Pebble Beach hosts first signature event on PGA Tour. LIV returns to Australia

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AT&T PEBBLE BEACH PRO-AM

Site: Pebble Beach, California.

Courses: Pebble Beach GL (Yardage: 6,972; Par: 72). and Spyglass Links GC (Yardage: 7,071; Par: 72).

Prize money: $20 million. Winner's share: $3.6 million.

Television: Thursday-Friday, 3-7 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, 1-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3-7 p.m. (CBS); Sunday, 1-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3-6:30 p.m. (CBS).

Defending champion: Rory McIlroy.

FedEx Cup leader: Chris Gotterup.

Last week: Chris Gotterup won the WM Phoenix Open.

Notes: This is the first of eight $20 million signature events on the schedule. ... Rory McIlroy makes his season debut on the PGA Tour as the defending champion at Pebble Beach. He played twice in Dubai to start the year. ... Chris Gotterup has three wins in his last 10 starts on the PGA Tour dating to July. ... The 80-man field is the most for signature events to account for the pro-am portion of the tournament. That allowed Jordan Spieth into the field without having to ask for a sponsor exemption. ... Sponsor exemptions went to Billy Horschel, Tony Finau, Sahith Theegala and Keith Mitchell. ... Horschel, Finau, Theegala and Si Woo Kim have not missed a week since the PGA Tour season began at the Sony Open. ... Scottie Scheffler made his season debut at Pebble Beach last year because of his hand injury. He comes to Pebble this year having won and tied for third. Scheffler now has 17 consecutive tournaments without finishing worse than eighth.

Next week: Genesis Invitational.

Online: https://www.pgatour.com/

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LIV GOLF ADELAIDE

Site: Grange, Australia.

Course: The Grange GC. Yardage: 7,062. Par: 72.

Prize money: $20 million. Winner's share: $4 million.

Television: Wednesday, 8 p.m. to midnight (Fox Sports app), 12-1 a.m. (FS1); Thursday, 8-11 p.m. (FS2), 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. (FS1); Friday, 10 p.m. to midnight (FS2), 12-3 a.m. (FS1); Saturday, 8-11 p.m. (FS1), 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. (FOX).

Defending champion: Joaquin Niemann.

Points leader: Elvis Smylie.

Last week: Elvis Smylie won LIV Golf Riyadh.

Notes: Elvis Smylie not only won $4 million in his LIV Golf debut in Saudi Arabia, he jumped 57 places to No. 77 in the world after the first event where LIV got world ranking points. ... Phil Mickelson (family health issue) and Lee Westwood (wrist injury) are out for the second straight week to start the LIV season. ... The Adelaide tournament typically gets the largest gallery, with some 100,000 fans expected to attend. ... The 165-yard 12th hole has been nicknamed the “Watering Hole” and creates a stadium atmosphere for spectators. ... Jon Rahm has gone 14 events without winning an individual title on LIV Golf. He has five runner-up finishes during that stretch. ... Anthony Kim tied for 22nd for his best finish since joining LIV Golf. The $203,000 he earned was his largest paycheck at a tournament since he tied for fifth in the 2011 British Open and made $293,105. ... LIV takes two weeks off before returning in Asia.

Next tournament: LIV Golf Hong Kong of March 5-8.

Online: https://www.livgolf.com/

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CHUBB CLASSIC

Site: Naples, Florida.

Course: Tiburon GC (Black). Yardage: 6,897. Par: 72.

Prize money: $1.8 million. Winner's share: $270,000.

Television: Friday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 2:30-3 p.m. (Golf Channel app), 3-5:30 p.m. (Golf Channel).

Defending champion: Justin Leonard.

Charles Schwab Cup leader: Stewart Cink.

Last tournament: Stewart Cink won the Mitsubishi Electric Championship.

Notes: This is the first of four PGA Tour Champions events in Florida. That includes the Senior PGA Championship, which returns to Florida (Concession Golf Club) this year for the first time since it was at PGA National in 2000. ... The Chubb Classic was the first of two Champions wins last year for Justin Leonard, who won by four shots. ... This is the third tournament at Tiburon in four months. The Champions event is on the Black course. The LPGA's season finale and the mixed-team Grant Thornton Invitational were on the Gold course. ... The sponsor exemptions went to Rob Labritz and Michael Muehr. ... The Chubb Classic is among the oldest events on the PGA Tour Champions, first held in 1988 with Gary Player as the winner. ... Bernhard Langer is a five-time champion. The 68-year-old German failed to win last year for the first time since he became eligible for the 50-and-older circuit. ... Stewart Cink goes for his third straight Champions wins in as many starts.

Next tournament: James Hardie Pro-Football Hall of Fame Invitational on March 6-8.

Online: https://www.pgatour.com/pgatour-champions/

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Last tournament: Nelly Korda won the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions.

Next week: Honda LPGA Thailand.

Race to CME Globe leader: Nelly Korda.

Online: https://www.lpga.com/

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Last week: Patrick Reed won the Qatar Masters.

Next week: Magical Kenya Open.

Race to Dubai leader: Patrick Reed.

Online: https://www.europeantour.com/dpworld-tour/

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Last week: James Nicholas won the Astara Golf Championship.

Next tournament: Visa Argentina Open on Feb. 26-March 1.

Points leader: Ian Holt.

Online: https://www.pgatour.com/korn-ferry-tour

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Challenge Tour and Sunshine Tour: NTT Data Pro-Am, Fancourt Golf Estate, George, South Africa. Defending champion: Wilco Nienaber. Online: https://www.europeantour.com/hotelplanner-tour/ and https://sunshinetour.com/

Ladies European Tour: PIF Saudi Ladies International, Riyadh GC, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Television: Wednesday, 5:30-8 a.m. (Golf Channel), 8-9:30 a.m. (Golf Channel app); Thursday-Friday, 5:30-9:30 a.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, 4:30-8:30 a.m. (Golf Channel). Previous winner: Jeeno Thitikul. Online: https://ladieseuropeantour.com/

Royal & Ancient GC: Women's Amateur Asia-Pacific, Royal Wellington GC, Wellington, New Zealand. Defending champion: Jeneath Wong. Online: https://www.randa.org/

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf