky, we extended the lead in the bottom of the 8th when the great Rigdon singled, stole second and third, and scored when the catcher threw it into left field while Rigdon was sliding into third. Reynolds then singled and our terrific sophomore third baseman from Ooltewah, TN., Brodie Johnston, cranked his 15th homer of the season to deep left field. It was a no doubter. Brodie had to watch that one for a second. It was his 46th and 47th Ribeyes as well.

We were up 8-4 in the top of the ninth and Kentucky scored an inconsequential run, as Kranzler closed it out.

It’s Florida today at 1 P.M.CT/ 2 East on the SEC Network.

I’ll guesstimate either freshman right hander Tyler Baird, 0-5, 4.81 ERA, 24 walks, 49 K’s in 4 games started and 43 innings. Tyler has been figuring it out lately, and has super stuff and throws it 95. He has given up 7 doubles, 0 triples and 4 homers. 

Or we might go with frosh Wyatt Nadeau, 2-3, 5.57 ERA, 36 walks, 60 K’s in 51.2 IP’s. Wyatt has given up 9 doubles and 5 long balls. Both pitchers  have been trending well. Wyatt hits 96 regularly. If they can just keep their control in order I like our chances.

Florida, 37-18, 18-12- SEC, might go with starter Liam Peterson, who is 2-5 with a 4.00 ERA. They may go a bullpen game.

Not sure how Florida is approaching this game. They are securely in the NCAA Tournament, but their coach, Kevin O’Sullivan, and Corbs are good friends, but major rivals. We always get everybody’s best shot, so we’ll need to home in on being successful.

Will get pitchers to you when I know. Could be about 10 or 20 minutes before the game. State is up 3-2 on Mizzou in the bottom of another fifth. We’ll see how that game progresses.

By the way, our great second baseman Mike Mancini, was named second team All-SEC earlier this week., Mancini is hitting .306 with 15 homers and 44 Ribeyes. He has also stolen 20 of 21 bases, including another one Tuesday. Mike’s been a superb player for us this year and is excellent on defense.

Our Men’s Golf Team was down a little earlier today, but is now in first place at the Athens, GA. Regional at -25. We are one shot clear of Louisville, which is at -24. BYU is next at -18. Georgia and Charleston are tied for 4th at -17, and No.1 Auburn is surprisingly in 6th at -15. The top 5 teams advance to the NCAA Championships in Carlsbad, California at the Omni La Costa Resort and Spa-North Course next Friday, May 29th.

Louisville has just dropped three shots and we now have a four shot lead at -25. Both Louisville and us are on holes 10-13. Auburn is also on holes 10-13. Our great freshman, Will Hartman, is -14 and leading the player leaderboard by 3 shots over Louisiana’s Malan Potgieter, who is at -11. Will, from Marvin, North Carolina, shot eight under, 63 on Tuesday. Freshman Jon Ed Sneed, from my prolific wife’s stomping grounds, Enterprise, Alabama, is in 6th at -8. Senior Wells Williams is at -4. Just fell off two shots to -23, and are just one clear of Louisville (-22). Both teams through holes 11-14. BYU is -20 through holes 10-13. Will keep you posted.

Will be in touch on Baseball and golf today. Have a great work day.

The Bromberg duo continues to matriculate towards a Triple Crown; Aaron Rai; SEC Baseball Championship at the Hoover Met starts Tuesday. Predictions

May 18, 2026

Spike Me Up, John “Brombey” Bromberg, captured the second leg of the Triple Crown with his prediction of Napoleon Solo. (Photo Courtesy of JB&Co. Jewelry Boutique, Not the greatest “quality” photo. Sorry Spike-best I could do).


After Amy “Sweetie” Bromberg predicted Golden Tempo to successfully win the 152nd Kentucky Derby, her other half, the great “Spike Me Up” John “Brombey” Bromberg backed it up by successfully predicting Napoleon Solo to capture the 151st Preakness Stakes. It’s onto the Belmont as the Bromberg dynamic duo sets their sights on capturing the Triple Crown in the predictions and “earnings” departments in these American Classic races. Great stuff from the Bromberg family. White’s World, Derrick and Excedrin “Bill Gates” Bates went with Iron Honor. White’s World felt good about the pick, and Derrick, whose vintage O’Neal Steel company slogan was, “When you need steel, depend on O’Neal,” of course went with the Iron horse. Excedrin was in agreement. Iron Honor almost pulled it off, barely falling a length short of winning the mile and three sixteenths race. It was another electric Triple Crown race. Excited for Brombey, Joseph “Bama Golf”, WP, Excedrin, Derrick,Brownie, White’s World, etc.. to pick the ponies at the 158th Belmont Stakes, which will take place at Saratoga Park in Saratoga Springs, New Yawk, as Belmont Park, in Elmont, New York, is under construction and won’t be ready this year, but will host the 2027 Belmont, after a $455 million renovation. Should be fun with the Derby winner Golden Tempo along with Preakness winner Napoleon Solo and other Derby and Preakness contenders set for “The Test of the Champion.” The mile and a half race will transpire on Saturday, June 6th, with an approximate post time between 5:40-6 P.M. CT/6:40-7 P.M. East. Will have the accurate time on race week. FOX will broadcast. Should be another thrilluh.

Rai Captures the 108th PGA Championship

Aaron Rai dominated the field at Aronimink Golf Club on Sunday (Photo courtesy of The PGA Tour).

Aaron Rai, the 31 year old Englishman, whose parents are natives of India, was iron on Sunday at the 108th PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club in Newton Square, PA., 15 miles west of downtown Philly. Rai shot 70, 69, 67, 65, to capture the second major of the season, finishing at nine under par. He won by three shots over LIV player Jon Rahm and PGA player Alex Smalley, who both finished at six under. The PGA Championship is famous for producing first time winners; Rich Beem, Y. E. Yang and Shaun Micheel being three of them. Rai’s electric 68 foot birdie conversion on 17 was the shot of the tournament. It brought back memories of J.J. Spaun’s 64 foot birdie putt he drained on 18 at Oakmont in 2025 to capture the 125th U.S. Open. Next up is the 126th U.S. Open at historic Shinnecock Hills in Southampton, N.Y., on Long Island, June 18th-21st on NBC. That’ll be Father’s Day weekend. Spaun is the defending champion. Aronimink played extremely tough, but Rai found a way to lock in and dominate the field Sunday. Great stuff from the Englishman.

The S-E-C Baseball Tournament

Georgia junior catcher Daniel Jackson will lead his regular season winner Bulldogs team into the Hoover Met as the SEC Baseball Tournament commences at the Hoover Met Tuesday. (Photo courtesy of AJC.com).

The 2026 SEC Baseball Tournament gets underway at the Hoover Met in Birmingham with four games slated for Tuesday. The SEC Network will broadcast through the semifinals of what is a “single elimination” tournament, and ABC will broadcast the Championship Game on Sunday at 1 P.M. CT/ 2 P.M. East. The SEC went to single elimination games in 2025 when Texas and Oklahoma joined the league. Good move.

Georgia led the SEC and the country in home runs with 147. Junior catcher Daniel Jackson, a potential first round draft pick in June in the MLB draft if his defense keeps improving throughout the rest of the season, leads the conference in long ones with 27 along with a conference leading 77 Ribeyes. He also leads the SEC in batting average at .394. Georgia leads the SEC in hitting at .325. They are second in the conference in fielding percentage at .983. Tennessee leads at .984. That’s a wash. But their team ERA is 10th in the conference at 5.05. Auburn leads the conference in ERA at 3.60. Alabama is next at 4.13.

A very interesting development in this tournament is the SEC’s institution of the ABS system. The ABS is the Automated Balls and Strikes System, which Major League Baseball employs. In the Big Leagues, each team has two challenges per game, and only the pitcher, the catcher or the hitter can challenge a ball or a strike call by the home plate umpire. If the player gets it right, the team retains its’ challenge, i.e., if a team has two challenges and the batter challenges a strike call and is successful with the automated review overturning it to a ball, the team will still retain its’ two challenges left for the game. In this SEC Tournament each team will have three challenges and retains its’ challenge if it is successful with its’ respective challenge. Awesome move by Greg Sankey and the SEC. I watch a lot of SEC Baseball, at least Vanderbilt games, and these home plate umpires miss a lot of ball/strike calls. This will make the tournament much better. Love the move.

So who’s going to win this extravaganza in Hoover? Here are my predictions.

***All games will be televised by the SEC Network starting Tuesday until the Championship Game on Sunday, which will be televised by ABC***

Tuesday, First Round

9:30 AM CT/10:30 ET-No.9 Ole Miss 7, No. 16 Missouri 2

1 P.M. CT/2 East-No.12 Vanderbilt 5, No.13 Kentucky 4

4:30 CT/5:30 East-No.10 Tennessee 8, No.15 South Carolina 4

8 CT/9 East-No.14 LSU 7, No. 11 Oklahoma 4

Wednesday, Second Round

9:30 A.M. CT/10:30 ET–No.8 Mississippi State 7, Ole Miss 4

1 P.M. CT/2 East- Vandy 7, No. 5 Florida 6

4:30/5:30-Tennessee 6, No. 7 Arkansas 5

8 CT/9 ET- No. 6 Auburn 8, LSU 4

Thursday, Quarterfinals

3 P.M. CT-4 ET- No.1 Georgia 9, Mississippi State 7

7 CT-8 ET-No.4 Vanderbilt 6, Alabama 5

Friday, Quarterfinals

3 CT/4 ET- No.2 Texas 5, Tennessee 3

7 CT/8 ET-Auburn 4, No. 3 Texas A&M 3

Saturday- Semifinals

12 P.M. CT/1 ET-Georgia 7, Vanderbilt 6

4 P.M. CT/5 East- Texas 7, Auburn 5

Championship Sunday, 1 P.M. CT/2 East, ABC

Georgia 8, Texas 7

MVP

Daniel Jackson, Georgia

NBA Championship, Stanley Cup Finals Prediction and Memorial Tournament Prediction, 6th Signature event on PGA Tour

May 13, 2026

Could Blistergate be a problem for Rory? (Photo courtesy of Facebook).



There are 156 players competing for the coveted Wanamaker Trophy at Aronimink Golf Club in Newton Square, PA., 15 miles west of downtown “Philadelphia, PA.,” as the 108th PGA Championship transpires Thursday through Sunday, and features all the best players in the world on an impressive 1928 Donald Ross design , that was redesigned and restored to its original design by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner in 2016-17. There are 174 bunkers at AGC and the rough is thick at 3 1/2 inches. You either hit the fairway or go in the deep rough, placing a premium on driving accuracy. The bentgrass greens will be stimping at 13 1/2, lightning fast, and the weather looks sunny and dry all week/weekend, so they will stay extremely quick throughout the weekend.

The defending champion is Scottie Scheffler. Scheffler won at Quail Hollow in 2025 with a score of 11 under, 6 clear of Harris English and Bryson DeChambeau. DeChambeau, the consummate entertainer, will carry his Youtube golf game to Aronimink this week.

The 2026 season has been electric. Rory captured his sixth major championship with his victory at Augusta National over Scheffler by a shot in April. Cam Young was the winner at the Players Championship. The six winners of the Signature events this season are: Collin Morikawa at the AT&T Pebble Beach (he earned $3.6 M); Jacob Bridgeman at the Genesis Invitational (he won $4 M, player sponsored event by Tiger Woods pays more for first); Akshay Bhatia at the Arnie ($4 M- player sponsored event-late Arnie); Matt Fitzpatrick at the RBC Heritage, ($3.6 M); Young at the Cadillac Championship ($3.6M); and Norwegian Kristoffer Reitan? at the Truist Championship ($3.6 M). The two other upcoming Signature events are the Memorial Tournament, Jack’s tourney, which will take place June 4th-7th at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio ($4 M to winner), and the Travelers Championship on June 25th-28th at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, CT. ($3.6 M to winner). There are 8 signature events this season with 6 down and two left.

The 126th U.S. Open will be played June 18th-21st at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, New Yawk. The 154th Open Championship, or British Open, depending on your preference, will be played at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England July 16th-19th. SEC Media Days will commence in Tampa the following week, Monday, July 20th through Thursday, July 23rd.

This 108th edition at Aronimink will not only give a golfer a legacy that can never be replaced, it will also pay the winner roughly $3.4 million. The winner also has a lifetime invitation to play at the PGA Championship, a five year exemption into the three other majors, full playing status on the tour for five years, automatic qualification for the season ending Tour Championship, and the possible $10 M bonus for winning the Tour Championship. And a shot at the $25 M Fed Ex Cup bonus for winning the Cup. So all good if you’re successful this week.

However, the course is challenging and the competition is fierce. Key holes include the 171 yard par 3, 5th, where bunkers form a semi-circle around a heavily sloped green. The 385 yard Par 4, 13th is a 385 yard Par 4, that is the shortest par 4 at Aronimink. But the tight fairway with the 3 1/2 inch rough has bunkers squeezing it too. A forward tee of 285 will be used for the heavy hitters to go for the green, but it brings out of bounds into play on the left. The 546 yard, par 4, 15th is the longest par 4 for four rounds in a major ever. The 16th hole at the Los Angeles Country Club played 558 yards for a par 4 for the 2023 U.S. Open. The fairway slopes to the left and the green is one of the largest on the course. These greens are massive. There is an open front for the players to run it up onto the putting surface. The 229 yard, par 3, 17th has a pond to the left, so any overcooking puts you in the water. The best shot is to the middle of the green. With a front right pin position, possibly on Sunday, the players will have to clear the bunker to get to it if he HAS to have a birdie. The 490 yard, par 4, 18th is a classic. Off the tee, the players will be challenged with trees on both sides of the fairway and three bunkers on the right side of it. The approach is uphill to a tiered green. Will be a “thrilluh in Philluh” on Sunday. The course is 7,390 yards and a Par 70.

Can Golf “Celebrity” Bryson DeChambeau be serious enough to win at Arinomink? (Photo courtesy of Golf Digest).

The next two PGA Championships will be held at PGA Frisco (in 2027, Fields Ranch East Course, Frisco, TX) and Valhalla Golf Club (in 2028, Louisville).

Here are the key tee times Thursday with odds for each competitor.

7:18 A.M. CT/8:18 ET- Ludvig Aberg, 16/1; Rickie Fowler, 50/1, playing better, but not sure he’s trustable; DeChambois, 20/1.

7:29 A.M. CT/8:29 East-Xander Schauffele, 16/1, possible, 2024 PGA champion at Valhalla. Brooks Koepka, 40/1, three time PGA Championship champion (2018, 2019 and 2023), five time major winner. The 2017 and ’18 U.S. Open champion also. Tyrrell Hatton, 50/1. LIV player who does challenge in majors. LIV players have shown that they can win majors; Koepka, PGA Championship winner in 2023 at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, NY. And DeChambeau, U.S. Open 2024, Pinehurst No.2. But it gets harder and harder when you play Member Guests every weekend with 54 holes and no cuts, rock and roll blaring, and then try to play Serious tournaments; tournaments that are at elite levels. The concentration has to be laser focused, and these guys seem to lose their edge playing on the possibly soon to be defunct tour. Koepka is back playing on the PGA Tour. He had had enough and is very fortunate to be back on tour, but there are financial conditions. Patrick Reed is back as well. There should be consequences for defecting and there are. A lot of lost future earnings, many millions, but it could be worse for guys who are already worth 8 figures, some 9.

7:40 A.M. CT/8:40 East-Rory, 10/1. Six Majors. Getting in rarefied air, but can he win another? Not positive. Has a blister on his foot. Possible problem. Jordan Spieth, 60/1. Still not seeing it. Too much of a head case. Jon Rahm, 12/1. This is a guy who has really fallen off “precipitously” (vocab word for Excedrin) since joining the LIV Tour.

12:32 P.M. CT/1:32 ET-Vik Hovland, 60/1. Kind of gets in his own way like Spieth has for almost a decade. Morikawa, 40/1. Won the PGA Championship at Harding Park in SF in 2020 and the Open Championship at Royal St. George’s Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent, England. He’s battling a back injury right now, but giving it a whirl. Shane Lowry, 75/1. Won the British Open in 2019 at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland. Made the clinching Ryder Cup winning putt in 2025 at Bethpage “White” Black to keep the Cup with Europe. The next Ryder Cup will be played September 17th-19th at Adare Manor Golf Club in County Limerick, Ireland, so that’ll be a home field for Rory and Shane.

12:43 P.M. CT/1:43 East-Tommy Fleetwood, 25/1. Got a shot. The 2025 Fed Ex Cup winner. Chris Gotterup, 50/1. Has won the 2024 Myrtle Beach Classic, the 2025 Genesis Scottish Open, the 2026 Sony Open in Hawaii, and the 2026 Waste Management Open in Phoenix. Bob McIntyre, 75/1. Was a total head case at the Masters. Not as bad as Sergio Garcia, who’s a punk, as he destroyed a tee box at Augusta. But I don’t see Bob with the mental game to handle a major.

12:54 P.M. CT/1:54 East- Cam Young, 11/1. Strong contender. Keegan Bradley, 100/1. Not much of a Ryder Cup captain, but won the 2011 PGA at Atlanta Athletic Club and won the 2018 BMW Championship at Aronimink, so he’s a possible factor. Justin Thomas, 50/1. The 2017 PGA winner at Quail Hollow, and the 2022 PGA winner at Southern Hills in Tulsa, is playing well now and has a shot.

1:05 P.M. CT/2:05 East-Scottie Scheffler, 5/1. The favorite, as usual. One hundred forty fourth on the PGA Tour in proximity to hole, so his irons aren’t that sharp heading into Aronimink. Matt Fitzpatrick, 20/1. Hot golfer. Won the Valspar Championship, the RBC Heritage and the Zurich Classic in N’Awlins with his brother Alex, who has taken full advantage of his 2026 exemption ever since. Justin Rose, 50/1. The 45 year old Englishman seems to always still be in the hunt.

Can Scheffler recapture the magic as he defends his 2025 PGA Championship. (Photo courtesy of Golf Monthly).

Other key players with shots to win include: Hideki Matsuyama, 40/1; Patrick Cantlay, 50/1; Russell Henley, 50/1; Min Woo Lee, 50/1; Sam Burns, 60/1; Si Woo Kim, 60/1; Adam Scott, 60/1, still playing well; J.J. Spaun, 60/1, defending U.S. Open champion at Oakmont, 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 hours away from Aronimink near Pittsburgh depending on how fast you’re driving. With my wife that would be 3 1/2 hours. Akshay Bhatia, 75/1; Kurt Kitayama, 75/1, and Sepp Straka, 90/1. Those are pretty good odds for Straka if you pick him to finish in the top 10.

TV

Thursday-11 A.M.-6 P.M. CT/12-7 East. ESPN

Friday-11 A.M.-7 P.M. CT/12-8 East. ESPN

Saturday-Sunday-9 A.M.-12 P.M. CT/10-1 East-ESPN; 12-6 P.M. CT/1-7 East, CBS.

Weather

Thursday, 66, Partly sunny/cloudy, 55% humidity, a little higher, Winds WNW 10-20. 15% chance.

Friday-71, partly sunny, 51% humidity, wind NW 10-15. No rain.

Saturday-83, Mainly sunny. 43% humidity. Very nice conditions. Winds SW 10-15.

Sunday-88, Partly cloudy. Twenty one percent chance of rain. 47% humidity. Winds W 5-10.

The wind will be a factor in this week.

Winner

I’m bullish on Players Championship winners capturing a major the same year they win at TPC Sawgrass. Scheffler won the Players and Masters in 2024, and Rory won the Players and Masters last year. So I’ll take the 28 year old from Scarborough, New Yawk, by way of Wake Forest, and the 2026 Players Championship champion along with the 2026 Cadillac Championship champion. The fifth major and a Signature Event victories resonate with White’s World.

Cameron Young

Give me Cam Young to capture the 108th edition of the PGA Championship. (Photo courtesy of The Augusta Chronicle).

Darkhorse

Chris Gotterup

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.

i

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