Field Level Media’s Golf Glance provides weekly news and storylines from each of the major North American golf tours.
PGA TOUR
LAST TOURNAMENT: Sanderson Farms Championship (Mackenzie Hughes)
THIS WEEK: Shriners Children’s Open, Las Vegas, Oct. 6-9
Course: TPC Summerlin (Par 71, 7,255 yards)
Purse: $8M (Winner: 1.44M)
Defending Champion: Sungjae Im
FedEx Cup leader: Hughes
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Sunday, 5-8 p.m. ET (Golf Channel)
Streaming: Thursday-Friday, 9:30 a.m.-8 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
Twitter: @ShrinersOpen
NOTES: Im seeks to join Jim Furyk as the only players to successfully defend at the event. … There are 10 players in the field who competed in the Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow last month and eight who qualified for the 2022 Tour Championship. … The 21,409 birdies made at TPC Summerlin since the start of the 2010 season is the most on any course on tour during that span. Next is Sedgefield Country Club (21,147), site of the Wyndham Championship. … There are 11 Las Vegas residents in the field, including natives Taylor Montgomery and Scott Piercy. … Five-time tour winner Rickie Fowler is in the field after finishing T6 in the Fortinet Championship, his first top-10 since a T3 at the 2021 CJ Cup. His top Shriners finish in six previous visits was a T4 in 2018. … Martin Laird is one of five past champions in the field and has won the event twice. … Monday qualifiers were Jared Sawada, Spencer Levin, Xuewen Luo and Ryan Ruffels.
BEST BETS: Patrick Cantlay (+700 at BetMGM) won his first PGA Tour event at TPC Summerlin in 2017 and has a pair of runner-ups and a T8 in four previous starts. … Im (+1200) shot a final-round 62 last year to win by four strokes and will be making his fourth event start. … Max Homa (+2000) makes his second start of the season after winning the Fortinet Championship and going 4-0-0 in his Presidents Cup debut. … Tom Kim won the Wyndham Championship to close the 2022-23 regular season before competing for the International team at Quail Hollow. … Montgomery (+3300) has consecutive top-10 finishes to begin his rookie season. … Maverick McNealy (+6600) is another Las Vegas resident. Seeking his first win in his 95th career start on tour, McNealy’s previous best event finish was a T37 in 2019 but he did place a career-best 35th in last season’s FedEx Cup.
NEXT TOURNAMENT: Zozo Championship, Chiba, Japan, Oct. 13-16
LPGA Tour
LAST TOURNAMENT: The Ascendant LPGA Benefitting Volunteers of America (Charley Hull)
THIS WEEK: LPGA Mediheal Championship, Somis, Calif., Oct. 6-9
Course: The Saticoy Club (Par 72, 6,635 yards)
Purse: $1.8M ($270,000)
Defending Champion: Matilda Castren
Race to the CME Globe leader: Lydia Ko
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Sunday, 9 p.m.-12 a.m. ET (Golf Channel, Tape Delayed)
Streaming: Thursday-Sunday, 5:30-8:30 p.m. ET (All times Golf Channel and NBC Sports App)
Twitter: @A MEDIHEALChamp, #MEDIHEALChamp
NOTES: World No. 1 Jin Young Ko is not in the field as she continues to recover from a wrist injury. … Castren set the tournament scoring record of 14-under 274 in beating Min Lee by two shots last year. … Lydio Ko leads the tour in scoring average at 69.176. … Lexi Thompson leads the Team USA Solheim Cup standings with 238 points. She is followed by Jennifer Kupcho (187) and Nelly Korda (183).
NEXT TOURNAMENT: BMW Ladies Championship, South Korea, Oct. 20-23
Champions Tour
LAST TOURNAMENT: Pure Insurance Championship (Steve Flesch)
THIS WEEK: Constellation Furyk & Friends, Jacksonville, Fla., Oct. 7-9
Course: Timuquana Country Club (Par 72, 6,949 yards)
Purse: $2M (Winner: $300,000)
Defending Champion: Phil Mickelson
Charles Schwab Cup leader: Steven Alker
HOW TO FOLLOW:
TV: Friday-Sunday, 2-5 p.m. ET (Golf Channel)
Twitter: @FurykandFriends
NOTES: There are two events left before the start of the playoffs. … This is the second playing of the 79-player, 54-hole event hosted by Jim Furyk. … Notah Begay III will make his Champions debut after turning 50 on Sept. 14. He was a four-time winner on the PGA Tour. … David Duval grew up in Jacksonville and his father Bob was once the head club pro at Timuquana. … Padraig Harrington has three wins and three other top-5 finishes in his past eight starts. Harrington, Jerry Kelly, Steve Stricker and Miguel Angel Jimenez have combined to win 15 of 22 events this year, with each having three titles.
NEXT TOURNAMENT: SAS Championship, Cary, N.C., Oct. 13-16
–Field Level Media