The Sports Bookie Blog

This Week in Golf – September 3rd through September 7th

September 1st, 2009

PGA TOUR – DEUTSCHE BANK CHAMPIONSHIP, TPC Boston, Norton, Massachusetts

The second FedEx Cup playoff event, the Deutsche Bank Championship, kicks off on Friday with Vijay Singh defending his title at the TPC Boston. Singh trailed third-round leader Mike Weir by three strokes last year, but fired an eight-under 63 to win his second straight playoff event. He had won The Barclays the week before and those two wins were good enough for the Fijian to take home the FedEx Cup’s $10 million annuity. Heath Slocum fended off four of the biggest names in golf last week to win The Barclays. Slocum ran home a 21-footer for par on the final hole to beat Tiger Woods, Steve Stricker, Ernie Els and Padraig Harrington by a single stroke. Singh enters the Deutsche Bank ranked 78th on the points list and will need to move into the top 70 to advance to next week’s BMW Championship.

The BMW Championship will have a 70-player field with no cut, and several big names may not make it there. Along with Singh, Sergio Garcia, Bubba Watson, Justin Rose and Nick O’Hern are among those on the outside looking in.With the elevated points awarded for the playoffs, K.J. Choi missed the cut last week and tumbled from 92nd to 101st on the points list to miss this week’s event. Lee Janzen, Boo Weekley, Bob Estes and U.S. Presidents Cup captain Fred Couples are on the bubble to make next week’s field. This week’s event features a 100-player field and runs Friday to Monday to give it a Labor Day finish. The Golf Channel and NBC will split coverage from 3-6 p.m. (et) the first three days, before NBC broadcasts action from 2-6 p.m. for the final round. Next week is the BMW Championship at Cog Hill. Camilo Villegas won that title last year.

EUROPEAN TOUR OMEGA EUROPEAN MASTERS, Crans-sur-Sierre, Crans Switzerland

The European Tour moves to Switzerland this week for the European Masters.This event carries a little more significance than normal as it kicks off the scoring for the 2010 European Ryder Cup team. Some of the big names will be in the United States however for the second of four FedEx Cup playoff events.

In a blow to the tournament, European Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie withdrew citing fatigue. Monty has played four of the last six events on the European Tour schedule and has struggled with three missed cuts and a tie for 31st last week at the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles. Miguel Angel Jimenez, Graeme McDowell, Lee Westwood and Oliver Wilson are among those looking to make the European Ryder Cup team and all four will be at Crans-sur-Sierre this week.

Joining those four in the field will be former major champions Michael Campbell and Trevor Immelman, as well as Jean-Francois Lucquin and Rory McIlroy. Lucquin birdied the second playoff hole last year to beat McIlory for this title. The Golf Channel has three hours of coverage all four days. Next week is the Mercedes-Benz Championship, where Robert Karlsson won last year.

LPGA TOUR CN CANADIAN WOMEN’S OPEN, Priddis Greens Golf & Country Club, Calgary, Alberta

The LPGA heads North of the Border this week for the Canadian Women’s Open, where Katherine Hull earned her first LPGA Tour title last season. Hull closed with a three-under 69 to fend off Se Ri Pak by a single stroke, while third-round leader Yani Tseng faltered to a five-over 77 to end alone in third at minus-nine. The event rotates around Canada and last year was contested at Ottawa Hunt & Golf Club in Ontario. It shifts to Priddis Greens Golf & Country Club in Calgary this year.

Twenty of the 24 players that competed in the Solheim Cup two weeks ago have committed to appear at Priddis Greens. This will mark the first time Priddis Greens will host the tournament as an LPGA Tour event. The Canadian Women’s Open joined the LPGA Tour schedule in 2001, but has been played since 1966. The Golf Channel will have 2 1/2 hours of tape-delayed coverage of the final two rounds. Seon-Hwa Lee is scheduled to defend her title next week at the P&G Beauty NW Arkansas Championship.

CHAMPIONS TOUR WALMART FIRST TEE OPEN at Pebble Beach, Pebble Beach Golf Links & Del Monte Golf Course, Monterey Peninsula, California

Jeff Sluman returns to Pebble Beach this week to defend his title at the Walmart First Tee Open. Sluman, who nearly won at Pebble twice in 1992, finally broke through on the scenic course. He fired three rounds in the 60s to cruise to a five-shot win over Craig Stadler and Fuzzy Zoeller.

This unique event features Champions Tour players paired with youngsters from the First Tee program in a pro-am format. The leading amateur teams and individuals will play opposite the Champions Tour players in the final round at Pebble Beach. The first two days of play will shift between Pebble Beach and Del Monte Golf Course.The Golf Channel will have live coverage of all three rounds. After a one-week break, the Champions Tour returns to the East Coast with the Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn, where R.W. Eaks won last year.

NATIONWIDE TOUR MEXICO OPEN, El Bosque Golf Club, Leon, Mexico

El Bosque Golf Club Mexico After being rescheduled due to the Swine Flu outbreak earlier this year, the Mexico Open will be the Nationwide Tour’s final stop outside the contiguous United States. In early February last year, Jarrod Lyle carded four rounds in the 60s, including an eight-under 63 in the final round, to win by five strokes over Matthew Every. The win was Lyle’s first on the Nationwide Tour and he won again later in the season en route to earning his PGA Tour card for the 2009 campaign. Just two players ranked in the top 10 on the money list are scheduled to be at El Bosque Golf Club this week — No. 9 Derek Lamely and No. 10 Garth Mulroy. That gives those outside the top 25 a better chance at getting into the top 25 to earn their PGA Tour cards for next season. There is no television coverage this week. The Nationwide Tour heads to Sandy, Utah next week for the Utah Championship, where Brendon Todd won last year.

CANADIAN TOUR CANADIANTOUR CHAMPIONSHIP, St.Catharines Golf & Country Club, St. Catharines, Ontario

The top 132 players on the Canadian Tour Order of Merit tee it up this week at St. Catharines Golf & Country Club. Tom Stankowski is the defending champion and headlines the field with Graham DeLaet, who is a two-time winner this year and leads the Order of Merit. St.Catharines normally plays to a par-72, but will switch to a par-70 layout for this championship. National Pines Golf Club has hosted the tournament the last two years. There are three events left for the Canadian Tour this year. Fall Q-School is next week, and there will be two events in Mexico, one at the end of September and the other the first week of October. Those tournaments were postponed by the Swine Flu outbreak earlier this year.

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