Swan song for Match Play, Champions take over Rancho Mirage

By The Associated Press

INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF PGA TOURS

WORLD GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS-DELL TECHNOLOGIES MATCH PLAY

Site: Austin, Texas.

Course: Austin CC. Yardage: 7,108. Par: 71.

Prize money: $20 million. Winner’s share: $3.6 million.

Television: Wednesday-Friday, 2-8 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, 10 a.m. to noon (Golf Channel), noon-6 p.m. (NBC); Sunday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3-7 p.m. (NBC).

Defending champion: Scottie Scheffler.

FedEx Cup leader: Jon Rahm.

Race to Dubai leader: Victor Perez.

Last week: Taylor Moore won the Valspar Championship in Florida and Matthew Baldwin won the SDC Championship in South Africa.

Notes: This is the final edition of the WGC-Match Play, which began in 1999 at La Costa Resort in Carlsbad, California. The tournament is not on the 2024 schedule and this likely is the end of the World Golf Championships. … Justin Thomas and Justin Rose elected not to play. … Because of LIV Golf players who have been suspended or are ineligible, the 64-man field went down to No. 77 in the world ranking (Justin Suh). … Scottie Scheffler won last year and lost in the championship match the previous year. He has a 10-2-2 record in his two appearances. … Kevin Kisner has won the Match Play and twice lost in the championship match. … This is the seventh year for the Match Play to be held at Austin Country Club. It previously was at Harding Park, two venues at Dove Mountain in Arizona, Metropolitan in Australia and La Costa … Tiger Woods (2003-2004) is the only player to win this WGC in consecutive years. … The 16 four-man groups are determined by taking one player from Group A (1-16), B (17-32), C (33-48) and D (49-64). The field was set last week, but the seedings are based on this week’s ranking.

Next week: Valero Texas Open.

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

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PGA TOUR

CORALES PUNTACANA CHAMPIONSHIP

Site: Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

Course: Puntacana Resort & Club (Corales). Yardage: 7,670. Par: 72.

Prize money: $3.8 million. Winner’s share: $684,000.

Television: Thursday-Friday, 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 2-5 p.m. (Golf Channel).

Defending champion: Chad Ramey.

FedEx Cup leader: Jon Rahm.

Last week: Taylor Moore won the Valspar Championship.

Notes: Thomas Detry at No. 82 is the highest-ranked player in the field because the top 77 are in the WGC-Match Play this week in Austin. … While this is the final week before the Masters takes the top 50 in the world ranking, no one in the Dominican Republic can move into the top 50 even with a win. … The tournament was on the Korn Ferry Tour schedule in 2016 and 2017 before becoming an opposite-field event on the PGA Tour. … Joel Dahmen is in the field. He won his only PGA Tour title at this event in 2021. … Dominic Bozzelli won the first event in 2016 and is playing this week on a sponsor exemption. … The field includes three major champions in Geoff Ogilvy, Jason Dufner and Jimmy Walker. … Sam Ryder has twice been runner-up at Punta Cana, once in a Korn Ferry Tour event and once in a PGA Tour event. … Erik Compton, twice a heart transplant recipient, received a sponsor exemption. … The field is 120 players.

Next week: Valero Texas Open.

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

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LPGA TOUR

LPGA DRIVE ON CHAMPIONSHIP

Site: Gold Canyon, Arizona.

Course: Superstition Mountain GC. Yardage: 6,526. Par: 72.

Prize money: $1.75 million. Winner’s share: $262,500.

Television: Thursday-Friday, 9-11 p.m. (Golf Channel-tape delay); Saturday-Sunday, 7-9 p.m. (Golf Channel).

Defending champion: Leona Maguire.

Race to CME Globe leader: Nelly Korda.

Last tournament: Lydia Ko won the HSBC Women’s World Championship.

Notes: Leona Maguire won last year when it was held in Florida. … The Drive On series began in 2020 when the LPGA Tour resumed after the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been played in Ohio and Georgia in 2020, and in Florida the last two years. … The field features six of the top 10 players in the women’s world ranking. … Lydia Ko, the No. 1 player, is not playing. She finished third last week in Singapore as part of the Saudi-funded Aramco Team Series on the Ladies European Tour. … The LPGA Tour did not have a tournament in Arizona last year. … Superstition Mountain previously hosted the LPGA Safeway International and The Countrywide Tradition on the PGA Tour Champions. It also hosted the Senior Slam for the 50-and-older circuit. … The LPGA Tour begins a three-tournament stretch in the West region, going to Los Angeles next week and the Hawaii on April 12-15. … In Gee Chun won the Velocity Global Impact Award. The vote of fans honored Chun for her work with the In Gee Chun Lancaster Country Club Educational Foundation. Chun won the U.S. Women’s Open at Lancaster in 2015.

Next week: DIO Implant LA Open.

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

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PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS

THE GALLERI CLASSIC

Site: Rancho Mirage, California.

Course: Mission Hills CC. Yardage: 7,112. Par: 72.

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

Television: Friday, 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. (Golf Channel-tape delay); Saturday-Sunday, 5-7 p.m. (Golf Channel).

Defending champion: New tournament.

Charles Schwab Cup leader: Steve Stricker.

Last week: Ernie Els won the Hoag Classic.

Notes: This addition to the PGA Tour Champions schedule gives the Coachella Valley another tournament to replace the old Dinah Shore. The LPGA Tour formerly played its first major at Mission Hills. Chevron took over as the title sponsor and moved the major to Houston. No word on whether the Champions winner will jump into Poppie’s Pond. … Bernhard Langer is in the field for another chance at winning his record 46th title on the PGA Tour Champions. He was the 36-hole leader last week at the Hoag Classic and shot 73 to tie for seventh. … Ernie Els won on the PGA Tour Champions for the first time since October 2020. … Plenty of players in the field have history in the Coachella Valley. That includes David Duval, who shot a 59 to win the old Bob Hope Classic in 1999. … Steve Stricker already has surpassed the $700,000 mark for the season in just four tournaments.

Next tournament: Invited Celebrity Classic on April 21-23.

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

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EUROPEAN TOUR AND SUNSHINE TOUR

JONSSON WORKWEAR OPEN

Site: Johannesburg, South Africa.

Course: The Club at Steyn City. Yardage: 7,716. Par: 72.

Prize money: $1.5 million. Winner’s share: $250,000.

Television: None.

Defending champion: New Tournament.

Race to Dubai leader: Victor Perez.

Last week: Matthew Baldwin won the SDC Championship.

Notes: This is the third consecutive event co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour in South Africa. … The field has five players from the top 100 in the world ranking. … This is the final event before the Masters takes the top 50 in the world. No one in the South African field is high enough to crack the top 50. … Adrian Otaegui has made 12 consecutive cuts dating to last fall, including a win and a runner-up finish. … Ockie Strydom of South Africa is in the field. He is No. 5 in the Race to Dubai. The leading 10 players from the European tour ranking will have access to a PGA Tour card next year. … The Club at Steyn City is a Jack Nicklaus design. … This is the fifth European tour event in South Africa this season. The sixth will be played later in the year at the Nedbank Challenge.

Next tournament: The Masters on April 6-9.

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

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KORN FERRY TOUR

CLUB CAR CHAMPIONSHIP AT THE LANDINGS

Site: Savannah, Georgia.

Course: The Landings Golf & Athletic Club (Deer Creek). Yardage: 7,185. Par: 72.

Prize money: $1 million. Winner’s share: $180,000.

Television: None.

Defending champion: T.J. Vogel.

Points leader: Chandler Phillips.

Last tournament: Rhein Gibson won the Astara Golf Championship.

Next week: Astara Chile Classic.

Online: https://www.pgatour.com/korn-ferry-tour/

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OTHER TOURS

Epson Tour: IOA Championship, Morongo GC at Tukwet Canyon, Beaumont, California. Previous winner: Linnea Strom. Online: https://www.epsontour.com/

Asian Tour: World City Championship, Hong Kong GC, Hong Kong. Defending champion: New tournament. Online: https://asiantour.com/

Challenge Tour: Duncan Taylor Black Bull Challenge, Karnataka Golf, Bangalore, India. Defending champion: New event. Online: https://www.europeantour.com/challenge-tour/

PGA Tour Latinoamerica: Roberto de Vicenzo Memorial 100 Years, Raleigh GC, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Defending champion: New event. Online: https://www.pgatour.com/latinoamerica

Japan LPGA: AXA Ladies Golf Tournament, UMK CC, Miyazaki, Japan. Defending champion: Mao Saigo. Online: https://www.lpga.or.jp/en/

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports