Golf Glance
PGA TOUR/ASIAN TOUR
CIMB CLASSIC
Site: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Course: TPC Kuala Lumpur. Yardage: 7,005. Par: 72.
Purse: $7 million (First prize: $1,260,000).
Television: Golf Channel (Thursday-Friday, 10:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 11 p.m. to 3 a.m.).
Defending champion: Justin Thomas.
Last tournament: Brendan Steele won the Safeway Open.
Notes: The 24 players who made the cut at the Safeway Open in California could not get to Malaysia until Tuesday. ... The 78-field man field is consists of the top 60 players available from last season's FedEx Cup standings, 10 leading players from the Asian Tour money list and eight sponsor exemptions, five of whom go to PGA Tour players. Mark Hubbard at No. 115 was the last one in. ... Ryan Moore, who won the CIMB Classic in 2013 and 2014, is playing for the first time since he delivered the winning Ryder Cup point for the Americans. ... Ian Poulter is making his first PGA Tour-sanctioned start since a foot injury in May caused him to take off the rest of the season. Poulter will have 10 starts to earn 218 FedEx Cup points or about $348,000 to keep full status the rest of the season. He tied for 28th last week at the Macau Open, his first event back from the foot injury. ... What previously was the Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club has become the first course in the TPC network in Asia. The tournament will be held on the West Course. The LPGA Tour will play the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia the following week on the East Course at the TPC Kuala Lumpur.
Next week: WGC-HSBC Champions.
Online: www.pgatour.com and www.asiantour.com
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LPGA TOUR
BLUE BAY LPGA
Site: Hainan Island, China.
Course: Jian Lake Blue Bay GC. Yardage: 6,778. Par: 72.
Purse: $2.1 million (First prize: $315,000).
Television: Golf Channel (Thursday-Friday, 2:30-6:30 a.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 3-7 a.m.).
Defending champion: Sei Young Kim.
Last week: Carlota Ciganda won her first LPGA Tour event at the LPGA KEB HanaBank Classic.
Notes: Ciganda became the eighth first-time winner on the LPGA Tour this year. ... Ciganda switched caddies this year to Terry McNamara, who caddied for Annika Sorenstam at the height of her career. ... Ariya Jutanugarn closed with a 69 in Korea but missed by one shot finishing in the top 10. The Thai still has a four-point lead over Lydia Ko for the points-based LPGA Tour player of the year. Jutanugarn is playing in China this week as Ko takes the week off. ... U.S. Women's Open champion Brittany Lang, the only American in the top 10 on the money list, is in the field. She is coming off a tie for fifth in South Korea. ... The field includes 15 of the top 30 on the LPGA Tour money list. ... In Gee Chun is defending her title on the Korean LPGA this week. She is second behind Ko for lowest scoring average on tour. ... Ciganda became the first Spaniard to win on the LPGA Tour since Beatriz Recari won the Marathon Classic in Ohio in the summer of 2013.
Next week: Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia.
Online: www.lpga.com
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EUROPEAN TOUR
PORTUGAL MASTERS
Site: Vilamoura, Portugal.
Course: Oceanico Victoria GC.
Purse: 2 million euros.
Television: Golf Channel (Thursday-Friday, 6:30-8:30 a.m., 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Sunday, 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.).
Defending champion: Andy Sullivan.
Last week: Alex Noren won the British Masters for his third victory of the year.
Notes: Alex Noren became the third Swede to win at least three times in one season on the European Tour. The others were Freddie Jacobson in 2003 (Hong Kong Open, Portugal Open, Volvo Masters) and Johan Edfors in 2006 (TLC Classic, British Masters, Scottish Open). ... The field includes Ryder Cup players Thomas Pieters and Andy Sullvian, along with Ryder Cup vice captains Thomas Bjorn, Padraig Harrington and Paul Lawrie. ... The course was designed by Arnold Palmer and opened in 2004. It hosted the World Cup of Golf in 2005, won by Stephen Dodd and Bradley Dredge of Wales. ... Noren moved to No. 4 in the Race to Dubai, trailing Masters champion Danny Willett, British Open champion Henrik Stenson and FedEx Cup champion Rory McIlroy. ... The Portugal Masters and next week's HSBC Champions are the last two events before The Finals Series in the Race to Dubai begins at the Turkish Airlines Open.
Next week: WGC-HSBC Champions.
Online: www.europeantour.com
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PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS
Last week: Doug Garwood won the SAS Championship.
Next week: PowerShares QQQ Championship.
Online: www.pgatour.com/champions
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OTHER TOURS
MEN
Japan Golf Tour: Bridgestone Open, Sodegaura CC, Chiba, Japan. Defending champion: Michio Matsumura. Online: www.jgto.org
PGA Tour Australasia: Isuzu Queensland Open, Brisbane GC, Yeerongpilly, Australia. Defending champion: David Bransdon. Online: www.pga.org.au
Sunshine Tour: Vodacom Origins of Golf, Euphoria Golf Estate & Hydro, Modimolle, South Africa. Defending champion: Dean Burmester. Online: www.sunshinetour.com
Challenge Tour: Foshan Open, Foshan GC, Foshan City, China. Defending champion: Borja Virto. Online: www.europeantour.com/challengetour
PGA Tour Latinoamerica: Lexus Peru Open, Los Inkas GC, Lima, Peru. Defending champion: Rodolfo Cazuabon. Online: www.pgatour.com/la/en
Korean PGA: DGB Financial Group Daegu Gyeongbuk Open, Palmy Hills CC, North Gyeongsang, South Korea. Defending champion: None. Online: www.eng.koreapga.com
European Senior Tour: Senior Italian Open, Udine GC, Fagagna, Italy. Defending champion: Peter Mitchell (2008). Online: www.europeantour.com/seniortour
WOMEN
Korean LPGA: KB Financial Group Star Championship, Lakewood CC, Yangju, South Korea. Defending champion: In Gee Chun. Online: www.klpga.com
Japan LPGA: Nobuta Group Masters GC Ladies, Masters GC, Miki, Japan. Defending champion: Ji-hee Lee. Online: www.lpga.or.jp