All articles tagged with #playoff
A preview of 20 players and groups—mostly transfers and first-year impact players—who could swing the 2026 College Football Playoff race, from Cam Coleman at Texas and Texas Tech’s reshaped front to Indiana’s Nick Marsh, LSU’s Jordan Seaton, and top QB options like LSU’s Sam Leavitt and Drew Mestemaker, illustrating how roster shifts may determine which teams reach the CFP.
CBS Sports' preseason 2026 CFP projection envisions a 12-team field led by Notre Dame and Georgia as the top seeds, with byes for Notre Dame, Ohio State, Georgia, and Miami. The bracket advances through first-round and quarterfinal upsets to set up semifinals Texas vs. Ole Miss and Ohio State vs. Georgia, with Ohio State then defeating Texas in the national championship to claim the title.
A CFP management committee videoconference briefly entertained a 20-team middle-ground idea that would swap conference title games for four play-in games feeding a 16-team field, but the plan was quickly dismissed as focus stayed on 16- or 24-team formats. The concept faces resistance from the Big Ten (and SEC alignment issues), questions about replacing lucrative conference championships (worth over $200 million) with more playoff games, and mixed broadcast dynamics—ESPN has concerns about large-scale expansion while Fox has shown interest in a bigger field. With negotiations still unsettled, if no agreement by Dec. 1, the 2027 playoff could remain at 12 teams.
Shiho Kuwaki won the 2026 AIG Women’s Open at Royal Lytham & St Annes in a dramatic second playoff, beating Esther Henseleit after both finished five-under in regulation. Henseleit birdied the 18th to force extra holes, and Kuwaki sealed the title on the second playoff hole, becoming the third Japanese winner in eight editions as the event’s $10m prize pool was decided. Overnight leader Yealimi Noh faded; Charley Hull and Lottie Woad finished at -1. Kuwaki paid tribute to supporters and her team in a moment described as special.
Indiana coach Curt Cignetti blasted the SEC during Big Ten media days, rejecting the conference’s promo-driven complaints and saying, “we don’t cry a river” when things go wrong as ESPN pushes SEC prominence. The piece notes the SEC’s shift to nine conference games, the ongoing playoff rhetoric led by Greg Sankey and ESPN, and contrasts the SEC narrative with examples from Ohio State and Notre Dame, urging teams to focus on winning rather than excuses.
Charlie Woods failed to reach the 64‑player match‑play bracket at the 2026 U.S. Junior Amateur after a playoff for two spots. The 17‑year‑old, son of Tiger Woods, was disrupted when a camera phone clicked during his third‑shot swing on the first playoff hole at Saucon Valley's Grace Course, resulting in a bogey. Eli Wessel and Hudson Kutchma advanced to the second playoff hole and ultimately into match play, leaving Woods short of qualification in what was his closest run to the event's match‑play portion in three attempts.
Charlie Woods’ run at the U.S. Junior Amateur ended during a 14-for-2 playoff for final match-play berths when a spectator’s camera shutter clicked on his backswing on the first hole of the playoff. He tugged his approach from 270 yards toward the left rough, chunked his third shot onto the fringe after the shutter, and failed to convert a 35-foot chip, bogeying the hole and being eliminated. Woods had posted steady stroke-play scores (76-70) after an opening bogey-triple and finished a strong week for the Florida State commit, with several players advancing and others eliminated in the playoff at Saucon Valley.}
Charlie Woods, Tiger Woods’ son, shot 70 to finish 36 holes at 5 over, placing him T-63 and into a 14-for-2 playoff for the final two match-play berths at the U.S. Junior Amateur at Saucon Valley. The playoff, using holes 1, 5 and 18, will determine the last two qualifiers; the winner would be seeded 63rd and could face No. 2 seed Miles Russell in the first round.
Viktor Hovland won the Travelers Championship in a Monday playoff after Scottie Scheffler missed a short birdie putt on the final hole, securing the title at the TPC River Highlands.
Viktor Hovland edged world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler in a Monday playoff at the Travelers Championship to win at TPC River Highlands, his eighth PGA Tour victory and first since the 2025 Valspar Championship. The two were tied at 21-under, traded leads through the final rounds amid rain delays, and Hovland sealed the win after Scheffler missed a four-foot par save, becoming the first international winner of the event since 2016.
Scottie Scheffler drilled a clutch par putt on the 18th to finish tied with Viktor Hovland and force a Monday playoff at the Travelers Championship after weather suspended play and water on the 18th.
Scheffler and Hovland will head to a Monday playoff at the Travelers Championship after finishing 72 holes tied at 21 under, with an 83-minute rain delay interrupting play; Collin Morikawa shot 61 to climb into solo third as the field heads to a $20 million purse playoff, with Golf Channel coverage at 9 a.m. ET.
After a near-90-minute weather delay, Scottie Scheffler and Viktor Hovland head to a Monday playoff at the Travelers Championship, finishing 21-under to force a sudden-death decision on No. 18; play resumes with the playoff set for 9 a.m. ET, while Collin Morikawa was one back at 20-under after a 61.
JT Poston won the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village in a playoff against Ryan Gerard, overcoming a late lead lapse and sealing it with a clutch par on the second playoff hole. Jack Nicklaus lauded Poston’s constant tempo and rhythm under pressure, noting the course’s toughness and saying the win could be a springboard for the 33-year-old’s career.
SEC leaders floated the idea of governing with its own rules and possibly running a separate playoff, hoping to gain stability amid nationwide rule disputes; but a full breakaway is blocked by the CFP contract through 2031-32 and antitrust concerns, making it more a bargaining chip than an imminent move, with discussions focused on enforcement and potential broader solutions.