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PGA Tour heads north to Canada, LPGA stays in New Jersey

2023-06-06 14:00
Rory McIlroy's road to the U.S. Open goes through Canada
PGA Tour heads north to Canada, LPGA stays in New Jersey

PGA TOUR

RBC CANADIAN OPEN

Site: Toronto.

Course: Oakdale Golf & CC. Yardage: 7,264. Par: 72.

Prize money: $9 million. Winner's share: $1.62 million.

Television: Thursday-Friday, 3-6 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, 2:30-5:30 p.m. (Golf Channel), 5:30-7:30 p.m. (CBS); Sunday, 1:30-2:30 p.m. (Golf Channel), 2:30-6:30 p.m. (CBS).

Defending champion: Rory McIlroy.

FedEx Cup leader: Jon Rahm.

Last week: Viktor Hovland won the Memorial.

Notes: The Canadian Open is the fourth-oldest national open in golf and celebrates a new wave of success with four Canadians among the top 50 in the FedEx Cup. ... Rory McIlroy is the defending champion. He has won the last two editions of the Canadian Open, also winning in 2019 before the tournament was canceled for two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic. ... The field has five of the top 20 in the world ranking, including RBC ambassadors Cameron Young and Sam Burns. ... California club pro Michael Block is playing on a sponsor exemption. He also played at Colonial a week after his tie for 15th in the PGA Championship. ... Ludwig Aberg of Sweden makes his pro debut. He has a full card as the top player in the PGA Tour University ranking. ... Adrian Meronk of Poland received a sponsor exemption to play ahead of the U.S. Open next week in Los Angeles. ... The top 60 in the world ranking after the Canadian Open will be exempt for the U.S. Open if they are not already in.

Next week: U.S. Open.

Online: https://www.pgatour.com/

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LPGA TOUR

SHOPRITE LPGA CLASSIC

Site: Galloway, New Jersey.

Course: Seaview GC (Bay Course). Yardage: 6,190. Par: 71.

Prize money: $1.75 million. Winner's share: $262,500.

Television: Friday, 12:30-2:30 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, 5:30-7:30 p.m. (Golf Channel); Sunday, 2:30-5 p.m. (Golf Channel).

Defending champion: Brooke Henderson.

Race to CME Globe leader: Lilia Vu.

Last week: Rose Zhang won the Mizuho Americas Open.

Notes: Rose Zhang won in her professional debut, the first time for an LPGA winner since Beverly Hanson in 1951. ... Zhang is not in the field. ... The ShopRite LPGA is now one of only two LPGA Tour events contested over 54 holes. The other is the Walmart NW Arkansas Open. ... This event marks the four-year anniversary of Lexi Thompson's last win on the LPGA Tour. She won the Aramco Team Series event in New York last year on the Ladies European Tour. ... This is the second of four tournaments in New Jersey for the LPGA over a six-week stretch. The LPGA returns in two weeks for the KPMG Women's PGA at Baltusrol. ... The field includes five of the top 10 in the world, led by Jin Young Ko at No. 1. Thompson is not playing this year. ... Nelly Korda is taking the week off to rest a nagging injury. She also missed the Mizuho Americas Open last week at Liberty National. ... The tournament dates to 1986 and was played through 2006. It returned to the schedule in 2010. Juli Inkster was the first winner of the ShopRite LPGA Classic.

Next week: Meijer LPGA Classic.

Online: https://www.lpga.com/

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EUROPEAN TOUR AND LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR

VOLVO CAR SCANDINAVIAN MIXED

Site: Stockholm.

Course: Ullna Golf & CC. Yardage: 6,819. Par: 72 (Men); Yardage: 6,067. Par: 72 (Women).

Prize money: $2 million. Winner's share: $333,333.

Television: Thursday-Friday, 7 a.m. to noon (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 7:30 a.m. to noon (Golf Channel).

Defending champion: Linn Grant.

Race to Dubai leader: Rory McIlroy.

Last week: Tom McKibbon won the Porsche European Open.

Notes: The tournament is co-sanctioned by the European tour and the Ladies European Tour and has players competing from separate tees but for one prize fund and one trophy. ... Linn Grant last year became the first woman to claim a European tour trophy. She won by nine shots over Henrik Stenson and Marc Warren. ... Stenson and Annika Sorenstam were the hosts of the tournament. Stenson was stripped of that responsibility when he decided to join Saudi-backed LIV Golf, a move that also cost him his Ryder Cup captaincy. ... Sorenstam is among LET players in the field. ... One of the amateur exemptions went to Ingrid Lindblad of Sweden, one of the top college players who plans to return for a fifth season at LSU. ... Alex Noren is playing. That means a trip from Ohio for the Memorial to Sweden for the Scandinavian Mixed and then to Los Angeles for the U.S. Open.

Next week: U.S. Open.

Online: https://www.europeantour.com/dpworld-tour/ and https://ladieseuropeantour.com/

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PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS

AMERICAN FAMILY INSURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP

Site: Madison, Wisconsin.

Course: University Ridge GC. Yardage: 7,083. Par: 72.

Prize money: $2.4 million. Winner's share: $360,000.

Television: Friday 6:30-8:30 p.m. (Golf Channel-tape delay); Saturday, 8:30-10:30 p.m. (Golf Channel-tape delay); Sunday, 8-10 p.m. (Golf Channel-tape delay).

Defending champion: Thongchai Jaidee.

Charles Schwab Cup leader: Steve Stricker.

Last week: Stephen Ames won the Principal Charity Classic.

Notes: Steve Stricker is the host of a tournament that began in 2016. He was strictly the tournament host that year because he had not turned 50 to become eligible for the PGA Tour Champions. ... Stricker and Stephen Ames lead the PGA Tour Champions with three wins apiece this year. ... University Ridge is the home course for the Wisconsin Badgers. It plans to move in 2025 to the TPC Wisconsin. ... Stricker has yet to win his tournament. He lost in a three-man playoff in 2019 to Jerry Kelly, also a Wisconsin native. ... Kelly is a two-time winner and was runner-up another time in the tournament. ... Among the sponsor exemptions are Wisconsin natives Skip Kendall, Mario Tiziani, Notah Begay III and Mike Small, the longtime golf coach at Illinois, where Stricker went to college. ... Bernhard Langer, still tied with Hale Irwin with 45 career wins on the PGA Tour Champions, is not playing this week.

Next tournament: Dick's Sporting Goods Open on June 22-25.

Online: https://www.pgatour.com/pgatour-champions

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KORN FERRY TOUR

BMW CHARITY PRO-AM

Site: Greer South Carolina.

Course: Thornblade Club. Yardage: 7,065. Par: 71.

Prize money: $1 million. Winner's share: $180,000.

Television: Thursday, noon to 2 p.m. (Golf Channel); Friday, 8:30-10:30 p.m. (Golf Channel-tape delay); Saturday, 10:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. (Golf Channel-tape delay); Sunday, 5-7 p.m. (Golf Channel).

Previous winner: Robby Shelton.

Points leader: Ben Kohles.

Last week: Jorge Fernandez Valdes won the UNC Health Championship.

Next week: Wichita Open.

Online: https://www.pgatour.com/korn-ferry-tour

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OTHER TOURS

Epson Tour: FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship, Battle Creek CC, Battle Creek, Michigan. Previous winner: Xiaowen Yin. Online: https://www.epsontour.com/

Japan Golf Tour: ASO Iizuka Challenge, Aso Iizuka GC, Fujuoka, Japan. Defending champion: Tomoyo Ikemura. Online: https://www.jgto.org/en/

Challenge Tour: Andalucía Challenge de Cádiz, Iberostar Real Golf Novo Sancti Petri, Cadiz, Spain. Previous winner: Kristof Ulenaers. Online: https://www.europeantour.com/challenge-tour/

Legends Tour: Jersey Legends, La Moye GC, Jersey, England. Defending champion: Richard Green. Online: https://www.legendstour.com/

Japan LPGA: Ai Miyazato Suntory Ladies Open, Rokko Kokusai GC, Hyogo, Japan. Defending champion: Miyuu Yamashita. Online: https://www.lpga.or.jp/en/

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports