Golf Glance

[February 20, 2019]  Field Level Media provides weekly news and storylines from each of the major North American golf tours.

PGA TOUR

LAST TOURNAMENT: Genesis Open (J.B. Holmes)

THIS WEEK: WGC-Mexico Championship, Feb. 20-24

Club de Golf Chapultepec, Mexico City, Mexico (Par 71, 7,345 yards)

Purse: $10.25 million (Winner: $1.745 million and 550 FedEx Cup points)

Defending champion: Phil Mickelson

FedEx Cup leader: Xander Schauffele

Television: Thursday-Friday, 2-7 p.m. Saturday, noon-2:30 p.m. (Golf Channel), 2:30-6 p.m. (NBC); Sunday, noon-1:30 p.m. (Golf Channel), 1:30-6 p.m. (NBC).

Tiger Woods, who holds the record with 18 World Golf Championships, will compete in Mexico for the first time as a professional. He is two wins shy of Sam Snead's all-time PGA Tour record of 82, and qualified for his first WGC event since 2014. ... Twenty-seven of the top 30 players in the world golf rankings are in the 72-player, no-cut event. England's Justin Rose is not in the field and could lose his No. 1 ranking this week depending upon who wins. Australians Jason Day (No. 11) and Adam Scott (30) also chose not to play. ... Holmes' victory at the Genesis Open vaulted him to No. 9 in the FedEx Cup standings and qualified him for this week's event, which includes the Top 10 in the standings. ... The lowest elevation at the Club de Golf Chapultepec is 7,603 feet above sea level, with the highest point being at 7,835 feet. ... Mickelson will make his 600th career PGA Tour start. ... Abraham Ancer is Mexico's top-ranked player at No. 61. He tied for 52nd in last year's event.

THIS WEEK: Puerto Rico Open, Feb. 21-24

Coco Beach Golf & Country Club, Rio Grande, Puerto Rico (Par 72, 7,506 yards)

Purse: $3.0 million (Winner: $540,000 million and 300 FedEx Cup points)

Defending champion: D.A. Points

Television: Thursday-Friday, 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, 2:30-5 p.m. (Golf Channel); Sunday, 1:30-4:30 p.m. (Golf Channel).

The event returns after being canceled last year because of damage caused by Hurricane Maria. ... Puerto Rico's Rafa Campos, who won the Bahamas Great Abaco Classic on the Web.com Tour last month, will play in the event for the 11th time. ... The winner also receives at two-year exemption on the PGA Tour along with an invite to The Players Championship and select other tournaments, but does not receive one to the Masters. ... Two-time Tour winner Daniel Berger will make his debut in the event after missing the cut in his past two tournaments. At No. 72, he is the highest-ranked player in the field. ... Chesson Hadley (267 in 2014) owns the tournament scoring record.

NEXT WEEK: The Honda Classic, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

LPGA TOUR

LAST TOURNAMENT: ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open (Nelly Korda)

THIS WEEK: Honda LPGA Thailand, Feb. 21-24

Siam Country Club Pattaya, Old Course, Chonburi, Thailand (Par 72, 6,576 yards)

Purse: $1.6 million (Winner: $240,000 and 500 CME Globe Points)

Defending champion: Jessica Korda

CME Globe leader: Nelly Korda

Television: Wednesday-Thursday, 11 p.m.-3 a.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday, 11:30 p.m.-3:30 a.m. (all times Golf Channel)

The 70-player field features nine of the top 10 players in the Rolex Rankings, with No. 2 Sung Hyun Park and No. 3 So Yeon Ryu from South Korea making their 2019 debuts. ... Jessica Korda will not be able to defend her title due to a forearm injury. Korda set the tournament scoring record of 25-under-par last year. She also set the 18- (62), 36- (128) and 54-hole (196) records. ... All three 2019 winners Nelly Korda, Celine Boutier and Eun-Hee Ji are in the field. ... Top-ranked Ariya Jutanugarn is one of eight players from Thailand competing this week, along with sister Moriya. ... Nelly Korda (306.5 points) now leads the U.S. Solheim Cup Standings, followed by Lexi Thompson (283).

NEXT WEEK: HSBC Women's World Championship, Singapore

Champions TOUR

LAST TOURNAMENT: Chubb Classic (Miguel Angel Jimenez)

THIS WEEK: OFF

NEXT TOURNAMENT: Cologuard Classic, Tucson, Ariz. (March 1-3)

--Field Level Media

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