Field Level Media’s Golf Glance provides weekly news and storylines from each of the major North American golf tours.
PGA TOUR
LAST TOURNAMENT: World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba (Viktor Hovland)
THIS WEEK: Houston Open, Houston, Nov. 11-14
Course: Memorial Park Golf Course (Par 70, 7,412 yards)
Purse: $7.5M (Winner: $1.35M)
Defending Champion: Carlos Ortiz
FedEx Cup Leader: Sam Burns
HOW TO WATCH
TV: Thursday-Sunday, 1-4 p.m. ET (Golf Channel).
PGA Tour Live: Thursday-Friday, 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m. (Featured Groups)
NOTES: Only two events remain in the 2021 PGA Tour calendar year. … Brooks Koepka had a hand in the $34 million redesign of Memorial Park Golf Course, which returned as a tour venue in 2020 for the first time in nearly six decades. … Sponsors exemptions include Koepka’s brother, Chase, along with Houston-area residents MJ Daffue and Shawn Stefani. Arizona State senior Cameron Sisk is also in the field as a sponsors exemption after winning the Maridoe Intercollegiate. … Ortiz became the first Mexican player to win on the PGA Tour in 42 years last year, but won’t defend his title after withdrawing Tuesday due to a shoulder injury. … The Houston Open sold 2,000 tickets per day last year as the first domestic event to allow spectators since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
BEST BETS: Burns (+1200 at DraftKings) won earlier this season at the Sanderson Farms Championship and has not finished lower than T21 in his past seven starts. … Texas native Scottie Scheffler (+1800) is coming off a solo fourth in Mexico. He finished T32 in this event last year. … Cameron Smith (+1800) has four top-10s in his past six events, including a T9 at The CJ Cup in his last start. … Sung-Jae Im (+2000) won two starts ago at the Shriners Children’s Open and backed it up with a T9 at The CJ Cup. … Matthew Wolff (+2500) was the 36-hole leader last week before posting a 74 on Saturday. He rebounded to close with a 64. … Brooks Koepka (+2800) is coming off a missed cut as he attempts to grind his way out of a slump. He did post a T5 here last year and is the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 15.
NEXT WEEK: The RSM Classic, Sea Island, Ga., Nov. 18-21
LPGA TOUR
LAST TOURNAMENT: BMW Ladies Championship (Jin Young Ko)
THIS WEEK: Pelican Women’s Championship, Belleair, Fla., Nov. 11-14
Course: Pelican Golf Club (Par 70, 6,353 yards)
Purse: $1.75M (Winner: $262,500)
Defending Champion: Sei Young Kim
Race to the CME Globe leader: Ko
HOW TO WATCH
TV: Thursday-Friday, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 7:30-10:30 p.m. (Golf Channel, tape delay)
STREAMING: Thursday-Friday, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday, 1-4 p.m. (NBC Sports App, golfchannel.com)
NOTES: Kim won the inaugural event by three shots over Ally Ewing with a score of 14-under 266. … Nelly Korda leads the tour in 2021 money ($1.975M) and scoring average (69.074) but has been passed by Ko in the Race for the CME Globe and Rolex Player of the Year standings with only two events remaining. … Ko leads the tour with four wins this year as she enters with consecutive victories and three in her past five events. … Lexi Thompson leads the tour in greens in regulation at 78.4 percent.
NEXT WEEK: CME Group Tour Championship, Naples, Fla., Nov. 18-21
CHAMPIONS TOUR
LAST TOURNAMENT: TimberTech Championship (Steven Alker)
THIS WEEK: Charles Schwab Cup Championship, Phoenix, Ariz., Nov. 11-14
Course: Phoenix Country Club (Par 71, 6,853 yards)
Purse: $2.5M
Defending Champion: Kevin Sutherland
Charles Schwab Cup leader: Bernhard Langer
TV: Thursday-Sunday, 4-6:30 p.m. ET (Golf Channel)
NOTES: The top 30 players in the standings advanced to the season-ending event. However, only Langer, Jim Furyk, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Ernie Els have a chance to win the Charles Schwab Cup. With 880,000 points on the line, only Langer and Furyk can guarantee the title with a win this week. The other two would need to win along with Langer finishing at least T6 or worse. Among various scenarios, Langer can also claim the title with a solo second as long as Furyk does not win.
NEXT TOURNAMENT: PNC Championship, Orlando, Dec. 17-19
–Field Level Media
