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
Victor Wembanyama sustains concussion in Spurs' Game 2 loss
Apr 21, 2026; San Antonio, Texas, USA; Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija (8) drives to the basket past San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) during the first half of game two of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images San Antonio star center Victor Wembanyama was concussed during Game 2 of the Spurs’ first-round playoff series with the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday, his coach confirmed following the contest.
“I just know he has a concussion and he’s in the protocol and we’ll obviously take the proper and appropriate steps,” San Antonio coach Mitch Johnson said. “You know, it’s tough. That protocol is the protocol, so we’ll just follow it, as everyone else does, and plan accordingly.”
Wembanyama was forced from Game 2 after hitting his face on the floor early in the second quarter. The Spurs later announced that Wembanyama had entered concussion protocol and would not return to the game before it was confirmed after the contest — a 106-103 Blazers win that leveled the series — that a concussion had been sustained.
Wembanyama hit his face on the floor at near-full speed after being knocked off his feet during a drive to the basket at the 8:57 mark of the second period, with the contact leaving him dazed enough to struggle standing up before jogging off the floor to the locker room.
San Antonio trailed 34-32 at the time, and Wembanyama had amassed five points, four rebounds, an assist and a blocked shot in 11:41 of court time when he was injured. The game was tied 57-57 by halftime.
The Spurs have had plenty of success without their star this season. Wembanyama missed 18 games this season with various injuries, with San Antonio going 12-6 in those games.
However, Wembanyama’s absence for Game 3 and potentially beyond would loom large in a series that suddenly swung to Portland’s advantage after the Blazers wrested away the home-court edge on Tuesday.
Wembanyama is scheduled to receive further testing on Wednesday but must remain inactive for a minimum of 24 hours and can’t resume full participation before 48 hours, per NBA concussion guidelines.
The teams won’t play again until Friday, when Game 3 will be contested in Portland.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Lenyn Sosa's late clutch hit lifts Jays over skidding Angels
Apr 21, 2026; Anaheim, California, USA; Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (27) beats the tag of Los Angeles Angels catcher Logan O’Hoppe (14) to score during the eighth inning at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images Pinch hitter Lenyn Sosa drilled a tiebreaking two-run double during a three-run eighth inning to propel the Toronto Blue Jays to a 4-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday night at Anaheim, Calif.
Eloy Jimenez had two RBIs and Vladimir Guerrero scored twice for the Blue Jays, who defeated the Angels for the second straight night and matched their season best of three straight wins.
Ernie Clement and Daulton Varsho had two hits apiece for Toronto. Louie Varland entered to induce a game-ending double play with the bases loaded for his first career save.
Oswald Peraza had two hits and a run for the Angels, who had just five hits overall. Los Angeles has scored just six runs during a season-worst four-game losing streak.
Clement’s one-out double inside the left field line got the decisive uprising going against Drew Pomeranz (0-2) in the eighth. Guerrero was walked intentionally and Sosa came up and ripped a 1-1 fastball off the wall in right to give Toronto a 3-1 lead.
Jimenez followed with a ground single through the right side to score Clement.
Mason Fluharty (1-0) retired the final two batters of the seventh and Tyler Rogers worked a perfect eighth for Toronto.
Struggling closer Jeff Hoffman started the ninth and created a jam. He struck out Zach Neto to start the inning before allowing Mike Trout’s single to left and plunking Jo Adell on the right hand and Jorge Soler on the left elbow to load the bases.
Yoan Moncada then pinch-hit for Peraza and hit an RBI single to right to bring the Angels within 4-2 and end Hoffman’s night. Varland entered and got Nolan Schanuel to hit his first pitch on the ground to Toronto second baseman Clement, who began to turn the decisive double play with shortstop Andres Gimenez’s throw to first narrowly beating the diving Schanuel.
Toronto starter Patrick Corbin allowed one run and two hits over five innings. He struck out three and walked two.
Los Angeles starter Jack Kochanowicz gave up one run and five hits over 5 2/3 innings. He walked two and struck out one.
The Angels moved ahead in the fifth when Peraza and Schanuel hit one-out singles and Vaughn Grissom followed with a sacrifice fly to score Peraza.
Toronto had a similar frame in the sixth when Guerrero and Jesus Sanchez had consecutive one-out singles and Jimenez plated Guerrero with a sacrifice fly.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Seeking elusive win, Austin FC tasked with slowing Quakes
Apr 19, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; San Jose Earthquakes forward Ousseni Bouda (7) runs with the ball against Los Angeles Football Club defender Eddie Segura (4) during the first period at BMO Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Navarro-Imagn Images The San Jose Earthquakes are enjoying the best eight-match start in franchise history and coach Bruce Arena doesn’t want to hear any chatter about a letdown.
The destructive Earthquakes (7-1-0, 21 points) have outscored opponents 17-3 and look to inflict more damage when they host Austin FC on Wednesday night.
Austin FC (1-3-4, 7 points) is winless in their past six MLS matches (0-3-3).
“There are no trap games in this league,” Arena told reporters. “Any team can beat you on a given day in this league. We understand that. It’s going to be a difficult game on Wednesday. We played Austin last year and I think we split with them. … It’s going to be a difficult game.”
The teams split two regular-season matches last season while Austin also won a U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal matchup. San Jose is 3-2-6 in 11 all-time MLS matches against Austin.
The Earthquakes are fresh off Sunday’s 4-1 pummeling of host Los Angeles FC. Ousseni Bouda posted a brace and has a team-best four goals.
Bouda is in his fifth season with San Jose. He sees a definitive change in this season’s squad after the Quakes missed the playoffs last season.
“I think it’s the culture we set for ourselves this year,” Bouda said. “I think everybody is all bought in. We’re taking it one game at a time. It’s only about eight games in right now, so there’s a lot of games left and we want to stay consistent and continue to get better throughout the season as well.”
Austin certainly would like to collect a much-needed victory. The club led late on Saturday before host Toronto FC tallied in the 88th minute to gain a 3-3 tie.
Austin coach Nico Estevez said one key is making sure his players aren’t intimidated by San Jose.
“You can’t be afraid,” Estevez said. “You have to go and be aggressive and you have to attack them. You have to find their weaknesses that every team has and minimize their strengths.”
Austin is winless in four road matches (0-2-2) but one of those was a 2-2 tie against Inter Miami and Lionel Messi on April 4.
That showing has Austin players feeling they can give the Earthquakes a battle.
“We’ve had good performances and shown we can play against top teams in the league,” forward CJ Fodrey said. “It’s about being confident throughout 90 (minutes) and turning those good performances into results.”
–Field Level Media
