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Golf Glance: Rory McIlroy defends CJ Cup title in season debut

Adam Hagy-USA TODAY Sports

Field Level Media’s Golf Glance provides weekly news and storylines from each of the major North American golf tours.

PGA TOUR
LAST TOURNAMENT: Zozo Championship (Keegan Bradley)
THIS WEEK: The CJ Cup, Oct. 20-23
Course: Congaree Golf Club, Ridgeland, S.C. (Par 71, 7,655 yards)
Purse: $10.5M (Winner: 1.89M)
Defending Champion: Rory McIlroy
FedEx Cup leader: Bradley
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Saturday, 3-6 p.m. ET; Sunday, 2:30-5:30 p.m. (All times Golf Channel)
Streaming: Thursday-Friday, 9:30 a.m.-8 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
Twitter: @TheCJCup
NOTES: Congaree is the fourth different venue to host T he CJ Cup, which is in its sixth season. The course played host to one previous PGA Tour event, last year’s Palmetto Championship at Congaree that was won by Garrick Higgo. Higgo is not in this week’s field. … There are 17 players from South Korea playing this week, with the event providing spots to the top five qualifying players from the KPGA as well as the three highest-ranked players of Korean nationality in the Official World Golf Rankings who are not otherwise exempt. … Twenty-one of the top 30 players in the OWGR are in the field, the highest rate of participation early in the 2022-23 season. … Rickie Fowler has two top-10s in three starts this season, equaling his total from his previous 58 starts.
BEST BETS: McIlroy (+700 at BetMGM) is making his 2022-23 PGA Tour season debut. After winning the Tour Championship, he posted three consecutive top-4 finishes in DP World Tour events. … Jon Rahm (+900) is coming off a win at the Acciona Open de Espana following a T2 at the BMW Championship. … World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler (+1200) played on the winning United States team at the Presidents Cup but is teeing it up in his first stroke play event since the Tour Championship. … Justin Thomas (+1600) will be making his season debut and 200th start on tour.
NEXT TOURNAMENT: Butterfield Bermuda Championship, Southampton, Bermuda, Oct. 27-30

LPGA Tour
LAST TOURNAMENT: Mediheal Championship (Jodi Ewart Shadoff)
THIS WEEK: BMW Ladies Championship, Wonju, South Korea, Oct. 20-23
Course: Oak Valley Country Club
Purse: $2M ($300,000)
Defending Champion: Jin Young Ko
Race to the CME Globe leader: Lydia Ko
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV & Streaming: Wednesday-Saturday, 11 p.m.- 3 a.m. ET (All times Golf Channel, NBCSports.com and NBC Sports App)
Twitter: @bmwgolfsport #BMWGolfsport
NOTES: Four events remain on the 2022 LPGA Tour schedule, with 18 players still having a mathematical chance of winning the Rolex Player of the Year award. … This is the third edition of the BMW Ladies Championship and the first time it is being played at Oak Valley Country Club. It is a 72-hole stroke play event with no cut. … Jin Young Ko is in the field following a seven-week break to rehab a wrist injury. … South Korea’s In Gee Chun is not playing as the world’s seventh-ranked player takes a break to rest a shoulder injury. She is targeting to return for the Pelican Women’s Championship next month. … Minjee Lee leads the tour in official money this year at $3,742,440, while Lydio Ko leads with a 69.176 scoring average.
NEXT TOURNAMENT: Toto Japan Classic, Shiga, Japan, Nov. 3-6

Champions Tour
LAST TOURNAMENT: SAS Championship (Fred Couples)
THIS WEEK: Dominion Energy Classic, Richmond, Va., Oct. 21-23
Course: The Country Club of Virginia, James River Course (Par 72, 7,025 yards)
Purse: $2.2M (Winner: $335,000)
Defending Champion: Bernhard Langer
Charles Schwab Cup leader: Steven Alker
HOW TO FOLLOW:
TV: Friday-Saturday, 7-9:30 p.m. ET; Sunday, 6:30-9 p.m. (Golf Channel)
Twitter: #WhereLegendsPlay
NOTES: This is the first of three playoff events. The 68-player field has combined to win 258 PGA Tour events and 226 Champions events. Fifty-four players will advance to the second leg. … Langer is the two-time defending event champion. He has 44 career wins on tour, one shy of Hale Irwin’s all-time record. The six-time winner of the Charles Schwab Cup is currently in seventh place.
NEXT TOURNAMENT: Timber Tech Championship, Boca Raton, Fla., Nov. 4-6.

–Field Level Media

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