PGA Tour to Las Vegas, LIV Golf heads overseas to Bangkok
By The Associated Press
PGA TOUR
SHRINERS CHILDREN’S OPEN
Site: Las Vegas
Course: TPC Summerlin. Yardage: 7,255. Par: 71.
Prize money: $8 million. Winner’s share: $1,440,000
Television: Thursday-Sunday, 5-8 p.m. (Golf Channel).
Defending champion: Sungjae Im.
FedEx Cup leader: Mackenzie Hughes.
Last week: Mackenzie Hughes won the Sanderson Farms Championship.
Notes: Patrick Cantlay is in the field, meaning he will not take off the final three months of the year as he did a year ago. … Cantlay has a victory two runner-up finishes and a tie for eighth in his four appearances at TPC Summerlin. … The field has four of the top 25 players in the world, not as strong as the last two years when the CJ Cup of South Korea had moved to Las Vegas and was the week after. … The field features six players from the International team at the Presidents Cup, including defending champion Sungjae Im, Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim. Cantlay and Max Homa are playing from the U.S. team. … Garrick Higgo, who finished third last week, spent two semesters at UNLV before going home to South Africa to turn pro. He still has a UNLV cover on his yardage book. … Rickie Fowler is playing. He started the season with a tie for sixth in the Fortinet Championship. … Alex Noren was runner-up at the Alfred Dunhill Links last week and has flown eight time zones to play in Las Vegas.
Next week: Zozo Championship.
Online: https://www.pgatour.com/
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LIV GOLF
LIV GOLF INVITATIONAL-BANGKOK
Site: Bangkok.
Course: Stonehill GC. Yardage: 7,591. Par: 71.
Prize money: $25 million ($20 million individual. Winner’s share: $4 million).
Television: LivGolf.com
Money leader: Dustin Johnson.
Previous LIV Golf event winner: Cameron Smith.
Notes: This is the first time LIV Golf is being played overseas since its inaugural event in early June outside of London. … Dustin Johnson leads the money list with just over $12.5 million in five events. His team, Four Aces, has won the last four times. Johnson is the only player to finish in the top 10 at every LIV Golf event. … No additional players signed contracts with LIV Golf since the last event outside Chicago. … LIV Golf is playing consecutive weeks for the first time. Next week is in Saudi Arabia before the final team championship is played at Doral outside Miami. … Louis Oosthuizen and Peter Uihlein tied for 10th on the European tour last week, the best result of the LIV Golf players. … David Puig has been replaced in the 48-man field by Hideto Tanihara of Japan, who played the first three LIV event. Puig made his pro debut in the Chicago event, tied for 37th and made $137,000.
Next week: LIV Golf Invitational-Jeddah
Online: https://www.livgolf.com/
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LPGA TOUR
LPGA MEDIHEAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Site: Camarillo, California.
Course: The Saticoy Club. Yardage: 6,551. Par: 72.
Prize money: $1.8 million. Winner’s share: $270,000.
Television: Thursday-Sunday, 9 p.m. to midnight (Golf Channel-Tape Delay).
Defending champion: Matilda Castren.
Race to CME Globe leader: Lydia Ko.
Last week: Charley Hull won The Ascendant LPGA.
Notes: Lydia Ko with a third-place finish in Texas moved past Minjee Lee in the Race to CME Globe. … Atthaya Thitikul is the only player from the top 10 in the women’s world ranking playing in the tournament. … Thitikul’s fourth-place finish moved her past Nelly Korda to No. 2 in the world. … This is the final domestic tournament until the LPGA Tour returns to Florida on Nov. 10-13 for its last two tournaments. The Asian swing has been reduced from four tournaments to two over the next month. … Hull finished at 266 at The Ascendant LPGA, her lowest 72-hole total in her LPGA career. … The tournament was played last year at Lake Merced in San Francisco. … The Saticoy Club was founded in 1921 and designed by William Bell.
Next tournament: BMW Ladies Championship in South Korea on Oct. 27-30.
Online: https://www.lpga.com/
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EUROPEAN TOUR
SPANISH OPEN
Site: Madrid.
Course: Club de Campo Villa de Madrid. Yardage: 7,112. Par: 71.
Prize money: 1.75 million euros. Winner’s share: 291,667 euros.
Television: Thursday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 7:30 a.m. to noon (Golf Channel).
Defending champion: Rafa Cabrera Bello.
DP World Tour points leader: Rory McIlroy.
Last week: Ryan Fox won the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
Notes: Jon Rahm is in the field as he goes for his third title in the Spanish Open. … Tommy Fleetwood is playing, giving the field two of the top 30 players in the world ranking. … The Spanish Open has been part of the European tour schedule since 1972. … Seve Ballesteros is a three-time winner of the Spanish Open. He won the last of his 50 titles on the European tour in May 1995 at this tournament. … Rory McIlroy remains atop the DP World Tour points list. … Ryan Fox moved to No. 25 in the world with his victory in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. He is up to No. 3 on the DP World Tour points list. … This is the first of three consecutive weeks in Spain. … There are five tournaments left before the season-ending DP World Tour Championship. … Fox, Will Zalatoris of the U.S. and Thriston Lawrence of South Africa are the only players from the top 10 in the DP World Tour points list who are from non-European countries.
Next week: Estrella Damm Andalucía Masters
Online: https://www.europeantour.com/dpworld-tour/
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PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS
CONSTELLATION FURYK & FRIENDS
Site: Jacksonville, Florida.
Course: Timuquana CC. Yardage: 6,949. Par: 72.
Prize money: $2 million. Winner’s share: $300,000.
Television: Friday-Sunday, 2-5 p.m. (Golf Channel).
Previous winner: Phil Mickelson.
Charles Schwab Cup leader: Steven Alker.
Last tournament: Steve Flesch won the Pure Insurance Championship.
Notes: The tournament will be without its defending champion, Phil Mickelson, who is playing the LIV Golf event in Thailand and has been suspended by the PGA Tour. … This is the second year of the tournament with Jim Furyk as the host. … Steve Stricker has won his last two starts on the PGA Tour Champions. He did not play at Pebble Beach because he was an assistant captain at the Presidents Cup. … Stricker’s brother-in-law, Mario Tiziani, is among those playing on a sponsor exemption. … Padraig Harrington is in the field after playing last week in Scotland at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. Harrington tied for 17th last week. … Harrington, Stricker, Jerry Kelly, Steven Alker and Miguel Angel Jimenez lead the PGA Tour Champions with three wins each. … Harrington has a mathematical chance of overtaking Alker for the Charles Schwab Cup lead. … Two tournaments are left before the start of the postseason.
Next week: SAS Championship.
Online: https://www.pgatour.com/champions.html
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OTHER TOURS
Epson Tour: Epson Tour Championship, LPGA International (Jones), Daytona Beach, Florida. Defending champion: Prima Thammaraks. Online: https://www.epsontour.com/
Japan Golf Tour: For The Players By The Players, The Raysum, Gunma, Japan. Defending champion: New tournament. Online: https://www.jgto.org/en/
Challenge Tour: British Challenge, St. Mellion Estate, Cornwall, England. Previous winner: Hugo Leon. Online: https://www.europeantour.com/challenge-tour/
Sunshine Tour: Fortress Invitational, Ebotse Links, Benoni, South Africa. Defending champion: New tournament. Online: https://sunshinetour.com/
Japan LPGA: Stanley Ladies Honda, Tomei CC, Shizuoka, Japan. Defending champion: Hinako Shibuno. Online: https://www.lpga.or.jp/en/
Korea LPGA: Hite Jinro Championship, Blue Heron GC, Yeoju, South Korea. Defending champion: Su Ji Kim. Online: https://klpga.co.kr/
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