Golf Glance: Jon Rahm defends at Mexico Open

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

PGA TOUR

LAST TOURNAMENT: Zurich Classic of New Orleans (Nick Hardy, Davis Riley)

THIS WEEK: Mexico Open at Vidanta, Vallarta, Mexico, April 27-30

Course: Vidanta Vallarta (Par 71, 7,456 yards)

Purse: $7.7 million ($1.386 million)

Defending Champions: Jon Rahm

FedEx Cup leader: Rahm

HOW TO FOLLOW

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

Streaming on ESPN+: Thursday-Friday, 8:45 a.m.-6:30 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m.

Twitter: @MexicoOpenGolf

NOTES: Rahm, who has four wins in 10 starts in 2023, is seeking to become the first player to win five times in a season since Justin Thomas in 2016-17. He has already become only the second player to reach $13 million in earnings in a single season. ... There are seven players from Mexico in the field, led by Jose de Jesus Rodriguez, who will be making his 34th career PGA Tour start. Four will be making their tour debuts. ... No. 1 Rahm, No. 16 Tony Finau and No. 50 Alex Noren are the only top 50 players in the field. ... Sebastian Vazquez (2016), Austin Smotherman (2018) and Alvaro Ortiz (2021) are in the field and won the event when it was sanctioned by PGA Tour Latinoamerica.

BEST BETS: Rahm (+250 at BetMGM) is attempting to successfully defend a PGA Tour title for the first time in his seventh attempt. He was forced to withdraw while holding a six-shot lead after three rounds at the 2021 Memorial. Rahm is coming off a T15 at the RBC Heritage following his Masters title. ... Finau (+750) tied for second behind Rahm last year and went on to win three of his next 15 starts. ... Brandon Wu (+5500) carded a final-round 63 to finish T2 last year, and earned his second career runner-up on tour at this year's AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. ... Matt Wallace (+6600) is coming off a missed cut at the RBC, but he did win the Corales Puntacana Championship last month following at T7 at the Valspar.

NEXT TOURNAMENT: Wells Fargo Championship, Charlotte, N.C., May 4-7

LPGA Tour

LAST TOURNAMENT: The Chevron Championship (Lilia Vu)

THIS WEEK: JM Eagle LA Championship, Los Angeles, April 27-30

Course: Wilshire Country Club (Par 71, 6,258 yards)

Purse: $3M (Winner: $450,000)

Defending Champion: Inaugural event

Race to the CME Globe leader: Lydia Ko

HOW TO FOLLOW:

TV: Thursday-Friday, 6:30-9:30 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday, 6-9 p.m. (All times Golf Channel)

Streaming: Thursday-Friday, 6:30-9:30 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday, 6-9 p.m. (golfchannel.com, NBCSports.com, NBC Sports App, Peacock)

Twitter: @JMEagleLAChamp

NOTES: The 144-player field will be cut to the top 65 and ties after 36 holes. ... All six winners on tour this year are in the field. ... Vu now leads the United States Solheim Cup team standings with 409 points. Nelly Korda (398.5) is second, followed by Danielle Kang (263.0), Lexi Thompson (258.0) and Megan Khang (206.5). Maja Stark (208.17 points) leads the Team Europe standings, followed by Linn Grant (192.5) and Ana Pelaez Trivino (113.17).

NEXT TOURNAMENT: Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown, San Francisco, May 4-7

Champions Tour

LAST TOURNAMENT: Invited Celebrity Classic (Mark Hensby)

THIS WEEK: Insperity Invitational, The Woodlands, Texas, April 28-30

Course: The Woodlands Country Club (Par 72, 7,002 yards)

Purse: $2.7M (Winner: $405,000)

Defending Champion: Steven Alker

Charles Schwab Cup leader: David Toms

HOW TO FOLLOW:

TV: Friday-Sunday, 3-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel)

Twitter: @ChampionsTour

NOTES: The 78-player field is represented by players from 16 different countries. ... Mark O'Meara, Robert Allenby, Jay Haas and Corey Pavin withdrew. They were replaced by Tom Byrum, Cameron Backman, Rob Labritz and Harrison Frazar.

NEXT TOURNAMENT: Mitsubishi Electric Classic, Duluth, Ga., May 5-7

LIV Golf

LAST TOURNAMENT: LIV Golf Adelaide (Individual: Talor Gooch; Team: 4Aces)

THIS WEEK: LIV Golf Singapore, April 28-30

Course: Sentosa Golf Club, Serapong (Par 71, 7,406 yards)

Purse: $25M ($20M individual, $5M team)

Defending Champion: Inaugural event

NOTES: The 54-hole stroke play event includes 12 four-man teams, with a daily shotgun start at 10:15 a.m. local time. ... Seventeen players in the field have competed at Sentosa Golf Club in professional tournaments, with Ian Poulter (2009) and Sergio Garcia (2018) past winners of the Singapore Open. ... 4Aces member Peter Uihlein leads the individual standings as the only player with top-10 finishes in each of the first four events. ... Majesticks GC co-captain Lee Westwood will make his first start since turning 50 on Monday.

HOW TO FOLLOW:

TV: Saturday-Sunday, 1-6 p.m. ET (The CW Network - Tape Delayed)

Streaming: Friday-Sunday, Live on the CW App and LIV Golf Plus

Twitter: @LIVGolf_League, #LIVGolfSentosa

NEXT TOURNAMENT: LIV Golf Tulsa, May 12-14