ROYAL & ANCIENT GOLF CLUB OF ST. ANDREWS

ROYAL & ANCIENT GOLF CLUB
OF ST. ANDREWS

British Open

Site: Carnoustie, Scotland.

Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.

Course: Carnoustie Golf Club, Championship Course (7,421 yards, par 71).

Purse: $8.46 million. Winner’s share: $1.51 million.

Television: TNT (Thursday-Friday, 7 a.m.-7 p.m.; Saturday, 7-9 a.m.; Sunday, 6-8 a.m.) and ABC (Saturday, 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m.; Sunday, 8 a.m.-1:30 p.m.).

Last year: Tiger Woods successfully defended his title for his 11th major victory, beating Chris DiMarco by two strokes at Royal Liverpool. Woods also won at St. Andrews in 2000 and 2005. He won the PGA Championship in August for his 12th major title.

Last week: France’s Gregory Havret won the Scottish Open at Loch Lomond, beating Phil Mickelson with a par on the first playoff hole. Mickelson bogeyed three of his last five holes, dropping strokes on No. 18 in regulation and the playoff. ... Jonathan Byrd won the PGA Tour’s John Deere Classic in Silvis, Ill., to qualify for the British Open, birdieing three of the final five holes for a one-stroke victory over Tim Clark.

Notes: Scotland’s Paul Lawrie won the 1999 tournament at Carnoustie, taking advantage of Jean Van de Velde’s 72nd-hole collapse. The Frenchman made a triple bogey to fall into a three-way playoff with Lawrie and Justin Leonard. ... Tommy Armour (1931), Henry Cotton (1937), Ben Hogan (1953), Gary Player (1968) and Tom Watson (1975) also won at Carnoustie. ... Carnoustie opened in 1842 with 10 holes laid out by Allan Robertson. Old Tom Morris expanded it to 18 holes in 1867. ... Woods has three PGA Tour victories this season to push his career total to 57. ... The 2008 tournament will be played at Royal Birkdale. ... The Canadian Open is next week at Angus Glen in Markham, Ontario, followed by the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone in Akron, Ohio. The European tour will be in Germany next week for the Deutsche Bank Players Championship.

On the Net: www.opengolf.com

PGA Tour site: www.pgatour.com

PGA European Tour site: www.europeantour.com

LPGA TOUR

HSBC Women’s World Match
Play Championship

Site: New Rochelle, N.Y.

Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.

Course: Wykagyl Country Club (6,237 yards, par 71).

Purse: $2 million. Winner’s share: $500,000.

Television: Golf Channel (Thursday, 2-4 p.m.; Friday, 4-6 a.m., 2-4 p.m.; Saturday, 4-6 a.m.) and CBS (Saturday, 3-5 p.m., Sunday, 4-6 p.m.).

Last year: Brittany Lincicome won her first tour title, beating Michelle Wie, Lorena Ochoa and Juli Inkster in the final three matches at Hamilton Farm in New Jersey. Lincicome also beat Michele Redman, Brandie Burton and Kyeong Bae.

Last week: Se Ri Pak won the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic for the fifth time to tie the LPGA Tour record for victories in an event set by Mickey Wright and matched twice by Annika Sorenstam. Pak, also the Farr winner in 1998, 1999, 2001 and 2003, shot 63-68-69-67 for a three-stroke victory over Morgan Pressel.

Notes: The tournament moves to Wykagyl after two years at Hamilton Farm. ... Colombia’s Marisa Baena won the inaugural event in 2005. ... Wykagyl was the site of a tour stroke-play event from 1990-2006. Ochoa won the 2006 event, and fellow match-play participants Sorenstam (1998, 2000), Paula Creamer (2005), Inkster (1992), Sherri Steinhauer (1999, 2004) and Redman (1997) also have victories on the tree-lined course. ... After single rounds Thursday and Friday, the third round and quarterfinals will be played Saturday and the semifinals and final are set for Sunday. ... The Evian Masters is next week in France, followed by the Women’s British Open at St. Andrews.

On the Net: www.lpga.com

PGA TOUR

U.S. Bank Championship

Site: Milwaukee.

Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.

Course: Brown Deer Park Golf Course (6,759 yards, par 70).

Purse: $4 million. Winner’s share: $720,000.

Television: Golf Channel (Thursday, 4-7 p.m.; Friday-Sunday, 1-4 a.m., 4-7 p.m.; Monday, 1-4 a.m.).

Last year: Corey Pavin won his first tour title in 10 years, shooting 61-64-68-67 for a two-stroke victory over Jerry Kelly. Pavin shot a tour-record 26 on the front nine in the first round and matched the course record with his 61.

Last week: Jonathan Byrd won the John Deere Classic to qualify for the British Open, birdieing three of the final five holes for a one-stroke victory over Tim Clark.

Notes: Pavin also won the 1986 tournament at Tuckaway Country Club. ... Shigeki Maruyama won in 2001 to become the first Japanese player to win a PGA Tour event on the mainland. ... The Canadian Open is next week at Angus Glen in Markham, Ontario, followed by the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone in Akron.

On the Net: www.pgatour.com

NATIONWIDE TOUR

Price Cutter Charity Championship

Site: Springfield, Mo.

Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.

Course: Highland Springs Country Club (7,060 yards, par 72).

Purse: $556,000. Winner’s share: $100,800.

Television: None.

Last year: Doug LaBelle II won his first tour title, closing with a 64 for a tournament-record 27-under 261 total. Nick Flanagan finished second, two strokes back.

Last week: BYU star Daniel Summerhays became the first amateur winner in Nationwide Tour history, finishing with a 2-under 69 for a two-stroke victory in the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Invitational in Columbus, Ohio.

Notes: LeBelle finished 15th on the money list last year to earn a PGA Tour card. ... The Cox Classic is next week in Omaha, Neb., followed by the Wichita Open.

On the Net: www.pgatour.com

Associated Press