PGA TOUR
VALSPAR CHAMPIONSHIP
Location: Palm Harbor, Florida.
Course: Innisbrook Resort (Copperhead). Footage: 7,340. By: 71.
Prize money: $7.8 million. Winner’s share: $1.404 million.
Television: Thursday to Friday, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 1-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3-6 p.m. (NBC).
Defending champion: Sam Burns.
FedEx Cup leader: Scottie Scheffler.
Last week: Cameron Smith won the Players Championship.
Notes: Innisbrook is one of Florida’s premier tournament courses and has a solid field while being located between the Players Championship and WGC-Match Play. It features five of the top 10 players in the world rankings. … Viktor Hovland will have another chance to reach world number 1. … 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 he finished with a 74. … Seamus Power is hovering around No. 50 in the world rankings. The top 50 after next week’s Match Play enter the Masters. … The Valspar Championship was held towards the end of April last year when there were two World Golf Championships before the Masters. … Wake Forest senior Alex Fitzpatrick, Matt Fitzpatrick’s younger brother, is on the pitch. He earned an exemption by winning the Valspar Intercollegiate. … This will be the last 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
CITY OF STEYN CHAMPIONSHIP
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa.
Course: The Steyn City Club. Footage: 7,716. By: 72.
Prize money: $1.5 million. Winner’s share: $250,000.
Television: Thursday to Friday, 6:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 6:30 a.m.-11 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 week in a row that the European tour has taken place in Africa, and its fourth time on the continent this season. … Thriston Lawrence is the only European tour winner for the first time this season. He won the Joburg Open in November and is in contention for the Steyn City Championship. … The tournament is co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour. … The Qatar Masters has left the Middle East swing due to previous travel restrictions. It will now be next week, against the WGC-Dell Match Play. … This will be the last European tour outside of Europe and the United States until the fall. … Bernd Ritthammer of Germany leads 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
Location: Broussard, Louisiana.
Course: Le Triomphe Golf & CC. Footage: 6,691. By: 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.
Leader of the CME Globe race: 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 from April 1st to 3rd.
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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