PGA Tour heads to rowdy Phoenix Open in quiet week for golf

Published Feb. 8, 2022 11:22 a.m. ET

Associated Press

PGA TOUR

WM PHOENIX OPEN

Site: Scottsdale, Arizona.

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

Prize money: $8.2 million. Winner's share: $1,476,000.

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

Defending champion: Brooks Koepka.

FedEx Cup leader: Hideki Matsuyama.

Last week: Tom Hoge won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Notes: The Phoenix Open is a week later than usual so it can coincide with the Super Bowl, also moved back a week with the extra game on the NFL schedule. ... This is the 20-year anniversary of Tiger Woods making a hole-in-one on the 16th hole. ... Phil Mickelson, who played last week in Saudi Arabia, is not playing. The three-time Phoenix Open winner went to school at Arizona State. ... The field is led by Jon Rahm, and it features six of the top 10 and 15 of the top 20 from the world ranking. That includes Daniel Berger and Louis Oosthuizen, who withdrew from tournaments last week citing injury. ... Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama plays for the first time since his victory in the Sony Open. He is a two-time winner at the TPC Scottsdale, both times in a playoff. ... The tournament has been decided by a playoff four of the last six years. ... Johnny Miller holds the tournament record for margin of victory when he won by 14 shots in 1975. ... Xander Schauffele, Bubba Watson and Tony Finau are among seven players in Phoenix who played last week in Saudi Arabia.

Next week: Genesis Invitational.

Online:

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EUROPEAN TOUR

RAS AL KHAIMAH CLASSIC

Site: Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates.

Course: Al Hamra GC. Yardage: 7,325. Par: 72.

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

Television: Thursday-Friday, 3:30-8:30 a.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, 4-8:30 a.m. (Golf Channel); Sunday, 5-9:30 a.m. (Golf Channel).

Defending champion: New event.

DP World Tour points leader: Viktor Hovland.

Last week: Nicolai Hojgaard won the Ras Al Khaimah Championship.

Notes: The new tournament replaces the Qatar Masters on the schedule. Qatar will be held later in the spring, moved because of travel restrictions related to the pandemic. ... It will be the second straight week playing on Al Hamra Golf Club. ... Thomas Bjorn, the 2018 Ryder Cup captain, is playing again. ... The field features many of the same players from the Ras Al Khaimah Championship last week, including Danish twins Rasmus and Nicolai Hojgaard and Robert MacIntyre of Scotland. MacIntyre already is exempt for the Masters because he finished among the top 12 at Augusta National a year ago. ... The European tour also played the same course in consecutive weeks twice in 2020 (Cyprus and Wales) and twice in 2021 (Kenya and the Canary Island), all due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ... Danish twins Rasmus and Nicolai Hojgaard have combined for five European tour wins before turning 21. ... The oldest winner on the European tour this year is 30-year-old Thomas Pieters.

Next week: Hero Indian Open.

Online:

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KORN FERRY TOUR

ASTARA GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP

Site: Bogota, Colombia.

Course: Country Club de Bogota (Lagos). Yardage: 7,237. Par: 71.

Prize money: $750,000. Winner's share: $135,000.

Previous winner: Mito Pereira (2020).

Television: None.

Points leader: Brandon Harkins.

Last week: Carson Young won the Panama Championship.

Next week: Lecom Suncoast Classic.

Online:

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LPGA TOUR

Last week: Leona Maguire won the LPGA Drive On Championship.

Next tournament: HSBC Women's World Championship on March 3-6.

Race to CME Globe leader: Danielle Kang.

Online:

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PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS

Last tournament: Miguel Angel Jimenez won the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai.

Next week: Chubb Classic.

Charles Schwab Cup leader: Miguel Angel Jimenez.

Online:

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OTHER TOURS

PGA Tour of Australasia: Vic Open, 13th Beach Golf Links (Beach), Barwon Heads, Australia. Defending champion: Min Woo Lee. Online:

Sunshine Tour and Challenge Tour: Dimension Data Pro-Am, Fancourt Golf Estate, George, South Africa. Defending champion: Christiaan Bezuidenhout. Online:

Ladies European Tour: Magical Kenya Ladies Open, Vipingo Ridge GC, Kalifi County, Kenya. Defending champion: Esther Henseleit (2019). Online:

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