Masters tune-ups at Texas Open and LIV Doral. LPGA has Match Play in Las Vegas
Associated Press
VALERO TEXAS OPEN
Site: San Antonio
Course: TPC San Antonio (Oaks). Yardage: 7,438. Par: 72.
Prize money: $9.5 million. Winner's share: $1,710,000.
Television: Thursday-Friday, 4-7 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, 1-3:30 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3:30-6 p.m. (NBC); Sunday, 1-2:30 p.m. (Golf Channel), 2:30-6 p.m. (NBC).
Defending champion: Akshay Bhatia.
FedEx Cup leader: Rory McIlroy
Last week: Min Woo Lee won the Texas Children's Houston Open.
Notes: The winner gets the final spot in the Masters if not already eligible. ... The field features 16 of the top 50 in the world ranking. ... Ludvig Aberg is among 25 players who are competing in the Texas Open before going to the Masters. ... The last three winners of the Texas Open qualified for the Masters. The last winner already in the Augusta National field was Jordan Spieth in 2021. ... Spieth has played the week before the Masters every year he has been eligible except in 2023. ... Gary Woodland is in the field, his last chance to get to the Masters. His five-year exemption from winning the U.S. Open ran out last year. He is coming off a runner-up finish last week in Houston, his best since his September 2023 brain surgery. ... This is the final week for players to earn a spot in the RBC Heritage at Hilton Head through the Swing Five or FedEx Cup standings. ... Michael Kim withdrew after qualifying for the Masters at No. 50 in the world.
Next week: Masters.
Online: https://www.pgatour.com/
___ LPGA Tour
T-MOBILE MATCH PLAY
Site: North Las Vegas, Nevada.
Course: Shadow Creek GC. Yardage: 6,765. Par: 72.
Prize money: $2 million. Winner's share: $300,000.
Television: Wednesday, 6-9 p.m. (Golf Channel); Thursday-Friday, 6-7 p.m. (NBC Sports app), 7-9 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, 6-9 p.m. (Golf Channel); Sunday, 1:30-3:30 p.m. (NBC Sports app), 6-6:30 p.m. (NBC Sports app), 6:30-9 p.m. (Golf Channel).
Defending champion: Nelly Korda.
Race to CME Globe leader: A Lim Kim.
Last week: Hyo Joo Kim won the Ford Championship.
Notes: This is the fifth year for the LPGA's only tournament with match play. ... Nelly Korda is the defending champion for the second week in a row. She sputtered on the weekend in Phoenix last week and tied for 22nd. ... The 64-player field will be divided into 16 groups of four, with three days of round-robin matches determining who advances to the knockout stage on the weekend. ... The winner will have played seven matches in five days. ... Lydia Ko is playing for the first time. She says her last time in match play was the tournament in Mexico when it was hosted by Lorena Ochoa. ... The six tournaments of the LPGA season have been won by six players. ... Hyo Joo Kim won in the state of Arizona for the second time. She also won the Founders Cup in 2015. ... Danielle Kang received a sponsor exemption to play. She lives in Las Vegas. ... Lilia Vu, who lost in a playoff last week, is not playing.
Next tournament: JM Eagle Championship on April 17-20.
Online: https://www.lpga.com/
___ LIV Golf League
LIV GOLF DORAL
Site: Doral, Florida.
Course: Trump National Doral. Yardage: 7,701. Par: 72.
Prize money: $20 million. Winner's share: $4 million.
Television: Friday, 1-6 p.m. (Fox); Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. (FS1); Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. (Fox).
Defending champion: Dean Burmester.
Points leader: Joaquin Niemann.
Last tournament: Joaquin Niemann won LIV Golf Singapore.
Notes: This is the first of six LIV Golf events held in the United States this year. ... Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Patrick Reed are past winners at Doral when it was a PGA Tour event or a World Golf Championships event. ... Joaquin Niemann has been given a special exemption to the Masters for the second time. ... Niemann is among 12 players on LIV Golf who will be at the Masters next week. Seven of them are past Masters champions. ... Niemann is the only two-time winner out of four tournaments on LIV this year. ... Sergio Garcia and Adrian Meronk won the other two events. ... Garcia's team, Fireballs, have won three straight team titles this season. ... Doral has been on the LIV schedule all four seasons, the first two as the season-ending team event. ... Dustin Johnson tied for fifth in Singapore, his first top 10 in LIV Golf since last May.
Next tournament: LIV Golf Mexico City on April 25-27.
Online: https://www.livgolf.com/
___ PGA Tour Champions
JAMES HARDIE PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME INVITATIONAL
Site: Boca Raton, Florida.
Course: The Old Course at Broken Sound Club. Yardage: 7,008. Par: 72.
Prize money: $2.2 million. Winner's share: $330,000.
Television: Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, 3:30-6 p.m. (Golf Channel); Sunday, 2:30-4:30 p.m. (Golf Channel).
Defending champion: New tournament.
Charles Schwab Cup leader: Miguel Angel Jimenez.
Last week: Steve Allan won The Galleri Classic.
Notes: Steve Allan earned one of the five PGA Tour Champions cards from Q-school last year. He got into The Galleri Classic when Steve Stricker withdrew. And then he won for the first time anywhere in the world since the 2002 Australian Open. ... Brett Quigley, who lives in south Florida, received one of two sponsor exemptions. ... The tournament will feature 26 football greats competing alongside PGA Tour Champions players for Friday and Saturday rounds. ... Among the football players expected in the field are Dan Fouts, Lawrence Taylor, Anthony Munoz and Thurman Thomas. ... Vijay Singh is the only player in the field who will be at the Masters next week. Among those not playing are Bernhard Langer, Fred Couples, Jose Maria Olazabal and Mike Weir. ... Former Masters champion Angel Cabrera starts the week as the second alternate. He played a PGA Tour Americas event last week in Argentina.
Next tournament: Mitsubishi Electric Championship on April 25-27.
Online: https://www.pgatour.com/pgatour-champions
___ Korn Ferry Tour
CLUB CAR CHAMPIONSHIP
Site: Savannah, Georgia.
Course: The Landings Golf & Athletic Club (Deer Creek). Yardage: 7,185. Par: 72.
Prize money: $1 million. Winner's share: $180,000.
Television: Thursday, 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. (Golf Channel); Friday, 9:30-11:30 a.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, 4-6 p.m. (NBC Sports app), 10 p.m. to midnight (Golf Channel-Tape Delay); Sunday, 4:30-6:30 p.m. (Golf Channel).
Previous winner: Steven Fisk.
Points leader: Hank Lebioda.
Last tournament: Logan McAllister won the Astara Chile Classic.
Next tournament: Lecom Suncoast Classic on April 16-19.
Online: https://www.pgatour.com/korn-ferry-tour
___ European Tour
Last week: Eugenio Chacarra won the Hero Indian Open.
Next week: Masters.
Race to Dubai leader: Laurie Canter.
Online: https://www.europeantour.com/dpworld-tour/
___ Other tours
Augusta National: Augusta National Women's Amateur, Champions Retreat (Wednesday and Thursday) and Augusta National GC (Saturday), Augusta, Georgia. Defending champion: Lottie Woad. Television: Wednesday-Thursday, 1:30-3:30 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, noon to 3 p.m. (NBC). Online: https://www.anwagolf.com/index.html
Ladies European Tour: Joburg Ladies Open, Modderfontein GC, Johannesburg. Defending champion: Chiara Tamburlini. Online: https://ladieseuropeantour.com/
PGA Tour Americas: Brazil Open, Rio Olympic GC, Rio de Janeiro. Defending champion: Matthew Anderson. Online: https://www.pgatour.com/americas
Japan LPGA: Yamaha Ladies Open Katsuragi, Katsuragi GG (Yamana), Shizuoka, Japan. Defending champion: Sakura Koiwai. Online: https://www.lpga.or.jp/en/
Korea LPGA: Doosan E&C We've Championship, Dongrae Benest GC, Busan, South Korea. Defending champion: Youmin Hwang. Online: https://klpga.co.kr/
___
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
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