ON THE FAIRWAYS This week’s pro golf events
PGA OF AMERICA PGA Championship Bloomfield Township, Mich.
Schedule: Thursday-Sunday Course: Oakland Hills Golf Club, South Course (7,395 yards, par 70) Purse: TBA ($7 million in 2007). Winner’s share: TBA ($1.26 million in 2007) FedEx Cup points: 27,500. Winner’s share: 4,950 Television: TNT (Thursday-Friday, 1-7 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.) and CBS (Saturday-Sunday, 2-7 p.m.) Last year: Tiger Woods won the 13th of his 14 major titles, successfully defending his title at Southern Hills in Tulsa, Okla. He shot 71-63-69-69 to beat Woody Austin by two strokes. Woods, the U.S. Open winner this year, is sidelined by a knee injury. Last week: Vijay Singh won the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, ending an 0-for-34 drought on the PGA Tour by swirling in a 31‚Ñ2-foot par putt on the final hole for a one-shot victory over Lee Westwood and Stuart Appleby. The Fijian won for the 32nd time on the PGA Tour to break a tie with Harry “Lighthorse” Cooper of England for the most victories by an international player. ... Parker McLachlin won the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open for his first tour title. Michelle Wie shot 73-80 to miss the cut.SFlbNotes: The tournament ends the points race for the eight automatic spots on the U.S. Ryder Cup team. Captain Paul Azinger will add four players Sept. 2 for the Sept. 19-21 matches at Valhalla. Stewart Cink tops the standings with at 4,952.665. Phil Mickelson (4,880.000) is second, followed by Kenny Perry (4,480.700), Jim Furyk (4,328.792), Anthony Kim (4003.796), Justin Leonard (3,348.524), Boo Weekley (2,627.295), Steve Striker (2,603.168), Austin (2,422.983), Hunter Mahan (2,304.517), D.J. Trahan (2,294.916) and Rocco Mediate (2,246.060). Players will receive two points for each $1,000 made at Oakland Hills. ... Europe beat the United States by a record margin, 181‚Ñ2-91‚Ñ2, in the 2004 Ryder Cup at Oakland Hills. Ben Hogan won the 1951 U.S. Open at Oakland Hills. Cyril Walker (1924 U.S. Open), Ralph Guldahl (1937 U.S. Open), Ben Hogan (1951 U.S. Open), Gene Littler (1961 U.S. Open), Gary Player (1972 PGA), David Graham (1979 PGA), Andy North (1985 U.S. Open) and Steve Jones (1996 U.S. Open) also won majors at the course. ... Singh won in 1998 at Sahalee and 2004 at Whistling Straits. ... Michigan club pro Scott Hebert, a former Ferris State player based at Grand Traverse, won the PGA Professional National Championship in June at Reynolds Plantation to top the 20 PGA qualifiers. ... The 2009 event will be played at Hazeltine in Minnesota.
NATIONWIDE TOUR Wichita Open Wichita, Kan.
Schedule: Thursday-Sunday Course: Crestview Country Club (6,886 yards, par 71) Purse: $525,000. Winner’s share: $94,500 Television: None Last year: Brad Elder won the tournament for the second time, finishing with a 6-under 65 for a four-stroke victory. He also won in 1999. Last week: Ryan Hietala won the Cox Classic in Omaha, Neb., beating David Branshaw with a par on the first hole of a playoff.SFlbNotes: Major champions Tom Lehman (1990), David Duval (1993) and David Toms (1995) are past winners.
Associated Press
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