A look around the major professional golf tours, and what’s on tap for the week of October 18-21, 2018.
PGA TOUR
LAST WEEK: CIMB Classic (Marc Leishman)
THIS WEEK: CJ Cup
DEFENDING: Justin Thomas
COURSE: Club at Nine Bridges, Jeju Island, South Korea
VITALS: Par 36-36-72, 7184 yards
PURSE: $9.5 million (Winner: $1.71 million)
TV: GOLF (Wed-Sat, 10:00 pm-2:00 am ET)
FIELD: The second of the PGA TOUR’s three-stop Asian Swing heads to Jeju Island off the coast of South Korea for the second annual CJ Cup… World No. 4 Justin Thomas, who finished T5 last week in Malaysia, returns to defend his 2017 title. He will be joined by top-10 ranked stars in Brooks Koepka and Jason Day. Other big names include Hideki Matsuyama, Xander Schauffele, Adam Scott, Ian Poulter, and last week’s CIMB Classic winner Marc Leishman.
EUROPEAN TOUR
LAST WEEK: Sky Sports British Masters (Eddie Pepperell)
THIS WEEK: Andalucia Valderrama Masters
DEFENDING: Sergio Garcia
COURSE: Real Club Valderrama, Sotogrande, Spain
VITALS: Par 71, 6,991 yards
PURSE: $2.33 million (Winner: $333k)
TV: GOLF (Thu-Fri: 6:00-8:00 am ET; Sat-Sun, 8:00 am-12:30 pm)
FIELD: Sergio Garcia returns to defend, and host, at his hometown event… The field in Spain is not particularly strong with No. 31 Garcia, and No. 81 Shane Lowry, the only players ranked inside the world top 100… Several of Garcia’s contemporaries from past Ryder Cups will tee it up including Lee Westwood, Padraig Harrington, Thomas Bjorn, and fellow Spaniard Jose Maria Olazabal.
LPGA TOUR
LAST WEEK: HEB Hana Bank Championship (In Gee Chun)
THIS WEEK: Buick LPGA Shanghai
DEFENDING: New Event
COURSE: Qizhong Garden Golf Club, Shanghai, China
VITALS: Par 36-36-72, 6,729 yards
PURSE: $2.1 million (Winner: $315k)
TV: GOLF (Thu: 12:30-4:30 pm ET; Fri-Sun: 12:30-2:30 pm)
FIELD: China’s Shanshan Feng (world No. 9) headlines the new event in her native country… She will be joined by Nos. 1 and 2 in Sung Hyun Park and Ariya Jutanugarn, along with No. 8 Brooke Henderson as the headliners. Other top names include Sei Young Kim, Lydia Ko, Danielle Kang, Annie Park, Marina Alex, and Paula Creamer.
CHAMPIONS TOUR
LAST WEEK: SAS Championship (Bernhard Langer)
THIS WEEK: Dominion Energy Charity Classic
DEFENDING: Bernhard Langer
COURSE: The CC of Virginia, Richmond, VA
VITALS: Par 72, 7,029 yards
PURSE: $2 million (Winner: $305k)
TV: GOLF (Fri-Sun: 2:30-5:00 pm)
FIELD: The first of the three-event Charles Schwab Cup playoffs… Bernhard Langer, fresh off his romp last weekend at the SAS Championship, returns to defend his 2017 title, and will be joined in Virginia by top Champions Tour performers: Scott McCarron, David Toms, Vijay Singh, and Jerry Kelly, among others.
