ON TOUR

ON TOUR

This week’s pro golf events

U.S. GOLF ASSOCIATION
U.S. Women’s Open
Southern Pines, N.C.

Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.
Course: Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club (6,664 yards, par 71).
Purse: $3.1 million. Winner’s share: $560,000.
Television: ESPN (Thursday-Friday, 2-6 p.m.) and NBC (Saturday-Sunday, 3-6 p.m.)
Last year: Annika Sorenstam won the tournament for the third time, beating Pat Hurst 70-74 in an 18-hole playoff at Newport Country Club. Sorenstam tied Babe Zaharias for fourth place with 10 career majors. Michelle Wie, Se Ri Pak and Stacy Prammanasudh tied for third, two strokes out of the playoff.
Last week: Lorena Ochoa won for the first time in five career playoffs, beating In-Kyung Kim with a par on the second extra hole in the Wegmans LPGA. The Mexican star, also the 2005 winner, has three victories this year to push her career total to 12.
Notes: Sorenstam won the 1995 tournament at the Broadmoor for the first of her 69 LPGA Tour victories and successfully defended her title in 1996 at Pine Needles. ... The 17-year-old Wie, hampered by wrist injuries, has failed to break par in 20 consecutive rounds — eight in men’s events. ... Karrie Webb won the 2001 tournament by eight strokes on the Donald Ross-designed Pine Needles. ... Morgan Pressel and Suzann Pettersen won the first two majors of the season. Pressel took the Kraft Nabisco Championship in early April to become the youngest major winner in LPGA Tour history at 18 years, 10 months, 9 days. Pettersen won the McDonald’s LPGA Championship three weeks ago at Bulle Rock. ... Twelve-year Alexis Thompson is the youngest player in the event since Beverly Klass played in 1967 at age 10. ... The top-ranked Ochoa leads the money list with $1,524,404. ... U.S. Open winner Angel Cabrera received $1.26 million from the $7 million purse at Oakmont two weeks ago, more than twice the women’s figures. ... The 2008 tournament will be played at Interlachen in Edina, Minn., and the 2009 event is set for Saucon Valley in Bethlehem, Pa. ... Maria Kostina is the first Russian player in tournament history. ... The LPGA Tour is off next week. Play will resume July 12-15 with the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic in Sylvania, Ohio.

PGA TOUR
Buick Open
Grand Blanc, Mich.

Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.
Course: Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club (7,127 yards, par 72).
Purse: $4.9 million. Winner’s share: $882,000.
FedExCup points: 25,000 Winner’s share: 4,500.
Television: Golf Channel (Thursday-Friday, 3-6 p.m., 8:30-11:30 p.m.) and CBS (Saturday-Sunday, 3-6 p.m.)
Last year: Tiger Woods, at 30, became the youngest player to win 50 PGA Tour titles, shooting four straight 66s for a three-stroke victory over Jim Furyk. The tournament was Woods’ 196th as a pro and 210th overall. Jack Nicklaus was the previous youngest player to reach 50 wins, accomplishing the feat at 33 in 1973 in his 262nd start as a pro and 280th overall.
Last week: Hunter Mahan won the Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Conn., for his first PGA Tour title. Mahan made a 7-foot birdie putt on the final hole of regulation to force a playoff with Jay Williamson, then won with a 2-footer on the first extra hole. The 25-year-old Mahan is the tour’s youngest winner this year.
Notes: Woods is skipping the tournament to spend time with wife Elin and daughter Sam Alexis, born June 18. ... Vijay Singh, the 1997 and 2004-05 winner, is taking the week off because of a right elbow injury.... The AT&T National is next week at Congressional in Bethesda, Md., followed by the John Deere Classic in Silvis, Ill., and the British Open at Carnoustie.

CHAMPIONS TOUR
Commerce Bank Championship
East Meadow, N.Y.

Schedule: Friday-Sunday.
Course: Eisenhower Park, Red Course (7,021 yards, par 71).
Purse: $1.5 million. Winner’s share: $225,500.
Television: Golf Channel (Friday, 1-3 p.m.; Saturday, 12:30-2:30 a.m., 1-4 p.m., 10 p.m.-midnight; Sunday, 1-4 p.m., 10 p.m.-midnight).
Last year: John Harris won his first Champions Tour title, birdieing the first hole of a playoff with Tom Jenkins. Jay Haas tied for third, a stroke out of the playoff, in a bid for his fourth straight tour victory.
Last week: Haas won the Bank of America Championship in Concord, Mass., for his second straight victory and fourth of the season. The nine-time PGA Tour winner has 10 victories in 49 career starts on the 50-and-over tour.
Notes: The U.S. Senior Open is next week at Whistling Straits in Haven, Wis., followed by the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open in Endicott, N.Y. ... Haas is the only multiple winner this year. He leads the money list with $1,748,158. ... Jim Thorpe won the 2003 and 2004 tournaments. In 2003, he matched the tour record with a 10-under 60 in the second round. ... The tournament moved to Eisenhower Park four years ago after 15 years at Meadow Brook.

PGA EUROPEAN TOUR
French Open
Versailles

Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.
Course: Le Golf National, Albatross Course (7,225 yards, par 71).
Purse: $5.38 million. Winner’s share: $897,360.
Television: Golf Channel (Thursday-Friday, 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.; Saturday, 8-11 a.m.)
Last year: England’s John Bickerton won his second tour title, closing with a 2-under 69 for a one-stroke victory over Ireland’s Padraig Harrington.
Last week: Sweden’s Niclas Fasth won the BMW International in Germany, beating 49-year-old German star Bernhard Lander by two strokes. Fasth has six tour titles.

NATIONWIDE TOUR
Peek’n Peak Classic
Findley Lake, N.Y.

Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.
Course: Peek’n Peak Resort & Conference Center, Upper Course (6,888 yards, par 72).
Purse: $600,000. Winner’s share: $108,000.
Television: Golf Channel (Thursday, 6-30-8:30 p.m.; Friday, 2:30-4:30 a.m., 6:30-8:30 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 2:30-4:30 a.m., 6:30-9 p.m.; Monday, 2:30-4:30 a.m.)
Last year: John Merrick won his first tour title, beating Gavin Coles with a par on the third hole of a playoff.
Last week: Chez Reavie won the Knoxville Open for his first Nationwide Tour title, closing with a 5-under 67 for a three-stroke victory over Kyle McCarthy.

Associated Press