LPGA Tour goes to Portland, Europe has final Ryder Cup qualifying in Switzerland
LPGA TOUR
PORTLAND CLASSIC
Site: Portland, Oregon.
Course: Columbia Edgewater CC. Yardage: 6,467. Par: 72.
Prize money: $1.5 million. Winner's share: $225,000.
Television: Thursday-Sunday, 6-9 p.m. (Golf Channel).
Defending champion: Andrea Lee.
Race to CME Globe leader: Celine Boutier.
Last week: Megan Khang won the CPKC Women's Open in Canada.
Notes: Andrea Lee is defending her first LPGA title right after qualifying for her first Solheim Cup team. ... The tournament began 40 years ago with JoAnne Carner as the inaugural champion. ... The field features 10 of the 12 players on the U.S. Solheim Cup team, missing only Angel Yin and Cheyenne Knight, both captain's picks. ... Paula Creamer received one of the sponsor exemptions. ... Lexi Thompson is in the field. She is outside the top 150 in the Race to CME Globe and is not likely to keep her full LPGA card for next year at this rate. Thompson has made only two cuts this year. ... Megan Khang became the ninth first-time winner this year on the LPGA Tour in Canada last week. She was the first American winner since Brittany Lincicome in 2011. ... Khang became the seventh American to win on the LPGA this year. No other country has more than two LPGA winners in 2023. South Korea only has one, with Jin Young Ko winning twice. ... U.S. Women's Open champion Allisen Corpuz is closing in on the $3 million mark for earnings this year.
Next week: Kroger Queen City Championship.
Online: https://www.lpga.com/
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EUROPEAN TOUR
OMEGA EUROPEAN MASTERS
Site: Crans Montana, Switzerland.
Course: Crans-sur-Sierre GC. Yardage: 6,808. Par: 70.
Prize money: $2.5 million. Winner's share: $416,667.
Television: Thursday-Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, 1:30-5:30 p.m. (Golf Channel-tape delay); Sunday, 2-5:30 p.m. (Golf Channel-tape delay).
Defending champion: Thriston Lawrence.
Race to Dubai leader: Rory McIlroy.
Last week: Todd Clements won the D+D Real Czech Masters.
Notes: This is the final qualifying event for the six automatic spots on Europe's Ryder Cup team. Three players come from the European points list, three others from the world points list based on the world ranking. ... Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Viktor Hovland already have secured spots on the team. ... Former U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick is in the field, going from Atlanta to Switzerland. He won the tournament in 2017 and 2018. ... Fitzpatrick's brother, Alex, is playing on a sponsor exemption. He was runner-up in the ISPS Handa World Invitational two weeks ago in Northern Ireland. ... Most of the players with hopes of the Ryder Cup are in the field, including Victor Perez, twins Nicolai and Rasmus Hojgaard, and Ludwig Aberg, who turned pro this summer. Also playing is Adrian Dumont De Chassart of Belgium, who has a win among his six top 10s on the Korn Ferry Tour since summer. ... Crans-sur-Sierre is considered among the most beautiful venues on the European tour.
Next week: Horizon Irish Open.
Online: https://www.europeantour.com/dpworld-tour/
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ROYAL & ANCIENT GOLF CLUB
WALKER CUP
Site: St. Andrews, Scotland.
Course: St. Andrews (Old Course). Yardage: 7,297. Par: 72.
Television: Saturday-Sunday, 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. (Golf Channel).
Defending champion: United States.
Series: United States lead 38-9-1.
Last time: The Americans had a one-point advantage going to the Sunday singles finale at Seminole Golf Club. Cole Hammer defeated Ben Schmidt to assure the U.S. would retain the trophy, and Stewart Hagestad beat Ben Jones for the final point in a 14-12 victory.
Notes: The Walker Cup returns to St. Andrews for the ninth time, but the first since 1971. The Americans have won five of the previous eight matches on the Old Course. ... The Walker Cup dates to 1922, five years before the Ryder Cup began. ... Stewart Hagestad is playing in his third straight Walker Cup. The 32-year-old Californian is a two-time U.S. Mid-Amateur champion. ... The Americans have won the last three times. Great Britain & Ireland last won in 2015 at Royal St. George's. ... The Americans are led by No. 1 amateur Gordon Sargent and U.S. Amateur champion Nick Dunlap. The U.S. team has eight of the top 10 from the world amateur ranking, missing only Michael Thorbjornsen (No. 2), who withdrew with an injury. ... The GB&I team includes 16-year-old Connor Graham of Scotland, the youngest player in Walker Cup history. The highest-ranked player is John Gough of England at No. 13.
Next time: Cypress Point Club in 2025.
Online: https://www.randa.org/
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PGA TOUR
Last week: Viktor Hovland won the Tour Championship.
Next tournament: Fortinet Championship on Sept. 14-17.
FedEx Cup champion: Viktor Hovland.
Online: https://www.pgatour.com/
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PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS
Last week: Vijay Singh won The Ally Challenge.
Next week: Ascension Charity Classic.
Charles Schwab Cup leader: Steve Stricker.
Online: https://www.pgatour.com/pgatour-champions
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KORN FERRY TOUR
Last week: Chan Kim won the Albertsons Boise Open.
Next tournament: Simmons Bank Championship on Sept. 14-17.
Points leader: Ben Kohles.
Online: https://www.pgatour.com/korn-ferry-tour
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LIV GOLF
Last tournament: Cameron Smith won LIV Golf-Greenbrier.
Next tournament: LIV Golf-Chicago on Sept. 22-24.
Points leader: Cameron Smith.
Online: https://www.livgolf.com/
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OTHER TOURS
Challenge Tour: Indoor Golf Group Challenge, Landeryds Golfklubb, Vesterby, Sweden. Previous winner: Mikael Lindberg. Online: https://www.europeantour.com/challenge-tour/
Ladies European Tour: KPMG Women's Irish Open, Dromoland Castle, Newmarket-on-Fergus, Ireland. Defending champion: Klara Spilkova. Online: https://ladieseuropeantour.com/
Japan Golf Tour: Fujisankei Classic, Fujizakura CC, Yamanashi, Japan. Defending champion: Kaito Onishi. Online: https://www.jgto.org/en/
PGA Tour Canada: CRMC Championship, Cragun’s Resort, Brainerd, Manitoba. Previous winner: Jake Knapp. Online: https://www.pgatour.com/canada
USGA: U.S. Senior Amateur, Martis Camp Club, Truckee, California. Defending champion: Rusty Strawn. Online: https://www.usga.org/
Sunshine Tour: Gary & Vivienne Player Challenge, White River CC, White River, South Africa. Defending champion: Jaco van Zyl. Online: https://sunshinetour.com/
Japan LPGA: Golf5 Ladies, Golf 5 (Bibai), Hokkaido, Japan. Defending champion: Yuting Seki. Online: https://www.lpga.or.jp/en/
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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
