This week in golf: Austin's debut, a Dubai finale and WTGL night two

Golf Channel's week runs from Dubai to Texas. The PGA Tour plays the first Austin Championship on Thursday, November 12, at Omni Barton Creek's Fazio Canyons course, the second-to-last event of the FedExCup Fall. The same morning the DP World Tour opens its season finale in Dubai with the Race to Dubai still open, and on Tuesday night WTGL plays its second match.

The PGA Tour: Austin Championship

• Where: Fazio Canyons Course, Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa, Austin, Texas. Par 72, 7,451 yards, designed by Tom Fazio.
• Defending champion: none. This is the inaugural event.
• Purse: $6 million, $1.08 million and 500 FedExCup points to the winner.
• TV: Golf Channel, live 2-5 p.m. ET Thursday through Sunday. PGA Tour Live on ESPN+ streams featured groups 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. ET Thursday and Friday.

Why it matters: the top 100 in the FedExCup standings keep full 2027 cards, and Nos. 51-60 (the Aon Next 10) get into the first two Signature Events at Pebble Beach and Riviera. After Austin, one fall event is left.

Golf Channel's notables are Brian Harman, Max Homa, Mackenzie Hughes, Jackson Koivun, Matt Kuchar, Haotong Li, Austin Smotherman and Nick Taylor. Smotherman has won his last two starts. Blades Brown, 19, comes straight from his playoff win at El Cardonal, and Mexico Open champion Andrew Novak is in too. Five former Texas Longhorns play a short drive from campus: Pierceson Coody, Doug Ghim, Beau Hossler, Christiaan Maas and Tommy Morrison, with Maas and Morrison on sponsor exemptions.

The Tour's media page lists a busy Monday. Ben James, last week's runner-up and a Golf Channel notable, withdrew (Jimmy Stanger in), and so did third-place finisher Michael Kim (Paul Peterson in). Denny McCarthy, Matt Wallace and Harry Hall are also out, and Alvaro Ortiz got in through his top-10 finish in Mexico.

Course spotlight: Fazio Canyons has no PGA Tour scoring history, so Thursday is the first look. Expect Bermuda greens, and long irons matter: three of the par 3s play over 200 yards. It's Austin's first PGA Tour event since 2023.

Also on Golf Channel this week

• DP World Tour Championship: Earth course, Jumeirah Golf Estates, Dubai, November 12-15. The top 50 in the Race to Dubai play for $10 million, with $3 million to the winner, and the season title. Eugenio Chacarra leads Rory McIlroy by 533.93 points, and McIlroy is chasing a record-tying eighth Harry Vardon Trophy. Matt Fitzpatrick beat McIlroy in a playoff last year but is skipping Dubai over security concerns. Golf Channel's notables include Tommy Fleetwood, Ryan Fox, Tyrrell Hatton, Aaron Rai, Jon Rahm, Patrick Reed and Adam Scott. Coverage runs 2-8 a.m. ET Thursday through Saturday and 1:30-7:30 a.m. ET Sunday.
• LPGA, The ANNIKA: Pelican Golf Club, Belleair, Florida, November 12-15. Linn Grant defends after winning at 19 under. Nelly Korda, Charley Hull, Lottie Woad and Jennifer Kupcho are among Golf Channel's notables. Golf Channel airs it 11 a.m.-2 p.m. ET Thursday and Friday, then CNBC has 2-5 p.m. Saturday and 1:30-4:30 p.m. Sunday.
• PGA Tour Champions, Charles Schwab Cup Championship: Phoenix Country Club, November 12-15, for the top 36 in the season standings. Stewart Cink defends and leads the standings. Golf Channel has 5-7 p.m. ET Thursday through Sunday, with the GOLF app starting at 4 p.m.

WTGL night two

Los Angeles Golf Club, a 3-1 winner over New York in Sunday's opener, plays Motor City on Tuesday, November 10, at 8 p.m. ET on ION, also streaming on Tubi and Pluto TV. Motor City debuts with Jeeno Thitikul, Lexi Thompson and Ronni Yin against Michelle Wie West, Aki Iwai and Kiara Romero.

The Perfect Lie angle

Fazio Canyons is a new Tour venue, so most viewers will see it for the first time on Thursday. Look up Tom Fazio's other courses in our course and designer directory before you book a sim round. If you'd rather watch than play, WTGL's Tuesday match is the week's simulator golf on TV, and the Internet Invitational posts Episode 5 today at 1 p.m. ET, with its finale on Thursday.

We post a new preview every Monday when Golf Channel puts out its weekly schedule.