Golf Glance
All Times Eastern
PGA TOUR
THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP
Site: Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.
Course: TPC Sawgrass (Stadium Course). Yards: 7,215. Par: 72.
Purse: $10.5 million (First prize: $1.89 million).
Television: Golf Channel (Thursday-Friday, 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.), NBC Sports (Saturday-Sunday, 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.)
Defending champion: Rickie Fowler.
Last week: James Hahn won the Wells Fargo Championship over Roberto Castro on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff.
Notes: The purse was raised by $500,000 to $10.5 million, the richest in golf. ... The winner gets a five-year exemption on the PGA Tour and a three-year exemption to the Masters and British Open. ... Rickie Fowler made a birdie on the island-green 17th hole five times in six tries last year, including three times in the final round (twice in a playoff). ... The top spot in the world ranking is up for grabs between Jason Day (No. 1) and Jordan Spieth (No. 2). Spieth would have to finish at least third to have a mathematical chance to replace Day. ... Spieth is playing for the first time since losing a five-shot lead on the back nine at the Masters. He is scheduled to play five of the next six weeks through the U.S. Open. ... Bernhard Langer (58) is the oldest player in the field for the second straight year, earning a spot as the Senior Players Championship winner. ... Adam Scott in 2005 was the last defending champion at The Players Championship to finish in the top 10. ... Ryan Palmer has the longest active streak (24 rounds) of not hitting a ball in the water on the par-3 17th.
Next week: AT&T Byron Nelson Championship.
Online: www.pgatour.com
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EUROPEAN TOUR/ASIAN TOUR/SUNSHINE TOUR
AFRASIA BANK MAURITIUS OPEN
Site: Beau Champ, Mauritius
Course: Four Seasons GC at Anahita. Yards: 7,401. Par: 72.
Purse: 1 million euros.
Television: Golf Channel (Thursday-Friday, 4 a.m. to 6 a.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.).
Defending champion: George Coetzee.
Last week: Jeunghun Wang won the Hassan Trophy in a playoff over Nacho Elvira on the European Tour. Titch Moore won the Investec Royal Swazi Open over Addison da Silva on the Sunshine Tour.
Notes: Li Haotong, the 20-year-old from China who won his first European Tour event two weeks ago, is in the field. Also playing is Nicolas Colsaerts of Belgium. ... Ludovic Bax, the only tour pro from Mauritius, is in the field. He is a Sunshine Tour member. ... Li has moved to the top of the Olympic rankings for China. ... The AfrAsia BankMauritius Open is the only tri-sanctioned event involving the European, Asian and Sunshine tours. ... Javier Colomo holed his tee shot on the 329-yard ninth hole last year, making him the first player in European Tour history to make a hole-in-one on a par 4. ... The course was designed by Ernie Els and has six holes along the Indian Ocean.
Next week: Dubai Duty Free Irish Open.
Online: www.europeantour.com , www.sunshinetour.com , www.asiantour.com
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LPGA TOUR
Last week: Ariya Jutanugarn won the Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic to become the first Thai winner in LPGA history.
Next week: Kingsmill Championship.
Online: www.lpga.com
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PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS
Last week: Jesper Parnevik won for the first time on the PGA Tour Champions at the Insperity Invitational. John Daly tied for 17th in his senior tour debut.
Next week: Regions Tradition.
Online: www.pgatour.com/champions
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WEB.COM TOUR
REX HOSPITAL OPEN
Site: Raleigh, N.C.
Schedule: Thursday-Sunday
Course: TPC Wakefield Plantation. Yards: 7,257. Par: 71.
Purse: $650,000 (First place: $117,000)
Television: Golf Channel (Thursday-Sunday, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.)
Defending champion: Kyle Thompson.
Last tournament: Seamus Power of Ireland won the United Leasing & Finance Championship.
Next week: BMW Charity Pro-Am.
Online: www.pgatour.com/webcom
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OTHER TOURS
MEN
Challenge Tour: Montecchia Open, Golf della Montecchia, Padova, Italy. Last winner: Brooks Koepka in 2013. Online: www.europeantour.com/challengetour
PGA Tour China Series: Henan Open, St. Andrews GC, Zhengzhou, China. Defending champion: Shih Chang Chan. Online: www.pgatour.com/pga-tour-china
PGA Tour Latinoamerica: Case de Campo Dominican Republic Open, Casa de Campo (Teeth of the Dog), La Romana, Dominian Republic. Defending champion: Rodolfo Cazaubon. Online: www.pgatour.com/la/en
PGA Tour Australasia: TX Civil & Logistics WA PGA Championship, Kalgoorlie GC, Kalgoorlie, Australia. Defending champion: Brett Rumford. Online: www.pga.org.au
Korea Tour: Maeil Dairies Open, Yuseong CC, Daejon, South Korea. Defending champion: Daehyun Kim. Online: http://eng.koreapga.com
WOMEN
Ladies European Tour: Buick Championship, Shanghai Qizhong Garden Golf, Shanghai. Television: Golf Channel (Saturday-Sunday, 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.) Defending champion: Shanshan Feng. Online: www.ladieseuropeantour.com
Symetra Tour: Symetra Classic, Raintree CC, Charlotte, N.C. Defending champion: Haruka Morita-WanyaoLu. Online: www.symetratour.com
Japan LPGA: Insurance of Window Ladies, Fujuoka Kantsuri Club (Wajiro course), Fukuoka, Japan. Defending champion: Lee Bomi. Online: www.lpga.or.jp