PGA TOUR
VALSPAR CHAMPIONSHIP
Site: Palm Harbor, Florida.
Course: Innisbrook Resort (Copperhead). Yardage: 7,340. Par: 71.
Prize money: $6.9 million. Winner’s share: $1,242,000.
Television: Thursday-Friday, 2-6 p.m. EDT (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 1-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3-6 p.m. (CBS).
Defending champion: Paul Casey (2019).
FedEx Cup leader: Bryson DeChambeau.
Last week: Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
Notes: The Valspar Championship was built, dressed and next in line on the schedule when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down golf for three months last year. … The tournament had been part of the Florida swing in March since 2007. It is expected to return to March next year. … Dustin Johnson returns to the tournament. He was in the final group the last time in 2019 but failed to make a birdie in his final round of 74. … Paul Casey will be going for his third straight victory at Innisbrook. … Johnson, Justin Thomas and Patrick Reed give the tournament three of the top 10 players in the world. Tyrrell Hatton at No. 8 had to withdraw with a positive test for the coronavirus. … Phil Mickelson has chosen to play the Valspar Championship instead of a PGA Tour Champions event this week in Houston. Mickelson has not played at Innisbrook since 2003 and 2004, and both times he missed the cut. … Johnson has gone five consecutive tournaments without a top 10, dating to a tie for eighth in the Genesis Invitational. … Rafa Cabrera Bello is in the field after playing last week in Spain on the European Tour. … Three of the four players who have finished runner-up to Casey the last two times are in the field: Reed, Louis Oosthuizen and Jason Kokrak. That other was Tiger Woods in 2018.
Next week: Wells Fargo Championship.
Online: https://www.pgatour.com/
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LPGA TOUR
HSBC WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Site: Singapore.
Course: Sentosa GC (Tanjong). Yardage: 6,718. Par: 72.
Prize money: $1.6 million. Winner’s share: $240,000.
Television: Wednesday-Saturday, 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. EDT (Golf Channel).
Defending champion: Sung Hyun Park (2019).
Race to CME Globe leader: Nelly Korda.
Last week: Brooke Henderson won the Hugel Air Premia LA Open.
Notes: The tournament was the second one canceled last year because of the pandemic. … The first Asia swing was moved to late April and now consists of only two tournaments because the Blue Bay LPGA in China was canceled. … Of the North Americans from the top 25 in the women’s world ranking, Danielle Kang is the only one going to Singapore for the HSBC Champions … The field features Jin Young Ko and Inbee Park, who are Nos. 1 and 2 in the world ranking. … Lydia Ko is in the field. She ended nearly three years without a victory by winning in Hawaii, and then she missed the cut the following week in Los Angeles. … Former Women’s PGA champion Hannah Green of Australia now has 12 consecutive rounds under par. Green was one of only three players who shot in the 60s all four rounds at Wilshire Country Club last week. … ANA Inspiration winner Patty Tavatanakit of Thailand is playing. In her first event as a major champion, she missed the cut at the LA Open last week.
Next week: Honda LPGA Thailand.
Online: https://www.lpga.com/
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PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS
INSPERITY INVITATIONAL
Site: The Woodlands, Texas.
Course: The Woodlands CC (Tournament). Yardage: 7,002. Par: 72.
Prize money: $2.2 million. Winner’s share: $330,000.
Television: Friday, noon to 2 p.m. EDT (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 3-6 p.m. (Golf Channel).
Defending champion: Scott McCarron (2019).
Charles Schwab Cup leader: Kevin Sutherland.
Last tournament: Steve Stricker won the Chubb Classic.
Notes: The tournament was canceled last year by the pandemic. … Alex Cejka, a runner-up at the Chubb Classic, is an alternate for this week because it’s an invitational. The top 10 gets him into the next full-field event, the Mitsubishi Electric Classic outside Atlanta. … Bernhard Langer is a four-time winner of the tournament. He hasn’t won in more than a year, though the Chubb Classic was his ninth top 10 since his last victory. … Kevin Sutherland has 16 consecutive rounds under par with a scoring average of 67.37 during that stretch. … Jeff Maggert lives at The Woodlands. He has four top 10s, but has yet to win at home. … Retief Goosen has 18 top 10s in his 40 official starts on the PGA Tour Champions.
Next week: Regions Tradition.
Online: https://www.pgatour.com/champions.html
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EUROPEAN TOUR
TENERIFE OPEN
Site: Tenerife, Spain.
Course: Golf Costa Adeje. Yardage: 6,857. Par: 71.
Prize money: 1.5 million euros. Winner’s share: 250,000 euros.
Television: Thursday-Friday, 7 a.m. to noon EDT (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (Golf Channel).
Defending champion: New event.
Race to Dubai leader: Billy Horschel.
Last week: Garrick Higgo won the Gran Canaria Open.
Notes: This is the second of three straight events in the Canary Islands south of Spain. … Garrick Higgo of South Africa goes after his second straight victory and his third on the European Tour dating to the Portugal Open in September. … Four of the top 10 players in the Race to Dubai are Americans, starting with Billy Horschel leading the way on the strength of his World Golf Championship title in the Match Play. … Higgo, Antoine Rozner and John Catlin have three weeks remaining to try to get into the top 60 and earn spots in the U.S. Open. All are expected to receive invitations to the PGA Championship in three weeks at Kiawah Island. Catlin, who grew up in Sacramento, has never played in a major.
Next week: Tenerife Championship.
Online: https://www.europeantour.com/european-tour/
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KORN FERRY TOUR
HUNTSVILLE CHAMPIONSHIP
Site: Huntsville, Alabama.
Course: The Ledges. Yardage: 7,280. Par: 71.
Prize money: $600,000. Winner’s share: $108,000.
Television: None.
Defending champion: New event.
Points leader: Stephan Jaeger.
Last week: Tyson Alexander won the Veritex Bank Championship.
Next week: Simmons Bank Open.
Online: https://www.pgatour.com/korn-ferry-tour.html
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OTHER TOURS
Symetra Tour: Garden City Charity Classic at Buffalo Dunes, Buffalo Dunes GC, Garden City, Kansas. Defending champion: Alejandra Llaneza. Online: https://www.symetratour.com/
PGA of America: Professional National Championship, PGA GC, Port St. Lucie, Florida. Defending champion: Alex Beach. Online: https://www.pga.com/
USGA: U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship, Maridoe GC, Carrollton, Texas. Defending champions: Erica Shepherd and Megan Furtney. Online: https://www.usga.org/
Japan Golf Tour: The Crows, Nagoya GC (Wago), Aichi, Japan. Defending champion: Katsumasa Miyamoto (2019). Online: https://www.jgto.org/pc/TopPageEng.do
Challenge Tour and Sunshine Tour: Cape Town Open, Royal Cape GC, Cape Town, South Africa. Defending champion: Anton Karlsson. Online: https://www.europeantour.com/challenge-tour/ and https://sunshinetour.com/
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