ROYAL & ANCIENT GOLF CLUB AND LPGA TOUR
AIG WOMEN'S BRITISH OPEN
Site: Muirfield, Scotland.
Course: Muirfield. Yardage: 6,649. Par: 71.
Prize money: $6.8 million. Winner's share: $1.02 million.
Television: Thursday-Friday, 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. (USA Network); Saturday-Sunday, 7 a.m. to noon (USA Network), noon to 3 p.m. (NBC).
Defending champion: Anna Nordqvist.
Race to CME Globe leader: Minjee Lee.
Last week: Ayaka Furue won the Women's Scottish Open.
Notes: The final major of the LPGA Tour year is also the most historic. Muirfield did not have its first female member until 2019. Now it is staging the Women's British Open. ... The club expects to have 25 female members by the end of summer. ... Along with title sponsor AIG, the R&A has more than doubled the purse since taking over. It will be at least $6.8 million this year, meaning four of the five major champions on the LPGA will get a seven-figure prize for winning. ... Women's golf has not had a player win multiple majors in the same year since Jin Young Ko in 2019. The previous major winners this year were Jennifer Kupcho, Minjee Lee, In-Gee Chun and Brooke Henderson. Kupcho was the only first-time major champion. ... Phil Mickelson won the last British Open held at Muirfield in 2013. ... Americans have not won the Women's British Open since Mo Martin at Royal Birkdale in 2014, their longest drought in the five majors. ... This is the third of four straight tournaments in Europe for the LPGA, two of them majors.
Next week: ISPS Handa World Invitational.
Online: https://www.randa.org/championships/the-aig-womens-open-championship and https://www.lpga.com/
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PGA TOUR
WYNDHAM CHAMPIONSHIP
Site: Greensboro, North Carolina.
Course: Sedgefield CC. Yardage: 7,131. Par: 70.
Prize money: $7.3 million. Winner's share: $1.314 million.
Television: Thursday-Friday, 2-6 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 1-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3-6 p.m. (CBS).
Defending champion: Kevin Kisner.
FedEx Cup leader: Scottie Scheffler.
Last week: Tony Finau won the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
Notes: This is the final tournament of the regular season. The top 125 in the FedEx Cup after this week advance to the postseason and have full cards for next season. ... While the field is missing the top players who face three FedEx Cup playoff events, it has attracted Will Zalatoris (14) and Billy Horschel (15). They are among 12 players from the top 50 in the world. ... Scottie Scheffler already has wrapped up the $4 million bonus from the Comcast Business Tour 10 that pays the top 10 from the regular season. ... Joohyung “Tom” Kim is in the field after taking up special temporary membership. The 20-year-old from South Korea is up to No. 34 in the world ranking and is assured a full card next year. ... Austin Smotherman is holding down the 125th spot. He is 11 points ahead of Max McGreevy. ... Chesson Hadley is on the bubble for the third straight year. He was No. 130 in 2020 and didn't advance. He was No. 132 last year and tied for 15th to reach No. 125. This year he goes in at No. 122 (not counting LIV-suspended players).
Next week: FedEx St. Jude Championship.
Online: https://www.pgatour.com/
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EUROPEAN TOUR
CAZOO OPEN
Site: Newport, Wales.
Course: The Celtic Manor Resort. Yardage: 7,503. Par: 71.
Prize money: 1.75 million euros. Winner's share: 291,667 euros.
Television: Thursday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 5-10 a.m. (Golf Channel).
Defending champion: Nacho Elvira.
DP World Tour points leader: Rory McIlroy.
Last week: Sean Crocker won the Hero Open.
Notes: This is the fifth of six consecutive weeks in the U.K. for the European tour. ... Celtic Manor is most famous for hosting the Ryder Cup in 2010, when Graeme McDowell made the clinching putt for Europe. ... Crocker won his first European title last week. Born in Zimbabwe, he was raised in California and went to USC. He plays under the American flag. ... Crocker's win means Americans have won seven tournaments on the European schedule. That includes the majors and three events co-sanctioned with the PGA Tour. ... Eddie Pepperell last week finished second, his first runner-up finish since the 2019 British Masters that moved him to No. 33 in the world. He took a big leap last week from No. 551 to No. 308. ... Tournament invitations went to Phillip Price and Stephen Dodd of Wales. Price is most famous for beating Phil Mickelson in singles in the 2002 Ryder Cup at The Belfry that Europe won. Price also was runner-up to Tiger Woods at Firestone in his U.S. debut. He was 11 shots back.
Next week: ISPS Handa World Invitational.
Online: https://www.europeantour.com/dpworld-tour/
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PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS
SHAW CHARITY CLASSIC
Site: Calgary, Alberta.
Course: Canyon Meadows Golf & CC. Yardage: 7,086. Par: 70.
Prize money: $2.35 million. Winner's share: $352,500.
Television: Friday, 9:30-11:30 p.m. (Golf Channel-tape delay); Saturday-Sunday, 3-6 p.m. (Golf Channel).
Defending champion: Doug Barron.
Charles Schwab Cup leader: Steven Alker.
Last tournament: Darren Clarke won the Senior British Open.
Notes: Steven Alker is taking the week off. The PGA Tour Champions rookie still leads the Charles Schwab Cup by nearly $750,000, meaning he is assured of staying in front for at least the next three tournaments. ... Seven players have gone over $1 million in earnings for the year, the most recent Stephen Ames. ... This is the start of four consecutive tournaments on the PGA Tour Champions that takes it from Canada to Seattle to New York to Michigan. ... While the Champions rarely has players miss, this field doesn't have five of the top 10 from the Schwab Cup standings — Alker, Steve Stricker, Bernhard Langer, Ernie Els and Retief Goosen. ... Also missing is Darren Clarke, who won the Senior British Open two weeks ago at Gleneagles in Scotland. ... Alex Cejka is coming off a Legends Tour victory in England last week. ... This year has been a struggle for Jim Furyk, who is 56th in the Schwab Cup standings. Furyk finished second in the Schwab Cup a year ago.
Next week: Boeing Classic.
Online: https://www.pgatour.com/champions.html
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KORN FERRY TOUR
UTAH CHAMPIONSHIP
Site: Farmington, Utah.
Course: Oakridge CC. Yardage: 7,045. Par: 71.
Prize money: $750,000. Winner's share: $135,000.
Television: Thursday-Sunday, 6-9 p.m. (Golf Channel).
Previous winner: Joshua Creel.
Last tournament: David Kocher won the Price Cutter Charity Championship.
Points leader: Carl Yuan.
Next week: Pinnacle Bank Championship.
Online: https://www.pgatour.com/korn-ferry-tour.html
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OTHER TOURS
Epson Tour: French Lick Charity Classic, The Pete Dye Course at French Lick, French Lick, Indiana. Defending champion: New event. Online: https://www.epsontour.com/
Japan Golf Tour: Japan PGA Championship, Grand Fields CC, Shizuoka, Japan. Defending champion: Seong-Hyeon Kim. Online: https://www.jgto.org/en/
Asian Tour: Mandiri Indonesia Open, Pondok Indah GC, South Jakarta, Indonesia. Defending champion: Miguel Carballo. Online: https://www.asiantour.com/
Challenge Tour: Vierumäki Finnish Challenge, Vierumäki Resort, Vierumäki, Finland. Previous winner: Marcus Helligkilde. Online: https://www.europeantour.com/challenge-tour/
USGA: U.S. Senior Women's Amateur, Anchorage GC, Anchorage, Alaska. Defending champion: Lara Tennant. Online: https://www.usga.org/
Western Golf Association: Western Amateur, Exmoor CC, Highland Park, Illinois. Defending champion: Michael Thorbjornsen. Online: https://thewesternamateur.com/
Mackenzie Tour: Quebec Open, Le Blainviller GC (Heritage), Blainville, Quebec. Previous winner: Taylor Pendrith. Online: https://www.pgatour.com/canada/en_us.html
Sunshine Tour: Vodacom Origins of Golf, De Zalze GC, Stellenbosch, South Africa. Defending champion: George Coetzee. Online: https://sunshinetour.com/
Japan LPGA: Hokkaido Meiji Cup, Sapporo International CC (Shimamatsu), Hokkaido, Japan. Defending champion: Seonwoo Bae. Online: https://www.lpga.or.jp/en/
Korean LPGA: Jeju Samdasoo Masters, Elysian Jeju GC, Jeju, South Korea. Defending champion: Ji Hyun Oh. Online: https://www.klpga.co.kr/
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