PGA Tour takes CJ Cup from South Korea to South Carolina

PGA TOUR

CJ CUP IN SOUTH CAROLINA

Site: Ridgeland, South Carolina.

Course: Congaree Golf Club. Yardage: 7,431. Par: 72.

Prize money: $10.5 million. Winner's share: $1.89 million.

Television: Thursday-Sunday, 3-6 p.m. (Golf Channel).

Defending champion: Rory McIlroy.

FedEx Cup leader: Keegan Bradley.

Last week: Keegan Bradley won the Zozo Championship.

Notes: This is the third straight year the CJ Cup of South Korea is being held in the United States because of travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. ... The previous two tournament were held in Las Vegas. ... The 78-man field features 15 of the top 20 in the world ranking. ... Twenty-one players in the CJ Cup last year in Las Vegas are now part of LIV Golf and are ineligible to play. ... Congaree held a PGA Tour event last year to replace the Canadian Open, which remained under travel restrictions. Garrick Higgo won the event. He is not in the field for the CJ Cup. ... Rickie Fowler is playing on a sponsor exemption. He has two top-10 finishes in three starts, including a runner-up finish in Japan last week. ... Harris English received an exemption. He missed the first half of last year while recovering from hip surgery. ... Rory McIlroy has five straight top 10s, including a win, since missing the cut in the FedEx St. Jude Championship.

Next week: Butterfield Bermuda Championship.

Online: https://www.pgatour.com/

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LPGA TOUR

BMW LADIES CHAMPIONSHIP

Site: Gangwon, South Korea.

Course: Oak Valley CC. Yardage: 6,726. Par: 72.

Prize money: $2 million. Winner's share: $300,000.

Television: Wednesday-Saturday, 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. (Golf Channel).

Defending champion: Jin Young Ko.

Race to CME Globe leader: Lydia Ko.

Last tournament: Jodi Ewart Shadoff won the LPGA Mediheal Championship.

Notes: This is the first two of stops in the fall Asian swing for the LPGA. Two others were canceled, Shanghai and Taiwan, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. ... Jin Young Ko returns after taking time off to rest her ailing left wrist. ... Atthaya Thitikul had a chance to replace Ko at No. 1 in the world the last two tournaments if she had won. ... The field has six of the top 10 in the women's world ranking. Among those not playing are Lexi Thompson and Brooke Henderson, who played the Aramco Team Series event in New York last week as part of the Ladies European Tour. ... Thompson's victory in the Aramco Team Series was her first worldwide since the ShopRite LPGA Classic in June 2019. ... Ko last year rallied from four shots back with a 64 to win. ... The LPGA is off next week before turning to Japan. The final two events are in Florida. ... The top 60 after three more tournaments qualify for the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship.

Next tournament: Toto Japan Classic on Nov. 3-6.

Online: https://www.lpga.com/

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PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS

DOMINION ENERGY CHARITY CLASSIC

Site: Richmond, Virginia.

Course: The Country Club of Virginia (James River). Yardage: 7,025. Par: 72.

Prize money: $2.2 million. Winner's share: $330,000.

Television: Friday-Sunday, 7-9 p.m. (Golf Channel-tape delay).

Defending champion: Bernhard Langer.

Charles Schwab Cup leader: Steven Alker.

Last week: Fred Couples won the SAS Championship.

Notes: The top 72 players in the Charles Schwab Cup standings qualify for the postseason. The top 54 players advance to the second postseason event. ... Fred Couples ended his season with 12 birdies on his last 14 holes. He said he would not be playing the rest of the year. The 68-man field is missing Couples, Steve Stricker, Mike Weir and Brandt Jobe. Stricker said he would skip the first two postseason events to hunt deer, as he often does. By winning two of his last three starts, he said he might return for the Charles Schwab Cup Championship in Phoenix. ... Steven Alker starts the postseason as the No. 1 seed. Just 15 months ago, he had no PGA Tour Champions status. ... Alker won or finished second in seven of his 20 starts on the PGA Tour Champions this year. ... Couples' six-shot victory matched the largest this year on the PGA Tour Champions with Alker (Rapiscan System Classic) and Stricker (Regions Tradition).

Next tournament: TimberTech Championship on Nov. 4-6.

Online: https://www.pgatour.com/champions.html

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EUROPEAN TOUR

MALLORCA GOLF OPEN

Site: Mallorca, Spain.

Course: Muntaner GC (Palma). Yardage: 6,952. Par: 71.

Prize money: $2 million. Winner's share: $333,333.

Television: Thursday-Friday, 7 a.m. to noon (Golf Channel); Saturday, 7:30 a.m. to noon (Golf Channel); Sunday, 7-11:30 a.m. (Golf Channel).

Defending champion: Jeff Winther.

DP World Tour points leader: Rory McIlroy.

Last week: Adrian Otaegui won the Andalucia Masters.

Notes: The third straight week in Spain has the weakest of the fields. Ryan Fox at No. 25 is the only player from the top 50, and Erik van fdRooyen and Valderrama winner Adrian Otaegui make it three of the top 100. ... Spanish players have won the first two events in Spain — Jon Rahm at the Spanish Open and Otaegui in the Andalucia Masters. ... The previous two events in Spain also were won by Spaniards — Pablo Larrazabal (ISPS Handa) and Adri Arnaus (Catalunya Championship). ... After this week, only two tournaments remain before the season-ending DP World Tour Championship. ... Only two players with LIV Golf are among the top 60 in the DP World Tour points list — Richard Bland (22) and Sam Horsfield (35). Patrick Reed is at No. 80. ... Five of the top 10 players on the DP World Tour points list have played 15 or more European tour events.

Next tournament: Cyprus Open on Nov. 3-6.

Online: https://www.europeantour.com/dpworld-tour/

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OTHER TOURS

Ladies European Tour: Hero Women's Indian Open, DLF Golf and CC, Gurgaon, India. Defending champion: Christine Wolf (2019). Online: https://ladieseuropeantour.com/

Sunshine Tour: SunBet Challenge, Umhlali CC, Ballito, South Africa. Defending champion: New tournament. Online: https://sunshinetour.com/

Legends Tour: Italian Senior Open, Argentario Golf & Wellness Resort, Porto Ercole, Italy. Defending champion: James Kingston. Online: https://www.legendstour.com/

Japan LPGA: Nobuta Group Masters, Masters GC, Hyogo, Japan. Defending champion: Ayaka Furue. Online: https://www.lpga.or.jp/en/

Korea LPGA: WEMIX Championship, Alpensia GC, Gangwon, South Korea. Defending champion: New tournament. Online: https://klpga.co.kr/

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