Hello! Nothing says late summer quite like the UEFA Champions League’s league phase draw. I’m Pardeep Cattry with a midweek update on the latest.

📺 Footy fix

All times U.S./Eastern

Wednesday, Aug. 26
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 EFL Cup: Tottenham Hotspur vs. Charlton Athletic, 2:45 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🇪🇸 LaLiga: Real Madrid vs. Real Sociedad, 3 p.m. ➡️ ESPN+
🇪🇺 UCL qualifying: Lyon vs. Fenerbahce, 3 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🇺🇸 NWSL: North Carolina Courage vs. Angel City, 8 p.m. ➡️ CBS Sports Network
🇺🇸🇲🇽 Leagues Cup: Club America vs. Columbus Crew, 10:45 p.m. ➡️ FS1

Thursday, Aug. 27
🇪🇺 UCL league phase draw, 12 p.m. ➡️ CBS Sports Golazo Network
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 EFL Cup: Chelsea vs. Luton Town, 2:45 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🇪🇸 LaLiga: Barcelona vs. Athletic Club, 3 p.m. ➡️ ESPN+

🇪🇺 Setting the stage for the Champions League

Paris Saint-Germain may still be sporting the glow that comes with winning back-to-back UEFA Champions League titles, but on Thursday the focus shifts to a new campaign with the league phase draw. The field of contenders for this season’s competition is nearly set and is headlined by a batch of usual suspects – last season’s finalists Arsenal are back for another stab at the title, while recent semifinalists Barcelona and Bayern Munich will also be amongst the teams to keep an eye on.

Here’s a list of the 32 teams that have qualified so far.

• England: Aston Villa, Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool
• Italy: Inter, Napoli, Roma, Como
• Spain: Barcelona, Real Madrid, Villarreal, Atletico Madrid, Real Betis
• Germany: Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, Stuttgart
• France: Paris Saint-Germain, Lens, Lille
• Netherlands: PSV Eindhoven, Feyenoord
• Portugal: Porto, Sporting Lisbon
• Belgium: Club Brugge
• Czechia: Slavia Praha
• Turkiye: Galatasaray
• Ukraine: Shakhtar Donetsk
• Azerbaijan: Sabah
• Norway: Bodo/Glimt
• Austria: LASK

The mainstays command plenty of attention, but there are some surprise teams who enter the fold this time around. The list includes Sabah, who snapped Qarabag’s streak of winning the Azerbaijan Premier League in 11 of the last 12 seasons and progressed from the first round of Champions League qualification – which began before the World Cup quarterfinals did – to ensure they would take part in Europe’s top club competition for the first time in club history. LASK, meanwhile, followed up their first Austrian Bundesliga title in 60 years by booking their first-ever trip to the Champions League in remarkable fashion – they overcame a 3-0 first leg deficit to Celtic with a 5-1 win at home. Samuel Adeniran, a Houston-born forward who bounced around Europe and the U.S. before finding a landing place in Linz, scored a brace on Tuesday to help seal the deal for LASK.

One final batch of qualification matches will take place on Wednesday before the 36 teams are divided into four pots and drawn against each other on Thursday in Monaco. The action promises to be just as thrilling since all four remaining ties are tied on aggregate, including Lyon’s clash with Fenerbahce after a 1-1 draw in Istanbul last week. For those keeping count of American players in the competition – U.S. international Tanner Tessman is expected to play a sizable role again for Lyon on Wednesday and hopes to join the seven other countrymen in the competition, including PSV’s World Cup players Ricardo Pepi and Sergino Dest.

Here’s a glance at the remaining Champions League qualification ties.

• AEK Athens vs. Levski Sofia, 3 p.m. (teams tied 0-0 on aggregate)
• Lyon vs. Fenerbahce, 3 p.m. (teams tied 1-1 on aggregate)
• Viking vs. Dinamo Zagreb, 3 p.m. (teams tied 2-2 on aggregate)
• Celje vs. Slovan Bratislava, 3 p.m. (teams tied 1-1 on aggregate)

🏆 Live Tomorrow

Tyrrell Hatton says he expects LIV Golf to continue next year despite confirmation of job losses following the early conclusion of its season in Indianapolis last week.

The breakaway circuit that began in 2022 says it needs to find $350m (£257m) investment to survive.

LIV’s season has finished early with the cancellation of its intended finale, this week’s team championship in Detroit. Instead, Hatton is competing at the British Masters on Thursday.

“I would expect there to be LIV next season,” the 34-year-old European Ryder Cup star told reporters at the Belfry, before news broke of the job cuts.

“I know they’ve worked really hard to get the funding stuff in place and its full steam ahead on that front.”

Having lost the backing of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), LIV’s future is under question. A term sheet has been signed with a potential new backer but with no confirmation that concrete funding is in place.

A LIV spokesperson has confirmed to BBC Sport that some employees are now being laid off.

“The funding commitment announced by PIF earlier this year will reach its conclusion. As a result, we are scaling back operations as we transition to the next chapter of LIV Golf and work toward making LIV 2.0 a reality,” LIV said in a statement.

“This week, we informed many of our colleagues that their employment under LIV 1.0 will end in the first week of September. We are grateful to our employees for their hard work and dedication in building LIV Golf, and we remain committed to supporting those affected through this transition.”

Amid such uncertainty, several LIV players have been linked with departing the tour, including Hatton. The Englishman chose Queen’s I Want to Break Free as walk-on music in Indianapolis last week.

Asked by BBC Sport whether anything should be read into his seemingly provocative choice of song, Hatton said: “No. I’ve still got multiple years left on my contract with LIV and as I’ve said I’ve still got plenty of tournaments to play this year, so there is nothing really to focus on other than the golf.”

Hatton will play the rest of the year on the DP World Tour, which will please European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald, given that the qualifying period for the 2027 match starts this week.

While Hatton is publicly dismissing talk of jumping ship, there is still a strong feeling that he and team-mate Jon Rahm may have played their last events on the LIV tour.

If that is the case, Donald would welcome their full-time return to the DP World Tour. It would increase their chances of automatically qualifying for his team rather than having to rely on wildcard picks.

“You want to fill those six with the best,” Donald told BBC Sport. “With someone like a John or Tyrrell playing more on the DP World Tour, they’re going to have more opportunities to fill out those top six.

“And I think that’s a good thing. You want your strongest players in those top six.”

Donald also revealed that he had considered offering qualifying points to the LIV tour but the lack of clarity over the its future made it impossible.

“It was just too much uncertainty to think about giving them points for the Ryder Cup,” he said.

Some bizarre NFL and college football history could be made soon, and not everyone’s happy about it. 

Former Ole Miss tight end Dae’Quan Wright was on track to become the first player to play college football after being rostered by an NFL team following his release from the Cleveland Browns this week. But as he was set to join head coach Lane Kiffin at LSU, Wright and several other college athletes learned on Tuesday that the SEC would be joining the Big Ten in disallowing players who had already signed an NFL contract from playing in their conferences. 

Wright was among 16 former college football players who sued the NCAA for an extra year of eligibility and were granted a temporary restraining order that would allow them to play college football in 2026. That order allowed opportunistic college head coaches, like Kiffin, to explore adding players signed to NFL contracts to their rosters in recent weeks. 

While college head coaches and conference administrators are starting to make their feelings known on the matter, how are people around the NFL reacting to players potentially returning to play the collegiate game? Here’s what we learned from some of our conversations with people around the league. 

Scout: NCAA Has To ‘Get Their S— Together’

Ralph Vacchiano: The recent news that some NFL players will potentially be allowed to return to college football this season did not go over well in NFL circles. And it only added to their confusion over what is currently happening in the NCAA.

“They really have to get their s— together,” one NFL scout told me. “It feels like they’re the Wild Wild West and the rules are changing every day.” 

The recent one could be the most confusing. It was sparked by court rulings in Colorado and Louisiana that appear to allow NFL players who entered college in 2022 to return to school for a fifth year of eligibility in the NCAA. To add to the confusion, the Big Ten went against the courts and banned players from returning from the NFL. The SEC announced it opposed the rulings, but wouldn’t stand in the players’ way.

Dae’Quan Wright spent training camp with the Eagles and Browns before agreeing to join Lane Kiffin at LSU. (Photo by Terence Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

It’s unclear if any other conferences will join the Big Ten and the SEC. But the courts probably haven’t had their final say on the matter yet, which is why the NFL is bracing for an even bigger mess.

“All that NIL money was bad enough. It basically wiped out the talent in the later rounds of the draft because too many marginal players could afford to stay in school,” the scout told me. “But now we’re going to have guys who would’ve stayed on the practice squad leaving too? We’ll spend 3-4 months investing in their growth, developing them as a player, only to watch them go back to LSU?”

“It all looks bad,” an NFL executive told me by text. “But we don’t know where all this is going yet. It feels like just the beginning of a really big mess.”

Not Everyone In The NFL Is Sounding The Alarm, Though

Eric D. Williams: The situation surrounding Wright and over a dozen other players has caused some to panic about the future of college football. However, not everyone in the NFL is worried about the recent court rulings and whether this will cause more players to return to college. 

One NFL agent pointed out to me that what’s happening this summer is likely a one-time thing due to the NCAA’s new eligibility rules. 

Former FSU QB Thomas Castellanos is among the former college football players who could benefit from a rules loophole. (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)

“It only applies to this tiny group of players this year who made a decision prior to the rule change,” the NFL agent told me. “It would never apply again because any other player in the future would make whatever decision they made after the college season based on the 5/5 rule, if it stays in effect.

“So, this really isn’t a long-term issue. It’s a one-off, so the NFL won’t and shouldn’t care about these few guys who weren’t making teams to begin with. These are the only players the ruling applies to – players who under the new rules would be eligible to play college in 2026 that under the old rules would not have been eligible. That’s it. A player at the end of 2026 who has a fifth year can decide to take it or not, and if he doesn’t and goes to the NFL, why would he get his eligibility back? He made the decision to leave knowing he had a year left. No different than a true junior leaving with two years left.”

Players can regain their college eligibility if they terminate their pro contract and repay any pro earnings. A handful of other players in this year’s draft class could benefit from this new ruling, like Wright. However, that loophole will be closed for the 2027 draft class and beyond.

What To Make Of Players Returning To CFB

Williams: If players wind up returning to college after signing with NFL teams, that also begs the question about what their future draft status will be. 

Jack Pyburn, who is now with the Buccaneers, is among the players considering a return to college. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)

No one seems to know what the NFL will do yet about the draft eligibility of those specific players. But an NFL scout told me league evaluators will have to reevaluate the prospects, while proposing an idea for the league on how to handle the situation. 

“You have to reevaluate them because they will be getting more reps to develop and grade, similar to getting reps in the UFL or CFL,” a longtime NFL scout told me. “If they like them, then they should be considered as a street free agent to sign if they were previously in an NFL camp. That’s how the NFL should handle it in my eyes.”

Right now, the noise around the Minnesota Vikings and J.J. McCarthy has grown very loud. Many believe that a trade is a realistic outcome. The conversation has grown so raucous that even the NFL’s website has jumped into the mix.

Kevin Patra pulls off the ambitious task of constructing a piece that details trade candidates for all of the NFL’s teams. Consider his lonely trade candidate for the Vikings: “I don’t believe the Vikings outright cut McCarthy, but if anyone calls about a trade, the Vikings should jump at the chance to move the third-year QB. Despite what Kevin O’Connell has said, I think the club would trust Carson Wentz more than McCarthy as QB2 in the event Kyler Murray goes down. The former No. 10 overall pick caddying as QB3 could present some issues.”

The NFL Website Jumps into J.J. McCarthy Trade Chatter

Look around the internet. Finding speculation about where things are going for McCarthy in Minnesota isn’t going to be too difficult.

Earlier in the week, Jeff Diamond (the Vikings’ GM from 1991-98), wrote about McCarthy: “With [McCarthy’s] lackluster play in these first two preseason games (seven drives with no points produced, albeit with the No. 2 offense) and Carson Wentz performing better, it’s opened the door to media speculation on who should be QB2 on opening day against the Packers on September 13.”

There’s then Tom Rudelius. Not a former NFL executive, Rudelius is a certified numbers nerd who dug into comparable trades from recent history to arrive at an approximation for what Minnesota could get back in a swap.

“To begin, if the Vikings want to trade McCarthy, now is probably the time. The former Michigan QB has two years left on his contract, and it’s not outlandish to think that some other team might want to take a chance on the young QB,” Rudelius writes.

And then a firmer guess on what could come over to Minnesota: “On the other hand, it’s hard to imagine that McCarthy could net more than a 5th Round pick at this point. Part of the reason why the price for former 1st Round QBs has dropped in recent years is probably because none of the QBs in the table above have brought any meaningful value to the team that traded for them.”

To be clear, what’s included above is plenty of speculation and conjecture. Some analysis and insight gets sprinkled into the mix but there aren’t any updates so far to suggest that Minnesota is shopping the kid to the NFL’s other teams.

What is known, though, is reasonably ample.

J.J. McCarthy got drafted at No. 10 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft. Snagging him followed a small jump up the board. He has since played in just ten of a possible thirty-four games due to various injuries. When he has been available, McCarthy has overall played poor football while demonstrating potential. The GM responsible for making the selection, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, is no longer employed as the Vikings’ GM. Kyler Murray is now the QB1.

Part of the problem with trading out McCarthy is that the NFL isn’t going to offer anything close to fair value. Think a Day 3 draft pick(s) rather than something that gets anywhere close to being a top-ten selection.

Maybe the best comparable of recent history is Trey Lance, an athletically-gifted quarterback who went to San Francisco but who was plagued by injury and inconsistency. The 49ers sent him packing for a 4th. Would a team such as the Chargers (coach connection) or Jets (QB starved) take the gamble at that price? Would the Vikings accept?

According to Over the Cap, Minnesota’s cap would see close to $2.8 million saved with a trade.

J.J. McCarthy, 23, is preparing for the Denver Broncos preseason game. That contest will take place on Friday, August 28th. Teams will then move from 90 players to 53 by August 30th.

Senior Editor for Vikings Territory & PurplePTSD . Twitter & Bluesky: @VikingsGazette. Email: k.joudry[at]vikingsterritory[dot]com. Canadian. Jude 1:24-25.

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Limerick hurling star Cathal O’Neill has celebrated another major milestone, graduating from the University of Limerick just weeks after being named Man of the Match in the All-Ireland final.

The Limerick star graduated with a BSc in Physical Education with Irish, joining more than 3,000 students at UL’s autumn conferring ceremonies.

His graduation comes just weeks after one of the biggest performances of his hurling career.

O’Neill scored 1-4 in the All-Ireland final and was named Man of the Match, with his memorable second-half goal among the defining moments of Limerick’s victory.

“I remember getting free and in fairness to Aaron Gillane, he played an unbelievable pass inside and I just decided to go for it. It’s a lovely moment to look back on for sure.”

For O’Neill, returning to the top of the hurling world carried extra significance following the disappointment of the previous two seasons.

“I think it was particularly special given the two years previous we had. 2024 and 2025 hurt us a lot and just to get to the top again means a great deal.”

Balancing Limerick hurling and university life

A recipient of a UL Sports Scholarship, O’Neill believes the university environment played an important role in allowing him to combine elite inter-county hurling with his studies.

“I think in UL it’s actually easier than most colleges to balance your studies and sport because you are looking around at hundreds of other athletes doing the very same thing.

“The facilities for training are top notch and also you’ve the library there to put in hours needed for studying.”

From Crecora-Manister to Limerick

A native of Crecora, O’Neill’s GAA journey began with Crecora-Manister and at Scoil Naomh Iósaf in Adare.

Former Limerick hurler Stephen Lavin was among the teachers who helped develop his passion for hurling, Gaeilge and teaching.

“Scoil Naomh Iósaf had a profound impact on me with regards to hurling. The school is steeped in GAA tradition and the teachers there had a massive enthusiasm for sport.”

His development continued at Ardscoil Rís, where O’Neill emerged as one of the country’s outstanding young hurlers.

As a third-year student, he scored 2-19 across three games as Ardscoil Rís won the 2018 Dr Harty Cup. He was subsequently named on the 2018 Minor Hurling Team of the Year before captaining Limerick to the Munster minor title in 2019.

In 2021, O’Neill made his Limerick senior debut while he was still a secondary school student.

Fitzgibbon Cup success with UL

University of Limerick was a natural destination for O’Neill, who had spent years attending Limerick underage training and Fitzgibbon Cup matches at the campus.

“I chose UL because I had grown up going to training for Limerick underage out there. My father also used to take me to Fitzgibbon Cup games so, I suppose, I was never going to go anywhere else.”

He went on to become a major figure in UL hurling.

O’Neill won his first Fitzgibbon Cup medal in 2023 before adding another in 2025. He returned to the competition in 2026 and produced an outstanding display against Mary Immaculate College in the final as UL secured a record 10th Fitzgibbon Cup title.

O’Neill begins teaching career

Graduation also marks the beginning of the next chapter of O’Neill’s life away from the hurling field.

The 24-year-old is beginning a teaching position at Coláiste Chiaráin in Croom, teaching the two subjects he studied at UL – PE and Irish.

“I’m starting a teaching job in Coláiste Chiaráin the day after my graduation. I’m teaching PE and Irish with full 22 hours so I’m delighted with that.

“I did my last placement there and I loved it so I’m very excited to go back now as an actual teacher.”

Club championship now the focus

After an extraordinary summer with Limerick and another milestone off the field, O’Neill’s attention has already turned back to hurling.

His immediate focus is now on the club championship with Crecora-Manister.

“As an athlete I think you are always trying to just look forward to the next thing and the club has my full attention at the moment.

“I’m aware how fortunate I am to be part of this Limerick hurling team at this time and have some incredible memories of the last six years.”

SportsNewsIRELAND – Irish sport news, interviews and analysis.

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Places Leisure is scaling up its reformer Pilates offering, with plans to roll out dedicated studios across selected sites over the next 12 months as the modality continues its rapid move into mainstream fitness.

The first 12-bed studio will open at Wokingham Leisure Centre in September, offering more than 30 classes a week, with programming divided into three ability levels.

The move reflects the rapid democratisation of reformer Pilates, which is spreading beyond its boutique roots into health clubs and public leisure as operators respond to growing demand across a wider range of demographics.

The Wokingham centre is already offering £5 taster sessions ahead of the full launch, while reformer Pilates is also included in future investment plans at Balham Leisure Centre under Places Leisure’s new Wandsworth contract.

Sam Bryant, head of fitness at Places Leisure, says: “As a public sector operator, we’re committed to making physical activity more accessible to all and that includes keeping up with growing fitness trends and weaving them into our offering.

“Our mat Pilates classes offered across our estate continue to grow in popularity and we hope to grow our reformer Pilates offering by opening several new studios in the next 12 months.

“Previously, reformer Pilates was reserved for more boutique-style studios and not often found at a local leisure centre. With the growing demand for the class across the country and from varying demographics, it is encouraging to see many private and public operators beginning to offer reformer Pilates at more of their centres.”

The investment forms part of Places Leisure’s wider strategy to broaden health, fitness and wellbeing experiences across its estate and reflects a wider premiumisation trend in public leisure, as operators add formats previously associated with boutique and private-sector clubs.

Background

Places Leisure recorded turnover of £174.6 million in the year to 31 March 2025, up 19.4 per cent from £146.3 million, although the accounts say underlying growth was around 6 per cent once the impact of a subcontracted delivery arrangement is excluded.

The business generated £24.2 million in cash, invested £11.3 million directly in facilities and ended the year with cash holdings of £24.6 million, almost double the previous year.

It now operates 106 leisure centres, gyms, pools, sports facilities and community hubs through 34 local authority partnerships, while health interventions delivered through its facilities reached 110,000 people and generated an estimated £161 million in social value.

The company recorded a statutory loss after tax of £279,000, although the company has stated that without an unusual subcontracted-delivery provision, profit before tax would have been around £6.9 million, compared with £5.8 million in FY24.

Places Leisure is part of Places for People Group.

The PFA Premier League Team of the Year for the 2025/26 season has been announced, with Arsenal and Manchester City dominating the selection.

Arsenal have five players in the XI: David Raya, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Jurrien Timber and Declan Rice. Manchester City also have four representatives, including Nico O’Reilly, Rayan Cherki, Antoine Semenyo and Erling Haaland.

Bruno Fernandes is Manchester United’s sole representative after a remarkable campaign in which he recorded a Premier League-record 21 assists and nine goals. The midfielder was also named the PFA Players’ Player of the Year.

Brentford’s Igor Thiago completes the team after an impressive season in front of goal.

PFA Premier League Team of the Year 2025/26

David Raya

Nico O’Reilly, Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba, Jurrien Timber

Bruno Fernandes, Declan Rice, Rayan Cherki

Antoine Semenyo, Igor Thiago, Erling Haaland

The selection underlines the quality of Arsenal and Manchester City during the campaign, with the two clubs providing nine of the 11 players.

The conclusion to another fantastic season on the PGA Tour goes down this week in Atlanta as the 2026 FedEx Cup Playoffs wrap with the final leg held at East Lake Golf Club. A massive $10 million winner’s share is on the line for whoever finishes atop the leaderboard at the 2026 Tour Championship, though, unlike last year when Scottie Scheffler was a heavy favorite, no individual enters the Tour Championship as the expected victor.

Scheffler will be looking to become the third multi-time FedEx Cup champion, joining Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, while picking up his third win of the season and potentially clinching another PGA Tour Player of the Year award. McIlroy’s up-and-down season has continued in the FedEx Cup Playoffs, and he could claim a record fourth crown this week in Atlanta.

Meanwhile, Matt Fitzpatrick, Chris Gotterup and Wyndham Clark will continue competing with Scheffler for the year-end honor. Each has won three times on the PGA Tour this season, and any of the three has an opportunity to break the tie to stand atop the circuit as the most successful player of 2026.

Even if one does not lift the FedEx Cup at the end of the Tour Championship, there are still eight other seven-figure paydays available. Second place will earn $5 million while eighth will bring in a shade over $1 million for playing the final 72 holes of the season. Golfers will be able to add to their massive totals from the season even if they don’t come out on top.

Will the Tour Championship ultimately come down to Scheffler, McIlroy or the field? Could Tommy Fleetwood bounce back from another winless regular season and become the first to go back-to-back at the Tour Championship? Our CBS Sports experts debate exactly that below. Let’s take a look at a full set of Tour Championship picks and predictions as we attempt to project who will win — and what will happen — at the final PGA Tour event of 2026.

2026 Tour Championship picks

Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook

Patrick McDonald

Winner —  Patrick Cantlay (16-1): With all the fanfare around Fleetwood, most forget that Cantlay was right by his side in last year’s final round. The 2021 FedEx Cup champion has not won a tournament in over four years, but this is the time of year that grabs his attention with his game peaking at precisely the right moment. Over the last three months, he ranks third in this field in strokes gained tee to green and second in iron play. The question is whether he can make enough putts.

Sleeper —  Adam Scott (44-1): One of those players to miss the postseason in 2025 and make his way to the Tour Championship this year. The Australian has shown consistent output throughout the season with both of his top-five finishes coming in signature events. Scott arrives with three straight top-16 finishes, buoyed by elite ball-striking numbers. The broomstick has been brushing them consistently for the last month or so, too.

Favorite who definitely won’t win — Cameron Young (16-1): He seemed as if he could not miss in the middle stretch of the season, and now it appears as if he cannot make anything of substance. The Players Championship winner has grown frustrated on the greens, and that frustration appears to have bled into the rest of his game. Young has not had the best postseason up to this point, and that won’t change at the Tour Championship.

Surprise prediction — Both Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler play well: It may not seem that surprising when said aloud, but when was the last time both of them had late tee times over the weekend at the same golf tournament? The Masters? For being the top two players in the world, the two rarely have their A-games at the same time. They’ll both finish the season in stride, given Scheffler’s form and McIlroy’s affinity for East Lake.

Robby Kalland

Winner —  Sam Burns (16-1): Sticking with my pre-playoffs pick here and rolling with Burns to get his first win of the year in Atlanta. He had an off week at the BMW Championship but looked great in Memphis, and given the way he’s hitting it this year, combined with his putting, it would feel wrong for him not to get into the winner’s circle by season’s end.

Sleeper — Russell Henley (30-1): Last year’s runner-up to Fleetwood, Henley has had a fairly quiet 2026 while still putting together a quality season. He’s comfortable back in Georgia and knows how to get it around East Lake and score well. Look for him to be on that first page of the leaderboard on the weekend with some of the other top stars. 

Favorite who definitely won’t win — Xander Schauffele (12-1): Schauffele’s record at the Tour Championship is spectacular, and he’s had a really solid season but has just not been quite sharp enough to get a win. He’s been too prone to mistakes that have cost him the chance to win all season, and while he might contend, that trend will continue in Atlanta. 

Surprise prediction — Scheffler or McIlroy will finish outside the top 10: It’s seemingly a rule that one of the top two players in the world must struggle when they’re in the same field. That’s been especially true in the playoffs with McIlroy spraying it around Memphis while Scheffler won, and then last week, it was Scheffler having a rough go early as he dealt with hand, foot and mouth disease, while McIlroy finished second. Fans desperately want a proper duel between these two at some point, but that won’t happen in 2026.

Who will win the 2026 Tour Championship, and which longshots will stun the golfing world? Visit SportsLine now to see the projected leaderboard, all from the model that’s nailed 17 golf majors heading into the weekend, including the past five Masters, and find out.