Golf Glance: Strong field assembled for Tampa as Masters gets closer
Published 1:09 pm Tuesday, March 15, 2022
- Xander Schauffele hits from the 18th fairway during the first round of play in The Players Championship golf tournament Saturday, March 12, 2022, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
PGA TOUR
VALSPAR CHAMPIONSHIP
Trending
Site: Palm Harbor, Florida.
Course: Innisbrook Resort (Copperhead). Yardage: 7,340. Par: 71.
Prize money: $7.8 million. Winner’s share: $1.404 million.
Television: Thursday-Friday, 1-5 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, noon to 2 p.m. (Golf Channel), 2-5 p.m. (NBC).
Defending champion: Sam Burns.
FedEx Cup leader: Scottie Scheffler.
Trending
Last week: Cameron Smith won The Players Championship.
Notes: Innisbrook is one of the most highly regarded tournament courses in Florida and has a strong field while situated between The Players Championship and the WGC-Match Play. It features five of the top 10 players in the world ranking. … Viktor Hovland will have another chance to reach No. 1 in the world. … Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele are playing the tournament for the first time. Both missed the cut last week in The Players Championship. … Dustin Johnson had the 54-hole lead at Innisbrook three years ago until closing with a 74. … Seamus Power is hovering around the No. 50 mark in the world ranking. The top 50 after the Match Play next week get into the Masters. … The Valspar Championship was held toward the end of April last year when there were two World Golf Championships before the Masters. … Wake Forest senior Alex Fitzpatrick, the younger brother of Matt Fitzpatrick, is in the field. He was given an exemption by winning the Valspar Intercollegiate. … This will be the final PGA Tour event of the year in Florida.
Next week: WGC-Dell Match Play and Corales Puntacana Championship.
Online: https://www.pgatour.com/
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EUROPEAN TOUR AND SUNSHINE TOUR
STEYN CITY CHAMPIONSHIP
Site: Johannesburg, South Africa.
Course: The Club at Steyn City. Yardage: 7,716. Par: 72.
Prize money: $1.5 million. Winner’s share: $250,000.
Television: Thursday-Friday, 5:30-10:30 a.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 5:30-10 a.m. (Golf Channel).
Defending champion: New event.
DP World Tour points leader: Viktor Hovland.
Last week: Pablo Larrazabal won the MyGolfLife Open.
Notes: This is the third straight week the European tour is in Africa, and its fourth time on the continent this season. … Thriston Lawrence is the only first-time winner on the European tour this season. He won the Joburg Open in November and is in the field for the Steyn City Championship. … The tournament is co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour. … The Qatar Masters has moved out of the Middle East swing because of previous travel restrictions. It now will be next week, opposite the WGC-Dell Match Play. … This will be the last European tour event outside Europe and the United States until the fall. … Bernd Ritthammer of Germany is leading the European tour in driving distance at 390.5 yards. He ranks 156th in driving accuracy, hitting the fairway 38.5% of the time.
Next week: WGC-Dell Match Play and Commercial Qatar Masters.
Online: https://www.europeantour.com/dpworld-tour/
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KORN FERRY TOUR
CHITIMACHA LOUISIANA OPEN
Site: Broussard, Louisiana.
Course: Le Triomphe Golf & CC. Yardage: 6,691. Par: 71.
Prize money: $750,000. Winner’s share: $135,000.
Television: None.
Defending champion: Roberto Diaz.
Points leader: Brandon Matthews.
Last tournament: Byeong Hun An won the Lecom Suncoast Classic.
Next week: Lake Charles Championship.
Online: https://www.pgatour.com/korn-ferry-tour/
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LPGA TOUR
Last week: Nanna Koerstz Madsen won the Honda LPGA Thailand.
Next week: JTBC Classic.
Race to CME Globe leader: Danielle Kang.
Online: https://www.lpga.com/
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PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS
Last tournament: Retief Goosen won the Hoag Classic.
Next tournament: Rapiscan Systems Classic on April 1-3.
Charles Schwab Cup leader: Miguel Angel Jimenez.
Online: https://www.pgatour.com/champions/
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OTHER TOURS
Epson Tour: Carlisle Arizona Women’s Golf Classic, Longbow GC, Mesa, Arizona. Previous winner: Ruixin Liu. Online: https://www.epsontour.com/
Ladies European Tour: Aramco Saudi Ladies International, Royal Greens Golf & CC, King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia. Defending champion: Lydia Ko. Online: https://ladieseuropeantour.com/
PGA Tour of Australasia: New South Wales Open, Concord GC, Concord, Australia. Defending champion: Bryden Macpherson. Online: https://pga.org.au/
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PGA Tour Schedule
Sept. 16-19 _ Fortinet Championship (Max Homa)
Sept. 24-26 _ Ryder Cup (United States)
Sept. 30-Oct. 3 _ Sanderson Farms Championship (Sam Burns)
Oct. 7-10 _ Shriners Children’s Open (Sungjae Im)
Oct. 14-17 _ The CJ Cup @ Summit (Rory McIlroy)
Oct. 21-24 _ ZOZO Championship (Hideki Matsuyama)
Oct. 28-31 _ World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions, Shanghai (canceled)
Oct. 28-31 _ Butterfield Bermuda Championship (Lucas Herbert)
Nov. 4-7 _ World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba (Viktor Hovland)
Nov. 11-14 _ Hewlett Packard Enterprise Houston Open (Jason Kokrak)
Nov. 18-21 _ The RSM Classic (Talor Gooch)
Nov. 26 _ The Match: Brooks Koepka vs Bryson DeChambeau (Brooks)
Dec. 2-5 _ Hero World Challenge (Viktor Hovland)
Jan. 6-9 _ Sentry Tournament of Champions (Cameron Smith)
Jan. 13-16 _ Sony Open in Hawaii (Hideki Matsuyama)
Jan. 20-23 _ The American Express (Hudson Swafford)
Jan. 26-29 _ Farmers Insurance Open (Luke List)
Feb. 3-6 _ AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am (Tom Hoge)
Feb. 10-13 _ Waste Management Phoenix Open (Scottie Scheffler)
Feb. 17-20 _ The Genesis Invitational (Joaquin Niemann)
Feb. 24-27 _ The Honda Classic (Sepp Straka)
March 3-6 _ Puerto Rico Open (Ryan Brehm)
March 3-6 _ Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard (Scottie Scheffler)
March 10-14 _ THE PLAYERS Championship (Cameron Smith)
March 17-20 _ Valspar Championship, Palm Harbor, Fla.
March 23-27 _ World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play, Austin, Texas
March 24-27 _ Corales Puntacana Championship, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
March 31-April 3 _ Valero Texas Open, San Antonio
April 7-10 _ Masters Tournament, Augusta, Ga.
April 14-17 _ RBC Heritage, Hilton Head, S.C.
April 21-24 _ Zurich Classic of New Orleans, New Orleans
April 28-May 1 _ Mexico Open, Vallarta, Mexico
May 5-8 _ Wells Fargo Championship, Potomac, Md.
May 12-15 _ AT&T Byron Nelson, McKinney, Texas
May 19-22 _ PGA Championship, Tulsa, Okla.
May 26-29 _ Charles Schwab Challenge, Fort Worth, Texas
June 2-5 _ the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday, Dublin, Ohio
June 9-12 _ RBC Canadian Open, Toronto
June 16-19 _ U.S. Open, Brookline, Mass.
June 23-26 _ Travelers Championship, Cromwell, Conn.
June 30-July 3 _ John Deere Classic, Silvis, Ill.
July 7-10 _ Genesis Scottish Open, North Berwick, United Kingdom
July 7-10 _ Barbasol Championship, Nicholasville, Ky.
July 14-17 _ The Open Championship, St. Andrews, United Kingdom
July 14-17 _ Barracuda Championship, Truckee, Calif.
July 21-24 _ 3M Open, Blaine, Minn.
July 28-31 _ Rocket Mortgage Classic, Detroit
Aug. 4-7 _ Wyndham Championship, Greensboro, N.C.
Aug. 11-14 _ FedEx St. Jude Championship, Memphis, Tenn.
Aug. 18-21 _ BMW Championship, Wilmington, Del.
Aug. 25-28 _ TOUR Championship, Atlanta