(Photo credit: Brett Davis)

The PGA Tour returns for the start of the FedExCup Fall schedule, while the DP World Tour has a strong field assembled for the BMW PGA Championship.

PGA TOUR

THIS WEEK: Biltmore Championship Asheville, Asheville, N.C., Sept. 17-20

Course: The Cliffs at Walnut Cove (Par 71, 7,249 Yards)

Purse: $5M (Winner: $900,000)

Defending Champion: Inaugural event

FedEx Cup Champion: Scottie Scheffler

HOW TO FOLLOW

TV: Thursday-Friday: 3-6 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday: 1-4 p.m. (All times Golf Channel)

Streaming: Thursday-Friday: 7 a.m.-6 p.m. T (ESPN App)

X: @BiltmoreChamp

NOTES: This is the first of eight FedExCup Fall events, and the PGA Tour's first tournament in Asheville in more than 80 years. ... Players inside the top 100 in the standings after the fall slate will become exempt on the PGA Tour for the 2027 season, with Nos. 51-60 in the final FedExCup Fall standings also earning spots into the first two signature events next year. ... The Cliffs at Walnut Cove was designed by Jack Nicklaus and sits 2,000 feet above sea level. ... World No. 22 Justin Thomas withdrew on Monday and was replaced in the field by Cameron Champ. ... The United States' Jackson Koivun and Jacob Bridgeman are in the field ahead of next week's Presidents Cup. Five International Team members are also playing: Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Corey Conners, Nico Echavarria, Ryo Hisatsune and Nick Taylor. ... Sponsors exemptions are Carson Bertagnole, Tyler Jones, Brendan Valdes and Tyler Watts. Jones is a Western Carolina senior making his PGA Tour debut, Bertagnole is a sophomore at the University of North Carolina and Watts is a freshman at Tennessee who is also the No. 3-ranked amateur in the world. Valdes, a former Auburn standout who made the cut in all three of his PGA Tour events last season, has spent the past nine months battling cancer and now is in remission.

BEST BETS: Koivun (+1300 at DraftKings) won the 3M Open earlier this summer in just his third start as a professional. ... Bridgeman (+1850) is the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 29 and the only one who reach this year's Tour Championship. ... Davis Thompson (+2600) enters the week with three consecutive top-15s, although he did not qualify for the playoffs. ... Canada's Corey Conners (+2800) has only one top-10 finish this season but the two-time winner on tour is one of the more accomplished players in the field. ... J.T. Poston (+3200) won the Memorial earlier this year and reached the BMW Championship, where he tied for 22nd. ... Colombia's Echavarria (+6100) also reached the second leg of the playoffs and his three career tour wins have all come in second-tier events, including this year's Cognizant Classic.

Next Tournament: Presidents Cup, Chicago (Sept. 24-27)

DP WORLD TOUR

THIS WEEK: BMW PGA Championship, Surrey, England, Sept. 17-20

Course: Wentworth Club (Par 72, 7,267 Yards)

Purse: $9M (Winner: $1.5M)

Defending Champion: Alex Noren

Race to Dubai Leader: Patrick Reed

HOW TO FOLLOW

TV: Thursday-Friday: 7 a.m.-1 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday: 7 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (All times Golf Channel)

X: @DPWorldTour

NOTES: The field at the tour's flagship event includes 11 of the world's top-20 players and three of this year's four major champions, led by No. 2 Rory McIlroy, who is seeking his eighth Race to Dubai title. ... Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton and Joaquin Niemann are among eight LIV Golf players in the field. ... Noren, who also won at Wentworth in 2017, defeated Adrien Saddier on the first hole of a playoff last year. ... Italy's Filippo Celli is making his event debut after winning the Closing Swing.

Last Tournament: Irish Open (Shane Lowry)

Next Tournament: FedEx Open de France, Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, Sept. 24-27

PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS

THIS WEEK: Pure Insurance Championship, Monterey Peninsula, Calif., Sept. 18-20

Course: Pebble Beach Golf Links (Par 72, 6,806 Yards); Spyglass Hill Golf Course (Par 72, 7,000 yards)

Purse: $2.4M

Defending Champion: Doug Barron

Charles Schwab Cup Leader: Stewart Cink

HOW TO FOLLOW

TV: Friday: 2-5 p.m. ET; Saturday: 2:30-5 p.m.; Sunday: 1:30-5 p.m. (All times Golf Channel)

X: @ChampionsTour

NOTES: Four events remain before the start of the Charles Schwab Cup playoffs. ... Cink and Zach Johnson have combined to win 10 of the first 21 events of the season, with Steven Alker having also won three times.

Last Tournament: Sanford International (Johnson)

Next Tournament: Jefferson Lehigh Valley Classic, Allentown, Pa., Oct. 2-4

LPGA TOUR

THIS WEEK: OFF.

Race to CME Globe Leader: Nelly Korda

Last Tournament: Solheim Cup (Team Europe)

Next Tournament: NW Arkansas Championship, Rogers, Ark., Sept. 25-27

LIV GOLF

THIS WEEK: Season concluded

Season Champions: Individual: Jon Rahm; Team: Legion XIII

--Field Level Media