PGA Tour goes to Japan as part of three main tours playing in Asia
PGA Tour
ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP
Site: Chiba, Japan.
Course: Accordia Golf Narashino CC. Yardage: 7,079. Par: 70.
Prize money: $8.5 million. Winner's share: $1.53 million.
Television: Wednesday-Saturday, 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. (Golf Channel).
Defending champion: Collin Morikawa.
FedEx Cup champion: Scottie Scheffler.
Last week: J.T. Poston won the Shriners Children's Open.
Notes: Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa and Hideki Matsuyama play for the first time since the Presidents Cup. They are all in the top 10 in the world ranking, making the Zozo Championship the strongest field of the FedEx Cup Fall. ... Schauffele won the Olympic gold medal in Japan in 2021. ... Tiger Woods won the inaugural Zozo Championship in 2019, his last PGA Tour victory. ... Joel Dahmen received a sponsor exemption. He withdrew last week after incurring a four-shot penalty for have 15 clubs in his bag. Dahmen has slipped to No. 129 in the FedEx Cup. ... Justin Thomas is in the field. He is playing for the first time since the Tour Championship. ... Will Zalatoris is playing for the first time since the BMW Championship. ... The field has six of the top 30 in the world ranking. ... There are 45 players in Japan who were playing in Las Vegas last week, 30 of whom made the cut.
Next tournament: World Wide Technology Championship on Nov. 7-10.
Online: https://www.pgatour.com/
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LPGA Tour
MAYBANK CHAMPIONSHIP
Site: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Course: Kuala Lumpur Golf and CC. Yardage: 6,536. Par: 72.
Prize money: $3 million. Winner’s share: $450,000.
Television: Wednesday-Saturday, 9:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. (NBC Sports app); Thursday-Saturday, 6:30-9:30 p.m. (Golf Channel-tape delay); Sunday, 6:30-10:30 p.m. (Golf Channel-tape delay).
Defending champion: Celine Boutier.
Race to CME Globe leader: Nelly Korda.
Last week: Hannah Green won the BMW Ladies Championship.
Notes: This is the third of four stops on the Asia swing for the LPGA. ... Of the seven LPGA events in Asia this year, the Maybank Championship has the largest purse at $3 million. ... Nelly Korda had planned on playing until having to withdraw with a neck injury. ... The 78-player field does not have a cut. ... Hannah Green joins Korda, Lydia Ko and Lauren Coughlin as the only multiple winners of individual tournaments this year on the LPGA. ... Celine Boutier won last year in a nine-hole playoff, the second-longest in LPGA history. ... Former world No. 1 Jin Young Ko is playing for the first time since the FM Championship at the TPC Boston on Sept. 1. She has been dealing with a shoulder injury. She has yet to win this year. ... Lilia Vu at No. 2 in the world is the highest-ranked player in the field. ... Lydia Ko is not playing this week and cannot overtake Korda in the race for player of the year.
Next week: Toto Championship.
Online: https://www.lpga.com/
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European Tour
GENESIS CHAMPIONSHIP
Site: Incheon, South Korea.
Course: Jack Nicklaus GC Korea. Yardage: 7,470. Par: 72.
Prize money: $4 million. Winner's share: $666,667.
Television: Wednesday-Thursday, 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. (NBC Sports app); Friday, 11:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. (NBC Sports app); Saturday, 10:30 p.m. to 3:30 a.m. (NBC Sports app); Thursday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. (Golf Channel-tape delay); Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. (Golf Channel-tape delay); Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. (Golf Channel-tape delay); Sunday, 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. (Golf Channel-tape delay).
Defending champion: S.H. Park.
Race to Dubai leader: Rory McIlroy.
Last week: Julien Guerrier won the Andalucia Masters.
Notes: The field features two players from the top 50 in the world in Tom Kim and Byeong Hun An, South Koreans who play predominantly on the PGA Tour. They were International teammates in the Presidents Cup. ... Kim is coming off a missed cut in Las Vegas, where he had won the previous two years. ... Danish twins Nicolai and Rasmus Hojgaard are playing. They are separated by five spots in the world ranking — Nicolai is at No. 53, Rasmus is at No. 58. Rasmus has five European tour wins, compared with three for Nicolai. ... The Jack Nicklaus course also hosted the Presidents Cup in 2015. ... The European tour completed 16 consecutive tournaments in European countries until coming to South Korea this week. It has two tournaments remaining on the schedule, both in the United Arab Emirates. ... The tournament is co-sanctioned with the Korea PGA, which has 30 members in the field.
Next tournament: Abu Dhabi Championship on Nov. 7-10.
Online: https://www.europeantour.com/dpworld-tour/
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PGA Tour Champions
SIMMONS BANK CHAMPIONSHIP
Site: Little Rock, Arkansas.
Course: Pleasant Valley CC. Yardage: 7,101. Par: 72.
Prize money: $2.3 million. Winner's share: $365,000.
Television: Friday-Sunday, 3-6 p.m. (Golf Channel).
Defending champion: New tournament.
Charles Schwab Cup leader: Ernie Els.
Last week: Tim O'Neal won the Dominion Energy Charity Classic.
Notes: This is a new tournament for the Charles Schwab Cup playoffs, replacing the second playoff event last year held in Boca Raton, Florida. ... The top 54 players in the Schwab Cup advanced to this week's tournament. Only 51 players are in the field. Missing are Steve Stricker, Bernhard Langer and Justin Leonard. ... Tim O'Neal, Paul Goydos and David Bransdon all moved into the top 54 last week. ... The top 36 players after this tournament advance to the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship in two weeks at Phoenix. ... Langer will have only the season finale left to win this year and extend his streak to 18 consecutive years with at least one title on the PGA Tour Champions. ... Stricker has said he would not be playing the rest of the year because of an ailing back. He has never played a postseason event on the PGA Tour Champions. ... Fourteen players have gone over $1 million in earnings for the year.
Next tournament: Charles Schwab Cup Championship on Nov. 7-10.
Online: https://www.pgatour.com/pgatour-champions
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Other tours
Asian Tour: International Series Thailand, Thai CC, Chachoengsao, Thailand. Defending champion: Wade Ormsby. Online: https://asiantour.com/
Ladies European Tour: Hero Women's Indian Open, DLF Golf and CC, Delhi, India. Defending champion: Aline Krauter. Online: https://ladieseuropeantour.com/
PGA Tour of Australasia: Webex Players Series SA, Willunga GC, Willunga, Australia. Defending champion: Austin Bautista. Online: https://pga.org.au/
Japan LPGA: Hisako Higuchi Mitsubishi Electric Ladies, Musashigaoka GC, Saitama, Japan. Defending champion: Hana Lee. Online: https://www.lpga.or.jp/en/
Korea LPGA: Dukshin EPC Seoul Economics Ladies Classic, 88 CC, Yongin, South Korea. Defending champion: Hungkyung Park. Online: https://klpga.co.kr/
Legends Tour: Sergio Melpignano Senior Italian Open, San Domenico GC, Puglia, Italy. Defending champion: James Kingston. Online: https://www.legendstour.com/
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