PGA Tour goes to Minnesota before bracing for 2 big events

PGA TOUR

3M OPEN

Site: Blaine, Minn.

Course: TPC Twin Cities. Yardage: 7,114. Par: 72.

Purse: $6.6 million. Winner's share: $1,188,000.

Television: Thursday-Friday, 2:30-6:30 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 1-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3-6 p.m. (CBS).

Brooks Koepka hits from the 18th tee during the third round of the Memorial golf tournament, Saturday, July 18, 2020, in Dublin, Ohio. (AP PhotoDarron Cummings)

Defending champion: Matthew Wolff.

FedEx Cup leader: Justin Thomas.

Last week: Jon Rahm won the Memorial.

Notes: Dustin Johnson is playing the tournament for the first time. In his last two tournaments, he won one and in the other posted the highest 36-hole score of his PGA Tour career. ... Johnson and Brooks Koepka give the field only two of the top 10 players in the world, the smallest number since the PGA Tour resumed June 11. ... Koepka's brother, Chase, was given a sponsor exemption. ... Tommy Fleetwood of England is playing for the first time since the pandemic. Fleetwood was No. 10 in the world when golf shut down in March. He dropped only to No. 12 since then. ... Minnesota connections in the field include Tom Lehman and Tim Herron, who both grew up in the state. It also includes Erik van Rooyen of South Africa, who played golf for the Minnesota Gophers while earning his degree. ... Wolff won with an eagle on the final hole last year for a one-shot victory over Collin Morikawa and Bryson DeChambeau. Neither runner-up is in the field this year. ... The two leading players from the top 10, not already eligible, earn a spot in the U.S. Open.

Next week: WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational and Barracuda Championship.

Online: www.pgatour.com

EUROPEAN TOUR

BETFRED BRITISH MASTERS

Site: Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England.

Course: Close House GC. Yardage: 6,872. Par: 71.

Purse: 1.25 million euros. Winner's share: 208,333 euros.

Television: Wednesday-Thursday, 7-9 a.m., 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. (Golf Channel); Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, 6-10:30 a.m. (Golf Channel).

Defending champion: Marcus Kinhult.

Race to Dubai leader: Patrick Reed.

Last week: Joel Stalter won the Euram Bank Open.

Notes: Lee Westwood is the tournament host of the British Masters for the second time as the European Tour fully resumes its schedule. ... The tour was in Austria the last two weeks for dual-ranking events with the Challenge Tour. ... The British Masters kicks off the “U.K. Swing,” a series of six events played in England and Wales over the next month. ... The tournament starts on Wednesday. ... Westwood, the tournament host, is the only player from the top 50 in the world. ... Most European players are in America, with a World Golf Championship next week in Tennessee followed by the PGA Championship in San Francisco. ... Eddie Pepperell is in the field. He won the British Masters two years ago. ... The tournament has been part of the European Tour schedule since 1970 when it was won by Brian Huggett at Royal Lytham & St. Annes. That was the only time it was held on a links course until last year at Hillside, which is next to Royal Birkdale. That's the hometown of Tommy Fleetwood, the tournament host in 2019.

Next week: Hero Open.

Online: www.europeantour.com

KORN FERRY TOUR

PRICE CUTTER CHARITY CHAMPIONSHIP

Site: Springfield, Mo.

Course: Highland Springs CC. Yardage: 7,115. Par: 72.

Purse: $700,000. Winner's share: $126,000.

Television: None.

2019 winner: Harry Higgs.

Points leader: Davis Riley.

Last week: Davis Riley won the TPC San Antonio Championship at the Oaks.

Next week: Pinnacle Bank Championship.

Online: www.pgatour.com/kornferry

LPGA TOUR

Last tournament: Inbee Park won the Women’s Australian Open on Feb. 16.

Next week: LPGA Drive On Championship.

Race to CME Globe leader: Inbee Park.

Online: www.lpga.com

PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS

Last tournament: Ernie Els won the Hoag Classic on March 8.

Next week: The Ally Challenge.

Charles Schwab Cup leader: Bernhard Langer.

Online: www.pgatour.com/champions

OTHER TOURS

SYMETRA TOUR: FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship, Battle Creek CC, Battle Creek, Mich. 2019 winner: Ssu Chia Cheng. Online: www.symetratour.com

TORONTO (AP) — Infielder Kazuma Okamoto and the Toronto Blue Jays agreed to a $60 million, four-year contract, two people familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Saturday.

The people spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the agreement had not been announced.

Okamoto will get a $5 million signing bonus, a $7 million salary this year and $16 million in each of the following three seasons.

A six-time All-Star, Okamoto has a .277 average with 248 homers and 717 RBIs in 11 Japanese big league seasons, leading the Central League in home runs in 2020, 2021 and 2023. He homered off Colorado’s Kyle Freeland to help Japan beat the U.S. 3-2 in the 2023 World Baseball Classic final.

Under the posting agreement between Major League Baseball and Nippon Professional Baseball, a deal must be finalized by 5 p.m. EST Sunday.

Okamoto, a 29-year-old third baseman and first baseman, hit .327 with 15 homers and 49 RBIs in 69 games last year for the Central League’s Yomiuri Giants. He injured his left elbow while trying to catch a throw at first base on May 6 when he collided with the Hanshin Tigers’ Takumu Nakano, an injury that sidelined Okamoto until Aug. 16.

With five-time All-Star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at first, Okamoto presumably would play mostly at third. Addison Barger had 67 starts there last year, Ernie Clement 66, Will Wagner 22, Isiah Kiner-Falefa six and Buddy Kennedy one.

Barger also plays right field, and the addition of Okamoto could mean Andrés Giménez would move from second to shortstop if free agent Bo Bichette doesn't re-sign. Clement and Davis Scheider could share time at second.

Under MLB’s posting agreement with NPB, the Blue Jays will owe the Giants a posting fee of $10,875,000.

After coming within two outs of their first World Series title since 1993, the Blue Jays have made significant additions to the roster. Toronto signed right-hander Dylan Cease to a $210 million, seven-year contract, agreed to a $30 million, three-year contract with right-hander Cody Ponce and reached a $37 million, three-year deal with reliever Tyler Rogers.

Right-hander Shane Bieber also exercised a $16 million player option for 2026 rather than become a free agent.

AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum in New York contributed to this report.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

FILE - Japan's Kazuma Okamoto hits a home run during fourth inning of a World Baseball Classic championship game against the United States, March 21, 2023, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)