PGA TOUR
FORTINET CHAMPIONSHIP
Site: Napa, California.
Course: Silverado Resort & Spa (North). Yardage: 7,123. Par: 72.
Prize money: $8 million. Winner’s share: $1.44 million.
Television: Thursday-Sunday, 6-9 p.m. (Golf Channel).
Defending champion: Max Homa.
FedEx Cup champion: Rory McIlroy.
Last tournament: Rory McIlroy won the Tour Championship.
Notes: This starts a new PGA Tour season, and it will be the last year for a wraparound season that begins in September. The 2024 season will start in January. … Max Homa won the first of his two PGA Tour titles last season at Silverado. … Hideki Matsuyama is the only player from the top 20 in the world playing the PGA Tour opener. … Matsuyama is among five players in the field who will play at the Presidents Cup next week. Other International team members are Corey Conners, Cameron Davis and Taylor Pendrith. Max Homa is on the U.S. team. … Jimmy Walker, who won the tournament in 2013, returns to competition for the first time since the Texas Open in early April. Because of 16 players joining LIV Golf and resigning or being suspended, he moved to No. 50 in career money and used his one-time exemption. … Rickie Fowler is in the field. He starts the season after changing his swing coach and caddie.
Next week: Presidents Cup.
Online: https://www.pgatour.com/
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LIV GOLF
LIV GOLF INVITATIONAL-CHICAGO
Site: Sugar Grove, Illinois.
Course: Rich Harvest Farms. Yardage: 7,355. Par: 70.
Prize money: $25 million. Winner’s share: $4 million (individual), $3 million (team).
Television: LIVGolf.com.
Points leader: Dustin Johnson.
Money leader: Dustin Johnson.
Last tournament: Dustin Johnson won a playoff at LIV Golf Invitational-Boston.
Notes: This is the fifth of seven LIV Golf Invitational events that feature an individual and a team winner. It’s also the fourth consecutive tournament in the U.S. … Dustin Johnson and Talor Gooch are the only players to finish in the top 10 against the 48-man field in every LIV event. … Gooch and Patrick Reed were the only LIV Golf players to finish among the top 10 at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. … Sergio Garcia withdrew after an opening round of 76 at Wentworth. He was coming off a pair of top 10s in the previous two LIV Golf events. … Scott Vincent would be the defending champion this week on the Japan Golf Tour. … The next two LIV Golf events will be held in Thailand and Saudi Arabia before the team finale outside Miami. … Phil Mickelson is 50th on the LIV golf money list (individual and team combined) out of 68 players who have competed in at least one event. … Rich Harvest Farms hosted the 2009 Solheim Cup.
Next tournament: LIV Golf Invitational-Bangkok on Oct. 7-9.
Online: https://www.livgolf.com/
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LPGA TOUR
AMAZINGCRE PORTLAND CLASSIC
Site: Portland, Oregon.
Course: Columbia Edgewater CC. Yardage: 6,478. Par: 72.
Prize money: $1.5 million. Winner’s share: $225,000.
Television: Thursday-Sunday, 3-6 p.m. (Golf Channel).
Defending champion: Jin Young Ko.
Race to CME Globe leader: Minjee Lee.
Last week: Ally Ewing won the Kroger Queen City Championship.
Notes: The tournament returns to Columbia Edgewater after being held last year at Oregon Golf Club. … Ally Ewing was the 20th player to win on the LPGA Tour this year in 24 tournaments, including the team tournament in Michigan. … Jennifer Kupcho leads the LPGA Tour with three victories this year. Brooke Henderson and Minjee Lee are the other players with multiple wins. … Eight players are first-time winners on the LPGA Tour this year. A year ago, there were six first-time winners. … Players from 12 countries have won on the LPGA this year. The Americans lead with six wins. … Nelly Korda, who missed four months earlier this year with a blood clot, and Lexi Thompson are the only players from the top 10 in the world who have not won on the LPGA this year. Thompson is not playing this week after missing the cut in Cincinnati. … Lucy Li, who already has her card for next year through the Epson Tour, is playing on a sponsor exemption.
Next week: Walmart NW Arkansas Open.
Online: https://www.lpga.com/
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EUROPEAN TOUR
DS AUTOMOBILES ITALIAN OPEN
Site: Rome.
Course: Marco Simone GC. Yardage: 7,268. Par: 71.
Prize money: 3 million euros. Winner’s share: 500,000 euros.
Television: Thursday-Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 7:30 a.m. to noon (Golf Channel).
Defending champion: Nicolai Hojgaard.
DP World Tour points leader: Rory McIlroy.
Last week: Shane Lowry won the BMW PGA Championship.
Notes: The Italian Open has attracted a strong field at Marco Simone as a preview for the Ryder Cup matches next year. … Rory McIlroy is playing for the first time as part of a European stretch of playing three out of four weeks. … McIlroy won the Tour Championship and was runner-up in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth in consecutive starts. … Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald is in the field. … Former British Open champion Francesco Molinari won his national open twice. … McIlroy leads the DP World Tour points list over Will Zalatoris, who is out the rest of the season with a back injury. … U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick is playing, along with his young brother, Alex, who turned pro this year. … One of the sponsor exemptions was given to Clancy Waugh, who has been playing on the Sunshine Tour. He is the son of PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh. … The tournament dates to 1925.
Next week: Cazoo French Open.
Online: https://www.europeantour.com/dpworld-tour/
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PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS
SANFORD INTERNATIONAL
Site: Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Course: Minnehaha CC. Yardage: 6,729. Par: 70.
Prize money: $2 million. Winner’s share: $300,000.
Television: Friday-Sunday, 9:30-11:30 p.m. (Golf Channel-tape delay).
Defending champion: Darren Clarke.
Charles Schwab Cup leader: Steven Alker.
Last week: Padraig Harrington won the Ascension Charity Classic.
Notes: Padraig Harrington has won two of his last three starts on the PGA Tour Champions. He can move atop the Charles Schwab Cup standings if he were to win this week. … Harrington joined Steven Alker, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Jerry Kelly as three-time winners this year. They are the top four in the Schwab Cup. … Justin Leonard made his PGA Tour Champions debut last week with a tie for 19th. Leonard is not in the field this week. … Davis Love III is in the field a week before he is captain of the U.S. team for the Presidents Cup. … Steve Flesch has been runner-up in the Sanford International each of the last two years, losing in a three-man playoff last year. … Mario Tiziani, the brother-in-law of Steve Stricker, is playing on a sponsor exemption. … David Duval has yet to finish in the top 30 on the PGA Tour Champions this year.
Next week: Pure Insurance Championship.
Online: https://www.pgatour.com/champions.html
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OTHER TOURS
Epson Tour: Guardian Championship, Capitol Hill GC, Prattville, Alabama. Previous winner: Janie Jackson. Online: https://www.epsontour.com/
Japan Golf Tour: ANA Open, Sapporo GC (Wattsu), Hokkaido, Japan. Defending champion: Scott Vincent. Online: https://www.jgto.org/en/
USGA: U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship, Erin Hills GC, Erin, Wisconsin. Defending champion: Stewart Hagestad. Online: https://www.usga.org/
Challenge Tour: Portugal Open at Royal Obidos, Royal Obidos Spa & Golf Resort, Vau Obidos, Portugal. Defending champion: Marcel Schneider. Online: https://www.europeantour.com/challenge-tour/
Ladies European Tour: Lacoste Ladies Open de France, Golf Barriere, Deauville, France. Defending champion: Celine Boutier. Online: https://ladieseuropeantour.com/
PGA Tour Canada: Fortinet Cup Championship, Deer Ridge GC, Kitchener, Ontario. Defending champion: Patrick Fishburn. Online: https://www.pgatour.com/canada/en
PGA of America: PGA Cup, Foxhills Club & Resort, Surrey, England. Defending champion: United States. Online: https://www.pga.com/
Sunshine Tour: Vodacom Origins of Golf, San Lameer CC, Southbroom, South Africa. Last series winner: Anthony Michael. Online: https://sunshinetour.com/
Japan LPGA: Sumitomo Life Vitality Ladies Tokai Classic, Shin Minami Aichi CC, (Mihama), Aichi, Japan. Defending champion: Yuna Nishimura. Online: https://www.lpga.or.jp/en/
Korea LPGA: KB Financial Group Star Championship, Blackstone Icheon, Icheon, South Korea. Defending champion: Ha Na Jang. Online: https://klpga.co.kr/
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