Houston Open a week before the Masters, just like old times

Updated Nov. 3, 2020 12:12 p.m. ET

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PGA TOUR

HOUSTON OPEN

Site: Houston.

Course: Memorial Park. Yardage: 7,021. Par: 71.

Prize money: $7 million. Winner's share: $1.26 million.

Television: Thursday-Sunday, 1-4 p.m. (Golf Channel).

Defending champion: Lanto Griffin.

FedEx Cup leader: Bryson DeChambeau.

Last week: Brian Gay won the Bermuda Championship.

Notes: The Houston Open is the last event before the Masters, as it was for a decade when held in the spring at Golf Club of Houston. The difference is the winner will not get into this year's Masters, only the next one in April. Of the 96-man field at the Masters, 37 are playing the Houston Open. ... Dustin Johnson returns for the first time since a positive coronavirus test knocked him out of the CJ Cup at Shadow Creek and the Zozo Championship at Sherwood. ... Johnson and Tyrrell Hatton are the only players from the top 10 in the world in the field. ... Brooks Koepka is playing for the second time since a two-month layoff to heal injuries. ... The tournament moves this year to Memorial Park, a public course in Houston. ... The tournament is limiting ticket sales to 2,000 a day. It's the first domestic PGA Tour event to have fans since The Players Championship on March 12. ... Phil Mickelson is playing. He was contemplating a PGA Tour Champions start when he heard Houston was allowing fans. ... Brian Gay was the third player in his 40s to win since the new season began in September.

Next week: The Masters.

Online:

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PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS

CHARLES SCHWAB CUP CHAMPIONSHIP

Site: Phoenix.

Course: Phoenix CC. Yardage: 6,763. Par: 71.

Prize money: $2.5 million. Winner's share: $375,000.

Television: Friday-Sunday, 4-6:30 p.m. (Golf Channel).

Defending champion: Jeff Maggert.

Charles Schwab Cup leader: Bernhard Langer.

Last week: Darren Clarke won the TimberTech Championship.

Notes: This is the final official event of the year but not the season. A Schwab Cup winner will not be determined. Because of the pandemic and subsequent loss of tournaments, the 2020 and 2021 seasons will be combined. ... The field features eight Masters champions who are playing at Augusta National next week — Fred Couples, Bernhard Langer, Sandy Lyle, Larry Mize, Mark O'Meara, Jose Maria Olazabal, Vijay Singh and Mike Weir. ... Langer regained the lead in the Charles Schwab Cup standings with his tie for second last week in Florida. ... Jeff Maggert won last year by holing out from the fairway in a playoff against Retief Goosen. ... Darren Clarke became the fourth major champion to win for the first time on the PGA Tour Champions this year. The others were Ernie Els, Jim Furyk and Phil Mickelson. ... Mickelson contemplated the 54-hole event in Phoenix as his Masters tuneup because the PGA Tour has fans, and then decided on the Houston Open. The Champions event is allowing members, no more than 350 a day.

Next tournament: PNC Championship on Dec. 17-20.

Online:

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EUROPEAN TOUR

APHRODITE HILLS CYPRUS SHOWDOWN

Site: Paphos, Cyprus.

Course: Aphrodite Hills Resort. Yardage: 6,956. Par: 71.

Prize money: 1 million euros. Winner's share: 200,000 euros.

Television: Thursday-Friday, 4:30-9:30 a.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, 5-9:30 a.m. (Golf Channel); Sunday, 4:30-9 a.m. (Golf Channel).

Defending champion: New tournament.

Race to Dubai leader: Patrick Reed.

Last week: Callum Shinkwin won the Cyprus Open.

Notes: The European Tour stays in Cyprus for the second straight week. This is the second time this year the tour has played on the same course in consecutive weeks. The other was at Celtic Manor in Wales. ... The 105-man field will have two rounds of stroke play with the top 32 and ties advancing to the weekend. The scores are reset, and the top 16 and ties advance to Sunday, with scores reset again. ... Rasmus Hojgaard at No. 74 is the highest-ranked player in the field. Hojgaard made his debut in a regular PGA Tour event last week in Bermuda and tied for 37th. ... Five other players from the top 100 are in the field, including Sami Valimaki of Finland and Sam Horsfield of England. ... After the Masters next week, the European Tour plays three consecutive weeks in South Africa with tournaments that are co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour. It then concludes with the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai on Dec. 10-13.

Next week: The Masters.

Online:

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LPGA TOUR

Last tournament: Ally McDonald won the Drive On Championship-Reynolds Lake Oconee.

Next tournament: Pelican Women’s Championship on Nov. 19-22.

Race to CME Globe leader: Danielle Kang.

Online:

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OTHER TOURS

Symetra Tour: Symetra Tour Championship, River Run CC, Davidson, North Carolina. Defending champion: Laura Wearn. Online:

Ladies European Tour: Omega Dubai Moonlight Classic, Emirates GC (Faldo), Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Defending champion: Nuria Iturrioz. Online:

Sunshine Tour: Time Square Casino Challenge, Wingate Park CC, Pretoria, South Africa. Defending champion: New event. Online:

Japan LPGA: Toto Japan Classic, Taiheiyo Club (Minori), Ibaraki, Japan. Defending champion: Ai Suzuki. Online:

Korean LPGA: Hana Financial Group Championship, Sky 72 GC, Incheon, South Korea. Defending champion: Ha Na Jang. Online:

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in this topic

Larry Mize

Jeff Maggert

Jim Furyk

Mike Weir

Lanto Griffin

Jose Maria Olazabal

Darren Clarke

Mark O'Meara

Vijay Singh

Bernhard Langer

Patrick Reed

Fred Couples

Retief Goosen

Sam Horsfield

Callum Shinkwin

Danielle Kang

Dustin Johnson

Tyrrell Hatton

Brian Gay

Ernie Els

Brooks Koepka

Ally Ewing

Phil Mickelson

Bryson DeChambeau

Sandy Lyle