PGA Tour starts the two-step Texas swing and LPGA stays west in Arizona
PGA Tour
TEXAS CHILDREN’S HOUSTON OPEN
Site: Houston.
Course: Memorial Park GC. Yardage: 7,475. Par: 70.
Prize money: $9.9 million. Winner’s share: $1,782,000.
Television: Thursday-Friday, 3-7 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 1-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3-6 p.m. (NBC).
Defending champion: Min Woo Lee.
FedEx Cup leader: Jacob Bridgeman.
Last week: Matt Fitzpatrick won the Valspar Championship.
Notes: This is the final week for players who move into the top 50 in the world ranking and qualify for a Masters invitation. Among those on the bubble are Nicolai Hojgaard at No. 47 and Pierceson Coody at No. 51. Winning the next two weeks also comes with an invitation. … Scottie Scheffler is to make his final start before the Masters. … Brooks Koepka helped design Memorial Park. He is in the field and coming off three consecutive finishes in the top 20 in his return from LIV Golf. … U.S. Amateur champion Mason Howell is playing on a sponsor exemption. He will be at the Masters in two weeks. … The field is 135 players. Koepka is an addition to the field, along with Andrew Putnam and Kris Ventura to allow for threesomes during the weekday rounds. … Adam Scott is at No. 52 in the world. He needs to stay in the top 60 the next two months for a U.S. Open spot, the only major for which he is not eligible this year. … The field features four of the top 20 in the world ranking.
Next week: Valero Texas Open.
Online: https://www.pgatour.com/
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LPGA Tour
FORD CHAMPIONSHIP
Site: Phoenix.
Course: Whirlwind GC (Cattail). Yardage: 6,675. Par: 72.
Prize money: $2.25 million. Winner’s share: $337,500.
Television: Thursday-Sunday, 6-7 p.m. (Golf Channel app), 7-9 p.m. (Golf Channel).
Defending champion: Hyo Joo Kim.
Race to CME Globe leader: Nelly Korda.
Last week: Hyo Joo Kim won the Fortinet Founders Cup.
Notes: The field features nine of the top 10 in the women’s world ranking, missing only Women’s PGA champion Minjee Lee. … Nelly Korda has won and been runner-up in her two tournaments this year as she returned to the top spot in the Race to CME Globe. … Hyo Joo Kim goes from a victory in the Founders Cup to defending her title in the Ford Championship. Kim moved up to No. 4 in the women’s world ranking. … Carla Tejedo, the former LSU player who earned her card off the Epson Tour, posted four rounds under par at the Founders Cup to tie for fifth. That got the Spaniard into the Ford Championship. … South Korea, Australia and England each have two players among the top 10 in the world ranking. … Hannah Green is coming off three straight victories, the last two in her native Australia. … The LPGA has multiple winners from South Korea in the first five events of the year for the first time since 2020.
Next week: Aramco Championship.
Online: https://www.lpga.com/
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European tour
HERO INDIAN OPEN
Site: New Delhi.
Course: DLF Golf & CC. Yardage: 7,416. Par: 72.
Prize money: $2.55 million. Winner’s share: $425,000.
Television: Thursday-Friday, 3:30-8:30 a.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, 4-8:30 a.m. (Golf Channel); Sunday, 2:30-7:30 a.m. (Golf Channel).
Defending champion: Eugenio Chacarra.
Race to Dubai leader: Patrick Reed.
Last week: Jordan Gumberg won the Hainan Classic.
Notes: Akshay Bhatia is playing on a sponsor invitation, one reason he was not available to fill in on the indoor TGL championship series this week in Florida. … Jayden Schaper of South Africa, already a two-time winner this season, is not listed in the field. This is the final week to move into the top 50 and earn a spot in the Masters. He is No. 59. … Two players from LIV Golf, David Puig and Elvis Smylie, are playing the Indian Open. Among those not in the field is Anirban Lahiri, who won the Indian Open in 2015. … This is the final European tour event before the Masters. The tour will resume two weeks after the Masters with tournaments in China and Turkey before moving to the European continent. … The Indian Open dates to 1964 when Peter Thomson won. It has been part of the European tour schedule since 2015. … Jordan Gumberg narrowly kept his card last year by holing out for eagle on the final last hole of the season.
Next tournament: Masters.
Online: https://www.europeantour.com/dpworld-tour/
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PGA Tour Champions
HOAG CLASSIC
Site: Newport Beach, California.
Course: Newport Beach CC. Yardage: 6,725. Par: 71.
Prize money: $2.2 million. Winner’s share: $330,000.
Television: Friday, 3-6 p.m. (Golf Channel app), 10 p.m. to midnight (Golf Channel-Tape Delay); Saturday-Sunday, 4-5 p.m. (Golf Channel app), 5-7 p.m. (Golf Channel).
Defending champion: Miguel Angel Jimenez.
Charles Schwab Cup leader: Stewart Cink.
Last week: Steven Alker won the Cologuard Classic.
Notes: The PGA Tour Champions wraps up the second stop in the West. It will have three weeks off before going into the first of five majors in 2026 with the Senior PGA Championship. … Steven Alker now has 11 wins in 100 starts on the PGA Tour Champions. He did not win in 87 starts on the PGA Tour before turning 50. … Alker tied a tour record by coming from nine shots behind after the opening round. It had been done four other times, most recently by Kevin Sutherland in 2019 at the Principal Charity Classic. … Bernhard Langer broke his age in each of the first two rounds (65-67) at the Cologuard Classic. Langer turned 68 last year. … Paul Goydos and Heath Slocum received sponsor exemptions. Goydos grew up at nearby Virginia Country Club and played his college golf at Long Beach State. … Alker played the weekend without a bogey, the fourth time he has done that on the PGA Tour Champions.
Next tournament: Senior PGA Championship on April 16-19.
Online: https://www.pgatour.com/pgatour-champions
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Korn Ferry Tour
CLUB CAR CHAMPIONSHIP
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: Thursday-Friday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 2-3 p.m. (Golf Channel app), 3-5 p.m. (Golf Channel).
Defending champion: Jeremy Gandon.
Points leader: Ian Holt.
Last tournament: Doc Redman won the Astara Chile Classic.
Next week: Lecom Suncoast Classic.
Online: https://www.pgatour.com/korn-ferry-tour
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LIV Golf League
Last week: Bryson DeChambeau won LIV Golf South Africa.
Next tournament: LIV Golf Mexico on April 16-19.
Points leader: Jon Rahm.
Online: https://www.livgolf.com/
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Other tours
PGA Tour of Australasia: The National Tournament, The National GC (Gunnamatta), Cape Schanck, Australia. Defending champion: Harrison Crowe. Online: https://golf.com.au/
Sunshine Tour: The Courier Guy Playoffs: DNi Tour Championship, De Zalze GC, Stellenbosch, South Africa. Defending champion: New tournament. Online: https://sunshinetour.com/
Japan LPGA: AXA Ladies Golf, UMK CC, Miyazaki, Japan. Defending champion: Haruka Kudo. Online: https://www.lpga.or.jp/en/
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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf