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This Week in Golf: Tradition takes centre stage across the global tours
Historic venues meet modern prize funds as the world’s leading tours gather at some of golf’s most storied courses, proving tradition still holds firm in the professional game
- PUBLISHED: Tue 3 Mar 2026, 6:14 PM
- By:
- Nick Tarratt, Guest Golf Writer
This week golf offers a compelling blend of modern prize funds and historic venues, as several of the game’s most established courses once again host elite professional competition.
LIV Golf returns for its third event of the season with the $30 million LIV Golf Hong Kong tournament at the historic Hong Kong Golf Club in Fanling, while the PGA Tour stages one of its flagship $20 million Signature Events, the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge.
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Encouragingly, a glance at this week’s schedule shows that many traditional and time-honoured venues remain central to the professional game.
Bay Hill, established in 1965 and host of this prestigious PGA Tour event since 1979, continues to test the modern professional at over 7,300 yards, proving that classic design can still challenge today’s power game.
Hong Kong Golf Club, founded in 1889 and formerly known as Royal Hong Kong Golf Club, boasts a rich tournament heritage. It has hosted events across the Asian Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf, alongside leading amateur championships. One of its proudest traditions is staging the Hong Kong Open on the DP World Tour schedule since 1959.
In South Africa, Houghton Golf Club, venue for this week’s Joburg Open, was originally designed in 1926 and is widely regarded as one of the country’s premier layouts. The course has hosted eight South African Opens, the first played in 1951.
As equipment technology continues to evolve, it has been, in the writer’s opinion, disappointing to see some older courses lose relevance at the highest level. Modern layouts undoubtedly have their place, but there remains strong hope that traditional venues will continue to serve as flagships for global tours and elite amateur championships alike.
On the competitive front, Patrick Reed continues to show his commitment to the DP World Tour by teeing it up in the Joburg Open, where he currently heads the Race to Dubai Rankings.
An interesting pattern is emerging this season, with the top three in the standings, Reed, Jayden Schaper and Casey Jarvis, all recording multiple victories. Should that trend continue, those chasing from behind may find the gap increasingly difficult to close.
Meanwhile, the MENA Golf Tour continues its Morocco swing, where Chris Wood, already a three-time winner this season and leader of the Order of Merit, is again in the field.
This Week’s Schedule
LIV Golf Hong Kong
Thursday 5th – Sunday 8th March 2026
Hong Kong Golf Club at Fanling, Hong Kong
Purse: $30 million
Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, PGA Tour
Thursday 5th – Sunday 8th March 2026
Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge
Purse: $20 million
Joburg Open, DP World Tour
Thursday 5th – Sunday 8th March 2026
Houghton Golf Club, Johannesburg, South Africa
Purse: ZAR 20,500,000
Hilton Classic, MENA Golf Tour
Monday 2nd – Wednesday 4th March 2026
Al Houara Golf Club, Morocco
Purse: $100,000
Blue Bay LPGA, LPGA Tour
Thursday 5th – Sunday 8th March 2026
Jian Lake Blue Bay Golf Course, Hainan Island, China
Purse: $2.6 million
Australian Women’s Classic, Ladies European Tour
Thursday 5th – Sunday 8th March 2026
Magenta Shores Golf & Country Club
Purse: AUS$600,000
