PGA TOUR
PGA TOUR
TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP
Site: Atlanta.
Course: East Lake GC. Yardage: 7,385. Par: 70.
Purse: $8.5 million (First prize: $1.53 million).
Defending champion: Jordan Spieth.
Last tournament: Dustin Johnson won the BMW Championship.
Notes: The nines at East Lake have been switched, meaning the tournament will end with a par 5 (formerly the ninth hole) instead of a par 3. … In the 10 years of the FedEx Cup, no one has won back-to-back. Tiger Woods (2007, 2009) is the only player to have twice won the $10 million bonus. … Jordan Spieth is No. 7 in the FedEx Cup, the highest seed by a defending FedEx Cup champion. The previous high seed was Brandt Snedeker at No. 10 in 2013. … The final three hours of the telecast on Sunday will be commercial-free. … Ten players who reached the Tour Championship have not won a PGA Tour event this season. That includes Roberto Castro, the only player in the field to have never won on the PGA Tour. … Paul Casey, the No. 5 seed, has a mathematical chance to win the FedEx Cup without winning a tournament this season. … Players who made the 30-man field at East Lake are exempt into the Masters, U.S. Open and British Open next year. … Eight of the 30 players will be in the Ryder Cup next week. U.S. captain Davis Love III has one more wild-card selection to make after the Tour Championship.
Next week: Ryder Cup.
Next PGA Tour event: Safeway Open on Oct. 13-16 to start the new season.
EUROPEAN TOUR
PORSCHE EUROPEAN OPEN
Site: Bad Griesbach, Germany
Course: Golf Resort Bad Griesbach. Yardage: 7,188. Par: 71.
Purse: 2 million euros.
Defending champion: Thongchai Jaidee.
Last week: Francesco Molinari won the Italian Open.
Notes: Martin Kaymer and Thomas Pieters are playing before heading over to Minnesota for the Ryder Cup. … The last two European Tour events were won by home country players — Joost Luiten in the KLM Open and Francesco Molinari in the Italian Open. … This is the second European Tour event in Germany, the same number held in England. … Ernie Els is playing his first regular European Tour event since he tied for 18th in the Omega Dubai Desert Classic in February. … Sponsor exemptions were offered Charlie Danielson of Illinois and Lee McCoy of Georgia, neither whom earned enough since leaving college to qualify for the Web.com Tour Finals. …. Exemptions also were given to PGA Tour players Bud Cauley, Luke List and Matt Every. … The tournament began in 1978 and twice in the early years was held on links courses in Britain — Turnberry in 1979 and Royal Liverpool in 1981.
Next week: Ryder Cup.
Next European Tour event: Dunhill Links Championship on Oct. 6-9.
WEB.COM TOUR
NATIONWIDE CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Site: Columbus, Ohio.
Course: Ohio State University GC (Scarlett course). Yardage: . Par:
Purse: $1 million (First prize: $180,000).
Defending champion: Andrew Loupe.
Last week: Michael Thompson won the Albertsons Boise Open.
Notes: Among those who all but locked up PGA Tour cards last week were Andrew “Beef” Johnston of England, Scott Stallings and Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano of Spain, who has tied for 16th and tied for ninth in two Web.com Tour Finals events. … Steven Alker closed with a 62 to finish eighth in Boise, moving up to No. 14 among the 25 who are trying to get PGA Tour cards. … Fernandez-Castano, who moved his family to Miami, lost his PGA Tour card two years ago and spent the entire season on the Web.com Tour. … The Ohio stop is the third of four events in the Web.com Tour Finals. The top 25 from the regular season already are secured cards and are playing for the priority ranking for getting into tournaments. The other 25 cards are based on a money list from players who were Nos. 126-200 in the FedEx Cup and Nos. 26-75 on the Web.com Tour regular-season money list.
Next tournament: Web.com Tour Championship on Oct. 6-9.
PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS
PACIFIC LINKS CHAMPIONSHIP
Site: Victoria, British Columbia.
Course: Bear Mountain Resort. Yardage: 6,925. Par: 71.
Purse: $2.5 million (First prize: $330,000).
Defending champion: Paul Goydos.
Last week: Paul Broadhurst won the Nature Valley First Tee Open.
Notes: The tournament was held last year in Hawaii. … Broadhurst’s two victories this year have come at Carnoustie and Pebble Beach. … Greg Kraft tied for seventh at Pebble Beach, earning him a spot in the Pacific Links Championship. It was his first top 10 of the year, but he moved to No. 63 in the Schwab Cup standings and has a good chance to qualify for the first of three Schwab Cup playoff events. … Bernhard Langer was runner-up for the second straight week, which followed his victory in the Boeing Classic. Langer has finished out of the top 10 only three times in 17 starts this year. … Kevin Sutherland went over $1 million for the second straight year on the PGA Tour Champions. He only topped the $1 million mark six times on the PGA Tour, including the year he won the Match Play Championship.
Next tournament: Toshiba Classic on Oct. 7-9.
LPGA TOUR
Last week: In Gee Chun of South Korea won the Evian Championship, the fifth and final major.
Next week: Reignwood LPGA Classic.