Purse: €5.95m (€1.07m to the winner)
Where: Hilton Head, South Carolina
The course: Harbour Town Golf Links – 7,121 yards, par 71 Another of Pete Dye's design creations in collaboration with Jack Nicklaus. One of the favoured stops of players on the PGA Tour, the course itself features narrow fairways with a mix of holes featuring trees and a number of holes alongside the ocean. The signature hole is the 18th, with out of bounds down the right and the sea and marshes down the left with the iconic lighthouse as a target for approach shots.
The field: Traditionally a strong field in its post-Masters slot in the calendar, Dustin Johnson, the world number one, is the headline act although Bryson DeChambeau withdrew from the tournament earlier in the week. Webb Simpson is the defending champion while Will Zalatoris, runner-up in the Masters and up to 27th in the world rankings, continues his quest for a breakthrough PGA Tour win.
Quirky fact: The iconic lighthouse is a relatively new addition to the coastline, built as recently as 1970 as a navigation aid for the marina. The white light flashes every 25 seconds.
Quote-Unquote: "I'm pretty ticked off about my game. I feel like I'm playing well, [just] not getting results." – Kevin Kisner on the hope playing in his home state tournament will bring an improvement, mainly on the greens where he has struggled so far this season.
Irish in the field: Graeme McDowell is off the first tee in the first round along with Michael Thompson and Luke Donald (1.28pm Irish time); Shane Lowry is off the 10th tee in a group that includes Ian Poulter and Pat Perez (5.34pm Irish time).
Betting: Dustin Johnson heads the market at 11-1 but struggled at the Masters – six three-putts in missing the cut – and better value is likely to be found elsewhere with a couple of Englishmen – Matt Fitzpatrick and Tyrrell Hatton – each priced at 22–1. Each-way value can also be found with former champion McDowell generally available at 150-1.
On TV: Live on Sky Sports from 5.30pm
