VALSPAR CHAMPIONSHIP
VALSPAR CHAMPIONSHIP
Site: Palm Harbor, Florida.
Course: Innisbrook Resort (Copperhead). Yardage: 7,352. Par: 71.
Prize money: $8.7 million. Winner’s share: $1,566,000.
Television: Thursday-Friday, 2-6 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 1-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3-6 p.m. (NBC).
Defending champion: Peter Malnati.
FedEx Cup leader: Rory McIlroy.
Last week: Rory McIlroy won The Players Championship.
Notes: The Copperhead course at Innisbrook is reputed to be one of the best tournament courses in Florida. Coming off big weeks at Bay Hill and The Players Championship, it still attracted eight of the top 25 players in the world ranking. … Xander Schauffele and Justin Thomas are the only players from the top 10. Schauffele is playing his third straight week after two months away because of a rib injury. … Florida State junior Luke Clanton, assured of a card through the PGA Tour University accelerated program, is among the sponsor exemptions at the Valspar. … Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald makes his second PGA Tour appearance of the year. Among prominent Europeans in the field are Shane Lowry, Viktor Hovland, Tommy Fleetwood and Thomas Detry. … Two weeks remain before the top 50 in the world get into the Masters. Among those on the bubble and playing at Innisbrook are Michael Kim and Ben Griffin.
Next week: Texas Children’s Houston Open.
Online: https://www.pgatour.com/
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PORSCHE SINGAPORE CLASSIC
Site: Singapore.
Course: Laguna National Golf Resort Club. Yardage: 7,420. Par: 72.
Prize money: $2.5 million. Winner’s share: $416,667.
Television: Thursday-Friday, 1-6 a.m. (Golf Channel); Friday, 10:30 p.m. to 3 a.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. (Golf Channel).
Defending champion: Jesper Svensson.
Race to Dubai leader: Laurie Canter.
Last tournament: Calum Hill won the Joburg Open.
Notes: Robert MacIntyre is going from The Players Championship in Florida to Singapore for his second European tour start of the year. He previously went from the Sony Open in Hawaii to Dubai the following week. … Paul Casey and Tom McKibbin are two LIV Golf players who are staying in Singapore for a second straight week, having competed at Sentosa Golf Club for a LIV event last week. Most other LIV players are going to Macau on the Asian Tour. … Two players in the field are defending champions this week on the Challenge Tour (John Parry) and PGA Tour of Australasia (Matthew Griffin). … Former PGA champion Jimmy Walker is in the field. This will be his sixth European tour start since September, and fourth this year. He has missed the cut in the other three this year. … This is the third tournament in Singapore in the last four weeks, following the LPGA (HSBC Women’s World Championship) and LIV Golf.
Next week: Hero Indian Open.
Online: https://www.europeantour.com/dpworld-tour/
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HOAG CLASSIC
Site: Newport Beach, California.
Course: Newport Beach CC. Yardage: 6,725. Par: 71.
Prize money: $2 million. Winner’s share: $300,000.
Television: Friday, 6-8 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, 5-8 p.m. (Golf Channel); Sunday, 4-7 p.m. (Golf Channel).
Defending champion: Padraig Harrington.
Charles Schwab Cup leader: Ernie Els.
Last tournament: Steven Alker won the Cologuard Classic.
Notes: This is the second of three PGA Tour Champions tournament in the West, concluding next week in the California desert. … Club professional Jason Caron is the highest-ranked player (No. 5) in the Schwab Cup without having won any of the four tournaments this year. … Bernhard Langer is in the field as the German tries to win for a 19th consecutive season on the PGA Tour Champions. … Ernie Els is a two-time winner of the Hoag Classic. He has a slim lead over Steven Alker in the Schwab Cup. … The tournament dates to 1995 and has been played every year except 2017. … Langer, Fred Couples, Vijay Singh and Mike Weir are the four former Masters champions in the field. … Els declined his exemption to The Players Championship last week. … Duffy Waldorf holds the tournament record at 20-under 193 when he won the Hoag Classic by two shots in 2015.
Next week: The Galleri Classic.
Online: https://www.pgatour.com/pgatour-champions
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Last tournament: Rio Takeda won the Blue Bay LPGA.
Next week: Ford Championship.
Race to CME Globe leader: A Lim Kim.
Online: https://www.lpga.com/
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Last week: Joaquin Niemann won LIV Golf Singapore.
Next tournament: LIV Golf Doral on April 4-6.
Points leader: Joaquin Niemann.
Online: https://www.livgolf.com/
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Last tournament: Logan McAllister won the Astara Chile Classic.
Next tournament: Club Car Championship on April 3-6.
Points leader: Hank Lebioda.
Online: https://www.pgatour.com/korn-ferry-tour/schedule
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Asian Tour: International Series Macau, Macau Golf and CC, Macau, China. Defending champion: John Catlin. Television: Thursday-Friday, 1:30-5:30 a.m. (NBC Sports app); Saturday-Sunday, 12-4 a.m. (NBC Sports app). Online: https://asiantour.com/
Challenge Tour: Delhi Challenge, Classic Golf & CC, Haryana, India. Previous winner: John Parry. Online: https://www.europeantour.com/hotelplanner-tour/
Ladies European Tour: Ford Women’s NSW Open, Wollongong GC, Wollongong, Australia. Defending champion: Mariajo Uribe. Television: Friday-Saturday, 8 p.m. to 1 p.m. (NBC Sports app). Online: https://ladieseuropeantour.com/
PGA Tour of Australasia: Heritage Classic, The Heritage Golf and CC (St. John), Chirnside Park, Australia. Previous: Matthew Griffin. Online: https://pga.org.au/
Sunshine Tour: The Serengeti Playoffs, Serengeti Estates, Kempton Park, South Africa. Defending champion: New tournament. Online: https://sunshinetour.com/
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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
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