PGA Tour elevates at Quail Hollow; LPGA has 8-team event

By The Associated Press

PGA TOUR

WELLS FARGO CHAMPIONSHIP

Site: Charlotte, North Carolina.

Course: Quail Hollow Club. Yardage: 7,538. Par: 72.

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

Television: Thursday-Friday, 2-6 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 1-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3-6 p.m. (CBS).

Defending champion: Max Homa.

FedEx Cup leader: Jon Rahm.

Last week: Tony Finau won the Mexico Open.

Notes: This is the eighth elevated event of the year, offering a $20 million purse. The field features only six of the top 10 in the world ranking. … The last two Masters champions, Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler, are using their one opt-out from elevated events. The other two are Cameron Smith, who is with LIV Golf, and Will Zalatoris. who is recovering from back surgery. … Scheffler faces a busy swing with two Dallas-area events sandwiched around the PGA Championship. … Homa won last year at the TPC Avenel Farms. … Tony Finau joined Homa, Scheffler and Rahm as the only players with multiple wins on the PGA Tour this season. … Justin Thomas won his first PGA Championship at Quail Hollow in 2017. Homa won his first PGA Tour event at Quail Hollow in 2019. … One of the sponsor exemptions went to Austin Greaser of North Carolina, a finalist in the 2021 U.S. Amateur at Oakmont. … Rory McIlroy is playing for the first time since he missed the cut at the Masters. … This is the final week for the top 70 players in the PGA points list to earn a spot in the PGA Championship at Oak Hill.

Next week: AT&T Byron Nelson.

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

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LPGA TOUR

HANWHA LIFEPLUS INTERNATIONAL CROWN

Site: San Francisco.

Course: TPC Harding Park. Yardage: 6,550. Par: 72.

Prize money: $2 million. Winner’s share: $500,000 ($125,000 per player)

Television: Thursday-Sunday, 6-9 p.m. (Golf Channel).

Previous winner: South Korea in 2018.

Race to CME Globe leader: Lilia Vu.

Last week: Hannah Green won the JM Eagle LA Championship.

Notes: The tournament returns for the first time since 2018. It was scheduled for the Centurion Club outside London in 2020 until it was canceled by the pandemic. … The eight qualifying teams are the United States, South Korea, Japan, Sweden, England, Australia, Thailand and China. … Lexi Thompson of the United States, Moriya and Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand and Minjee Lee of Australia have played in every International Crown. … Previous winners were Spain (2014), the United States (2016) and South Korea (2018). … The eight teams and the players were determined by the women’s world ranking. … Georgia Hall and Charley Hull withdrew with injury. They were replaced on England’s team with Alison Hewson and Liz Young. … Teams are divided into two pools. Four countries play round-robin fourballs. One point is awarded for a win and a half-point to a draw. The top two teams from each pool advance to Sunday and play two singles matches and one foursomes match. … Harding Park has hosted the PGA Championship (2020), Match Play (2015), the Presidents Cup (2009) and a World Golf Championship (2005).

Next week: Cognizant Founders Cup.

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

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EUROPEAN TOUR

DS AUTOMOBILES ITALIAN OPEN

Site: Rome.

Course: Marco Simone GC. Yardage: 7,255. Par: 71.

Prize money: $3.25 million. Winner’s share: $541,667.

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

Defending champion: Robert MacIntyre.

Race to Dubai leader: Rory McIlroy.

Last week: Pablo Larrazabal won the Korea Championship.

Notes: Marco Simone is the course that will host the Ryder Cup later this year. … None of the top players from Europe and the United States are playing because it’s opposite the $20 million Wells Fargo Championship, with the PGA Championship two weeks later. … Adrian Meronk of Poland is the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 63. … Eight other players from among the top 100 in the world ranking are in the field. That includes Robert MacIntyre, the defending champion. He beat U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick in a playoff last year. … The Italian Open has been held at Marco Simone the previous two years. Nicolai Hojgaard won in 2021. … The tournament dates to 1925. Billy Casper in 1975 is the only American winner of the Italian Open. … European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald is in the field. This will be his seventh European tour event since he was named captain. He has played nine PGA Tour events.

Next week: Soudal Open.

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

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PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS

MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CLASSIC

Site: Duluth, Georgia. Yardage: 6,987. Par: 72.

Course: TPC Sugarloaf.

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

Television: Friday, noon to 2 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 3-6 p.m. (Golf Channel).

Defending champion: Steve Flesch.

Charles Schwab Cup leader: Steve Stricker.

Last week: Steven Alker won the Insperity Invitational.

Notes: Steven Alker won for the first time this year on the PGA Tour Champions last week and moved to No. 3 in the Schwab Cup standings. … Bernhard Langer is in the field as the 65-year-old German again tries to break Hale Irwin’s record of 45 career titles on the PGA Tour Champions. Langer won the first edition of the Mitsubishi Electric Championship in 2013. … The TPC Sugarloaf previously hosted a PGA Tour event that was held a week before the Masters. … Scott McCarron won the PGA Tour event at Sugarloaf in 1997 and in 2001. He won the PGA Tour Champions event in 2019. … Steve Stricker is in the field. He returned to the top of the Schwab Cup standings with his runner-up finish last week in the Insperity Invitational. He has not finished out of the top 10 in his six PGA Tour Champions starts this year. … Alker decided not to play. … Sponsor exemptions were awarded to Matt Gogel and Mario Tiziani.

Next week: Regions Traditions.

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

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LIV GOLF

Last week: Talor Gooch won LIV Golf-Singapore.

Next week: LIV Golf-Tulsa.

Points leader: Talor Gooch.

Online: https://www.livgolf.com/

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KORN FERRY TOUR

Last week: Ben Kohles won the HomeTown Lenders Championship.

Next tournament: AdventHealth Championship on May 18-21.

Points leader: Ben Kohles.

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

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OTHER TOURS

Epson Tour: Garden City Charity Classic, Buffalo Dunes GC, Garden City, Kansas. Defending champion: Gabriela Then. Online: https://www.epsontour.com/

Asian Tour: GS Caltex Maekyung Open, Namseoul CC, Seongnam, South Korea. Defending champion: Bio Kim. Online: https://asiantour.com/

Challenge Tour: UAE Challenge, Saadiyat Beach GC, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Defending champion: New event. Online: https://www.europeantour.com/challenge-tour/

PGA Tour of Australasia: PNG Open, Royal Port Moresby GC, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. Defending champion: Peter Cooke (2019). Online: https://pga.org.au/

PGA Tour Latinoamerica: Kia Open, Quito Tennis & GC, Quito, Ecuador. Defending champion: Manav Shah. Online: https://www.pgatour.com/latinoamerica

Japan LPGA: World Ladies Championship Salonpas Cup, Ibaraki GC (West), Ibaraki, Japan. Defending champion: Miyuu Yamashita. Online: https://www.lpga.or.jp/en/

Korea LPGA: Kyochon 1991 Ladies Open, Asiad GC, Busan, South Korea. Defending champion: Jo Ayeon. Online: https://klpga.co.kr/

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