Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - PGA TOUR - RBC HERITAGE, Harbour Town Golf Links, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina - The PGA Tour follows the first major of the season with the RBC Heritage in South Carolina this week.
Graeme McDowell bogeyed the 72nd hole of the tournament last year to force a playoff with Webb Simpson, but atoned for his mistake by parring the first extra hole for his second career win on the PGA Tour.
McDowell returns to the field this week after missing the cut at The Masters. He will try to become the fourth player to successfully defend his title and first since Boo Weekley in 2007-08.
The other to accomplish the feat were Payne Stewart (1989-90) and five-time RBC Heritage champion Davis Love III (1991-92).
World No. 10 Zach Johnson headlines a field that includes nine of the top 25 players in the rankings. Love will also be competing after missing the last two years due to injuries.
Golf Channel will have full television coverage the first two days and early on the weekend before handing off to CBS for the afternoon.
The PGA Tour moves further south to Louisiana next week for the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, where Billy Horschel won by a stroke over D.A. Points last year.
EUROPEAN TOUR
MAYBANK MALAYSIAN OPEN, Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - The European Tour returns in full this week for the Maybank Malaysian Open.
Last year, Kiradech Aphibarnrat carded a 2-under 70 on Sunday to hang on for a 1-stroke victory at the weather-shortened event. The tournament was shortened to 54 holes following several weather delays throughout the week.
Aphibarnrat will return to defend his title against a field that will also include former winners Thongchai Jaidee (2004, 2005), Matteo Manassero (2011), Lee Westwood (1997) and Louis Oosthuizen (2012).
Westwood will appear at this event for the first time since that victory.
Golf Channel will have tape-delayed coverage of all four rounds.
The European Tour travels to China next week for the Volvo China Open, where Brett Rumford collected his second straight title with a 4-stroke win last year.
LPGA TOUR
LPGA LOTTE CHAMPIONSHIP, Ko Olina Golf Club, Kapolei, Oahu, Hawaii - The LPGA returns from a week absence with the LPGA LOTTE Championship in Oahu, Hawaii.
Suzann Pettersen 2-putted for par on the first playoff hole last year to defeat Lizette Salas and collect her 11th LPGA Tour title.
The duo finished the tournament at 19-under-par 269, easily smashing the 72- hole tournament scoring record of 276.
Pettersen will not be on hand to defend her title this week as she is recovering from a back injury that forced her to withdraw from both the Kraft Nabisco Championship and the Kia Classic.
Ai Miyazato, who won this event in 2012, will be in the field along with two- time winner this season, Anna Nordqvist, world No. 1 Inbee Park and HSBC Women's Champions winner Paula Creamer.
The tournament will be played from Wednesday to Saturday and Golf Channel will have coverage of all four rounds.
The LPGA heads back to the mainland next week for the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic in San Francisco, which is a new event.
CHAMPIONS TOUR
GREATER GWINNETT CHAMPIONSHIP, TPC Sugarloaf, Duluth, Georgia - The Champions Tour comes back from a nearly month hiatus this week for the second edition of the Greater Gwinnett Championship in Georgia.
Bernhard Langer collected his 18th career win on the Champions Tour and second of the season last year as he carded a 4-under 68 on Sunday to win the inaugural event by three strokes.
Langer, who won the season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship, will return to defend his title and is coming off a share of eighth place at The Masters last week.
Other players competing this week that are coming from Augusta include Fred Couples, Ben Crenshaw and Miguel Angel Jimenez.
Jimenez had the best finish of any of those players with his fourth-place finish and will be making his Champions Tour debut.
Golf Channel will have television coverage of all three rounds.
The Champions Tour will have next week off before returning for the Insperity Invitational in Texas, where Esteban Toledo parred the third playoff hole last year to collect his first career win on tour.
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