PGA Tour begins road to Masters, LIV Golf starts in Mexico

PGA TOUR

HONDA CLASSIC

Site: Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

Course: PGA National (Champions). Yardage: 7,125. Par: 70.

Prize money: $8.4 million. Winner’s share: $1.692 million.

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

Defending champion: Sepp Straka.

FedEx Cup leader: Jon Rahm.

Last week: Jon Rahm won the Genesis Invitational.

Notes: The start of the Florida swing typically signifies the start of the road to the Masters, but the Honda Classic has been squeezed by two elevated events before and after its tournament. … The field has eight of the top 50 players in the world, but only three from the top 20 — Billy Horschel, Sungjae Im and Shane Lowry. … The winner gets an invitation to the Masters. Only 10 players in the field already are in Augusta. … Honda is ending its longtime title sponsorship after this year. Its name was first on the tournament title in 1982. … The field features both Ryder Cup captains in Luke Donald and Zach Johnson. … Three of the last four winners of the Honda Classic had never won on the PGA Tour. … Padraig Harrington received a sponsor exemption. He won the Honda Classic in 2015 and will be playing his third tour this year — three on the European tour, one on the PGA Tour Champions and now the PGA Tour. … Only three of the last 11 winners of the Honda Classic are in the field, including defending champion Sepp Straka.

Next week: Arnold Palmer Invitational and Puerto Rico Open.

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

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LIV GOLF

LIV GOLF MAYAKOBA

Site: Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

Course: Mayakoba Golf Resort (El Camaleon). Yardage: 7,062. Par: 71.

Prize money: $25 million. Winner’s share: $4 million. Winning team share: $3 million.

Television: Friday, 1-6 p.m. (The CW App); Saturday-Sunday, 1-6 p.m. (CW Network).

Defending champion: New tournament.

Points champion: Dustin Johnson.

Notes: This is the first of 14 tournaments in the second season of the Saudi-funded league. … Mayakoba previously hosted a PGA Tour event since 2007. Russell Henley won in November. … El Camaleon was designed by Greg Norman, the CEO and commissioner of LIV Golf. … Dustin Johnson won the individual and team titles last year in LIV Golf and made over $35.6 million. … Among newcomers to defect from the PGA Tour or European tour are Mito Pereira, Sebastian Munoz, Brendan Steele, Danny Lee, Dean Burmester and Thomas Pieters. … Some of the teams have changed names for the first full year of league play. … Bubba Watson is a team leader and plays for the first time since the PGA Championship last May. … LIV Golf is starting its season in the one week during a five-week stretch that the PGA Tour does not have an elevated event. … Graeme McDowell (2015) and Pat Perez (2016) are the only LIV Golf players who won the PGA Tour event at Mayakoba.

Next tournament: LIV Golf Tucson on March 17-19.

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

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LPGA TOUR

HONDA LPGA THAILAND

Site: Chonburi, Thailand.

Course: Siam CC (Pattaya Old). Yardage: 6,576. Par: 72.

Prize money: $1.7 million. Winner’s share: $255,000.

Television: Wednesday-Thursday, 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. (Golf Channel); Friday-Saturday, 10:30 p.m. to 3:30 a.m. (Golf Channel).

Defending champion: Nanna Koerstz Madsen.

Race to CME Globe leader: Brooke Henderson.

Last tournament: Brooke Henderson won the Tournament of Champions.

Notes: The field features nine of the top 10 in the women’s world ranking. The only player missing is Lexi Thompson. She won the tournament in 2016. … In a start-and-stop schedule, the LPGA Tour resumes a month after it began its season in Florida. … This is the first edition of the Asia Swing with two tournaments. The third event in China was canceled because of issues still lingering from the COVID-19 pandemic. … Lydia Ko, who ended the year at No. 1 in the world ranking, makes her LPGA debut for 2023. She skipped the Tournament of Champions after getting married during the offseason and played last week in Saudi Arabia on the Ladies European Tour. … Thailand has been on the LPGA Tour schedule dating to 2006. Ariya Jutanugarn in 2021 is the only Thai native to win. … Tournament of Champions winner Brooke Henderson has won every year on the LPGA Tour since 2015 except for 2020, a season that was shortened by the pandemic.

Next week: HSBC Women’s World Championship.

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

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EUROPEAN TOUR

HERO INDIAN OPEN

Site: New Delhi, India.

Course: DLF Golf & CC. Yardage: 7,380. Par: 72.

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

Television: Thursday-Friday, 3-7:30 a.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, 3:30-7:30 a.m. (Golf Channel); Sunday, 3:30-6:30 a.m. (Golf Channel).

Defending champion: Stephen Gallacher (2019).

Race to Dubai leader: Victor Perez.

Last week: Thorbjorn Olesen.

Notes: The Hero Indian Open returns to the European tour schedule for the first time since 2019 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. … Since winning the Indian Open in 2019, Stephen Gallacher has played 73 tournaments without registering a top 10. … Kazuki Higa of Japan is the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 75. He has a chance to get into the Match Play in Texas, two weeks before Higa plays in the Masters. … Shaun Norris of South Africa is playing. He was among the original players who signed on with LIV Golf for its debut last June. … One of the exemptions went to Lucas Bjerregaard of Denmark. He is best known for beating Tiger Woods in the quarterfinals of Match Play in 2019, right before Woods won the Masters for the fifth time. … The tournament has been part of the European tour schedule since 2015. Anirban Lahiri was the first winner.

Next tournament: Magical Kenya Open on March 9-12.

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

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PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS

Last week: Bernhard Langer won the Chubb Classic.

Next week: Cologuard Classic.

Charles Schwab Cup leader: Steve Stricker.

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

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KORN FERRY TOUR

Last tournament: Rhein Gibson won the Astara Golf Championship.

Next tournament: Club Car Championship on March 23-26.

Points leader: Chandler Phillips.

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

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OTHER TOURS

Sunshine Tour and Challenge Tour: Nelson Mandela Bay Championship, Humewood GC, Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Defending champion: New event. Online: https://sunshinetour.com/ and https://www.europeantour.com/challenge-tour

PGA Tour of Australasia: TPS Hunter Valley, Oaks Cypress Lake Resort, Pokolbin, Australia. Defending champion: Aaron Pike. Online: https://pga.org.au/

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