PGA Tour
HERO WORLD CHALLLENGE
Site: Nassau, Bahamas.
Course: Albany GC. Yardage: 7,449. Par: 72.
Prize money: $5 million. Winner’s share: $1 million.
Television: Thursday-Friday, 1:30-4:30 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, noon to 2:30 p.m. (Golf Channel), 2:30-5 p.m. (NBC); Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. (Golf Channel), 1:30-4:30 p.m. (NBC).
Defending champion: Scottie Scheffler.
Last tournament: Maverick McNealy won the RSM Classic.
Notes: Tournament host Tiger Woods is not playing as he recovers from a sixth surgery on his lower back. He has played the World Challenge just one time since 2019. … Scottie Scheffler is playing for the first time since the Presidents Cup. He already has eight victories this year, including an Olympic gold medal. … Only eight players in the 20-man field have won tournaments this year. … This is one of the weaker fields for Woods’ holiday event, with only four players from the top 10 in the world — Scheffler, Patrick Cantlay, Ludvig Aberg and Wyndham Clark. Among those skipping are Xander Schauffele and Collin Morikawa. … Aberg is among eight players in the field for the first time. … Nick Dunlap was still playing at Alabama at this time last year. Now he has two victories on the PGA Tour. … The tournament is sanctioned by the PGA Tour but does not count toward anything but the world ranking.
Next tournament: The Sentry on Jan. 2-5.
Online: https://www.pgatour.com/
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European tour and Sunshine Tour
NEDBANK GOLF CHALLENGE
Site: Sun City, South Africa.
Course: Gary Player CC. Yardage: 7,819. Par: 72.
Prize money: $6 million. Winner’s share: $1 million.
Television: Thursday-Sunday, 4-9:30 a.m. (Golf Channel).
Defending champion: Max Homa.
Race to Dubai leader: Elvis Smylie.
Last week: Ryggs Johnston won the ISPS Handa Australian Open.
Notes: The tournament previously preceded the season-ending Tour Championship on the European tour. Now it is in the early part of the wraparound season. … Max Homa returns to defend his title instead of playing in the Tiger Woods-hosted Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas. … Homa is among three players from the top 50 in the world, joining Corey Conners and Thriston Lawrence. … The field has 10 of the top 75 in the world ranking. One of them is Mackenzie Hughes of Canada, who is making a late push to finish in the top 50 and earn an invitation to the Masters. Hughes is at No. 57. … Lawrence is at No. 47 in the world but already is in the Masters from his fourth-place finish at the British Open. … This began as the Million Dollar Challenge in 1981, when Johnny Miller won a nine-hole playoff over Seve Ballesteros. … Woods lost his first playoff as a pro at Sun City to Nick Price in 1998.
Next week: Alfred Dunhill Championship.
Online: https://www.europeantour.com/dpworld-tour/ and https://sunshinetour.com/
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Asian Tour
SAUDI INTERNATIONAL
Site: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Course: Riyadh GC. Yardage: 7,246. Par: 71.
Prize money: $5 million. winner’s share: $900,000.
Television: Wednesday-Thursday, 3:30-8:30 a.m. (NBC Sports app), 9:30 to noon (Golf Channel); Friday, 3:30-8 a.m. (NBC Sports app), 9:30 a.m. to noon (Golf Channel); Saturday, 3:30-8 a.m. (NBC Sports app), 9:30-11 a.m. (Golf Channel).
Defending champion: Abraham Ancer.
Order of Merit: John Catlin.
Last week: Peter Uihlein won the International Series Qatar.
Notes: The final tournament of the year on the Asian Tour might as well be a LIV Golf event. Of the 57 players who took part in a LIV event this year, 42 of them are in the field. … Dustin Johnson is in the field. This will be his first time playing for world ranking points outside the four majors since the Byron Nelson in May 2022. He is No. 486 in the world. … Among the LIV Golf players not in the field are Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson and Jon Rahm. … The Saudi International dates to 2019. Johnson won the inaugural tournament and in 2021. … The tournament was part of the European tour schedule through 2021. … John Catlin has clinched the Order of Merit on the Asian Tour. Peter Uihlein leads the separate International Series points list over Catlin. Uihlein has won two International Series events, including last week in Qatar.
Next tournament: End of season.
Online: https://asiantour.com/
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Other tours
PGA Tour of Australasia: Victoria PGA Championship, Moonah Links (Open and Legends), Fingal, Australia. Defending champion: David Micheluzzi. Online: https://pga.org.au/
European Legends Tour: MCB Tour Championship, Constance Belle Mare Plage, Poste de Flacq, Mauritius. Defending champion: Peter Baker. Online: https://www.legendstour.com/
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