LPGA has first major of the year in Houston and PGA Tour has lone team event in New Orleans

THE CHEVRON CHAMPIONSHIP

Site: Houston.

Course: Memorial Park GC. Yardage: 6,811. Par: 72.

Prize money: $8 million. Winner's share: $1.2 million.

Television: Thursday-Friday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 6-8 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, 1-3 p.m. (NBC), 3-6 p.m. (Golf Channel); Sunday, 1:30-2 p.m. (Peacock), 2-5:30 p.m. (NBC).

Defending champion: Mao Saigo.

Race to CME Globe leader: Nelly Korda.

Last week: Hannah Green won the JM Eagle LA Championship.

Notes: This is the first of five majors on the LPGA schedule. ... After three years at Carlton Woods, the tournament is moving to Memorial Park. The public course near downtown Houston just hosted the PGA Tour's Houston Open one month ago. ... The 132-player field has eight amateurs in keeping with tradition. That includes top-ranked amateur Kiara Romero and Asterisk Talley, the 17-year-old who already has played two LPGA events this year. ... Five of the last six winners of The Chevron were first-time major champions. The exception was Nelly Korda in 2024. ... To keep with tradition of the winner leaping into “Poppie's Pond” when it was at Mission Hills in California, Memorial Park is adding a pond down the right side of the 18th. The winner will jump into a makeshift pool for this year until the change is completed. ... Hannah Green joins Hyo Joo Kim as multiple winners on the LPGA Tour this season. Last year, it took until October to have a multiple winner.

Next week: Mexico Riviera Maya Open.

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

ZURICH CLASSIC OF NEW ORLEANS

Site: Avondale, Louisiana.

Course: TPC Louisiana. Yardage: 7,425. Par: 72.

Prize money: $9.5 million. Winner's share: $1,372,720 for each player.

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

Defending champions: Ben Griffin and Andrew Novak.

FedEx Cup leader: Scottie Scheffler.

Last week: Matt Fitzpatrick won the RBC Heritage.

Notes: The only team event on the PGA Tour features 74 teams, with two additional teams because Brooks Koepka is in the field. Koepka is playing with Shane Lowry, a Zurich ambassador who had played with Masters champion Rory McIlroy the last two years. ... Matt Fitzpatrick is the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 3 and will partner with his brother, Alex, who is playing on the European tour. ... The winning team each gets credit for an official PGA Tour victory, but not a spot in the Masters. World ranking points are not awarded because of the team competition. ... Several of the teams have players from the same college (Tyler Duncan and Adam Schenk of Purdue, Zach Bauchou and Sam Stevens of Oklahoma State) or the same country. ... Ben Griffin teamed with Andrew Novak to win last year. It was the first of three wins for Griffin last year. ... A good week for Koepka could move him high enough to earn a spot in his first signature events.

Next week: Cadillac Championship.

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

VOLVO CHINA OPEN

Site: Shanghai.

Course: Enhance Anting GC. Yardage: 7,168. Par: 71.

Prize money: $2.75 million. Winner's share: $458,333.

Television: Thursday-Friday, 12:30-5:30 a.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, 12:30-5 a.m. (Golf Channel); Sunday, 12-5 a.m. (Golf Channel).

Defending champion: Wu Ashun.

Race to Dubai leader: Patrick Reed.

Last tournament: Rory McIlroy won the Masters.

Notes: Kevin Na makes his first start on the European tour. The five-time PGA Tour winner was relegated from LIV Golf and his Iron Heads team and has played this year on the Asian Tour. ... Daniel Hillier is the only player from the top 100 in the world ranking in the field. ... The Volvo China Open and the Turkish Airlines Open next week conclude the “Asian Swing” portion of the European tour. Then it will be two full months of the “European Swing,” which includes two major championships held in the United States. ... The tournament dates to 1995. It has been part of the European tour schedule since 2004, except for a three-year period when it was either canceled or not co-sanctioned by Europe because of COVID-19. ... Y.E. Yang (2009 PGA Championship) is the only major champion to have won the Volvo China Open. ... The tournament has been held at 13 courses since its inception. This is the second straight year for Enhance Anting Golf Club.

Next week: Turkish Airlines Open.

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

MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CLASSIC

Site: Duluth, Georgia.

Course: TPC Sugarloaf. Yardage: 7,205. Par: 72.

Prize money: $2 million. Winner's share: $300,000.

Television: Friday, 3-6 p.m. (Golf Channel app); Saturday, 3-6 p.m. (CNBC); Sunday, 3-6 p.m. (Golf Channel).

Defending champion: Jerry Kelly.

Charles Schwab Cup leader: Stewart Cink.

Last week: Stewart Cink won the Senior PGA Championship.

Notes: Stewart Cink already has three victories in five starts on the PGA Tour Champions, along with a runner-up finish. ... Cink played college golf at Georgia Tech and lives in Atlanta. ... Cink's lead in the Charles Schwab Cup is nearly double that of Zach Johnson in second place. ... Ben Crane has not finished in the top 30 in his three previous PGA Tour Champions starts. His runner-up finish at the Senior PGA Championship moved him to No. 7 in the Schwab Cup. ... The TPC Sugarloaf previous held a PGA Tour event until 2009. Among the past champions was Tiger Woods in 1998. He did not go back to defend because it was moved from one week after the Masters to one week before the Masters the following year. ... Johnson is a two-time winner at the TPC Sugarloaf when it was a PGA Tour stop. Other past champions in the field include Crane, Scott McCarron and Paul Stankowski. ... Sponsor exemptions went to Mario Tiziani and Hiroyuki Fujita.

Next week: Regions Tradition.

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

Last week: Jon Rahm won LIV Golf Mexico City.

Next tournament: LIV Golf Virginia.

Points leader: Jon Rahm.

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

Last week: Dylan Menante won the Tulum Championship.

Next tournament: Colonial Life Charity Classic on May 14-17.

Points leader: Ian Holt.

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

Epson Tour: IOA Championship, Morongo GC at Tukwet Canyon, Beaumont, California. Previous winner: Briana Chacon. Online: https://www.epsontour.com/

Japan Golf Tour: Maezawa Cup, MZ Golf Club, Chiba, Japan. Defending champion: Takanori Konishi. Online: https://www.jgto.org/en/

Asian Tour: Singapore Open, Sentosa GC (Serapong), Singapore. Streaming: Thursday-Friday, 1:30-5:30 a.m. (Golf Channel app); Friday-Saturday, 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. (Golf Channel app). Previous winner: Yosuke Asaji. Online: https://asiantour.com/

Ladies European Tour: Investec South African Women's Open, Royal Cape GC, Cape Town, South Africa. Television: Thursday-Saturday, 7:30-11:30 a.m. (Golf Channel app); Sunday, 8-10:30 a.m. (Golf Channel). Previous winner: Perrine Delacour. Online: https://ladieseuropeantour.com/

PGA Tour Americas: 94 Abierto Telecom del Centro, Cordoba GC, Cordoba, Argentina. Defending champion: Ryan Grider. Online: https://www.pgatour.com/americas

Korea LPGA: Dukshin EPC Championship, Kingsdale GC, Cheongju, South Korea. Defending champion: Minsun Kim. Online: https://klpga.co.kr/

Legends Tour: Barbados Legends, Apes Hill GC, Saint Andrew, Barbados. Defending champion: Scott Hend. Online: https://www.legendstour.com/

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

Matt Fitzpatrick, of England, poses with the trophy after winning the RBC Heritage golf tournament Sunday, April 19, 2026, in Hilton Head, S.C. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Mitch Marner isn't about to start bragging, to express any kind of feelings of vindication in proving wrong those who questioned and even doubted whether he could deliver at this time of year.

There has indeed been magic in Marner's play as he leads the Vegas Golden Knights into their Western Conference final series that opens Wednesday night at Colorado.

His 18 points led all NHL skaters through Sunday and includes possibly the goal of the year in Thursday's 5-1 close-out victory at Anaheim.

This production is what his hometown Maple Leafs expected when Toronto drafted him fourth overall in 2015. While Marner became one of the NHL’s top play-making forwards, he took the brunt of criticism for the Leafs failing to advance beyond the second round.

“I don't care what anyone says,” Marner said. “I've been in the league a long time now, so I'll focus on what I can control.”

That includes leading the Golden Knights to the NHL's final four.

“I think the media in Toronto is pretty big and they put a lot of pressure on the players,” Golden Knights wing Ivan Barbashev said. “He's showing completely different things over here. He's been scoring and making a lot of plays, so hopefully he stays the same way.”

Vegas has never been afraid to chase big names and it has a locker room full of such players. Acquiring Marner in a sign-and-trade was the splash deal of last year's offseason, reaching an agreement on an eight-year, $96 million contract.

This postseason is why the Golden Knights pursued him. They followed their 2023 Stanley Cup title team by getting bounced in the first round the following year and the second round last season.

Marner produced two goals and an assist in Game 6 of the opening series to eliminate Utah 5-1. He had a hat trick and an assist to take back home-ice advantage in Game 3 of Round 2 at Anaheim, and ended that series by setting the tone with a goal 1:02 into the Game 6 clincher that few players on the planet could execute.

William Karlsson began by hitting Marner in stride with a perfect stretch pass to spring the breakaway. But with Jackson LaCombe staying with Marner, he fought off the Ducks defenseman, turned his back to the goal and shot the puck between his legs to put Vegas ahead 1-0.

“His IQ is on a different level,” Barbashev said. “He plays defensively and is a 200(-foot) player. He does it all.”

John Tortorella, who became the Golden Knights coach with eight games left in the regular season, sees the same thing about Marner.

“When you're with him every day, you can see his habits," Tortorella said. "You can see the little things he does in the game. Other people see his goals and assists, maybe like the goal he scored the other night. I look at the small things. A lot of people don't realize how the small things turn to bigger things.”

Tortorella, like Bruce Cassidy before him, hasn't been afraid to use Marner in a number of ways, be it at center or wing, the first line or the second.

When the Golden Knights ran a five-forward power play, Marner was the quarterback at the top. Now with defenseman Shea Theodore in that spot with the top unit, the Golden Knights have deployed Marner down lower to better use his ability to score or help someone else find the back of the net.

“There’s even games where the other team carries the game, and they come out on top because of their patience and play-making ability, and Marner has a lot to do with that,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “Power play, short-handed, five-on-five, he plays all situations and is dangerous in all of them.”

It's not that Marner didn't play at a high level in Toronto. He scored a career-high 102 points in the 2024-25 season, one of four times he topped 90.

He also produced 13 points in 13 playoff games last year and 14 points in 11 postseason games two years earlier.

But the Maple Leafs as a team didn't play up to expectations, and thus the deal to send Marner to Vegas. Now the Golden Knights are a series away from potentially competing in their third Stanley Cup Final in their nine years in the league, and the Maple Leafs failed to reach the playoffs but won the draft lottery.

Maybe there's another Marner in their future.

“I've always believed I'm a good player," Marner said. “I'm not thinking of anything, just go out there and try to play hockey.”

AP Sports Writer Pat Graham in Centennial, Colorado, contributed to this report.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mitch Marner, second from left, celebrates his goal with goaltender Carter Hart during the first period in Game 6 of a second-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series against the Anaheim Ducks, Thursday, May 14, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mitch Marner, second from right, celebrates after scoring on Anaheim Ducks goaltender Lukas Dostal, left, during the first period in Game 6 of a second-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series Thursday, May 14, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Carter Hart, left, and right wing Mitch Marner congratulate each other after the Golden Knights defeated the Anaheim Ducks in Game 3 of a second-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series Friday, May 8, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)