Canada a final pre-Open test as Saudi-backed series starts
PGA TOUR
RBC CANADIAN OPEN
Site: Toronto.
Course: St. George's Golf & CC. Yardage: 7,014. Par: 70.
Prize money: $8.7 million. Winner's share: $1.566 million.
Television: Thursday-Friday, 3-6 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 1-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3-6 p.m. (CBS).
Defending champion: Rory McIlroy (2019).
FedEx Cup leader: Scottie Scheffler.
Last week: Billy Horschel won the Memorial.
Notes: The fourth-oldest national open in the world resumes after a two-year hiatus because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Rory McIlroy defends the title he won in 2019. ... Title sponsor RBC ended its endorsement deals with Dustin Johnson and Graeme McDowell after both signed up for the Saudi-funded LIV Golf Invitational outside London this week. ... This is the sixth time St. George's has hosted the Canadian Open and the first since Carl Pettersen won in 2010. ... The field includes Justin Thomas, who wants to play a week before the majors this year. It worked the first time. He won the PGA Championship a week after the AT&T Byron Nelson. ... Former Masters champion Mike Weir is among the Canadians playing in his national open. ... Masters champion Scottie Scheffler leads a field that features four of the top 10 in the world. ... Lee Trevino (1971) and Tiger Woods (2000) are the only players to have won the U.S. Open, Canadian Open and British Open in the same year.
Next week: U.S. Open.
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LIV GOLF INVESTMENTS
LIV GOLF INVITATIONAL-LONDON
Site: Hertfordshire, England.
Course: Centurion GC. Yardage: 7,047. Par: 70.
Prize money: $25 million ($20 million individual, $5 million team). Winner's share: $4 million, $3 million for winning team.
Television: LIVgolf.com, Facebook, YouTube.
Defending champion: Inaugural event.
Notes: This is the first in a series of eight tournaments funded by Saudi Arabia through the LIV Golf Investments. ... Five of the eight tournaments are scheduled for the United States, two at courses run by former President Donald Trump. ... Dustin Johnson at No. 15 is among four players from the top 50 in the world playing for a $20 million purse, with a $5 million purse going toward a team event. ... The 51-year-old Phil Mickelson was the last player to sign up for the new series. The 12 four-man teams are to be drafted before the tournaments. ... The 13 PGA Tour members in the field are likely to face some form of suspension because the tour did not provide them media rights releases. ... The winner gets $4 million, the richest payoff in golf based on a 54-hole tournament. ... The tournament has a shotgun start. ... Six players, including Kevin Na, Sergio Garcia, Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel and Branden Grace, have resigned their PGA Tour memberships ahead of any disciplinary action. ... Several players have been given a signing bonus, with The Daily Telegraph reporting Johnson received $150 million.
Next tournament: LIV Golf Invitational-Portland on July 1-3.
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LPGA TOUR
SHOPRITE LPGA CLASSIC
Site: Galloway, New Jersey.
Course: Seaview (Bay Course). Yardage: Par:
Prize money: $1.75 million. Winner's share: $262,500.
Television: Friday, 12:30-3 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, 3-5 p.m. (Golf Channel); Sunday, noon to 1 p.m. (Golf Channel), 1-3 p.m. (CBS).
Defending champion: Celine Boutier.
Race to CME Globe leader: Minjee Lee.
Last week: Minjee Lee won the U.S. Women's Open.
Notes: Minjee Lee is the third Australian to win at least two LPGA majors, joining Jan Stephenson and Karrie Webb. ... Lee won $1.8 million at the U.S. Women's Open, more than the entire purse at the ShopRite LPGA Classic. ... U.S. Women's Open runner-up Mina Harigae, who won over $1 million for finishing second, is in the field. ... The field also includes Jin Young Ko, the No. 1 player in women's golf, Lydia Ko and Inbee Park. Park, a two-time Women's Open champion, chose not to play last week. ... Webb, the 41-year-old Hall of Famer, is making a rare start on the LPGA Tour. ... The tournament dates to 1986, when it was won by Juli Inkster. ... Anna Nordqvist (2015-16) is the only back-to-back winner of the Shoprite LPGA Classic. ... In the 14th tournament of the year, Lee became the first multiple winner on the LPGA Tour this year. ... Lee went over $11 million in career earnings with her U.S. Women's Open victory. ... Lee is the first player since In Gee Chun in 2015 and 2016 to win majors in consecutive years.
Next week: Meijer LPGA Classic.
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PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS
AMERICAN FAMILY INSURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP
Site: Madison, Wisconsin.
Course: University Ridge GC. Yardage: 7,083. Par: 72.
Prize money: $2.4 million. Winner's share: $360,000.
Television: Friday, 6:30-8:30 p.m. (Golf Channel-tape delay); Saturday, 8-10 p.m. (Golf Channel-tape delay); Sunday, 3-5 p.m. (Golf Channel).
Defending champion: Jerry Kelly.
Charles Schwab Cup leader: Steven Alker.
Last week: Jerry Kelly won the Principal Charity Classic.
Notes: Jerry Kelly now has at least one victory in each of his five seasons on the PGA Tour Champions. ... The tournament is hosted by Steve Stricker, a Wisconsin native and the winning Ryder Cup captain at Whistling Straits last year. ... Bernhard Langer tied for third last week and now has seven top-10 finishes in nine stars on the PGA Tour Champions this year. ... One week after winning his first senior major, Steven Alker finished two shots behind in a tie for third in Iowa. It was his sixth consecutive finish in the top three and the seventh time in 10 tournaments this year he has finished third or better. ... Jay Haas, 68, had a 66 in Iowa to shoot his age or better for the sixth time. He had a 67 three times last year and had rounds of 65 and 64 two years ago when he was 65. ... Kelly, a Wisconsin native, has won the last two times at the American Family Insurance Championship. It was canceled in 2020 because of the pandemic.
Next tournament: U.S. Senior Open on June 23-26.
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EUROPEAN TOUR AND LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR
VOLVO CAR SCANDINAVIAN MIXED
Site: Tylosand, Sweden.
Course: Halmstad GC. Yardage: 6,909 Par: 72 (Men); Yardage: 6,681. Par: 72 (Women).
Prize money: $2 million. Winner's share: $333,333.
Television: Thursday, 7 a.m. to noon (Golf Channel); Friday, 7-9:30 a.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, 7:30-11 a.m. (Golf Channel); Sunday, 7:30 a.m. to noon (Golf Channel).
Defending champion: Jonathan Caldwell.
DP World Tour points leader: Rory McIlroy.
Last week: Kalle Samooja won the Porsche European Open.
Notes: The tournament features a 156-player field divided evenly among men and women playing from separate tees, competing for one prize fund and one trophy. ... Alice Hewson finished third, the highest of women, when the format made its debut last year. ... Ryder Cup captain Henrik Stenson and Annika Sorenstam serve as the tournament hosts. ... Sorenstam will be competing for the second straight week, after missing the cut in the U.S. Women's Open last week at Pine Needles. ... Alex Noren is among those in the field who are playing in the U.S. Open next week outside Boston. ... The tournament is opposite the LIV Golf Invitational, one reason why European tour players in the Saudi-funded league were denied releases. ... The tournament's history dates to 1991 when it started as the Scandinavian Masters, won by Colin Montgomerie by one shot over Seve Ballesteros. ... Noren was a two-time winner of the Scandinavian Masters.
Next week: U.S. Open.
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KORN FERRY TOUR
BMW CHARITY PRO-AM
Site: Greer, South Carolina.
Course: Thornblade Club. Yardage: 7,040. Par: 71.
Prize money: $750,000. Winner's share; $135,000.
Television: Thursday, noon to 2 p.m. (Golf Channel); Friday, 8:30-10:30 p.m. (Golf Channel-tape delay); Saturday, 10 p.m. to midnight (Golf Channel-Tape Delay); Sunday, 8-10 p.m. (Golf Channel-tape delay).
Previous winner: Mito Pereira.
Points leader: Carl Yuan.
Last week: Davis Thompson won the Rex Hospital Open.
Next week: Wichita Open.
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OTHER TOURS
USGA: Curtis Cup, Merion GC, Ardmore, Pennsylvania. Defending champions: United States. Television: Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (Golf Channel), 2:30-5:30 p.m. (Peacock); Saturday, 10-11 a.m. (Peacock), 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. (Golf Channel), 4-5 p.m. (Peacock), 5-7 p.m. (Golf Channel); Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. (Peacock), 5-7 p.m. (Golf Channel). Online:
Epson Tour: Carolina Golf Classic, Kinston CC, Kinston, North Carolina. Previous winner: Sophia Schubert. Online:
Japan Golf Tour: Aso Iizuka Challenge, Aso Iizuka GC, Fukuoka, Japan. Defending champion: New event. Online:
Challenge Tour: Emporda Challenge, Emporda Golf, Girona, Spain. Previous winner: Julien Brun. Online:
Sunshine Tour: KitKat Group Pro-Am, Irene CC, Centurion, South Africa. Defending champion: Rhys Enoch. Online:
PGA Tour Latinoamerica: Bucaramanga Championship, Club Campestre de Bucaramanga, Bucaramanga, Colombia. Defending champion: New event. Online:
Japan LPGA: Ai Miyazato Suntory Ladies Open, Rokko Kokusai GC, Hyogo, Japan. Defending champion: Serena Aoki. Online:
Korean LPGA: Celltrion Queens Masters, Seolhaeone GC, Gonghang, South Korea. Defending champion: Min Ji Park. Online:
European Legends Tour: Jersey Legends, La Moye GC, Jersey, England. Defending champion: New event. Online:
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