Top players in California and Dubai. LPGA and PGA Tour Champions open their seasons
PGA TOUR
THE AMERICAN EXPRESS
Site: La Quinta, California.
Courses: PGA West (Stadium). Yardage: 7,187. Par: 72; PGA West (Nicklaus). Yardage 7,159. Par: 72; La Quinta CC. Yardage: 7,160. Par: 72.
Prize money: $8.4 million. Winner's share: $1.512 million.
Television: Thursday-Sunday, 4-7 p.m. (Golf Channel).
Previous winner: Jon Rahm.
FedEx Cup leader: Chris Kirk.
Last week: Grayson Murray won the Sony Open.
Notes: This is the second of three tournaments that decide which five players who perform best in this stretch get into the next signature event at Pebble Beach. ... The field is top heavy with world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele. ... This is the second time this year a PGA Tour event does not have the defending champion. Jon Rahm, now with LIV Golf, won last year. He also won at Kapalua. ... Nick Taylor, Adam Hadwin, Camilo Villegas and Chris Kirk are among 16 players who are playing a third straight week on the PGA Tour. ... The three-course rotation means the cut will be made after 54 holes. ... Unlike last week at the Sony Open, all 30 players who earned cards from the Korn Ferry Tour are in the field. ... Club pro Michael Block is playing as the local PGA section professional. ... Daniel Berger is playing for the first time since the 2022 U.S. Open. He has been out with a back injury. ... U.S. Amateur champion Nick Dunlap is playing for the second time on the PGA Tour. He missed the cut in Bermuda last year.
Next week: Farmers Insurance Open.
Online: https://www.pgatour.com/
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LPGA TOUR
HILTON GRAND VACATIONS TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS
Site: Orlando, Florida.
Course: Lake Nona Golf & CC. Yardage: 6,617. Par: 72.
Prize money: $1.5 million. Winner's share: $225,000.
Television: Thursday-Friday, 1-4 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, 2-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3-5 p.m. (NBC); Sunday, 2-5 p.m. (NBC).
Defending champion: Brooke Henderson.
Race to CME Globe champion: Amy Yang.
Notes: The LPGA starts its new season with a 36-player field of winners from the previous two seasons, including double major winner Lilia Vu. ... The field includes 50 athletes and entertainers who compete in a modified Stableford format for a separate purse of $500,000. ... Among the eligible players who chose not to play are Jin Young Ko, Minjee Lee, Celine Boutier and Atthaya Thitikul. ... Vu is coming off a season in which she won four times and was named LPGA player of the year. ... Brooke Henderson won the season opener last year at Lake Nona and did not win again the rest of the year. ... Lexi Thompson is ineligible, having not won on the LPGA Tour since 2019. ... The Tournament of Champions has the smallest purse on the LPGA schedule at $1.5 million. ... The LPGA starts its season with back-to-back tournaments in Florida. ... This is the sixth year of the Tournament of Champions.
Next week: LPGA Drive On Championship.
Online: https://www.lpga.com/
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EUROPEAN TOUR
HERO DUBAI DESERT CLASSIC
Site: Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Course: Emirates GC. Yardage: 7,428. Par: 72.
Prize money: $9 million. Winner's share: $1.5 million.
Television: Thursday-Friday, 2:30-8:30 a.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 2-8 a.m. (Golf Channel).
Defending champion: Rory McIlroy.
Race to Dubai leader: Min Woo Lee.
Last week: Tommy Fleetwood won the Dubai Invitational.
Notes: The Dubai Desert Classic is the oldest tournament in the Middle East swing, dating to 1989. Its position on the schedule is enhanced this year with Abu Dhabi moving to November a week before the season finale. ... Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood are among those playing the opening two tournament in Dubai. ... McIlroy is a three-time winner of the Dubai Desert Classic, beating Patrick Reed last year. ... Joaquin Niemann of Chile is in the field. He joined LIV Golf in 2022, but his victory in the Australian Open last year was a tournament the European tour co-sanctioned. ... British Open champion Brian Harman and Tyrrell Hatton are in the field after having spent the last two weeks in Hawaii for the start of the PGA Tour season. ... Stanford senior Michael Thorbjornsen is playing on an amateur exemption. ... The field includes Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald and three-time major champion Padraig Harrington.
Next week: Ras Al Khaimah Championship.
Online: https://www.europeantour.com/dpworld-tour/
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PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS
MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CHAMPIONSHIP AT HUALALAI
Site: Ka’upulehu-Kona, Hawaii.
Course: Hualalai GC. Yardage: 7,107. Par: 72.
Prize money: $2 million. Winner's share: $340,000.
Television: Thursday-Saturday, 7-10 p.m. (Golf Channel).
Defending champion: Steve Stricker.
Charles Schwab Cup champion: Steve Stricker.
Notes: The 42-player field kicks off the PGA Tour Champions schedule. It's for winners from the last two seasons, senior major champions over the last five years and several sponsor exemptions, such as Jay Haas, Justin Leonard and Corey Pavin. ... Steve Stricker, the Schwab Cup champion who won six times last year, is playing for the first time on the Champions circuit in nearly three months. He did not play a postseason event because his father had been hospitalized. ... Fred Couples and Ernie Els are in the field. ... Mike Weir received an exemption. He is the Presidents Cup captain for the International team and was practicing last week at the Sony Open. ... Stewart Cink was the only PGA Tour Champions who played last week on the PGA Tour. He received a sponsor's exemption. ... The field includes Bernhard Langer, who last year broke Hale Irwin's career victory record on the PGA Tour Champions.
Next tournament: Chubb Classic on Feb. 16-18.
Online: https://www.pgatour.com/pgatour-champions/
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KORN FERRY TOUR
THE BAHAMAS GREAT EXUMA CLASSIC
Site: Great Exuma, Bahamas.
Course: Sandals Emerald Bay GC. Yardage: 7,027. Par: 70.
Prize money: $1 million. Winner's share: $180,000.
Television: None.
Previous winner: Chandler Phillips.
Points champion: Ben Kohles.
Next week: The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic.
Online: https://www.pgatour.com/korn-ferry-tour/
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OTHER TOURS
Augusta National and USGA and R&A: Latin America Amateur Championship, Santa Maria GC, Panama City. Previous winner: Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira. Television: Thursday-Friday, 2-5 p.m. (ESPN2); Saturday-Sunday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. (ESPN+) Online: https://www.laacgolf.com/
PGA Tour of Australasia: Webex Players Series-Murray River, Cobram Barooga (Old), Barooga, Australia. Previous winner: Sarah Jane Smith. Online: https://pga.org.au/schedule/
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