Golf takes a week off in America. LPGA Tour goes to Malaysia
LPGA TOUR
MAYBANK CHAMPIONSHIP
Site: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Course: Kuala Lumpur Golf and CC. Yardage: 6,246. Par: 71.
Prize money: $3 million. Winner's share: $450,000.
Television: Wednesday-Thursday, 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 9:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. (Golf Channel).
Defending champion: New tournament.
Race to CME Globe leader: Celine Boutier.
Last week: Minjee Lee won the BMW Ladies Championship.
Notes: This spot on the schedule originally was for the Taiwan Swinging Skirts LPGA, which was canceled in March because of “operational factors.” ... The $3 million purse for a 78-player field is among the largest for a non-major on the LPGA Tour. ... Celine Boutier tied for fifth last week in South Korea and returned to No. 1 in the Race to CME Globe. ... The leading four players in the Race to CME Globe — Boutier, Lilia Vu, Ruoning Yin and Hyo Joo Kim — are separated by about 225 points. Boutier and Yin are the only one in the Malaysia field this week. ... Rose Zhang is in the field. She has not finished in the top 20 in her last seven starts. ... Ryan O'Toole is fewer than five points behind the No. 60 spot in the Race to CME Globe. The top 60 qualify for the season finale in Florida. ... Six players from Malaysia received tournament invitations. ... The field features six of the top 10 in the women's world ranking. Missing are Vu, Kim, Minjee Lee and Charley Hull.
Next week: Toto Japan Classic.
Online: https://www.lpga.com/
___
EUROPEAN TOUR
COMMERCIAL BANK QATAR MASTERS
Site: Doha, Qatar.
Course: Doha GC. Yardage: 7,466. Par: 72.
Prize money: $3.75 million. Winner's share: $625,000.
Television: Thursday-Friday, 3-9 a.m.; Saturday, 3:30-9 a.m. (Golf Channel); Sunday, 2:30-8:30 a.m. (Golf Channel).
Defending champion: Ewen Ferguson.
Race to Dubai leader: Rory McIlroy.
Last week: Adrian Meronk won the Andalucia Masters.
Notes: The tournament is being played in the fall after previously being held in the spring. ... Adrian Meronk's victory in Spain made him the only three-time winner on the European tour this season. He moves to No. 3 in the Race to Dubai. ... Meronk is No. 46 in the world as he tries to stay in the top 50 by the end of the year to get an invitation to the Masters. ... The Qatar Masters dates to 1998. Branden Grace is the only back-to back winner. ... Yannik Paul of Germany is No. 17 in the Race to Dubai and currently holding down the 10th spot of players who could earn a PGA Tour card for 2024. He leads by 20 points over Matthieu Pavon of France, who also is in the field. ... Robert MacIntyre is the lone member of Europe's Ryder Cup team who is playing this week. He is 10th in the Race to Dubai but at No. 57 in world ranking has work to do in a bid to get a Masters invitation. ... Only three tournaments remain in the European tour season.
Next tournament: Nedbank Golf Challenge on Nov. 9-12.
Online: https://www.europeantour.com/dpworld-tour/
___
ASIA PACIFIC GOLF CONFEDERATION
ASIA-PACIFIC AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP
Site: Melbourne, Australia.
Course: Royal Melbourne GC. Yardage: 7,055. Par: 71.
Television: Thursday-Friday, 1-4 a.m. (ESPN2); Friday, 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. (ESPN+); Saturday, 2-5 a.m. (ESPN2-tape delay), 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. (ESPN+); Sunday, 2:30-5:30 a.m. (ESPN2-tape delay).
Previous winner: Harrison Crowe.
Last year: Harrison Crowe of Australia rallied from three behind on the back nine and closed with an even-par 72 at Amata Spring Country Club in Thailand to beat Bo Jin by one shot. He became the third Australian winner.
Notes: The format is 72 holes of stroke play with a cut to 60 and ties after 36 holes. ... The winner receives an invitation to the Masters and a spot in the British Open, along with being exempt from qualifying for the British Amateur. ... This is the second time the AAC has been held at Royal Melbourne. ... Hideki Matsuyama and Yuxin Lin are the only multiple winners of the AAC. ... Royal Melbourne most recently hosted the Presidents Cup in 2019. ... The field of 120 players comes from 40 countries and territories in the Asia-Pacific region. ... Yuta Sugiura of Japan is the highest-ranked player at No. 15 in the world amateur ranking. ... Wenyi Ding of China is playing. He won the U.S. Junior Amateur last year at Bandon Dunes. Also in the field is former U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Lukas Michel. ... Australia has 10 players, the most of any nation. Japan is next with nine.
Online: https://www.aacgolf.com/
___
PGA TOUR
Last week: Collin Morikawa won the Zozo Championship.
Next week: World Wide Technology Championship.
FedEx Cup champion: Viktor Hovland.
Online: https://www.pgatour.com/
___
PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS
Last week: Harrison Frazar won the Dominion Energy Charity Classic.
Next week: TimberTech Championship.
Charles Schwab Cup leader: Steve Stricker.
Online: https://www.pgatour.com/pgatour-champions
___
LIV GOLF LEAGUE
Last week: Crushers GC won the LIV Golf Team Championship.
Next tournament: End of season.
Individual champion: Talor Gooch.
Online: https://www.livgolf.com/
___
OTHER TOURS
International Golf Federation: Women's World Amateur Team Championship, Abu Dhabi GC, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Defending champion: Sweden. Online: https://www.igfgolf.org/
Ladies European Tour: Aramco Team Series-Riyadh, Riyadh GC, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Defending champion: Chiara Noja. Online: https://ladieseuropeantour.com/
Sunshine Tour: SunBet Challenge, Umhlali CC, Umhlali, South Africa. Defending champion: New tournament. Online: https://sunshinetour.com/
Legends Tour: Sergio Melpignano Senior Italian Open, San Domenico Golf, Savelletri, Italy. Defending champion: Ricardo Gonzalez. Online: https://www.legendstour.com/
Japan LPGA: Hisako Higuchi Mitsubishi Electric Ladies, Musashigaoka GC, Saitama, Japan. Defending champion: Kumiko Kaneda. Online: https://www.lpga.or.jp/en/
___
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
