Field Level Media’s Golf Glance provides weekly news and storylines from each of the major North American golf tours.
PGA TOUR
LAST TOURNAMENT: Rocket Mortgage Classic (Tony Finau)
THIS WEEK: Wyndham Championship, Greensboro, N.C., Aug. 4-7
Course: Sedgefield Country Club (Par 70, 7,131 yards)
Purse: $7.3M (Winner: $1.314M)
Defending Champion: Kevin Kisner
FedExCup Leader: Scottie Scheffler
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Friday, 2-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 1-3 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS)
Streaming: Four daily stream feeds on ESPN+
Twitter: @WyndhamChamp
NOTES: This is the final event of the regular season, with the FedEx Cup playoffs beginning next week. … Since the current points structure was implemented in 2009, an average of 2.5 players per year have entered the Wyndham outside of the top 125 and played their way into the playoffs. … Alex Smotherman holds the 125th spot in the rankings with the top three players currently outside of the playoff “bubble” being Max McGreevy, Danny Willett and Justin Lower. … No. 148 Charlie Hoffman needs to finish in the top four or better to continue his streak of qualifying for the playoffs in every season.
BEST BETS: Sungjae Im (+1400 at BetMGM) is coming off a T2 at the 3M Open. … Shane Lowry (+1600) is teeing it up for the first time since a T21 at The Open Championship that followed a T9 at the Irish Open. … Will Zalatoris (+1600) is the top-ranked player in the field at No. 14 as he seeks his first career PGA Tour victory. … Billy Horschel (+1800) is also teeing it up for the first time since a T21 at The Open and won the Memorial in June. He finished second in the Wyndham in 2020.
NEXT TOURNAMENT: FedEx St. Jude Championship, Memphis, Aug. 11-14
LPGA Tour
LAST TOURNAMENT: Women’s Scottish Open (Ayaka Furue)
THIS WEEK: AIG Women’s Open, East Lothian, Scotland, Aug. 4-7
Course: Muirfield (Par 72, 6,680 yards)
Purse: $7.3M (Winner: $1.095M)
Defending Champion: Anna Nordqvist
Race to the CME Globe leader: Minjee Lee
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Friday, 6 a.m.-1 p.m. ET (USA); Saturday-Sunday, 8 a.m.-12 p.m. (USA), 12-3 p.m. (NBC)
Twitter: @AIGWomensOpen
NOTES: The R&A announced the new prize fund this week that represents a nearly 26 percent increase from last year’s total of $5.8 million. The second-place finisher will receive $720,028, while the third-place representative will pocket $521,498. … The event was elevated to major status in 2001. … Lizette Salas has finished second two of the past three years while Lee has consecutive top-5 finishes in the event. … Jin Young Ko leads the tour with a 70.34 scoring average in majors since the beginning of 2019, while Nelly Korda leads with an average of 2.64 strokes gained per round. … Karen Stupples holds the tournament scoring record of 269 set in 2004.
NEXT TOURNAMENT: ISPS Handa World Invitational, Antrim, Northern Ireland, Aug. 11-14
Champions Tour
LAST TOURNAMENT: The Senior Open Championship (Darren Clarke)
THIS WEEK: Shaw Charity Classic, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Aug. 5-7
Course: Canyon Meadows Golf & Country Club (Par 70, 7,086 yards)
Purse: $2.35M (Winner: $352,500)
Defending Champion: Doug Barron
Charles Schwab Cup leader: Steven Alker
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Friday, 9:30-11:30 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday, 3-6 p.m. (All times Golf Channel)
Twitter: @ShawClassic
NOTES: Padraig Harrington is second in the Cup standings and is coming off a victory at the U.S. Senior Open as he makes his tournament debut. He has five top-10 finishes in eight starts this season. … Jerry Kelly has seven top-10 finishes in 15 events, including a win at the Senior Players Championship. … The field includes four World Golf Hall of Fame members: Fred Couples, Colin Montgomerie, Mark O’Meara and Vijay Singh.
NEXT TOURNAMENT: Boeing Classic, Snoqualmie, Wash., Aug. 12-14
–Field Level Media
