Sep 1, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Collin Morikawa tees off on the 9th tee during the final round of the TOUR Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Image John David Mercer-Imagn Field Level Media’s Golf Glance provides weekly news and storylines from every major North American golf tour.
PGA TOUR
LAST TOURNAMENT: Shriners Children’s Open (JT Poston)
THIS WEEK: Zozo Championship, Chiba, Japan, October 24-27
Course: Accordia Golf Narashino CC (Par 70, 7,079 Yards)
Purse: $8.5M (Winner: $1.53M)
Defending champion: Collin Morikawa
FedEx Cup Champion: Scottie Scheffler
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Wednesday-Saturday, 11 pm-3 am ET (Golf Channel All Times)
X: @ZozoChamp
NOTE: The uncut event is the fifth of eight tournaments on the FedEx Cup Fall schedule, which rounds out the top 125 players who will retain exempt status for 2025. Numbers 126-150 after the fall will retain conditional status. Players who finished No. 51-70 in the FedEx Cup have secured their demo card, but are competing for a spot in the first two signature events after opening The Sentry’s season at 2-5. January. … The record tournament score of 261 was set by Tiger Woods in his inaugural event in 2019, and represents Woods’ most recent title. … The field of 72 players includes 48 who competed in Las Vegas last week, 30 of whom made the cut at Shriners. Joel Dahmen, who withdrew after suffering a four-stroke penalty for too many clubs on his back, also played this week. He is now 129th in the standings … Chiba native Kaito Onishi will make his sixth career PGA Tour start after becoming the fourth Japanese player to earn membership through the Korn Ferry Tour. Onishi moved to Los Angeles with his mother when he was 9 years old and played for Southern Cal from 2017-21. … The event, which will be played for the first time in 2019, is sanctioned by the Japan Golf Tour Organization and the field includes 14 JGTO members.
BEST BEST: Xander Schauffele (+400 on DraftKings) has posted a career-high 15 top-10s this season, including his first two majors. Schauffele, who won the 2021 gold medal in Tokyo, where his maternal grandparents live, is making his sixth consecutive start at Zozo. … Morikawa (+700) hasn’t won a stroke-play event since Zozo last year as he tries to become the first player to successfully defend in Zozo. It was his first start since the Tour Championship, where he posted his lowest 72-hole score. … Hideki Matsuyama (+800), who hails from Ehime, Japan, won the event in 2021 and was runner-up in 2019. He also won two this year … Justin Thomas (+1800) finished T2 at Zozo 2020, played at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, California, this is Accordia’s first start.
Next tournament: World Wide Technology Championship, Los Cabos, Mexico, 7-10. november
LPGA TOUR
Last Tournament: BMW Women’s Championship (Hannah Green)
THIS WEEK: Maybank Championship, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, October 24-27
Course: Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club (Par 72, 6,536 Yards)
Purse: $3M (Winner: $450,000)
Defending champion: Celine Boutier
The race to lead the CME Globe: Nelly Korda
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Wednesday-Saturday: 9:30 pm-2:30 am ET (Golf Channel)
X: @MaybankChampion
Note: This is the third Asian swing in four Tour events. This is a no-cut event featuring a field of 78 players. Boutier beat Jeeno Thitijul on the ninth playoff hole last year after both set the tournament record 21-under 267. … No. of the BMW Ladies Championship. Ayaka Furue and Haeran Ryu, who are on the field this week, are the only players who can mathematically catch Korda in the Player of the Year race. Furue needs to win four events to have a chance to surpass Korda, while Ryu needs to win five.
Next tournament: Toto Japan Classic, Otsu-shi, Shiga, Japan, Oct. 31-Nov. 3
PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS
Last tournament: Dominion Energy Charity Classic (Team O’Neal)
THIS WEEK: Simmons Bank Championship, Little Rock, Ark., 25-27. October
Course: Pleasant Valley CC (Par 72, 7,101 Yards)
Purse: $2.3M (Winner: $365,000)
Defending champions: The inaugural event
Charles Schwab Cup Leader: Ernie Els
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Friday-Sunday, 3-6pm ET (Golf Channel)
X: @SBGolfChamp
NOTES: This is the second event of a three-tournament playoff and features a field of 51 players competing over 54 holes. The top 36 players after this week advance to the Charles Schwab Cup Championship. … Els holds a $132,031 lead over Steven Alker for the top spot in the Charles Schwab Cup standings. Stephen Ames is another 88,488 behind Alker. … O’Neal moved from 55th to 13th in the standings with his first Championship victory last week. … This is the first Champions event held in Arkansas, and the first PGA Tour-sanctioned event in the state since the Korn Ferry Tour’s Fort Smith Classic in 2010.
Next tournament: Charles Schwab Cup Championship, Phoenix, 7-10. November
GOLF LEAGUE LIV
THIS WEEK: The Season Ends
2024 Champion: Individual: Jon Rahm; Team: Ripper GC
Next tournament: LIV Golf Promotion, Abu Dhabi, 8-10. December
–Field Level Media
