Week ahead in pro golf: Wyndham Clark defends in Charlotte; Tour launches Myrtle Beach stop
The PGA Tour has the Carolinas on its mind this week.
The Tour is holding two preliminaries in one week before the next major championship, the PGA, May 16-19 at Valhalla in Louisville Ky.
The Wells Fargo Championship, a Tour Signature Event, will begin on Thursday in Charlotte, N.C., with a $20 million purse and a loaded field that includes defending champion Wyndham Clark.
Less than 200 miles away, the Tour launches the Myrtle Beach Classic.
Elsewhere in pro golf, the LPGA begins a stretch of three tournaments in four weeks in New Jersey and the PGA Tour Champions will hold its first major of the season.
PGA TOUR
Event: Wells Fargo Championship, Thursday-Sunday, Quail Hollow Club, Charlotte, N.C.
At stake: $20 million purse ($3.6 million and 700 FedEx Cup points to the winner).
Defending champion: Wyndham Clark.
TV: Golf Channel (Thursday-Friday, 2-6 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 1-3 p.m.); CBS (Saturday-Sunday, 3-6 p.m.).
Area players entered: Harris English, Brian Harman, Billy Horschel, Ben Kohles, J.T. Poston.
Notable: Clark shot 63 in the third round and went on to beat Xander Schauffele by four shots. ... Also in the field are Rory McIlroy, Viktor Hovland, Hideki Matsuyama, Collin Morikawa, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Will Zalatoris. ... Brooks Kopeka will be the defending champion next week for the PGA.
Event: Myrtle Beach Classic, Thursday-Sunday, The Dunes Golf and Beach Club, Myrtle Beach, S.C.
At stake: $4 million purse ($720,000 and 300 FedEx Cup points to the winner).
Defending champion: First-year event.
TV: Golf Channel (Thursday-Friday, 9:30-11:30 a.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 3-5 p.m.).
Area players entered: Tyson Alexander, Jonathan Byrd, Adrien Dumont de Chassart, Nico Echavarria, Ben Griffin, Lanto Griffin, Patton Kizzire, Philip Knowles, Russell Knox, Andrew Novak, Raul Pereda, Sam Ryder, Greyson Sigg, Jimmy Stanger, Davis Thompson, Carl Yuan.
Notable: The Dunes Golf and Beach Club, designed by Robert Trent Jones and opened in 1948, is the second-oldest golf course in Myrtle Beach. It has previously hosted the 1962 U.S. Women’s Open, 1973 PGA Tour Q-School, and the 1994-1999 Charles Schwab Cup Championship on the PGA Tour Champions.
LPGA TOUR
Event: Cognizant Founders Cup, Thursday-Sunday, Upper Montclair Country Club, Clifton, N.J.
At stake: $3 million purse ($450,000 to the winner).
Defending champion: Jin Young Ko.
TV: Peacock (Thursday-Sunday, 4-6 p.m.); Golf Channel (tape delay, Thursday-Friday, 7-9 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 8-10 p.m.).
Area players entered: Auston Kim, Mel Reid.
Notable: Ko parred the first playoff hole to beat defending champion Minjee Lee. Ko shot 67 in the final round to force the playoff.
PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS
Event: Regions Tradition, Thursday-Sunday, Greystone Golf and Country Club, Birmingham, Ala.
At stake: $2.6 million purse ($468,000 to the winner).
Defending champion: Steve Stricker.
TV: Golf Channel (Thursday-Friday, 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 5-7 p.m.).
Area players entered: David Duval, Fred Funk, Jim Furyk, Vijay Singh.
Notable: Stricker shot 64-65 on the weekend and beat Ernie Els and Robert Karlsson by six shots. ... Stricker has won the last two Traditions, shooting a cumulative 44-under par. ... Also playing are Stephen Ames, Steven Alker, Stewart Cink, John Daly, Retief Goosen, Padriag Harrington, Miguel Angel Jimenez and David Toms.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Pro golf week ahead: PGA Tour head for the Carolinas; LPGA plays in Jersey
