American golf up to full speed across 4 biggest tours

Updated Jul. 28, 2020 9:34 a.m. ET
Associated Press

INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF PGA TOURS

WORLD GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS-FEDEX ST. JUDE INVITATIONAL

Site: Memphis, Tenn.

Course: TPC Southwind. Yardage: 7,238. Par: 70.

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Purse: $10.5 million. Winner's share: $1,787,560.

Television: Thursday-Friday, 2-7 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, noon to 2 p.m. (Golf Channel), 2-6 p.m. (CBS); Sunday, 1-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3-7 p.m. (CBS).

Defending champion: Brooks Koepka.

Last WGC: Patrick Reed won the Mexico Championship.

Notes: This is likely to be the second and final World Golf Championship of the year because the Chinese government has shut down all sporting events for the rest of the year due to the coronavirus. ... Tiger Woods has decided not to play the FedEx St. Jude Invitational for the second straight year. He has never played the TPC Southwind, which previously hosted a regular PGA Tour event the week before the U.S. Open. ... This will be Jon Rahm's debut as the No. 1 player in the world. Only six players have won in their debut at No. 1, most recently Dustin Johnson at the WGC in Mexico City in 2017. ... Henrik Stenson is among four players in the field playing for the first time since March because of the pandemic. ... Sebastian Soderberg of Sweden played a Nordic Golf League event the first weekend in July. ... With Stenson playing, that leaves Adam Scott (9) and Shugo Imahira (50) as the only players from the top 50 who have not played since March. ... This is the only WGC that has been played each year since the series began in 1999. ... Of the 21 winners, only three players have not won a major — Craig Parry, Hunter Mahan and Hideki Matsuyama. ... The leading two players from the top 10 earn spots in the U.S. Open if they are not already eligible.

Next week: PGA Championship.

Online:

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PGA TOUR

BARRACUDA CHAMPIONSHIP

Site: Truckee, Calif.

Course: Tahoe Mountain Club (Old Greenwood). Yardage: 7,390. Par: 71.

Purse: $3.5 million. Winner's share: $600,000.

Television: Thursday-Friday, 7-9:30 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 7-10 p.m. (Golf Channel).

Defending champion: Collin Morikawa.

FedEx Cup leader: Justin Thomas.

Last week: Michael Thompson won the 3M Open.

Notes: The tournament held opposite a World Golf Championship has moved from Reno, Nevada, to Lake Tahoe. ... The tournament uses the modified Stableford scoring system that awards 2 points for a birdie, 5 points for an eagle, 8 points for an albatross, and deducts 1 point for a bogey or 3 points for anything worse. ... Collin Morikawa won last year in his sixth start as a pro, moving him to No. 90 in the world. He is at the WGC this week as the No. 12 player in the world. ... The field includes double major champion Martin Kaymer and Alex Noren, who played for European in the 2018 Ryder Cup. ... Two players who have won this season are in the field — Sebastian Munoz (Sanderson Farms) and Lanto Griffin (Houston Open). ... The change in venues gives California seven tournaments on the PGA Tour schedule this season. ... The winner earns a spot in the PGA Championship next week if not already eligible. ... The top two players from the top 10, not already eligible, earn a spot in the U.S. Open in September at Winged Foot.

Next week: PGA Championship.

Online:

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LPGA TOUR

LPGA DRIVE ON CHAMPIONSHIP

Site: Toledo, Ohio.

Course: Inverness Club. Yardage: 6,550. Par: 71.

Purse: $1 million. Winner's share: $150,000.

Television: Friday, 9 a.m. to noon (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 4-7 p.m. (Golf Channel).

Defending champion: New tournament.

Race to CME Globe leader: Inbee Park.

Last tournament. Inbee Park won the Women's Australian Open on Feb. 16.

Notes: This is a one-time tournament that kicks off the LPGA Tour's resumption of the schedule from the COVID-19 pandemic-caused shutdown. ... Inverness will host the Solheim Cup next September. ... The tournament will be played without spectators or pro-ams. ... The entry list features only nine South Koreans. Most are waiting for the LPGA Tour to head to Scotland in two weeks for the Scottish Ladies Open and the Women's British Open. Jin Young Ko, Inbee Park and Jeongeun Lee6 are among those playing the Korean LPGA this week. ... Only 134 players were on the entry list for a 144-player field. ... Lexi Thompson, Nelly and Jessica Korda, and Danielle Kang are playing. Also in the field are Natalie Gulbis and Laura Diaz. ... Ruixin Liu, who won on the Symetra Tour last week, is playing. The tour stays in the Toledo area next week for the Marathon Classic, which will have two pro-ams but no spectators. ... Inverness is where Paul Azinger won his only major at the 1993 PGA Championship in a playoff over Greg Norman.

Next week: Marathon Classic.

Online:

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PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS

THE ALLY CHALLENGE

Site: Grand Blanc, Mich.

Course: Warwick Hills Golf & CC. Yardage: 7,085. Par: 72.

Purse: $2 million. Winner's share: $300,000.

Television: Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, 2-4:30 p.m. (Golf Channel); Sunday, 3-5 p.m. (Golf Channel).

Defending champion: Jerry Kelly.

Charles Schwab Cup leader: Bernhard Langer.

Last tournament: Ernie Els won the Hoag Classic on March 8.

Notes: The PGA Tour Champions returns after a break of nearly five months. It will have two pro-ams. ... Warwick Hills previously was site of the Buick Open on the PGA Tour. ... The field includes Jim Furyk, Mike Weir and K.J. Choi, who turned 50 while the PGA Tour Champions was shut down by the pandemic. ... Bernhard Langer, Vijay Singh, Ernie Els and Jerry Kelly are in the field. All have played on the PGA Tour while the 50-and-older circuit was waiting to start up. ... Colin Montgomerie went the opposite direction from Bryson DeChambeau. He lost 40 pounds during the shutdown. ... This will be only the second time this year that Singh has played on the PGA Tour Champions. ... The field features 81 players who have combined to win 349 times on the PGA Tour, along with 15 majors.

Next tournament: Bridgestone Senior Players Championship on Aug. 13-16.

Online:

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EUROPEAN TOUR

HERO OPEN

Site: Birmingham, England.

Course: Forest of Arden Marriott Hotel & CC. Yardage: 6,958. Par: 72.

Purse: 1 million euros. Winner's share: 166,667 euros.

Television: Thursday, 7-9 a.m., 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. (Golf Channel); Friday, 7-9 a.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, 7:30 a.m. to noon (Golf Channel); Sunday, 7-11:30 a.m. (Golf Channel).

Defending champion: New tournament.

Race to Dubai leader: Patrick Reed.

Last week: Renato Paratore won the Betfred British Masters.

Notes: Forest of Arden last hosted a European Tour event in 2002 when Darren Clarke won the English Open. ... This is the second week of the U.K. Swing. Hero Motor Corp. stepped in as the title sponsor. ... Lee Westwood said last week he would not come to San Francisco for the PGA Championship for health reasons involving the coronavirus. He said he would play in a few U.K. Swing events to support the European Tour, but the Hero Open is not one of them. ... The field features two players from the top 100 in the world, Eddie Pepperell (89) and Joost Luiten (97).

Next week: PGA Championship and English Championship.

Online:

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KORN FERRY TOUR

PINNACLE BANK CHAMPIONSHIP

Site: Omaha, Neb.

Course: The Club at Indian Creek. Yardage: 7,581. Par: 72.

Purse: $600,000. Winner's share: $108,000.

2019 winner: Kristoffer Ventura.

Television: None.

Points leader: Davis Riley.

Last week: Max McGreevy won the Price Cutter Charity Championship.

Next week: Winco Foods Portland Open.

Online:

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OTHER TOURS

Western Golf Association: Western Amateur, Crooked Stick GC, Carmel, Ind. Defending champion: Garrett Rank. Online:

Korean LPGA: Jeju Samdasoo Masters, Saint Four Golf & Resort, Jeju Island, South Korea. Defending champion: Hae-ran Yoo. Online:

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