February brings strong week in golf in Arizona and Saudi

Updated Feb. 2, 2021 9:59 a.m. ET

Associated Press

PGA TOUR

WASTE MANAGEMENT PHOENIX OPEN

Site: Scottsdale, Arizona.

Course: TPC Scottsdale. Yardage: 7,261. Par: 71.

Prize money: $7.5 million. Winner's share: $1.35 million.

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

Defending champion: Webb Simpson.

FedEx Cup leader: Dustin Johnson.

Last week: Patrick Reed won the Farmers Insurance Open.

Notes: Known as the rowdiest event on the PGA Tour, the Phoenix Open is scheduled to have the most fans since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic — 5,000 a day, still a fraction of what it normally gets. The arena on the par-3 16th is to be a single-level structure. ... The field features five of the top 10 in the world: Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele and Webb Simpson. ... This is the first PGA Tour event for Thomas since he lost his Ralph Lauren deal over the anti-gay comment he muttered under his breath at Kapalua. He missed the cut in Abu Dhabi. ... Phoenix is missing Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Reed, who are in Saudi Arabia this week. ... CBS typically broadcasts the Phoenix Open, except that it has the Super Bowl on Sunday. ... Ryder Cup captain Padraig Harrington is in the field. He is coming off a tie for sixth in Dubai, marking his seventh consecutive tournament making the cut dating to the first week in October. ... McIlroy is playing his third consecutive week, a stretch that began in Abu Dhabi.

Next week: AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Online:

___

EUROPEAN TOUR

SAUDI INTERNATIONAL

Site: King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia.

Course: Royal Greens Golf & CC. Yardage: 7,010. Par: 70.

Prize money: $3.5 million. Winner's share: $595,000.

Television: Thursday-Friday, 3-5 a.m., 6:30-9:30 a.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 4:30-9 a.m. (Golf Channel).

Defending champion: Graeme McDowell.

Race to Dubai leader: Tyrrell Hatton.

Last week: Paul Casey won the Omega Dubai Desert Classic.

Notes: This is the third year for the Saudi International and it boasts the strongest European Tour field until summer, with four of the top 10 in the world. That includes the No. 1 player, Dustin Johnson, who won the inaugural year. ... Bryson DeChambeau, Tyrrell Hatton and Patrick Reed also are playing. ... Tony Finau and Viktor Hovland, who both contended at Torrey Pines, are playing. ... Paul Casey is playing Saudi, after noting his support of UNICEF in explaining why he wasn't playing two years ago. ... Casey now has four European Tour victories in the Middle East, two of them in Abu Dhabi, one each in Dubai and Bahrain. .... Ernie Els and Miguel Angel Jimenez, both regulars on the PGA Tour Champions, are playing this week in Saudi. ... Among the other Americans in the field are Phil Mickelson, Jason Kokrak and Kevin Na. ... After three straight weeks in the Middle East, the European Tour will be off for three weeks until the World Golf Championships event in Florida. ... Robert MacIntrye finished third in Dubai and cracked the top 50 in the world for the first time.

Next tournament: World Golf Championships in Florida on Feb. 25-28.

Online:

___

LPGA TOUR

Last week: Jessica Korda won the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions.

Next tournament: Gainbridge LPGA on Feb. 25-28.

Race to CME Globe leader: Jessica Korda.

Online:

___

PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS

Last week: Darren Clarke won the Mitsubishi Electric Championship.

Next tournament: Cologuard Classic on Feb. 26-28.