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Texas has 2 big events in the neighborhood, LIV goes to Washington

2023-05-23 23:49
A big state like Texas seems crowded this week
Texas has 2 big events in the neighborhood, LIV goes to Washington

PGA TOUR

CHARLES SCHWAB CHALLENGE

Site: Fort Worth, Texas.

Course: Colonial CC. Yardage: 7,209. Par: 70.

Prize money: $8.7 million. Winner's share: $1,566,000.

Television: Thursday-Friday, 4-7 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 1-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3-6 p.m. (CBS).

Defending champion: Sam Burns.

FedEx Cup leader: Jon Rahm.

Last week: Brooks Koepka won the PGA Championship.

Notes: The field includes nearly half of the top 50 in the world ranking, but just two of the top 10: Scottie Scheffler and Max Homa. ... This is the 20-year anniversary of Annika Sorenstam missing the cut at Colonial. It was the first time a female competed on the PGA Tour in 58 years. ... California club pro Michael Block received a sponsor exemption after his tie for 15th in the PGA Championship. ... Colonial comes in a busy part of May with the PGA Championship last week, the Memorial and its designated status next week. ... Scheffler lost in a playoff to Sam Burns a year ago. ... Both Ryder Cup captains are in the field. Luke Donald received a sponsor exemption and Zach Johnson is a past champion at Colonial. ... Tom Hoge is in the field for what amounts to a hometown tournament. Born in North Dakota, he played college golf at TCU and still lives in the Fort Worth area. ... Collin Morikawa is playing. He lost in a playoff in 2020 when Colonial marked the return from the COVID-19 pandemic that shut down golf for two months.

Next week: Memorial Tournament.

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

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PGA OF AMERICA AND PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS

SENIOR PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

Site: Frisco, Texas.

Course: Fields Ranch East. Yardage: 7,177. Par: 72.

Prize money: $3.5 million. Winner's share: $525,000.

Television: Thursday-Friday, 1-4 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, 1:30-4:30 p.m. (NBC); Sunday, 3-4 p.m. (Golf Channel), 4-6 p.m. (NBC).

Defending champion: Steve Alker.

Charles Schwab Cup leader: Steve Stricker.

Last tournament: Stricker won the Regions Tradition.

Notes: This is the first championship at the new home of the PGA of America. ... The course was designed by Gil Hanse, whose renovation work is most recently noted at the last two U.S. Opens (Los Angeles and Brookline). ... Fields Ranch East will host the PGA Championship in 2027, and also will be hosting the Women's PGA. ... The winner gets into the 2024 PGA Championship. Steven Alker won last year and this year at age 51 played in his first PGA Championship. ... Stricker won his fifth career senior major two weeks ago when he sailed to victory in the Regions Tradition. ... Stricker, David Toms and Stephen Ames each have two wins this year on the PGA Tour Champions. ... Bernhard Langer won the Senior PGA in 2017. He remains one victory short of setting the career record on the senior circuit. Langer and Hale Irwin each have 45 wins. ... This is the first time the Senior PGA Championship has been played in the state of Texas.

Next week: Principal Charity Classic.

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

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LPGA TOUR

BANK OF HOPE LPGA MATCH PLAY

Site: North Las Vegas, Nevada.

Course: Shadow Creek GC. Yardage: 6,804. Par: 72.

Prize money: $1.5 million. Winner's share: $225,000.

Television: Wednesday, 1:30-4:30 p.m. (Golf Channel); Thursday-Friday, 7-10 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, 5:30-8:30 p.m. (Golf Channel); Sunday, 6:30-9:30 p.m. (Golf Channel).

Defending champion: Eun-Hee Ji.

Race to CME Globe leader: Jin Young Ko.

Last tournament: Young Ko won the Cognizant Founders Cup.

Notes: The only annual match play event on the LPGA schedule is not getting a lot of love from the top 10 players. Just two of the top 10 in the women's world ranking, Lilia Vu and Brooke Henderson, are playing. ... Match Play marks the U.S. debut this year for Linn Grant, who has not competed on American soil since joining the LPGA last year because of her vaccination status. Restrictions recently were lifted, though it caused her to miss the first major. ... Ji, last year at 36, became the oldest LPGA Tour winner from South Korea. ... The schedule has taken players from New Jersey two weeks ago, to north of Las Vegas this week and then back to New Jersey next week. ... Solheim Cup captain Stacy Lewis is among those playing. ... The field includes Alison Lee and Danielle Kang, who live in Las Vegas and occasionally practice out of Shadow Creek. ... The tournament starts on Wednesday with three days of pool play, and a knockout stage on the weekend.

Next week: Mizuho Americas Open.

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

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LIV GOLF LEAGUE

LIV GOLF-DC

Site: Sterling, Virginia.

Course: Trump National Washington D.C. Yardage: 7,479. Par: 72.

Prize money: $20 million. Winner's share: $4 million.

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

Defending champion: New event.

Points leader: Talor Gooch.

Last tournament: Dustin Johnson won LIV Golf-Tulsa.

Notes: Brooks Koepka returns to action with the LIV Golf League just five days after he captured his first major. ... Two of the last three major champions are on LIV. Cameron Smith won the British Open last summer, but didn't join the Saudi-funded league until a month later after the PGA Tour season. ... This is the third course owned by Donald Trump to host a LIV event. It was in Bedminster, New Jersey, and Miami last year and will return to those sites later this year. ... Since winning back-to-back LIV event, Talor Gooch tied for 36th in LIV Golf Tulsa and missed the cut at the PGA Championship. ... Twelve players from LIV are exempt from qualifying for the U.S. Open. That includes Thomas Pieters, who stayed among the top 60 in the world ranking, and Sergio Garcia, who made it through final qualifying on Monday. ... LIV Golf will be off the next month and then heads overseas for two tournaments in Spain and England before returning to the U.S. in August.

Next tournament: LIV Golf-Valderrama on June 30-July 2.

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

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EUROPEAN TOUR

KLM OPEN

Site: Cromvoirt, The Netherlands.

Course: Bernardus Golf. Yardage: 7,445. Par: 72.

Prize money: $2 million. Winner's share: $333,333.

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: Victor Perez.

Race to Dubai leader: Rory McIlroy.

Last week: Koepka won the PGA Championship.

Notes: Victor Perez is at No. 3 in the Race to Dubai standings, tops among players who do not have PGA Tour status. ... Adrian Meronk of Poland at No. 47 is the highest-ranked player in the field. He also is among 10 players in The Netherlands who were in New York last week for the PGA Championship. ... Four of those 10 players made the cut at Oak Hill. ... The KLM Open is part of a four-tournament series in which the leading two players earn an exemption to the U.S. Open. The final event is next week in Germany. ... The tournament dates to 1972 and has been part of the European tour schedule from the start. ... Seve Ballesteros and Bernhard Langer are three-time winners of the Dutch Open. ... Perez won the tournament last year in one of the more dramatic finishes, staying in the playoff with a series of long putts and winning it over Ryan Fox with a 30-foot birdie on the four extra hole.

Next week: Porsche European Open.

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

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KORN FERRY TOUR

VISIT KNOXVILLE OPEN

Site: Knoxville, Tennessee.

Course: Holston Hills CC. Yardage: 7,218. Par: 70.

Prize money: $1 million. Winner's share: $180,000.

Television: None.

Previous winner: Anders Albertson.

Points leader: Ben Kohles.

Last week: Grayson Murray won the AdventHealth Championship.

Next week: UNC Health Challenge.

Online: https://www.pgatour.com/korn-ferry-tour/

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OTHER TOURS

Epson Tour: Inova Mission Inn Resort and Club Championship, El Campeon GC, Howey-In-The-Hills, Florida. Previous winner: Gina Kim. Online: https://www.epsontour.com/

Japan Golf Tour: Mizuno Open, JFE Setonaikai GC, Okayama, Japan. Previous winner: Scott Vincent. Online: https://www.jgto.org/en/

Challenge Tour: Copenhagen Challenge, Royal GC, Copenhagen, Denmark. Defending champion: Freddy Schott. Online: https://www.europeantour.com/challenge-tour/

Ladies European Tour: Belgian Ladies Open, Naxhelet GC, Wanze, Belgium. Previous winner: Linn Grant. Online: https://ladieseuropeantour.com/

PGA Tour Latinoamerica: Colombia Classic, Ruitoque Golf & CC, Bucaramanga, Colombia. Defending champion: Tommy Cocha. Online: https://www.pgatour.com/latinoamerica/

Japan LPGA: Resort Trust Ladies, Grandy Hamanako GC, Shizuoka, Japan. Defending champion: Sakura Koiwai. Online: https://www.lpga.or.jp/en/

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports