A look around the major professional golf tours, and what’s on tap for the week of October 11-14, 2018.
PGA TOUR
LAST WEEK: Safeway Open (Kevin Tway)
THIS WEEK: CIMB Cassic
DEFENDING: Pat Perez
COURSE: TPC Kuala Lumpur (West), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
VITALS: Par 72, 7005 yards
PURSE: $7 million (Winner: $1.26 million)
TV: GOLF (Wed-Thu, 10:30 pm-2:30 am ET; Fri-Sat, 11 pm-3 am)
FIELD: The three playoff finalists (Kevin Tway, Ryan Moore and Brandt Snedeker) Safeway Open will join 27 others who jetted from California to Malaysia for the first of a three-event Asian Swing (CIMB-Malaysia, CJ Cup-Korea, HSBC-China)… Justin Thomas makes his first start since the Ryder Cup, where – in a losing effort, he racked up an impressive 4-1 record. The world No. 4, and two-time CIMB winner, is the highest ranked golfer in the field. He and Moore (T2 in Napa last week) enter in fine form and will each seek a third CIMB crown… Veterans, and Hall of Famers, Ernie Els and Davis Love III will also tee it up this week.
EUROPEAN TOUR
LAST WEEK: Alfred Dunhill Links Championship (Lucas Bjerregaard)
THIS WEEK: Sky Sports British Masters
DEFENDING: Paul Dunne
COURSE: Walton Heath GC (Old), Surrey, England
VITALS: Par 72, 7,394 yards
PURSE: $4 million (Winner: $562k)
TV: GOLF (Thu-Fri: 4:30 am-12:30 pm ET; Sat-Sun, 7 am-12:30 pm)
FIELD: Paul Dunne returns to defend his maiden European Tour title, which was secured in memorable fashion with a walk-off chip-in to cap off a Sunday 61, edging Rory McIlroy. The “MoliWood” duo reunites in Surrey as Ryder Cup stars Francesco Molinari and Tommy Fleetwood headline the event hosted by teammate Justin Rose. A fourth Ryder Cupper, Thorbjorn Oleson of Denmark, also is entered, as is captain Thomas Bjorn and all five vice captains, including Lee Westwood, Luke Donald, Robert Karlsson, Padraig Harrington and Graeme McDowell.
LPGA TOUR
LAST WEEK: UL International Crown (South Korea)
THIS WEEK: LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship
DEFENDING: Jin Young Ko
COURSE: SKY72 Golf & Resort (Ocean), Incheon, South Korea
VITALS: Par 72, 6,316 yards
PURSE: $2 million (Winner: $300k)
TV: GOLF (Thu: 1:30 pm-5:30 pm ET; Fri: 12:30 pm-3:30 pm; Sat-Sun, 12:00 pm-3:00 pm)
FIELD: Rolex Rankings No. 1 Sung Hyun Park heads into this week’s field and enters off an impressive victory at the team-based UL International Crown at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea… Park will be joined by No. 2 Ariya Jutanugarn and No. 8 Brooke Henderson in one of the marquee groupings… Past champions in the field this week include Amy Yang (2013), Lexi Thompson (2015), Carlota Ciganda (2016) and defending champion Jin Young Ko.
CHAMPIONS TOUR
LAST WEEK: Off
THIS WEEK: SAS Championship
DEFENDING: Colin Montgomerie
COURSE: Prestonwood CC, Cary, NC
VITALS: Par 72, 7,237 yards
PURSE: $2.1 million (Winner: $315k)
TV: GOLF (Fri-Sun: 3-5:30 pm)
FIELD: The senior circuit’s final tournament of the regular season as only the top 72 will advance to the three-event Charles Schwab Cup playoffs… Colin Montomerie returns to defend his 2017 title, and will be joined in North Carolina by top Champions Tour performers: Scott McCarron, David Toms, Vijay Singh, and Bernhard Langer, among others.
