PGA TOUR/ASIAN TOUR CIMB CLASSIC Site: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Course: TPC Kuala Lumpur (West). Yardage: 7,005. Par: 72. Purse: $7 million (Winner’s share: $1,260,000). Television: Wednesday-Thursday, 10:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. (Golf Channel); Friday-Saturday, 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. (Golf
PGA TOUR/ASIAN TOUR
CIMB CLASSIC
Site: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Course: TPC Kuala Lumpur (West). Yardage: 7,005. Par: 72.
Purse: $7 million (Winner’s share: $1,260,000).
Television: Wednesday-Thursday, 10:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. (Golf Channel); Friday-Saturday, 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. (Golf Channel).
Defending champion: Justin Thomas.
Last week: Brendan Steele won the Safeway Open.
FedEx Cup leader: Brendan Steele.
Notes: Justin Thomas begins his new season one week after he was voted PGA Tour player of the year. He will try to become the first player since Steve Stricker at the John Deere Classic (2009-11) to win the same PGA Tour event three straight years. … The 78-man, no-cut field is for the top 60 players available from last season’s FedEx Cup (no deeper than No. 125), the top 10 available money leaders from the Asian Tour and eight sponsor exemptions, five of them for PGA Tour players. … This is the start of a three-tournament Asia swing, followed by stops in South Korea and Shanghai. … The field features eight players from the Presidents Cup, although Thomas is the only American. … Thomas (No. 4) and Hideki Matsuyama (No. 3) give the CIMB Classic two players from the top 5 in the world ranking for the first time. … PGA Tour rookie of the year Xander Schauffele is making his first start since winning the Tour Championship.
Next week: CJ Cup at Nine Bridges.
Online: www.pgatour.com and www.asiantour.com
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LPGA TOUR
LPGA KEB-HANA BANK CHAMPIONSHIP
Site: Incheon, South Korea.
Course: Sky 72 GC (Ocean Course). Yardage: 6,316. Par: 72.
Purse: $2 million. (Winner’s share: $300,000).
Television (tape delay): Thursday, noon to 4 p.m. (Golf Channel); Friday, noon to 2:30 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. (Golf Channel).
Defending champion: Carlota Ciganda.
Last tournament: Brooke Henderson won the New Zealand Women’s Open.
LPGA money leader: Sung Hyun Park.
Notes: The start of the Asia swing features one of the stronger fields of the year, with all top 10 players from the world ranking, and 18 out of the top 20, in the field. … South Korea has 27 active players on the LPGA Tour, the most of any country outside the United States. Thailand is next with 13 active players. … So Yeon Ryu leads by only three points over Lexi Thompson for LPGA player of the year. Park, an LPGA rookie, leads the money list by $123,143 over Ryu. … Se Ri Pak won the inaugural tournament in 2002. Since then, only Suzann Pettersen and Na Yeon Choi have won it twice. … Michelle Wie returns to the LPGA after missing the last four events following an emergency appendectomy. Wie plans to play the final six events of the year. … The tour will remain in Asia for the next month with stops in Tawain, Malaysia, Japan and China.
Next week: Swinging Skirts LPGA Taiwan Championship
Online: www.lpga.com
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EUROPEAN TOUR
ITALIAN OPEN
Site: Parco Reale di Monza, Italy.
Course: Golf Club Milano. Yardage: 7,156. Par: 71.
Purse: $7 million.
Television: Thursday-Friday, 4 a.m. to noon (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 6:30 to 11:30 a.m. (Golf Channel).
Defending champion: Francesco Molinari.
Last week: Tyrrell Hatton won the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
Race to Dubai leader: Tommy Fleetwood.
Notes: The field features seven of the top 10 from the Race to Dubai, including the top three — Fleetwood, Masters champions Sergio Garcia and Jon Rahm. Rafa Cabrera Bello, who is at No. 4, is playing the PGA Tour event in Malaysia. … Also missing from the field is Rory McIlroy, who ends the year without a victory for only the second time in his career. … Garcia will be making his professional debut in Italy. … This is the ninth time the Italian Open has been held at Golf Club Milano. … The tournament has been part of the European Tour schedule since 1972. … Francesco Molinari, the defending champion and a two-time winner, is among three Italians to win their national open. The others were Massimo Mannelli in 1980 and Baldovino Dassu in 1976. … Ian Poulter won the Italian Open as a rookie on the European Tour in 2000.
Next week: Andalucia Valderrama Masters.
Online: www.europeantour.com
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PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS
SAS CHAMPIONSHIP
Site: Cary, N.C.
Course: Prestonwood CC. Yardage: 7,082. Par: 72.
Purse: $2.1 million (Winner’s share: $315,000).
Television: Friday-Sunday, 2:30 to 5 p.m. (Golf Channel).
Defending champion: Doug Garwood.
Last tournament: Bernhard Langer won the Pure Insurance Open at Pebble Beach.
Charles Schwab Cup leader: Bernhard Langer.
Notes: This is the last chance for CBS analyst Nick Faldo to earn a spot in the Schwab Cup playoffs. The six-time major champion, who has played only six events this year, would need to finish at least alone in fourth. Faldo could also get a wild-card pick into the field provided he posts a top 10 at the SAS Championship. … Langer is coming off his tour-best fifth victory, and his first one since turning 60. … Langer is among four players at age 56 or older to have won on the PGA Tour Champions this year. The others are Fred Couples (twice), Tom Lehman and Kenny Perry. … Presidents Cup captain Steve Stricker has withdrawn. Stricker has not played on the PGA Tour Champions since Aug. 6 in Minnesota. … Langer leads the tour in scoring average by more than a half-stroke over Kevin Sutherland.
Next week: Dominion Energy Charity Classic.
Online: www.pgatour.com/champions
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OTHER TOURS
MEN
Japan Golf Tour: Japan Open, Gifuseki CC (East Course), Gifu, Japan. Defending champion: Hideki Matsuyama. Online: www.jgto.org
Challenge Tour: Hainan Open, Sanya Luhuitou GC, Hainan Island, China. Defending champion: Alexander Knappe. Online: www.europeantour.com/challengetour
PGA Tour Latinoamerica: 64 Brazil Open, Olympic GC, Rio de Janeiro. Defending champion: Jorge Fernandez-Valdes. Online: www.pgatour.com/la/en
Sunshine Tour: Vocadom Origins of Golf-Sishen, Sishen GC, Kathu, South Africa. Defending champion: Jacques Blaauw. Online: www.sunshinetour.com
WOMEN
Japan LPGA: Fujitsu Ladies Open, Tokyo 700 Red Club (West Course), Chiba, Japan. Defending champion: Ayaka Matsumori. Online: www.lpga.or.jp
