Golf Glance: Nelly Korda defends at Women’s PGA Championship

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

PGA TOUR

LAST TOURNAMENT: US Open (Matthew Fitzpatrick)

THIS WEEK: Travelers Championship, Cromwell, Conn., June 23-26

Course: TPC River Highlands (Par 70, 6,852 yards)

Purse: $8.3M (Winner: $1,494M)

Defending Champion: Harris English

FedEx Cup Leader: Scottie Scheffler

HOW TO FOLLOW

TV: Thursday-Friday, 3-6 pm ET (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 1-3pm (Golf Channel), 3-6pm (CBS)

PGA Tour Live: Daily feeds on ESPN+

Social Media: @TravelersChamp (Twitter)

NOTES: Scottie Scheffler leads a field that includes six of the top 15 players in the Official World Golf Ranking after Justin Thomas (back) withdrew. … English defeated Kramer Hickok in an eight-hole playoff last year, tied for the second-longest playoff in PGA Tour history. English finished T61 at the US Open after missing the cut at the Memorial, his first event since the Hawaii swing due to hip surgery. … Former University of Texas star Cole Hammer wants to make his PGA Tour debut as a professional. Ben James, the top-ranked junior in the country, is also in the field. … One of three events thus far this season to play under 7,000 yards, TPC River Highlands is where Jim Furyk tied the tour’s 18-hole scoring record with a 58 in 2016.

BEST BETS: Scheffler (+900 at BetMGM), who turned 26 on Tuesday, is trying to become the first five-time winner in a season since Thomas in 2016-17. … McIlroy (+900) admitted fatigue as he competes for the fourth consecutive week. He followed a win at the RBC Canadian Open with a T5 at the US Open to move to No. 2 in the world rankings. … Cantlay (+1200) has finished T15 or better in each of his past four starts in the event. … Sam Burns (+1800) is a three-time winner this season and was in contention last week before settling for a T27 after closing with a 76. … Jordan Spieth (+2500), the 2017 event winner, entered the field on Friday.

NEXT TOURNAMENT: John Deere Classic, Silvis, Ill., June 30-July 3

LPGA Tour

LAST TOURNAMENT: Meijer LPGA Classic (Jennifer Kupcho)

THIS WEEK: KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, Bethesda, Md., June 23-26

Course: Congressional Country Club (Par 72, 6,894 yards)

Purse: $9M ($1.35M)

Defending Champion: Nelly Korda

Race to the CME Globe leader: Minjee Lee

HOW TO FOLLOW

TV: Thursday-Friday, 11am-3pm ET (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 1-4pm (NBC)

Twitter: @KPMGWomensPGA

Streaming: Thursday-Sunday, 3-6 pm ET (NBCSports.com/golfchannel.com)

NOTES: This is a 156-player event that will be cut to the top 60 and ties after 36 holes. … The record purse was doubled from 2021. The purse was just $2.25 million in 2014, the year before the PGA of America began its collaboration with KPMG. … Korda claimed her first major title with a three-shot victory over Lizette Salas last year. … Lee leads the tour in official money ($2,654M), scoring average (68,806) and total strokes gained (2,640) this year. … Lee and Kupcho are the only multiple-time winners in 2022. … The average age of winners this year is 26.13.

NEXT TOURNAMENT: Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational, Midland, Mich., July 13-16

Champions tour

LAST TOURNAMENT: American Family Insurance Championship (Thongchai Jaidee)

THIS WEEK: US Senior Open Championship, Bethlehem, Penn., June 23-26

Course: Saucon Valley Country Club (Par 71, 7,028 yards)

Purse: $4M (Winner: $720,000)

Defending Champion: Jim Furyk

Charles Schwab Cup leader: Steven Alker

HOW TO FOLLOW

TV: Thursday-Friday: 2-7pm ET (Peacock); Saturday-Sunday, 2-3pm (Peacock), 3-7pm (Golf Channel)

Twitter: @ChampionsTour

NOTES: Saucon Valley will host the event for the third time (1992, 2000). … This is the third of five senior majors in 2022. … Pennsylvania native Furyk is seeking his first win of 2022.

NEXT TOURNAMENT: Senior Players Championship, Akron, Ohio, July 4-10

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