Golf Glance: PGA status chase on in Mexico; 10 Champions vie for title
Field Level Media's Golf Glance provides weekly news and storylines from each of the major North American golf tours.
LAST TOURNAMENT: Zozo Championship (Nico Echavarria)
THIS WEEK: World Wide Technology Championship, Los Cabos, Mexico, Nov. 7-10
Course: El Cardonal at Diamante Cabo San Lucas
Purse: $7.2M (Winner: $1.296M)
Defending Champion: Erik van Rooyen
FedEx Cup Champion: Scottie Scheffler
TV: Thursday-Sunday: 2-5 p.m. ET (Golf Channel)
NOTES: This is the sixth of eight tournaments on the FedEx Cup Fall schedule, which finalizes the top 125 players who will retain exempt status for 2025. Nos. 126-150 after the fall will retain conditional status. Players who finished Nos. 51-70 in the FedEx Cup have secured their tour cards, but are competing for spots in the first two signature events after the season-opening The Sentry on Jan. 2-5. ... First contested in 2007, this was the first official PGA Tour event played in Mexico in the modern era. It moved to the Tiger Woods-designed El Cardonal last year, when van Rooyen eagled the final hole to win by two strokes. He's trying to join Viktor Hovland (2020-21) as the only two-time winners of the event. ... Cameron Young, the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 33, withdrew Wednesday for an undisclosed reason. He had been set to make his first start since the BMW Championship. ... Billy Andrade is playing his first PGA Tour event since 2014. He's in the field on a sponsors exemption after failing to qualify for the Charles Schwab Championship.
BEST BETS: Max Greyserman (+1600 at DraftKings) has three runner-ups in his past five starts as he seeks his first PGA Tour title. ... Doug Ghim (+2200) posted his best career finish on tour two starts ago with a solo second in Las Vegas for his third consecutive T6 or better. ... Adam Svensson (+4500) has not been in top form with a T25 his best result in his past four fall starts. He does have a tour title to his credit at the 2022 The RSM Classic and finished T7 at the Wyndham this season. ... Echavarria (+5500) is coming off his second win on tour, although it was just his second top-10 finish in 27 starts this season.
NEXT TOURNAMENT: Butterfield Bermuda Championship, Southampton, Bermuda, Nov. 14-17
LAST TOURNAMENT: Toto Japan Classic (Rio Takeda)
THIS WEEK: Lotte Championship, Ewa Beach, Oahu, Hawaii, Nov. 6-9
Course: Hoakalei Country Club (Par 72, 6,536 Yards)
Purse: $3M (Winner: $450,000)
Defending Champion: Grace Kim
Race to the CME Globe leader: Nelly Korda
TV: Wednesday-Saturday, 5-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel, NBC Sports Digital)
NOTES: The 120-player field will be cut to the top 65 and ties after 36 holes. ... World No. 1 Nelly Korda has clinched Player of the Year honors despite withdrawing from two events in Asia due to a neck injury. ... Hoakalei is the only course in Hawaii designed by World Golf Hall of Fame member Ernie Els, and has played host to the event since 2022. ... Brooke Henderson is the only two-time winner of the event, going back-to-back in 2018-19 when it was held at Ko Olina.
NEXT TOURNAMENT: The Annika, Belleair, Fla., Nov. 14-17
LAST TOURNAMENT: Simmons Bank Championship (Padraig Harrington)
THIS WEEK: Charles Schwab Cup Championship, Phoenix, Nov. 7-10
Course: Phoenix Country Club (Par 71, 6,860 Yards)
Purse: $3M
Defending Champion: Steven Alker
Charles Schwab Cup leader: Ernie Els
TV: Thursday-Sunday: 5-8 p.m. ET (Golf Channel)
NOTES: Thirty-five players qualified for the season-ending event, with 11 entering with a mathematical chance of winning the Charles Schwab Cub. The top six players in the standings will win the title with a victory this week: Els, Alker, Stephen Ames, Padraig Harrington, Y.E. Yang and Richard Green. K.J. Choie, Steve Stricker, Ricardo Gonzalez, Paul Broadhurst and Jerry Kelly can also claim the title with a victory this week combined with needed results from the other top players. ... Gonzalez is one of eight first-time qualifiers for the Charles Schwab Championship. He is joined by Stewart Cink, Tim O'Neal, Thomas Bjorn, Greg Chalmers, Hiroyuki Fujita, Jason Caron and Cameron Percy.
NEXT TOURNAMENT: Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai, Ka'upulehu-Kona, Hawaii, Jan. 16-19
THIS WEEK: Season Complete
olf Promotions, Abu Dhabi, Dec. 8-10
