Field Level Media’s Golf Glance provides weekly news and storylines from each of the major North American golf tours.
PGA TOUR
LAST TOURNAMENT: RBC Heritage (Scottie Scheffler); Corales Puntacana Championship (Billy Horschel)
THIS WEEK: Zurich Classic of New Orleans, Avondale, La., April 25-28
Course: TPC Louisiana (Par 72, 7,425 Yards)
Purse: $8.9M (Winners: $1.286M each)
Defending Champions: Davis Riley, Nick Hardy
FedEx Cup Leader: Scottie Scheffler
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Friday: 3:30-6:30 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday: 12:45-2:45 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS)
Streaming (ESPN+): Thursday, 8 a.m.-6:30 p.m. ET; Friday, 9:15 a.m.-6:30 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sunday, 10:30 a.m.-6 p.m.
X: @Zurich_Classic
NOTES: This is the seventh year the Zurich has been a team event. The field is comprised of 80 two-player teams that will play fourball in the first and third rounds and foursomes (alternate shot) for the second and fourth rounds. … Each player from the winning team will earn 400 FedEx Cup points, a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour through 2026 and entry into the three remaining signature events this year. … Horschel, who won his first stroke-play event in two years last week, teamed with Scott Piercy to win in New Orleans in 2018. He also won the Zurich Classic as an individual event in 2013. … Hardy and Riley set the tournament record of 30-under 258 in each claiming their first PGA Tour titles last year. … This is the second of three events that count toward the Aon Swing 5 for the next signature event, with the five players not otherwise exempt who earn the most points in those three events qualifying for the Wells Fargo Championship. … Charley Hoffman/Nick Watney and Kevin Tway/Kelly Kraft are the only pairs who have competed together in all six previous editions of the team format.
BEST BETS: Patrick Cantlay/Xander Schauffele (+450 at BetMGM) followed their victory in 2022 with a T4 showing last year and are the only pairing of top-10 players in the field. … Rory McIlroy/Shane Lowry (+750) have the top-ranked player in the field, with No. 2 McIlroy making his event debut along with Ryder Cup teammate Lowry. … Sahith Theegala/Will Zalatoris (+850) are both winners on tour and young stars with the ability to go very low. … Collin Morikawa/Kurt Kitayama (+1200) are led by Morikawa coming off a T3 at the Masters and a ninth-place finish last week. Kitayama, a fellow Las Vegas resident, has a high of T19 at the Players in making four consecutive cuts.
NEXT TOURNAMENT: The CJ Cup Byron Nelson, McKinney, Texas, May 2-5
LPGA Tour
LAST TOURNAMENT: The Chevron Championship (Nelly Korda)
THIS WEEK: JM Eagle LA Championship, Los Angeles, April 25-28
Course: Wilshire Country Club (Par 71, 6,258 yards)
Purse: $3.75M ($562,500)
Defending Champion: Hannah Green
Race to the CME Globe leader: Korda
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV/Streaming: Thursday-Friday, 6:30-9 p.m. ET (Golf Channel/Peacock); Saturday-Sunday, 6-9 p.m. (GC/Peacock)
NOTES: Korda, who has tied an LPGA record by winning each of her past five events, withdrew on Monday citing mental and physical fatigue. Her next scheduled start is at the Cognizant Founders Cup. … The 144-player field will be cut to the top-65 and ties after 36 holes. … The field does include six of the top 10 players in the world rankings, including No. 3 Celine Boutier and No. 4 Ruoning Yin. … Beginning this year, the event will take on all records and past champions associated with Wilshire Country Club since 2018.
TWITTER: @JMEagleLAChamp
NEXT TOURNAMENT: Cognizant Founders Cup, Clifton, N.J., May 9-12
PGA Tour Champions
LAST TOURNAMENT: Invited Celebrity Classic (Paul Broadhurst)
THIS WEEK: Mitsubishi Electric Classic, Duluth, Ga., April 26-28
Course: TPC Sugarloaf (Par 72, 7,179 yards)
Purse: $2M (Winner: $300,000)
Defending Champion: Stephen Ames
Charles Schwab Cup leader: Steven Alker
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Friday, 12-3 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday, 3-6 p.m. (All times Golf Channel)
Twitter: @MEClassicGolf
NOTES: The field includes the top five players in the Charles Schwab Cup standings. … Ames set the tournament scoring record with his win at 19-under 197 last year. He also won in 2017. … Steve Flesch is the event’s only other two-time winner (2018, ‘22). … Stewart Cink is serving as the tournament host as he seeks his first Champions Tour victory.
NEXT TOURNAMENT: Insperity Invitational, The Woodlands, Texas, May 3-5
LIV Golf League
LAST TOURNAMENT: Miami, April 5-7 (Individual: Dean Burmester; Team: Legion XIII)
THIS WEEK: Adelaide, Australia, April 26-28
Course: The Grange Golf Club (Par 72, 6,946 Yards)
Purse: Individual, $20M (Winner, $4M); Team, $5M (Winner, $3M)
Defending Champion: Individual, Talor Gooch; Team, 4Aces
2024 Leaders: Players, Joaquin Niemann; Team, Crushers GC
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Friday (CW App, LIV Golf Plus, Caffeine); Saturday-Sunday (CW Network, CW App, LIV Golf Plus)
Twitter: @livgolf_league
NOTES: This is the sixth of 14 events on the 2024 schedule. … The daily shotgun start will begin at 9:45 p.m. ET on Thursday and Friday and 9:35 p.m. on Saturday. The field includes 12 teams of four players along with two wild cards. Each team’s top three scores count for every round, while all four scores are counted for the final round. … The official attendance of 77,076 last year was the highest on the LIV Golf circuit in 2023. … The Grange’s East and West courses will both be utilized as a composite layout for the event.
NEXT TOURNAMENT: Singapore, May 3-5
–Field Level Media