PGA Tour makes its lone Asia stop in Japan. The LPGA has 2nd of 4 in a row in Asia

2023-10-17 23:19

The PGA Tour used to have three tournaments as part of its Asia swing

PGA TOUR AND JAPAN GOLF TOUR

ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP

Site: Chiba, Japan.

Course: Accordia Golf Narashino CC. Yardage: 7,079. Par: 70.

Prize money: $8.5 million. Winner's share: $1.53 million.

Television: Wednesday-Saturday, 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. (Golf Channel).

Defending champion: Keegan Bradley.

FedEx Cup champion: Viktor Hovland.

Last week: Tom Kim won the Shriners Children's Open.

Notes: This is the last remaining PGA Tour event in Asia after previously having a three-event swing. ... Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa and Rickie Fowler are playing for the first time since the Ryder Cup. ... A year ago, the PGA Tour went from Japan to South Carolina in consecutive weeks. The tour is off next week before resuming in Mexico. ... Nicolai Hojgaard of Denmark, who received an exemption to Las Vegas after his Ryder Cup debut, received an exemption to the Zozo. ... Takumi Kanaya is in the field. His lead on the Japan Golf Tour money list is about $8,000 over Keita Nakajima, who made his pro debut in the Zozo Championship last year. ... Schauffele won an Olympic gold medal in Japan in 2021. His mother and his mother-in-law grew up in Japan. ... Hideki Matsuyama is playing for the first time in two months. He last played at the BMW Championship.

Next tournament: World Wide Technology Championship on Nov. 2-5.

Online: https://www.pgatour.com/ and https://www.jgto.org/en/

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PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS

DOMINION ENERGY CHARITY CLASSIC

Site: Richmond, Virginia.

Course: The Country Club of Virginia. Yardage: 7,025. Par: 72.

Prize money: $2.2 million. Winner's share: $335,000.

Television: Friday-Sunday, 2-5 p.m. (Golf Channel).

Defending champion: Steven Alker.

Charles Schwab Cup leader: Steve Stricker.

Last week: Rod Pampling won the SAS Championship.

Notes: The first of three Charles Schwab Cup playoff events starts with a 72-man field. Points (money) are doubled this week, and the top 54 will advance to the second event. ... Steve Stricker's lead in the Schwab Cup is nearly $2 million over Steven Alker. He is assured of being No. 1 in the standings even if he doesn't play the next two events and Alker wins both playoff events. ... A “wild card” spot was reserved for anyone who finished in the top 10 last week who was not among the top 72. It was not used. ... David Duval qualified for the postseason for the first time since joining the PGA Tour Champions. He tied for 11th last week to move from No. 78 to No. 71. ... The first two playoff events are 54 holes. The Charles Schwab Cup Championship is contested over 72 holes. ... Rod Pampling at the SAS Championship became the third player to go wire-to-wire on the PGA Tour Champions this year.

Next tournament: TimberTech Championship on Nov. 3-5.

Online: https://www.pgatour.com/pgatour-champions

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LIV GOLF LEAGUE

LIV GOLF TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP

Site: Doral, Florida.

Course: Trump National Doral. Yardage: 7,725. Par: 72.

Prize money: $50 million. Winning team's share: $16 million.

Television: Friday, 1-6 p.m. (The CW App); Saturday-Sunday, 1-6 p.m. (The CW).

Defending champion: 4 Aces.

Points champion: Talor Gooch.

Last week: Brooks Koepka won LIV Golf-Jeddah.

Notes: This is the final event of the second season of the LIV Golf League. ... The four top teams in the season points list all get byes in the first round. The top seeds are defending champion 4Aces (Dustin Johnson is the captain), Crushers (Bryson DeChambeau), Torque (Joaquin Niemann) and RangeGoats (Bubba Watson). ... Torque had four team victories this year to lead the league. ... Talor Gooch captured the individual points title with his playoff loss last week in Saudi Arabia. That comes with an $18 million bonus, pushing his money to over $35 million for the year. ... Gooch won three times this year. ... Brooks Koepka won his second individual title last week in Saudi Arabia. ... The Majestiks and Phil Mickelson's HyFlyers are the only teams that didn't finish in the top three this year. ... Only seven players won individual titles this year, with Gooch, Koepka, Cameron Smith and Bryson DeChambeau winning multiple times.

Next tournament: End of season.

Online: https://www.livgolf.com/

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LPGA TOUR

BMW LADIES CHAMPIONSHIP

Site: Gyeonggi-do, South Korea.

Course: Seowon Valley CC (Seowon Hills). Yardage: 6,647. Par: 72.

Prize money: $2.2 million. Winner's share: $330,000.

Television: Wednesday-Saturday, 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. (Peacock); Thursday, 5-8 p.m. (Golf Channel-tape delay); Friday-Sunday, 5:30-8:30 p.m. (Golf Channel-tape delay).

Defending champion: Lydia Ko.

Race to CME Globe leader: Lilia Vu.

Last week: Angel Yin won the Buick LPGA Shanghai.

Notes: This is the second of four tournaments in the LPGA Tour's fall Asian swing. ... The tournament began in 2015 and became part of the LPGA schedule in 2019. It only was postponed one year by the COVID-19 pandemic. ... Lilia Vu returned to the top of the Race to CME Globe standings with her playoff loss in Shanghai. He leads by fewer than five points over Celine Boutier. Both are in the field this week, along with Women’s PGA champion Ruoning Yin, who is 73 points behind Vu. ... Lexi Thompson missed the cut by three shots on the PGA Tour in Las Vegas. She is not playing until the LPGA returns to Florida after the Asia swing. Thompson is at No. 87 in the Race to CME Globe. Only the top 60 make it to the Tour Championship. ... Jin Young Ko is a three-time winner of the tournament, twice when it was a Korean LPGA event. ... The field includes Nelly Korda and Rose Zhang.

Next week: Maybank Championship.

Online: https://www.lpga.com/

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EUROPEAN TOUR

ESTRELLA DAMM ANDALUCIA MASTERS

Site: San Roque, Spain.

Course: Real Club de Golf Sotogrande. Yardage: 7,099. Par: 72.

Prize money: $3.75 million. Winner's share: $625,000.

Television: Thursday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, 7:30 a.m. to noon (Golf Channel); Sunday, 7 a.m. to noon (Golf Channel).

Defending champion: Adrian Otaegui.

Race to Dubai leader: Rory McIlroy.

Last week: Matthieu Pavon won the Spanish Open.

Notes: U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark gives the field a top-10 player in the world. ... The field also includes Matt Kuchar. ... The tournament last year was played at Valderrama. That became part of the LIV Golf League schedule this year, so the European tour has moved the tournament to Real Club de Golf Sotogrande. ... This is the third tournament along the southern coast of Spain this year, following the LIV Golf event and the Solheim Cup. ... Ryan Fox is the leading European tour player in the field. He is No. 3 in the Race to Dubai. Also playing is Adrian Meronk at No. 5, while the sixth-ranked player, Min Woo Lee, has taken a sponsor exemption to play the Zozo Championship in Japan. ... This is the final tournament of the year in continental Europe. The tour next goes to South Africa, followed by the season-ending tournament in Dubai.

Next week: Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.

Online: https://www.europeantour.com/dpworld-tour/

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OTHER TOURS

USGA: World Amateur Team Championship, Abu Dhabi GC (National), Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Defending champion: Italy. Online: https://www.usga.org/

Challenge Tour: Hainan Open, Danzhou Ancient Saltern GC, Hainan Island, China. Defending champion: New event. Online: https://www.europeantour.com/challenge-tour/

Ladies European Tour: Hero Women's Indian Open, DLF Golf and CC, Gurugram, India. Defending champion: Olivia Cowan. Online: https://ladieseuropeantour.com/

PGA Tour of Australasia: Webex Players Series SA, Willunga GC, Willunga, Australia. Defending champion: New event. Online: https://pga.org.au/

Japan LPGA: Nobuta Group Masters, Masters GC, Hyogo, Japan. Defending champion: Haruka Kawasaki. Online: https://www.lpga.or.jp/en/

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf