Golf Glance: FexEd Cup Fall begins; Solheim Cup; LIV title on line
League: Golf
Posted on: 10 Sep, 2024 at 05:29 PM
Credit: Jeff Faughender/Courier Journal & USA Today Network / USA TODAY NETWORK
Field Level Media's Golf Glance provides weekly news and storylines from each of the major North American golf tours.
PGA TOUR
LAST TOURNAMENT: Tour Championship (Scottie Scheffler)
THIS WEEK: Procore Championship, Napa, Calif., Sept. 12-15
Course: Silverado Resort, North Course (Par 72, 7,123 Yards)
Purse: $6M (Winner: $1.08M)
Defending Champion: Sahith Theegala
FedEx Cup Leader: Scottie Scheffler
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday: 6-9 p.m. ET; Friday-Saturday: 6:30-9:30; Sunday: 6-9 p.m. (All times Golf Channel)
Streaming (ESPN+): Thursday: 10 a.m.-6 p.m., 6:30-9:30 p.m. ET; Friday: 10 a.m.-6:30 p.m.
X: @ProcoreChamp
NOTES: This is the first of eight events 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. Theegala will defend his title, but at No. 3 in the FedEx Cup he has already secured his exempt status into all signature events in 2025. ... Top-ranked amateur Luke Clanton is in the field on a sponsor exemption. He has already posted three top-10 finishes in six PGA Tour events this year. Other sponsor exemptions include Neal Shipley, the low amateur at this year's U.S. Open, along with Wenyi Ding, the fourth-ranked amateur in the world.
BEST BETS: Theegala (+1200 at DraftKings) is defending his maiden title on tour, having won by two shots over S.H. Kim. ... Wyndham Clark (+1200) has six top-15s in his past seven starts, including a T8 at the Tour Championship. ... Corey Conners (+1400) is coming off a T22 at the BMW Championship in his most recent start and is one of the most accomplished players in the field. ... Max Homa (+2200) hasn't posted a top-10 since May, but is a two-time event champion (2021-22) and finished seventh last year.
NEXT TOURNAMENT: Presidents Cup, Montreal, Sept. 26-29
LPGA TOUR
LAST TOURNAMENT: FM Championship (Haeran Ryu)
THIS WEEK: The Solheim Cup, Gainesville, Va., Sept. 13-15
Course: Robert Trent Jones Golf Club (Par 72, 6,706 Yards)
Defending Champion: Team Europe
Race to the CME Globe leader: Nelly Korda
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV/Streaming: Thursday: 4-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); 4:30-5:15 p.m. (NBC Digital); Friday: 7 a.m.-6 p.m. (GC/International); 6-6:30 p.m. (GC); Saturday: 7 a.m.-3 p.m. (GC/International); 3-6 p.m. (NBC/Peacock/International); 6-6:30 p.m. (GC); Sunday: 8:45 a.m.-12 p.m. (GC/International); 12 p.m.-3 p.m. (NBC/Peacock/International); 3-4 p.m. (GC-Closing Ceremony)
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Team Europe retained the Solheim Cup with a 14-14 tie in Finca Cortesin, Spain, last year after having won the previous two Cups. The Americans last won the Cup in Iowa in 2017. Team USA's roster owns a combined 20-37-17 Solheim Cup record with a total of 37.5 points earned, compared to a 71-55-16 combined record and 79 points earned for the Europeans.
FORMAT
Scoring: Win = 1 Point, Tie = 1/2 Point for each team, Loss = 0 Points
Foursomes: Two-player teams, with each team playing one ball and hitting alternate shots until the hole is completed.
Four-ball: Each member of the two-player teams plays her own ball on each hole. The lowest score from each team is counted.
Singles: One player from each team will compete against a player from the other team in match play.
SCHEDULE
Friday: 7:05-7:41 a.m. ET -- Foursomes (Four matches, 12-minute intervals); 12:05-12:50 p.m. -- Four-ball (Four matches, 15-minute intervals)
Saturday: 7:05-7:41 a.m. -- Foursomes (Four matches, 12-minute intervals); 12:05-12:50 p.m. -- Four-ball (Four matches, 15-minute intervals)
Sunday: 8:50-10:40 a.m. -- Singles (12 matches, 12-minute intervals)
ROSTERS
UNITED STATES: Stacy Lewis (captain); Allisen Corpuz, Lauren Coughlin*, Ally Ewing, Megan Khang, Nelly Korda, Jennifer Kupcho, Alison Lee, Andrea Lee, Sarah Schmelzel*, Lexi Thompson, Lilia Vu, Rose Zhang
TEAM EUROPE: Suzann Pettersen (captain): Celine Boutier, Carlota Ciganda, Linn Grant, Georgia Hall, Esther Henseleit*, Charley Hull, Leona Maguire, Anna Nordqvist, Emily Pedersen, Madelene Sagstrom, Maja Stark, Albane Valenzuela*
*Solheim Cup Rookie
X: @TheSolheimCup
NOTES: Team Europe has Team Europe has the advantage in terms of experience with a roster that has played in a combined 37 Solheim Cups and averages 28.75 years old, compared to 22 Solheim Cups and an average age of 27.33 for the Americans.
NEXT TOURNAMENT: Queen City Championship, Maineville, Ohio, Sept. 19-22
PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS
LAST TOURNAMENT: Ascension Charity Classic (Y.E. Yang)
THIS WEEK: Sanford International, Sioux Falls, S.D., Sept. 13-15
Course: Minnehaha Country Club (Par 70, 6,747 Yards)
Purse: $2.1M (Winner: $315,000)
Defending Champion: Steve Stricker
Charles Schwab Cup leader: Ernie Els
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Friday-Saturday, 4-6:30 p.m. ET; Sunday, 4-6 p.m. (All times Golf Channel)
X: @ChampionsTour
NOTES: Els holds a lead of only $31,168 over Stephen Ames for the top spot in the Charles Schwab Cup standings. Yang moved up to sixth place with his win last week.
NEXT TOURNAMENT: Pure Insurance Championship, Monterey Peninsula, Sept. 20-22
LIV GOLF LEAGUE
LAST TOURNAMENT: Greenbrier (Individual: Brooks Koepka; Team: Smash GC)
THIS WEEK: Chicago, Bolingbrook, Ill., Sept. 13-15
Course: Bolingbrook Golf Club (Par 70, 7,131 Yards)
Individual Purse: $20M (Winner: $4M)
Team Purse: $5M (Winners: $3M)
Defending Champions:
2024 Leaders: Players: Jon Rahm; Team: Crushers GC
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Friday: 1:15 p.m. ET (CW App, Liv Golf Plus); Saturday: 1:25 p.m. (CW Network, CW App, LIV Golf Plus); Sunday: 1:05 p.m. (CW Network, CW App, LIV Golf Plus)
X: @livgolf_league
NOTES: This is the final of 13 individual events, which will be followed by next week's Team Championship. The top 3 teams after this week earn first-round byes at Dallas. Crushers GC and Legion XIII have secured byes, with Ripper GC, Smash GC and Torque GC competing for the final bye. ... Joaquin Niemann, who won two events earlier this year and led the season-long standings until after LIV Golf Greenbrier, trails Rahm by only 2.97 points. Rahm needs to finish ahead or equal to Niemann in the top 15 this week to secure the individual title. If Niemann finishes 16th or 17th, then Rahm must finish inside the top 24 players who receive points. Both players are guaranteed to finish first or second in the standings. Five players are still mathematically alive to catch Tyrrell Hatton for third place: Sergio Garcia, Louis Oosthuizen, Cameron Smith and Brooks Koepka. ... The top 24 players in the standings after this week will secure their spots for next season. After Chicago, players with expiring contracts who are within Nos. 25-48 will become free agents with the opportunity to be re-signed by their team or picked up by another team. Those in 49th or below will finish in the Drop Zone and be relegated out of the league, although they can earn their way back in at the LIV Golf Promotions tournament.
NEXT TOURNAMENT: Team Championship Dallas, Carrollton, Texas, Sept. 20-22
--Field Level Media