Slow week in golf as PGA Tour goes to Mexico and LPGA begins a swing through Asia

MEXICO OPEN AT VIDANTAWORLD

Site: Vallarta, Mexico.

Course: Vallarta Vidanta. Yardage: 7,436. Par: 71.

Prize money: $7 million. Winner's share: $1.26 million.

Television: Thursday-Friday, 4-7 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 1-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3-6 p.m. (NBC).

Defending champion: Jake Knapp.

FedEx Cup leader: Ludvig Aberg.

Last week: Ludvig Aberg won the Genesis Invitational.

Notes: The Mexico Open technically is on the western coast of America, but it's the start of NBC's coverage until the Masters. ... Aaron Rai (No. 29) is the highest-ranked player in a field that features only four from the top 50. ... The 132-man field includes six additional sponsor exemptions set aside for Latin American players. That list includes Alvaro Ortiz, a former Latin American Amateur champion and the younger brother of Carlos Ortiz. ... Padraig Harrington is in the field. He played three times on the European tour earlier this year. ... The winner gets an invitation to the Masters. Only 11 players in the field are already in the Masters. That includes two amateurs, U.S. Amateur champion Jose Luis Ballester and Latin American Amateur champion Justin Hastings. ... Blades Brown, the latest teenager to turn pro, has received another sponsor exemption. He missed the cut in The American Express.

Next week: Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches.

Online: https://www.pgatour.com/

HONDA LPGA THAILAND

Site: Chonburi, Thailand.

Course: Siam CC (Old). Yardage: 6,632. Par: 72.

Prize money: $1.7 million. Winner's share: $255,000.

Television: Wednesday-Thursday, 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 10:30 p.m. to 3:30 a.m. (Golf Channel).

Defending champion: Patty Tavatanakit.

Race to CME Globe leader: A Lim Kim.

Last tournament: Yealimi Noh won the Founders Cup.

Notes: This starts the first Asia swing on the LPGA Tour, which goes from Thailand to Singapore to China. There will be another Asia swing in the fall. ... Seven of the top 10 in the women's world ranking are playing in Thailand. That does not include Nelly Korda and Lydia Ko, the top two players. ... The two LPGA winners this season are in the field, A Lim Kim (Tournament of Champions) and Yealimi Noh (Founders Cup). ... The field includes Japanese twins Akie and Chisato Iwai, who both earned cards through LPGA qualifying last year. They are playing on sponsor exemptions. ... Another exemption went to Gianna Clemente, best known for getting into three straight LPGA events through Monday qualifying at age 14 in the late summer of 2022. ... Patty Tavatanakit won the tournament last year, joining Ariya Jutanugarn (2021) as the only Thai players to win on home soil.

Next week: HSBC Women's World Championship.

Online: https://www.lpga.com/

MAGICAL KENYA OPEN

Site: Nairobi, Kenya.

Course: Muthaiga GC. Yardage: 7,208. Par: 71.

Prize money: $2.5 million. Winner's share: $416,667.

Television: Thursday-Friday, 5-10 a.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, 4:30-9 a.m. (Golf Channel); Sunday, 4-9 a.m. (Golf Channel).

Defending champion: Darius Van Driel.

Race to Dubai leader: Tyrrell Hatton.

Notes: This is the first of three stops on the African continent. ... The field does not include anyone from the top 100 in the world ranking. ... Haotong Li is coming off a victory in the Qatar Masters. ... Brandon Wu, Troy Merritt and Callum Tarren are playing under a category that awards spots to PGA Tour players who finished between No. 126 and 200 in the FedEx Cup last year. ... This is the sixth year for the Kenya Open to be part of the European tour. It was on the Challenge Tour schedule dating to 1991. ... Among the past champions are Seve Ballesteros, Ian Woosnam and Trevor Immelman. ... No American has ever won the Kenya Open since it began in 1967 as an associate event for what initially became the Safari Circuit. ... Tyrrell Hatton remains atop the Race to Dubai from his victory in the Dubai Desert Classic, a Rolex event. ... The European tour will be in South Africa the next two weeks.

Last tournament: Haotong Li won the Qatar Masters.

Next week: Investec South African Open Championship.

Online: https://www.europeantour.com/dpworld-tour/

Last week: Joaquin Niemann won LIV Golf Adelaide.

Next tournament: LIV Golf Hong Kong on March 7-9.

Points leader: Adrian Meronk.

Online: https://www.livgolf.com/

Last week: Justin Leonard won the Chubb Classic.

Next tournament: Cologuard Classic on March 7-9.

Charles Schwab Cup leader: Ernie Els.

Online: https://www.pgatour.com/pgatour-champions

Last tournament: Kyle Westmoreland won the Panama Championship.

Next week: Visa Argentina Open on Feb. 27-March 2.

Points leader: Hank Lebioda.

Online: https://www.pgatour.com/korn-ferry-tour/

Sunshine Tour: Hyundai Open, Royal Johannesburg GC (East), Johannesburg. Defending champion: New tournament. Online: https://sunshinetour.com/

PGA Tour of Australasia: Webex Players Series Sydney, Castle Hill CC, Norwest, Australia. Previous winner: Kazuma Kobori. Online: https://pga.org.au/

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Aaron Rai, of England, hits on the second tee of the South Course at Torrey Pines during the third round of the Genesis Invitational golf tournament Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

TOKYO (AP) — Asian markets that were open for trading mostly rose Monday, as investors continued to closely watch the war in Iran, soaring oil prices and what President Donald Trump might say next.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 rose nearly 1.1% to 53,692.42 in morning trading. South Korea's Kospi gained 1.5% to 5,460.24. Trading was closed in Australia for Easter, and in Hong Kong and Shanghai for a traditional Chinese holiday.

The Tuesday deadline Trump has given for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz is looming. Some analyst fear the war may escalate after that. Over the weekend Trump made more threats against Iran, even as the bombing continued in the region. The United States rescued two aviators whose fighter jet was shot down by Iran.

The key market focus continues to be on oil prices.

Benchmark U.S. crude gained 38 cents to $111.92 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, added $1.71 to $110.74 a barrel. Energy markets were closed Friday, but the prices have been surging lately on fears that the Iran war will drag on longer than expected.

The U.S. relies on the Persian Gulf for only a fraction of the oil it imports, but oil is a commodity and prices are set in a global market. Some nations, like resource-poor Japan, import a large portion of their energy needs and rely heavily on access to the Strait of Hormuz.

“As we kick off the first full trading week of April, the word uncertainty is paramount. Last year it was centered on the impact of ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs, this year it's uncertainty surrounding the ongoing Iranian War,” said Jay Woods, analyst at Freedom Capital Markets in New York.

U.S. markets were closed for Good Friday and will reopen Monday. Some markets in Europe also did not trade on Friday.

In currency trading, the U.S. dollar inched up to 159.65 Japanese yen Monday from 159.63. The euro cost $1.1509, down from $1.1517.

AP Business Writer Matt Ott in Washington contributed.

Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.com/@yurikageyama

U.S. President Donald Trump is seen on a screen as traders work at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, April 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Currency traders watch monitors at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, April 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)