PGA TOUR
HERO WORLD CHALLENGE
Site: Nassau, Bahamas.
Course: Albany GC. Yardage: 7,449. Par: 72.
Prize money: $4.5 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: Viktor Hovland.
FedEx Cup champion: Viktor Hovland.
Notes: Tiger Woods returns to competition for the first time since fusion surgery on his right ankle in April. Woods last played at the Masters but withdrew after making the cut. … This will be the first time Woods plays his holiday event since 2019. … The tournament has a 20-man field and is sanctioned by the PGA Tour, though it is unofficial. It receives world ranking points because of criteria that everyone be ranked inside the top 50. … There is an exemption for the tournament host (Woods). … Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele withdrew from the original list of players. … The field includes Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Scottie Scheffler, Max Homa and Collin Morikawa. … Hovland is going for his third straight victory in the tournament. Scheffler has been runner-up both times. Woods is the only other player to win back-to-back since the event began in 2000.
Next tournament: The Sentry on Jan. 4-7.
Online: https://www.pgatour.com/
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EUROPEAN TOUR AND PGA TOUR OF AUSTRALASIA
ISPS HANDA AUSTRALIAN OPEN
Site: Sydney.
Courses: The Lakes GC (Yardage: 6,832. Par: 72) and The Australian GC (Yardage: 7,228. Par: 71).
Prize money: AD 1.7 million. Winner’s share: AD 310,000.
Television: Wednesday-Thursday, 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. (Golf Channel); Friday, 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. (Golf Channel).
Defending champion: Adrian Meronk and Ashleigh Buhai.
Race to Dubai leader: Min Woo Lee.
Last week: Min Woo Lee won the Australian PGA Championship.
Notes: For the second straight year, the Australian Open and Women’s Australian Open will be held concurrently for separate trophies and the same prize money. … The leading three players not already exempt earn spots in the British Open next year as part of the Open Qualifying Series. … The Australian Open is fifth-oldest national championship in the world, dating to 1904. … Among the Australians playing in their home open are major champions Geoff Ogilvy, Adam Scott and Cameron Smith, along with Cam Davis, Aaron Baddeley, Min Woo Lee and Marc Leishman. … Nick Hardy and Patrick Rodgers are the U.S. players who are competing this year. … This is the second straight week the European tour is co-sanctioning a tournament on the PGA Tour of Australasia. … The field includes Jasper Stubbs, who won the Asia-Pacific Amateur to earn a spot in the Masters and British Open next year.
Next week: Alfred Dunhill Championship.
Online: https://www.europeantour.com/dpworld-tour/ and https://pga.org.au/
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EUROPEAN TOUR AND SUNSHINE TOUR
INVESTEC SOUTH AFRICAN OPEN
Site: Johannesburg.
Course: Blair Atholl Golf & Equestrian Estate. Yardage: 8,161. Par: 72.
Prize money: $1.5 million. Winner’s share: $250,000.
Television: Thursday-Friday, 5-10 a.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 5-9:30 a.m. (Golf Channel).
Defending champion: Thriston Lawrence.
Race to Dubai leader: Min Woo Lee.
Last week: Dean Burmester won the Joburg Open.
Notes: This is the second of three straight weeks the European tour is co-sanctioning a tournament in South Africa with the Sunshine Tour. … The South African Open dates to 1903, making it the third-oldest championship in golf behind the British Open (1860) and the U.S. Open (1895). … Former Masters champion Charl Schwartzel, now with LIV Golf, is in the field. He is a two-time runner-up of his national Open but has yet to win it. … Dean Burmester is the other LIV Golf player in the field. … Matthias Schwab of Austria is competing under the Category 12 exemption for PGA Tour members who finished between Nos. 126 and 200 in the FedEx Cup last season. … Matti Schmid of Germany is playing two weeks after he secured his PGA Tour card by narrowly finishing in the top 125. … Gary Player won the South African Open 13 times. Bobby Locke is next, winning it nine times.
Next week: Alfred Dunhill Championship.
Online: https://www.europeantour.com/dpworld-tour/ and https://sunshinetour.com/
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OTHER TOURS
Japan Golf Tour: Golf Nippon Series JT Cup, Tokyo Yomiuri CC, Tokyo. Defending champion: Hideto Tanihara. Online: https://www.jgto.org/en/
Asian Tour: Taiwan Glass Taifong Open, Taifong GC, Changhua, Taiwan. Defending champion: Chien-yao Hung. Online: https://asiantour.com/
Legends Tour: Vinpearl DIC Legends, Vinpearl Resort, Nha Trang, Vietnam. Defending champion: New event. Online: https://www.legendstour.com/
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