Three of the four major professional golf circuits are in Asia this week, making it difficult for American fans to attend.
The PGA Tour is in Japan for the ZOZO Championship, which features a powerhouse lineup including Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele. Justin Thomas, who will make his final start before becoming a father at the end of November, will also be there. Hideki Matsuyama and Max Homa are also teeing up there, as is Joel Dahmen, who just withdrew from last week's Shriners Children's Open. Like Dahmen, 2019 U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland also received an invitation from a sponsor this week to take part in the limited field event, which features just 78 players.
Just to the west, across the Sea of Japan, Tom Kim and Ahn Byung-hoon return to their native South Korea for the DP World Tour's Genesis Championship. This is a big week for the circuit, officially known as the European Tour. The top 70 finishers in the Race to Dubai will then qualify for the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, which will be held from November 7th to 10th. From there, the top 50 will advance to the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai the following week. Sitting outside that threshold is young Danish prodigy Nikolaj Højgaard, who will aim to break into the top 70 this week at South Korea's Jack Nicklaus Golf Course. Huygaard arrives 78th in the Asian rankings, so a solid finish should put him on the right side of the bubble. He also won the DP World Tour Championship a year ago, so he is certainly motivated to come back and try to defend his title. I would be disappointed if he didn't reach that.
Then, some 4,800 miles to the southwest, the LPGA returns to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for the second Maybank Championship. Celine Boutier defeated Gino Titicle in a nine-hole playoff a year ago, marking the Frenchwoman's fourth win of the season. She has not won an official LGPA event since then, but has returned to Malaysia to defend her title. Other notable competitors in the field include Lilia Vu, Brooke Henderson and Hannah Green, who just won her third Korean BMW Ladies Championship of the season.
Finally, the PGA Tour Champions head to Arkansas for the Simmons Bank Championship as the top 54 players on the Charles Schwab Cup points list qualify for the event. The top 36 Little Rock players will advance to the Charles Schwab Cup Championship, hosted by Phoenix Country Club from Nov. 7-10. All of the best players over 50 will be playing this week, including Ernie Els, Padraig Harrington and Rocco Mediate.
Complete TV broadcast times are below.
Golf TV October 24-27:
PGA Tour: ZOZO Championship
Wednesday, October 23rd: 11pm-3am ET (Golf Channel)
Thursday, October 24th: 11pm-3am ET (Golf Channel)
Friday, October 25th: 11pm-3am ET (Golf Channel)
Saturday, October 26th: 11pm-3am ET (Golf Channel)
LPGA: Malaysia Maybank Championship
Wednesday, October 23rd: 9:30pm – 2:30am ET (NBC Sports App)
Thursday, October 24th: 9:30pm – 2:30am ET (NBC Sports App)
Friday, October 25th: 9:30pm – 2:30am ET (NBC Sports App)
Saturday, October 26th: 9:30pm – 2:30am ET (NBC Sports App)
DP World Tour: Genesis Championship in Korea
Wednesday, October 23rd: 11pm-4am ET (NBC Sports App)
Thursday, October 24th: 11:00 PM – 4:00 AM ET (NBC Sports App)
Friday, October 25th: 11:30pm – 4am ET (NBC Sports App)
Saturday, October 26th: 10:30pm – 3:30am ET (NBC Sports App)
PGA Tour Champion: Simmons Bank Championship
Friday, October 25th: 3pm to 6pm ET (Golf Channel)
Saturday, October 26th: 3pm to 6pm ET (Golf Channel)
Sunday, October 27th: 3pm to 6pm ET (Golf Channel)
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation's Playing Through. Be sure to check it out @_PlayingThrough Cover more golf. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko In the same way.
