Golf Glance: Scottie Scheffler seeks 3rd straight; LPGA returns to Mexico

PGA TOUR
LAST TOURNAMENT: PGA Championship (Scottie Scheffler)
THIS WEEK: Charles Schwab Challenge, May 22-25
Course: Colonial Country Club (Par 70, 7,289 Yards)
Purse: $9.5M (Winner: $1.71M)
Defending Champion: Davis Riley
FedEx Cup leader: Scheffler
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Friday: 4-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday: 1-3 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS)
Streaming (ESPN+): Thursday-Friday: 8:15 a.m.-7 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday: 8 a.m.-6 p.m.
X: @CSChallengeFW
NOTES: This is the PGA Tour’s fourth and final event in Texas this year. This is the 79th tournament at Colonial since 1946, making it the longest-running host venue on tour among non-majors. Hole Nos. 3-5 at Colonial were dubbed the “Horrible Horseshoe” by late golf writer Dan Jenkins. … Along with the event’s famous Tartan Jacket, this week’s winner will take home a 1992 Schwab Defender as the sponsor’s “prize car” award. … The field includes 20 of the top 50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking, and nine players who finished in the top 10 last week. … The top 5 players in the AON Swing 5 after this event who are otherwise not qualified will earn a spot into the Memorial next week. The top 5 are currently Ryan Fox, Harry Higgs, Mackenzie Hughes and Kevin Yu, with Niklas Norgaard and Alex Smalley tied for fifth. Only Fox and Norgaard are not in this week’s field. … Blades Brown, who turns 18 on Wednesday, is in the field along with Neal Shipley as the two Champions’ Choice selections. … Former North Carolina star David Ford will make his professional debut. Other sponsors exemptions include PGA professional Michael Block and former major champion Webb Simpson. … 2025 Ben Hogan Award winner Luke Clanton (Florida State) has accepted the first invitation into next year’s field. … Zach Johnson set the tournament scoring record of 259 in 2010.
BEST BETS: Scottie Scheffler (+240 at DraftKings) has won his past two starts. The enormous pre-tournament favorite has not won at Colonial, but has finished runner-up two of the past three years. … Jordan Spieth (+2200) missed the cut last week, but did win at Colonial in 2016. … Daniel Berger (+2200) has consistently put himself in contention this year, including a T3 at the RBC Heritage. … Seventh-ranked Hideki Matsuyama (+2500) is the only other top-10 player in the field, but has missed three of his past five cuts. … Tommy Fleetwood (+2500) is still seeking his first stroke-play victory in the United States. He had a pair of top-10s before last week’s T41. … Aaron Rai (+3000) is quietly stacking up strong results, including last week’s T19. … Harris English (+3500) quietly finished T2 last week with a 65 on Sunday for his best major finish, and is No. 10 in the FedEx Cup standings. … Si Woo Kim (+4000) couldn’t keep pace with Scheffler on Sunday, but did post a T8 last week and now lives outside of Dallas. … Davis Riley (+5000) is attempting to join Ben Hogan as the event’s only back-to-back champions. He also would have claimed solo second last week if not for a triple-bogey on the seventh hole Sunday. … Ben Griffin (+6000) posted a T8 at Quail Hollow on the heels of winning the Zurich Classic with Andrew Novak.
NEXT TOURNAMENT: the Memorial, Dublin, Ohio, May 29-June 1
LPGA TOUR
LAST TOURNAMENT: Mizuho Americas Open (Jeeno Thitikul)
THIS WEEK: Riviera Maya Open at Mayakoba, Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico, May 22-25
Course: Liberty National Golf Club (Par 72, 6,583 Yards)
Purse: $2.5M (Winner: $375,000
Defending Champion: Inaugural Event
Race to the CME Globe leader: Thitikul
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV/Streaming: Thursday-Friday: 11 a.m.-1 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); 1-2 p.m. (NBC Digital); Saturday: 3-6 p.m. (GC); Sunday Noon-1 p.m. (NBC Digital); 1-3 p.m. (CBS/Paramount+)
X: @RivieraMayaOpen
NOTES: This is the first LPGA Tour event to be held in Mexico since 2017. It’s the tour’s first event at El Camaleon, which played host to a PGA Tour tournament for 16 years and a LIV Golf event each of the past two years. … The field includes top Mexican professional players Gaby Lopez, Maria Fassi and Isabella Fierro, along with Clarisa Temelo, the only amateur in the field.
NEXT TOURNAMENT: U.S. Women’s Open, Erin Hills, Wisc., May 29-June 1
PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS
LAST TOURNAMENT: Regions Tradition (Angel Cabrera)
THIS WEEK: Senior PGA Championship, Bethesda, Md., May 22-25
Course: Congressional, Blue Course (Par 72, 7,152 Yards)
Purse: $3.5M
Defending Champion: Richard Bland
Charles Schwab Cup leader: Miguel Angel Jimenez
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Friday: 10 a.m.-1 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday: 12-3 p.m. (NBC)
X: @SeniorPGAChamp
NOTES: Bland, a member of LIV Golf, is back to defend the first major championship of his career. He made the cut at last week’s PGA Championship. … Congressional’s Blue Course will play host to the event for the first time. It has previously played host to the PGA Championship and the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. … Paul Broadhurst holds the tournament scoring record of 265 set in 2018.
NEXT TOURNAMENT: Principal Charity Classic, Des Moines, Iowa, May 30-June 1
LIV GOLF LEAGUE
LAST TOURNAMENT: LIV Golf Korea (Individual: Bryson DeChambeau; Team: Crushers GC)
THIS WEEK: OFF.
Season Leaders: Individual: Juaquin Niemann; Team: Fireballs GC
NEXT TOURNAMENT: LIV Golf DC, Virginia, June 6-7