Players has stacked field minus Woods, defending champ Smith
PGA TOUR
THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP
Site: Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
Course: TPC Sawgrass (Players Stadium). Yardage: 7,256. Par: 72.
Prize money: $25 million. Winner's share: $4.5 million.
Television: Thursday-Friday, noon to 6 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 1-6 p.m. (NBC).
Previous winner: Cameron Smith.
FedEx Cup leader: Jon Rahm.
Last week: Kurt Kitayama won the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Notes: The PGA Tour's premier event offers a $25 million purse, the richest in golf for stroke play. ... Defending champion Cameron Smith is not playing because the PGA Tour suspended him for joining Saudi-funded LIV Golf. The runner-up (Anirban Lahiri) and third-place finisher from last year (Paul Casey) also joined LIV. ... The field features every PGA Tour member from the top 50 in the world ranking. ... No one has ever won back to back at The Players Championship. ... Seventeen players who made the cut last year at The Players are now with LIV Golf. ... The winner gets $4.5 million, which is more than the entire purse from 25 years ago. ... Tiger Woods has decided not to play, meaning he likely won't be seen again until the Masters. ... This is the final event for players to qualify for the 64-man field at the WGC-Dell Match Play in two weeks. Because of LIV defections and those not playing, it could dip down to the high 70s in the ranking to get in. ... The winner gets a three-year invitation to the majors. ... Woods, Jason Day and Greg Norman are the only players to win The Players Championship as No. 1 in the world.
Next week: Valspar Championship.
Online: https://www.pgatour.com/
___
EUROPEAN TOUR
MAGICAL KENYA OPEN
Site: Nairobi, Kenya.
Course: Muthaiga GC. Yardage: 7,228. Par: 72.
Prize money: $2 million. Winner's share: $333,333.
Television: Thursday-Friday, 4-6 a.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 4:30-9 a.m. (Golf Channel).
Defending champion: Ashun Wu.
Race to Dubai leader: Victor Perez.
Last tournament: Marcel Siem won the Hero Indian Open.
Notes: This is the start of a two-week South Africa swing for the European tour. ... The field has only three from the top 100 in the world. ... The tournament is being held for the fourth time. ... The field includes Laurie Canter, who played as a reserve for two-time major champion Martin Kaymer at the first LIV Golf event in Mexico two weeks ago. ... Shaun Norris is in the field. The big South African signed with LIV Golf last year and played a full schedule. He was among the 48 players this year. ... Marcel Siem plays for the first time since winning the Indian Open, his first European title in more than eight years. ... Adrian Otaegui is in the field and might be able to shore up a spot in the WGC-Match Play with a good result. The 64-man field is likely to go down to near 80th in the world ranking. At No. 82, he is the highest-ranked player in the field.
Next week: SDC Championship.
Online: https://www.europeantour.com/dpworld-tour/
___
LPGA TOUR
Last week: Jin Young Ko won the HSBC Women's World Championship.
Next tournament: LPGA Drive On Championship on March 23-26.
Race to CME Globe leader: Nelly Korda.
Online: https://www.lpga.com/
___
PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS
Last week: David Toms won the Cologuard Classic.
Next week: Hoag Classic.
Charles Schwab Cup leader: Steve Stricker.
Online: https://www.pgatour.com/pgatour-champions/
___
LIV GOLF
Last tournament: Charles Howell III won the LIV Golf Invitational-Mayakoba.
Next week: LIV Golf Invitational-Tucson.
Points leader: Charles Howell III.
Team leader: Crushers.
Online: https://www.livgolf.com/
___
KORN FERRY TOUR
Last tournament: Rhein Gibson won the Astara Golf Championship.
Next tournament: Club Car Championship on March 23-26.
Points leader: Chandler Phillips.
Online: https://www.pgatour.com/korn-ferry-tour/
___
OTHER TOURS
Asian Tour: International Series-Thailand, Black Mountain GC, Hua Hin, Thailand. Defending champion: Sihwan Kim. Online: https://asiantour.com/
Ladies European Tour: Investec South African Women’s Open, Steenberg GC, Cape Town, South Africa. Defending champion: Lee-Anne Pace. Online: https://ladieseuropeantour.com/
PGA Tour of Australasia: New Zealand PGA Championship, Gulf Harbour CC, Auckland, New Zealand. Defending champion: Kazuma Kobori. Online: https://pga.org.au/
Sunshine Tour: Mediclinic Invitational, Centurion CC, Centurion, South Africa. Defending champion: New tournament. Online: https://sunshinetour.com/
Japan LPGA: Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Ladies Yokohama Tire Golf Tournament, Tosa CC, Kochi, Japan. Defending champion: Pei-Ying Tsai. Online: https://www.lpga.or.jp/en/
___
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
