PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Brooks Koepka has a lot on his mind these days: He'll play in The Players Championship in a couple weeks, part of his buildup to get ready for the Masters.
Also in his thoughts: the Stanley Cup playoffs.
And no, he isn't giving up on his Florida Panthers.
Koepka — a South Florida native, a big Panthers fan and someone who has made no secret of how much he has enjoyed their runs to the last three Stanley Cup Finals and the last two championships — said Sunday that he still thinks they can make a playoff run this season, even though the current standings suggest that's unlikely.
“I hope so,” he said Sunday after finishing his round at the Cognizant Classic, about an hour up the road from the arena that the Panthers call home. “It’s going to be tough.”
Koepka, playing only a short drive from his home, shot a final-round 65 on Sunday, finishing at 10 under for the week at PGA National. It was his third tournament and second made cut since he returned to the PGA Tour after about four years playing LIV Golf.
The Panthers have been crushed by injuries this season, with captain Aleksander Barkov yet to play because of knee surgery, defenseman Dmitry Kulikov limited to two games and Olympic gold medalist Matthew Tkachuk missing 47 games while recovering from offseason surgery to repair a torn adductor. They entered Sunday eight points out of a wild-card spot with 23 games remaining.
Koepka, like many fans, wonders if all the games over the last four seasons are taking a toll.
“I think with three years in a row making the Stanley Cup (Final), it’s tough to stay healthy that long, and then riding a high of the Olympics, too,” Koepka said. “I hope they do, but I’ll be there if I can.”
That wouldn't be a surprise. It's not exactly an unusual occurrence for him to go to Panthers games when his schedule allows.
Koepka has been to plenty over the years, including one of Florida's Eastern Conference finals games in 2023 — the day after he won the PGA Championship. He brought the Wanamaker Trophy with him to that game, then watched the Panthers hoist their own big, silver trophies in each of the last two seasons. (He also famously used a traffic cone at a Panthers game in 2023 to mock defenseman Aaron Ekblad, who got a profane bit of revenge at the team's championship parade a year later.)
That all said, Koepka still seems confident in his club.
“Don't worry,” he said.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) defends the goal during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Brooks Koepka hits from the 18th tee during the final round of the Cognizant Classic golf tournament, Sunday, March 1, 2026, in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
BERLIN (AP) — Jamie Leweling scored twice and Stuttgart routed Wolfsburg 4-0 to boost its chances of Champions League qualification while leaving the visitors in the Bundesliga’s relegation zone on Sunday.
Deniz Undav started Stuttgart’s party in the 21st and Leweling made it 2-0 nine minutes later after another well-worked team move, before grabbing his second with a deflected shot in the 42nd.
Stuttgart eased up in the second half. Substitute Nikolas Nartey completed the scoring in stoppage time with another deflected shot that squirmed in off the far post.
Stuttgart consolidated fourth place, the last for Champions League qualification, with 10 rounds remaining.
Wolfsburg is second-last after its fifth defeat from a run of seven games without a win. The Volkswagen-backed team’s coach Daniel Bauer is its second this season after he took over – initially on an interim basis – from the fired Paul Simonis in November.
Former Wolfsburg coach Dieter Hecking is reportedly a candidate to return and try to save the team from the drop. The 61-year-old Hecking was in charge from December 2012 to October 2016 and won the German Cup with Wolfsburg in 2015, when it finished second behind Bayern in the Bundesliga and Hecking was voted coach of the season.
But Hecking couldn't prevent Bochum's relegation last year and he was fired in November after starting the second division with four defeats in five games.
Traveling Wolfsburg fans brought a giant banner to Stuttgart saying “relegation fight,” as if they needed to inform the players of their predicament.
Yan Diomande scored the winner as Leipzig kept pace with a 2-1 win at Hamburger SV to stay two points behind Stuttgart in fifth.
Bayer Leverkusen was six points behind Stuttgart before visiting Hamburg for their postponed 17th-round game on Wednesday.
Fares Chaibi scored one goal and set up the other for Eintracht Frankfurt to beat Freiburg 2-0 and leapfrog the visitors into seventh place.
Both goals came in the second half with Chaibi setting up Jean-Matteo Bahoya to seal the win in the 81st.
It’s the second win from two at home without conceding a goal under new coach Albert Riera. Frankfurt’s only defeat in four games under the Spanish coach was a 3-2 loss at Bayern Munich last weekend.
Bayern is the heavy favorite to win the league again after its 3-2 win over closest rival Borussia Dortmund in Der Klassiker on Saturday.
The Bavarian powerhouse is 11 points clear and has only dropped points in four games from 24 so far this season.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Wolfsburg's Adam Daghim, left, in action against Stuttgart's Adam Daghim during the German Bundesliga soccer match between VfB Stuttgart and VfL Wolfsburg in Stuttgart, Germany, Sunday, March 1, 2026. (Harry Langer/dpa via AP)
Stuttgart's Nikolas Nartey, center, scores during the German Bundesliga soccer match between VfB Stuttgart and VfL Wolfsburg in Stuttgart, Germany, Sunday, March 1, 2026. (Harry Langer/dpa via AP)
Wolfsburg's Konstantinos Koulierakis, left, in action against Stuttgart's Ermedin Demirovic during the German Bundesliga soccer match between VfB Stuttgart and VfL Wolfsburg in Stuttgart, Germany, Sunday, March 1, 2026. (Harry Langer/dpa via AP)
Stuttgart's Deniz Undav celebrates after scoring during the German Bundesliga soccer match between VfB Stuttgart and VfL Wolfsburg in Stuttgart, Germany, Sunday, March 1, 2026. (Harry Langer/dpa via AP)
Stuttgart's Jamie Leweling, right, celebrates after scoring during the German Bundesliga soccer match between VfB Stuttgart and VfL Wolfsburg in Stuttgart, Germany, Sunday, March 1, 2026. (Harry Langer/dpa via AP)
