Sports
Golf Glance: PGA Tour starts Florida swing; Masters spot at stake in South Africa
Brooks Koepka looks over his putt on the 16th hole during Round 2 at the WM Phoenix Open on Feb. 6, 2026, at TPC Scottsdale. The PGA Tour tees off its Florida swing with Brooks Koepka in the field in Palm Beach Gardens, the LPGA Tour continues its Asia swing and a coveted spot in the Masters is on the line in South Africa.
PGA TOUR
THIS WEEK: Cognizant Classic, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., Feb. 26-March 1
Course: PGA National, Champion Course (Par 71, 7,223 Yards)
Purse: $9.6M (Winner: $1.728M)
Defending Champion: Joe Highsmith
FedEx Cup Leader: Jacob Bridgeman
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Friday: 2-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday: 1-3 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (NBC)
Streaming (ESPN+): Thursday-Friday: 6:45 a.m.-6 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday: 7:45 a.m.-6 p.m.
X: @the_cognizant
NOTES: The PGA Tour begins is four-tournament Florida swing with a field that includes eight of the top 50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking. … The course has been lengthened by about 100 yards from last year, and water is in play on 15 of 18 holes. Hole Nos. 15-17 are known as the “Bear Trap.” … This is Brooks Koepka’s third start in his return to the PGA Tour. He followed a T56 at Torrey Pines by missing the cut in Phoenix. Koepka’s inclusion means two additional players got into the field, which will play as threesomes. … Highsmith made the cut on the number last year before going on to win by two strokes and claim his maiden win on tour while setting the PGA National scoring record at 19-under 265. He is seeking to become the first player to successfully defend at the event since Jack Nicklaus in 1977-78. … Billy Horschel will be making his 14th event start, with his best previous finish a T4 in 2017. … This is the final opportunity for players to earn a spot in next week’s signature event via the Aon Swing 5. The top five in the standings entering this week are Michael Thorbjornsen, Nicolai Hojgaard, Haotong Li, Stephan Jaeger and Kevin Roy. … Blades Brown, 18, will be making his second tour start of the season following a T18 at The American Express, where he carded a 60 in the second round and played in the final group with Scottie Scheffler on Sunday. Other sponsor exemptions are Adam Hadwin, Harry Higgs and Camilo Villegas.
BEST BETS: Ryan Gerard (+1850 by DraftKings) is the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 26. He has three top-25 this season and finished fourth here three years ago. … Shane Lowry (+1900) owns three top-five finishes in his past four starts at PGA National. … Nicolai Hojgaard (+2150) has a pair of top-4 finishes worldwide through his first four starts in 2026, including a T3 in Phoenix. … Michael Thorbjornsen (+2450) also finished T3 in Phoenix before a T78 at Pebble Beach. … Aaron Rai (+4200), who in Abu Dhabi late last year, was a factor at the Genesis before closing with a 76. … Nico Echavarria (+5900) is a two-time winner on tour. His lone made cut in five starts this year was a T8 at Pebble Beach. … Garrick Higgo (+6000) offers intriguing odds for another two-time tour winner. He has started 2026 with three missed cuts in four starts and a T60 in the limited field at Pebble Beach.
Last Tournament: The Genesis Invitational (Bridgeman)
Next Tournament: Arnold Palmer Invitational, Orlando, March 5-8
LPGA TOUR
THIS WEEK: HSBC Women’s World Championship, Singapore, Feb. 26-March 1
Course: Sentosa Golf Club, Tajong Course, Old Course (Par 72, 6,793 Yards)
Purse: $3M (Winner: $360,000)
Defending Champion: Lydia Ko
Race to the CME Globe Leader: Jeeno Thitikul
HOW TO WATCH
TV/Streaming: Wednesday-Saturday: 9:30 p.m.-2:30 a.m. ET (Golf Channel/USA Sports App)
X: @HWWWCGolf
NOTES: This is the second leg of the three-event Asia swing that concludes in China, with the tour returning to the United States for the Ford Championship in Arizona March 19-22. … The event dates back to Lorena Ochoa’s 11-shot victory in 2008. … Nelly Korda is skipping the Asia swing for the third consecutive year, but the field does include 21 of the top 25 players in the Rolex Rankings. That includes the top-ranked Thitikul, No. 3 Charley Hill, No. 4 Minjee Lee and No. 5 Miyu Yamashita.
Last Tournament: Honda LPGA Thailand (Thitikul)
Next Tournament: Blue Bay LPGA, Hainan Island, Hainan, China
DP WORLD TOUR
THIS WEEK: South African Open Championship, Stellenbosch, South Africa, Feb. 26-March 1
Course: Stellenbosch GC (Par 70, 7,213 Yards)
Purse: $1.5M (Winner: $250,000)
Defending Champion: Dylan Naidoo
Race to Dubai Leader: Patrick Reed
HOW TO WATCH
TV: Thursday-Friday: 5:30-10:30 a.m. ET; Saturday: 5:30-10 a.m.; Sunday: 4:30-9:30 a.m. (Golf Channel)
X: @DPWorldTour
NOTES: The winner of the South African Open receives an invitation to the Masters for the first time. The top three finishers earn spots in the Open Championship if not otherwise exempt. … This is the sixth of seven events on the tour’s International Swing, with the final three all taking place in Africa. … The winner of the International Swing will earn a $200,000 bonus and a spot in the Scottish Open if not otherwise exempt. … Naidoo is defending his first DP World Tour title, which he earned in a sudden death playoff against Laurie Canter after the final round was cancelled due to heavy rainfall. … The event returns to Stellenbosch for the first time in 27 years.
Last Tournament: Kenya Open (Casey Jarvis)
Next Tournament: Joburg Open, Johannesburg, South Africa, March 5-8
LIV GOLF LEAGUE
THIS WEEK: OFF.
2026 Season Leaders: Individual: Jon Rahm; Team: Ripper GC
Last Event: LIV Golf Adelaide (Individual: Anthony Kim; Team: Ripper GC)
Next Event: LIV Golf Hong Kong, March 5-8
PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS
THIS WEEK: OFF.
Charles Schwab Cup leader: Stewart Cink
Next Tournament: James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational, Boca Raton, Fla., March 6-8
–Field Level Media
Sports
Knicks and Nuggets Blow Big Leads: What Went Wrong in Game 2?
Roughly 5,000 feet of elevation separate Denver and New York City.
Still, gravity works the same regardless of where one stands. Just ask the NBA teams in both towns.
“You get too high, and you get, I don’t want to say cocky, but feeling yourself,” Nuggets guard Tim Hardaway Jr. said.
That sensation went south on either side of the country Monday night.
After squandering sizable leads that would have cemented commanding 2-0 advantages in their respective first-round playoff series, the Nuggets and Knicks now find themselves bracing for a fight.
Should their opponents ultimately have their number, Denver and New York will look back with disdain on 19 and 14. Those were the Game 2 cushions the teams coughed up as the No. 3 seeds in the Eastern and Western Conference.
“It’s a game we should’ve won,” Knicks guard Josh Hart said. “In the playoffs, we can’t give away games.”
Be that as it may, the Knicks did just that against the Atlanta Hawks. They controlled the outcome for much of the night and took a 12-point edge into the fourth quarter after leading by as many as 14.
Then New York shot 5-for-22 from the floor in the final 12 minutes compared to 10-for-15 for Atlanta. Fighting through vulgar chants from the Madison Square Garden faithful, Hawks star CJ McCullom scored six straight points down the stretch during one key sequence on the way to a game-high 32.
“In that fourth quarter, you could tell [the Hawks] were playing with a level of desperation,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “There were four 50-50 balls, and they got three of the four. We always use that stat to gauge the level of aggression in a game. In that fourth quarter, their aggression stepped up.”
New York’s melted at the same time. How many late possessions saw the Knicks pass or hold the ball around the perimeter before settling for subpar looks from 3-point range? The Knicks went 3-for-11 from deep as part of their flop.
Denver led the Minnesota Timberwolves by 19 points early in the second quarter before crumbling. The Nuggets still were ahead by three points to start the fourth quarter but a combined 2-for-12 shooting effort from pillars Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray in the final 12 minutes took a toll.
“I feel like we had the game in hand, and then we just didn’t make our shots,” Murray said.
As with the Knicks and Hawks, the reversal of fortunes stemmed both from the hosts’ miscues and an outstanding effort from a visiting player, as Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards had 30 points.
“Great leadership, positive,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “He recognized he needed to get into attack mode and get downhill a little bit more. He did that.”
The Knicks and Nuggets no doubt sensed the need to amp up their own urgency as things started slipping away Monday.
That neither could act upon it didn’t signal the end for either New York or Denver, of course. But now there’s unnecessary added weight for the climb back to the top.
Sports
Pistons seek return to identity vs. Magic after Game 1 shocker
Apr 19, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Pistons forward Tobias Harris (12) is defended by Orlando Magic guard Desmond Bane (3) in the second half during the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images After an exceptional regular season, this wasn’t the start to the NBA playoffs that the Detroit Pistons envisioned.
Reeling from a stunning Game 1 loss in which only two players reached double figures, the Eastern Conference’s top seed heads into Game 2 Wednesday against the visiting Orlando Magic facing early pressure to reset the best-of-seven series.
The eighth-seeded Magic controlled the opener from the start, never trailing and leaning on a balanced offensive attack. Paolo Banchero led the way with 23 points while Franz Wagner scored 11 of his 19 in the fourth quarter to help close out the 112-101 win.
For Detroit, the issue wasn’t just the loss — it was how it happened. The Pistons never established their defensive identity and struggled to find consistent offense beyond star guard Cade Cunningham, two areas that will be central entering Game 2.
“It starts, always, with us defensively,” said Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff. “When you go back and watch the film of that (game), we weren’t ourselves defensively. The telling tale is typically when we play them, they go to the free-throw line a ton.
“… We went 38 (times) but they went 19. So that means we weren’t playing our brand of basketball, being physical, being handsy, being aggressive. That kind of sets the tone for us.”
Offensively, the Pistons leaned on Cunningham, who scored 39 points, but got little other support — scoring their fewest points in nearly three months, since a loss to the Phoenix Suns on Jan. 29. Detroit will need more help from All-Star center Jalen Duren, who was held to just eight points and seven rebounds in Game 1.
“They came out ready from the jump,” Duren said. “We didn’t really meet their intensity. They’ve been playing with their backs against the walls the last few weeks, so they were already kind of already rolling. I think we just got to do a better job meeting that intensity.”
Duren said the Pistons remain confident despite the loss, which extended their home playoff losing streak to 11 games, the longest in NBA history.
“We know the type of team we are,” Duren said. “We feel like we’re the better team. We know that we’ve just got to make adjustments and come out smarter, come out playing harder.”
Orlando coach Jamahl Mosley said he has talked to his team about not becoming too overconfident coming off Sunday’s win.
“It’s one game at a time,” Mosley said of his message to the team. “It’s the reality that, yeah, you did get the Game 1 win, but now you have to go and figure out how to get a Game 2 (win). There’s going to be, obviously, the positive talk about what you’ve done, and thinking there’s reasons to celebrate, but at the end of the day, it’s one game, and that’s the most important piece that we’ve talked about: just taking it one game at a time.”
Banchero said the team has received the message, and he believes the key for the Magic is to play defense like they did in the opener.
“I thought we were on a string, just communicating, talking out coverages,” Banchero said. “I think it’s just going to continue to take that, being aggressive, being the aggressors on defense and just not trying to give them much. Obviously they’re going to make shots, but just not trying to give them any free looks.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Lynx star Napheesa Collier (ankle) targets June for on-court work
Mar 2, 2026; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Unrivaled Co-founder Napheesa Collier at Barclay’s Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images The Minnesota Lynx said Tuesday that star forward Napheesa Collier’s rehab from left ankle surgery is “progressing as expected,” and she could resume on-court activities in early June.
The team plans to release updates on Collier’s progress when available.
The timeline means Collier will miss, at minimum, the first month of the WNBA season, which begins May 10 for the Lynx.
Collier underwent surgery on her ankle on March 24 after sustaining a severe injury during the 2025 playoffs. Per reports at the time, she sustained a Grade 2 tear of three ligaments in the ankle and a muscle in her left shin on a collision during Game 3 of the playoff semifinal series vs. Phoenix.
Collier, 29, averaged a career-high 22.9 points and shot 40.3% from 3-point range to go with 7.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.5 blocks per game last year. The back-to-back WNBA Most Valuable Player runner-up, Collier is a five-time All-Star and earned MVP honors in the 2024 Commissioner’s Cup final and the 2025 All-Star Game.
–Field Level Media
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