Golf Glance: PGA stars return to action as Keegan Bradley defends in Japan

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

PGA TOUR

LAST TOURNAMENT: Shriners Children's Open (Tom Kim)

THIS WEEK: Zozo Championship, Chiba, Japan, Oct. 19-22

Course: Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club (Par 70, 7,079 yards)

Purse: $8.5M (Winner: $1.53M)

Defending Champion: Keegan Bradley

FedEx Cup Champion: Viktor Hovland

HOW TO FOLLOW

TV: Wednesday-Saturday, 11 p.m.-3 a.m. (Golf Channel)

X: @ZOZOChampionship

NOTES: This is the fourth of seven events of the FedEx Cup Fall that finalizes eligibility for the 2024 season. Nos. 1-50 after the Tour Championship locked in their positions. Nos. 51-60 after the Fall series will qualify for two signature events next year: the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Genesis Invitational. The top 125 will be exempt into full-field events and The Players Championship, while Nos. 126-150 will earn Korn Ferry Tour status and conditional status on the PGA Tour next year. ... Winners during the Fall series receive world rankings points, a two-year PGA Tour exemption and invitations to next year's Tournament of Champions, The Players Championship, the Masters and the PGA Championship. ... The 78-player field includes 46 who competed in last week's event in Las Vegas. ... Eric Cole, the only rookie to qualify for the BMW Championship, is making his fourth consecutive start in the Fall series. He already has a pair of top-10s.

BEST BETS: Xander Schauffele (+700 at BetMGM), Collin Morikawa (+1000) and Japanese star Hideki Matsuyama (+1600) have each competed in all four prior editions of the Zozo. Matsuyama won at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club in 2021 with Morikawa finishing T7, while Schauffele posted a best finish of T9 last year. ... Rickie Fowler (+1600) finished second to Bradley by a single stroke last year. ... Sahith Theegala (+1800), who finished T5 in his event debut last year, tees it up for the first time since claiming his maiden PGA Tour victory at the Fortinet Championship. ... Min Woo Lee (+1800), competing on a sponsor exemption, is coming off a win on the Asian Tour and is No. 3 in the DP World Tour's Race to Dubai rankings.... Bradley (+2200), who also tied for seventh two years ago, said he "really loves" playing in Japan. He's the only player with top-10 finishes each of the past two years.

NEXT TOURNAMENT: World Wide Technology Championship, Los Cabos, Mexico, Nov. 2-5

LPGA Tour

LAST TOURNAMENT: Buick LPGA Shanghai (Angel Yin)

THIS WEEK: BMW Ladies Championship, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea, Oct. 19-22

Course: Seowon Hills at Seowon Valley Country Club (Par 72, 6,647 yards)

Purse: $2.2M (Winner: $330,000)

Defending Champion: Lydia Ko

Race to the CME Globe leader: Lilia Vu

HOW TO FOLLOW

TV: Thursday, 5-8 p.m. ET; Friday-Saturday, 5:30-8:30 p.m.; Sunday, 5:30-8:30 p.m. (All times Golf Channel -- Tape Delay)

Streaming: Wednesday-Saturday, 11 p.m.-3 a.m. ET (Peacock)

X: @LPGA

NOTES: This is the second of four events on the LPGA Tours Asian swing, and the fourth edition of the BMW Ladies Championship that was first won by Ha Na Jang in 2019. It's the lone LPGA Tour event held in the Republic of Korea. ... Seowon Hills will host the event for the first time, with the West and South courses undergoing a renovation ahead of the tournament. ... The 78-player field includes 68 LPGA Tour members, eight sponsors invites and two KGE amateurs competing in a 72-hole, no-cut event. Nineteen of the 22 winners on the LPGA Tour this year are in the field. ... Vu lost in a playoff to Yin last week, but did move from fourth to first in the Race to the CME Globe standings with the runner-up finish. She also leads the Rolex Player of the Year standings. ... Jin Young Ko holds the tournament scoring record of 22-under 266 set in 2022.

NEXT TOURNAMENT: Maybank Championship, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Oct. 26-29

PGA Tour Champions

LAST TOURNAMENT: SAS Championship (Rod Pampling)

THIS WEEK: Dominion Energy Charity Classic, Richmond, Va., Oct. 20-22

Course: The Country Club of Virginia (Par 72, 7,025 yards)

Purse: $2.2M (Winner: $335,000)

Defending Champion: Steven Alker

Charles Schwab Cup leader: Steve Stricker

HOW TO FOLLOW

TV: Friday-Sunday, 2-5 p.m. ET (Golf Channel)

X: @DECCGolf

NOTES: This is the first leg of the three-event Charles Schwab Cup playoffs. Stricker leads the standings with $3.99 million in earnings this season, followed by Steven Alker with $2.0 million. ... The 54-hole event features a 67-player field. Each playoff event provides double points in the standings, with the top 54 after this week advancing to the second playoff event. ... Miguel Angel Jimenez holds the tournament scoring record of 18-under 198 set in 2019.

NEXT TOURNAMENT: TimberTech Championship, Boca Raton, Fla., Nov. 3-5

LIV Golf League

LAST TOURNAMENT: Jeddah (Individual: Brooks Koepka; Team: Fireballs GC)

THIS WEEK: Team Championship, Miami, Oct. 20-22

Course: Trump National Doral (Par 72, 7,725 yards)

Purse: $50M

Defending Champions: 4Aces GC

Series Leader: Talor Gooch (Individual), 4Aces GC (Team)

HOW TO FOLLOW

TV: Saturday-Sunday, 1-6 p.m. ET (CW)

Streaming: Friday, 1-6 p.m. ET (CW App)

X: @LIVgolf_league

NOTES: Twelve teams of four players each will compete in two days of match play, followed by a stroke-play Championship round on Sunday. ... Gooch won the individual title last week, while 4Aces GC attempts to defend its team title from LIV's inaugural season.