This Week in Golf -- July 28th through July 31st

PGA TOUR - THE GREENBRIER CLASSIC, The Old White TPC, White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia - The PGA Tour moves to West Virginia this week for the Greenbrier Classic.

The event gets a boost from a pair of big names as Phil Mickelson and Tom Watson will tee it up on the Old White TPC. 


Mickelson skipped the inaugural event last year, as did Watson, who is the golf professional emeritus at the Greenbrier.

Watson is skipping the U.S. Senior Open to compete in this tournament.

Last year, Stuart Appleby fired the second 59 in less than a month on the PGA Tour to gain the win. Appleby shot his magical score in the final round and he needed every stroke as he beat Jeff Overton by a single shot. 


Overton parred the final two holes to end one back. The victory was Appleby's ninth on the PGA Tour, but first in over four years.

Appleby's 59 was the fifth on the PGA Tour and second in less than 30 days as Paul Goydos carded a 59 earlier last July.

Sean O'Hair had been in the field, but withdrew after winning the Canadian Open on Sunday. Including Mickelson, there are nine players in the field this week that have won this season. There are also 13 major champions scheduled to compete.

Golf Channel has coverage of the first two rounds, and CBS will televise the final two rounds.

There are a pair of events next week. The top players in the world will be in Ohio for the WGC - Bridgestone Invitational, where Hunter Mahan closed with a 64 to win by two last year. The remainder of the PGA Tour will be in Nevada for the Reno-Tahoe Open, where Matt Bettencourt won by one last year, when the event was played opposite the British Open.

LPGA TOUR

RICOH WOMEN'S BRITISH OPEN, Carnoustie Golf Links, Carnoustie, Scotland - The LPGA moves to Scotland this week for the Women's British Open, which has been one of the tour's four majors since 2001.

This year's championship marks the first time that the Women's British Open will be contested at Carnoustie, which has hosted the Open Championship seven times.

Yani Tseng moved one step closer to the career grand slam last year, when she held on for a one-stroke win. Tseng managed a one-over 73 in the final round, but it was enough to beat Katherine Hull by a shot. Hull shot 70 in the final round to take second.

Earlier last year, Tseng won the Kraft Nabisco. By winning the Women's British, Tseng had collected three of the four legs of the grand slam among her four tour titles at the time.

Tseng became the youngest golfer in the modern era -- male or female -- with three major championship titles. She has won four more titles since, including her second LPGA Championship in June, when she became the youngest golfer to have won four major championship titles.

Thirteen of the last 18 winners of this championship will be in the field this week. Two of the five missing the event are the now-retired Lorena Ochoa and Annika Sorenstam.

ESPN has coverage of all four rounds.

After a two-week break, the LPGA Tour heads to Oregon for the Safeway Classic, where Ai Miyazato won by two last year. 


Source: latimes.com