Field Level Media’s Golf Glance provides weekly news and storylines from each of the major North American golf tours.
PGA TOUR
LAST TOURNAMENT: Honda Classic (Sepp Straka)
THIS WEEK: Arnold Palmer Invitational, Bay Hill Club & Lodge, Orlando, Fla., March 3-6
Course: Bay Hill Club & Lodge (Par 72, 7,466 yards)
Purse: $12M (Winner: $2.16M)
Defending Champion: Bryson DeChambeau
FedEx Cup Leader: Hideki Matsuyama
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Friday, 2-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 12:30-2:30 p.m. (Golf Channel), 2:30-6 p.m. (NBC).
PGA Tour Live: Four live feeds per day on ESPN+
Social Media: @APInv (Twitter)
NOTES: This is one of three PGA Tour events with elevated status, providing a larger purse and a bigger allotment of FedEx Cup points. The winner also receives a three-year tour exemption. … The 120-player field includes 10 of the top 25 players in the Official World Golf Ranking. … DeChambeau will not defend his title as he continues to recover from wrist and hip injuries. … The field hit only 56.84 percent of the greens in regulation last year, the fifth-lowest mark on tour. … The top three finishers this week who are not otherwise exempt will qualify for The Open Championship. … Former Michigan State star and 2021 U.S. Amateur winner James Piot will make his PGA Tour debut. … Notable sponsors exemptions include former FedEx Cup champion Brandt Snedeker and former major winners Graeme McDowell, Henrik Stenson, Padraig Harrington and Danny Willett. … Last season’s final-round scoring average of 75.49 was the highest in a final round since 1980. … Payne Stewart set the tournament scoring record of 264 in 1987.
BEST BETS: Jon Rahm (+750 at DraftKings) will make his event debut as he seeks his first win since last year’s U.S. Open. … Rory McIlroy (+1000) has five consecutive top-10s at Bay Hill, including a victory in 2018. … Scottie Scheffler (+1600) has three top-fives this season, including his first tour victory at the Phoenix Open…. Viktor Hovland (+1800) leads the tour in birdie average at 5.73 per round. He has not finished better than T40 in three previous event starts but does have three wins in his past seven worldwide starts…. Matsuyama (+2500) is the only two-time winner on tour this season. His best finish in seven previous event starts was a T6 in 2016.
NEXT TOURNAMENT: The Players Championship, Ponte Vedre Beach, Fla., March 10-13
LPGA Tour
LAST TOURNAMENT: LPGA Drive On Championship (Leona Maguire)
THIS WEEK: HSBC Women’s World Championship, Singapore, March 3-6
Course: Sentosa Golf Club, Tanjong Course (Par 72, 6,749 yards)
Purse: $1.7M
Defending Champion: Sung Hyun Park
Race to the CME Globe leader: Danielle Kang
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Wednesday-Thursday, 9:30 p.m.-2:30 a.m. ET; Friday-Saturday, 9:30-11 p.m. ET (All times Golf Channel)
Livestream: Friday-Saturday, 11 p.m.-2:30 a.m. (NBC Sports app)
Social Media: @HSBC_Sport, @HWWCGolf (Twitter)
NOTES: This is a 66-player, no-cut event. … World No. 1 Jin Young Ko will make her 2022 debut. She has five wins among nine top-10s in her past 10 starts. … Kang will make her eighth start in the event. She is second on tour with 1.93 strokes gained approach per round this year behind In Gee Gun at 1.97. … Brooke Henderson has not finished lower than 15th in four previous trips to Singapore.
NEXT TOURNAMENT: Honda LPGA Thailand, Chonburi, Thailand, March 10-13
Champions Tour
LAST TOURNAMENT: Cologuard Classic (Miguel Angel Jimenez)
THIS WEEK: Hoag Classic, Newport Beach, Calif., March 4-6
Course: Newport Beach Country Club (Par 71, 6,612 yards)
Defending champion: Ernie Els
Purse: $2M ($300,000)
Charles Schwab Cup leader: Jimenez
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Friday, 6-8 p.m. ET; Saturday, 5-7 p.m.; Sunday 4:30-7 p.m. (All times Golf Channel)
Social Media: @HoagClassic (Twitter)
NOTES: The event returns after being canceled in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. … Jimenez is the first player since Loren Roberts in 2006 to win two of the first three events of the year. He recorded two hole-in-ones last week. … Fred Couples won the event in 2010 and ’14. … Els earned his first Champions victory at Newport Beach in 2020.
NEXT TOURNAMENT: Rapiscan Systems Classic, Biloxi, Miss., April 1-3
–Field Level Media