European tour wraps up the Race to Dubai. Nelly Korda returns to LPGA
European Tour
DP WORLD TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP
Site: Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Course: Jumeirah Golf Estates (Earth). Yardage: 7,675. Par: 72.
Prize money: $10 million. Winner's share: $3 million.
Television: Thursday-Saturday, 2-8 a.m. (Golf Channel); Sunday, 1:30-7:30 a.m. (Golf Channel).
Defending champion: Nicolai Hojgaard.
Race to Dubai leader: Rory McIlroy.
Last week: Paul Waring won the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
Notes: This is the final event of the 2023-24 European tour season. Rory McIlroy is headed toward his sixth Race to Dubai title unless Thriston Lawrence wins and McIlroy finishes lower than 11th place alone. ... The 50-man field is missing only two eligible players. Ludvig Aberg is recovering from knee surgery and Jon Rahm is home in Arizona after his wife gave birth to their third child in September. ... Jordan Smith of England has a 63-point lead over Tom McKibbin for the 10th and final PGA Tour card for 2025. ... Paul Waring's victory in Abu Dhabi was his first in eight years and assures him a PGA Tour card for next year. ... This will be McIlroy's third time playing in Dubai this year. He was runner-up in the Dubai Invitational and won the Dubai Desert Classic at the start of the year. ... Billy Horschel is in the field, making his fifth start this year on the European tour, not including the majors.
Next week: BMW Australian PGA Championship to start 2024-25 season.
Online: https://www.europeantour.com/dpworld-tour/
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LPGA Tour
THE ANNIKA
Site: Belleair, Florida.
Course: Pelican GC. Yardage: 6,349. Par: 70.
Prize money: $3.25 million. Winner's share: $487,500.
Television: Thursday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, 2-2:30 p.m. (NBC Sports app), 2:30-5 p.m. (Golf Channel); Sunday, 1:30-2 p.m. (NBC Sports app); 2-4:30 p.m. (Golf Channel).
Defending champion: Lilia Vu.
Race to CME Globe leader: Nelly Korda.
Last week: A Lim Kim won the Lotte Championship.
Notes: This is the final tournament before the top 60 qualify for the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship. Any of the 60 players who wins the last tournament wins the $4 million top prize. ... Nelly Korda makes her return to competition for the first time since Sept. 22. She already has clinched LPGA player of the year. ... The only race to be determined in the final two events are the Vare Trophy for lowest scoring average (between Haeran Ryu and Ayaka Furue) and rookie of the year (between Mao Saigo and Jin Hee Im). ... Two-time major champion Brittany Lincicome is playing her final event before retiring. ... Stephanie Kyriacou is No. 60 in the Race to CME Globe, 14 points over Gaby Lopez. ... WNBA star Caitlin Clark is playing in the pro-am. She has a corporate deal with presenting sponsor Gainbridge. ... The field features 18 of the top 25 in the women's world ranking.
Next week: CME Group Tour Championship.
Online: https://www.lpga.com/
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PGA Tour
BUTTERFIELD BERMUDA CHAMPIONSHIP
Site: Southampton, Bermuda.
Course: Port Royal GC. Yardage: 6,828. Par: 71.
Prize money: $6.9 million. Winner’s share: $1.242 million.
Television: Thursday-Friday, 1-4 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. (Golf Channel); Sunday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. (Golf Channel).
Defending champion: Camilo Villegas.
FedEx Cup champion: Scottie Scheffler.
Last week: Austin Eckroat won the World Wide Technology Championship.
Notes: Lucas Glover at No. 48 is the highest-ranked player in the field and the only player from the top 50 in the world ranking. ... Glover won the PGA Grand Slam of Golf in Bermuda in 2009, the year he won the U.S. Open. ... The winner gets an invitation to the Masters. The only three players in the field already qualified for the Masters are Nico Echavarria, Kevin Yu and Jhonattan Vegas. ... Wesley Bryan and brother George Bryan are in the field for the second straight year. George Bryan was given a sponsor exemption. ... Among the qualifiers was Egor Eroshenko of Russia, a senior at Central Florida. ... Miles Russell, the 16-year-old who made his PGA Tour debut at the Rocket Mortgage Classic this year, was given a sponsor exemption. ... Graeme Robertson of Scotland makes his PGA Tour debut after winning the Goslings Invitational in Bermuda to earn a spot in the field.
Next week: RSM Classic.
Online: https://www.pgatour.com/
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PGA Tour Champions
Last week: Bernhard Langer won the Charles Schwab Cup Championship.
Next week: End of season.
Charles Schwab Cup champion: Steven Alker.
Online: https://www.pgatour.com/pgatour-champions
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Other tours
Japan Golf Tour: Dunlop Phoenix, Phoenix CC, Miyazaki, Japan. Defending champion: Yuta Sugiura. Online: https://www.jgto.org/en/
Asian Tour: Taiwan Glass Taifong Open, Taifong GC, Changhua, Taiwan. Defending champion: Suteepat Prateeptienchai. Online: https://asiantour.com/
PGA Tour of Australasia: NSW Open, Murray Downs Golf and CC, New South Wales, Australia. Defending champion: David Micheluzzi. Online: https://pga.org.au/
Sunshine Tour: Vodacom Origins of Golf Final-Oubaai, Oubaai Golf Resort & Spa, George, South Africa. Defending champion: Neil Schietekat. Online: https://sunshinetour.com/
Japan LPGA: Daio Paper Elleair Ladies Open, Elleair GC (Matsuyama), Ehime, Japan. Defending champion: Serena Aoki. Online: https://www.lpga.or.jp/en/
Korea LPGA: Wemix Championship, Haeundae Beach Golf & Resort, Busan, South Korea. Defending champion: Yewon Lee. Online: https://klpga.co.kr/
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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
