US PGA TOUR
Tour Championship
Site: Atlanta.
Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.
Course: East Lake Golf Club (7,304 yards, 6,679 meters, par 70).
Purse: $7.5 million. Winner's share: $1.35 million.
Last year: Colombia's Camilo Villegas won his second straight event, beating Sergio Garcia with a par on the first hole of a playoff in the FedEx Cup finale. Vijay Singh, the winner of the first two playoff events, took the $10 million FedEx Cup prize.
Last event: Tiger Woods won for the fifth time at Cog Hill, shooting a course-record 62 in the third round and closing with a 68 for an eight-stroke victory Sept. 13 in the BMW Championship. Woods has six US PGA Tour victories this year and 71 overall.
Notes: The top 30 players in the FedEx Cup standings advanced to the final event of the four-tournament playoffs. The points were reset after the BMW Championship, with Woods entering the finale with 2,500 - 250 more than second-place Steve Stricker. The tournament winner will receive 2,500 points. ... All 30 players have a chance to win the $10 million FedEx Cup prize. Woods, Stricker, No. 3 Jim Furyk, No. 4 Zach Johnson and No. 5 Heath Slocum are in position to win the title with a victory, regardless of where the other players finish. ... In 2007, Woods shot 64-63-64-66 for an eight-shot victory and the inaugural FedEx Cup title. ... Villegas and Singh failed to qualify. ... East Lake, the course where Bobby Jones learned to play, was designed by Donald Ross and renovated by Rees Jones in 1995. ... The Turning Stone Resort Championship, the first event of the six-tournament Fall Series, is next week in Verona, New York, followed by the Presidents Cup at Harding Park in San Francisco.
On the Net: http://www.pgatour.com
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PGA EUROPEAN TOUR
Vivendi Trophy
Site: Paris.
Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.
Course: Saint-Nom-la-Breteche Golf Club (6,919 yards, 6,327 meters, par 71).
Purse: $1.69 million. Winners' shares: $95,395 per player.
Format: Team match play. Thursday, five fourball matches; Friday, five fourball matches; Saturday, four morning greensome matches (both players drive and play alternate shots with the preferred tee shot) and four afternoon foursome matches; Sunday, 10 singles matches.
Britain and Ireland: Nick Dougherty, England; Simon Dyson, England; Ross Fisher, England; Graeme McDowell, Ireland; Rory McIlroy, Ireland; Robert Rock, England; Anthony Wall, England; Steve Webster, England; Oliver Wilson, England; Chris Wood, England. Captain: Paul McGinley, Ireland.
Continental Europe: Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, Spain; Anders Hansen, Denmark; Soren Hansen, Denmark; Peter Hanson, Sweden; Miguel Angel Jimenez, Spain; Robert Karlsson, Sweden; Soren Kjeldsen, Denmark; Francesco Molinari, Italy; Henrik Stenson, Sweden; Alvaro Quiros, Spain. Captain: Thomas Bjorn, Denmark.
Last matches: Britain and Ireland won in 2007 at The Heritage in Ireland, routing Continental Europe 8-2 in singles en route to a 16 1/2-11 1/2 victory in the event then called the Seve Trophy after Seve Ballesteros. After losing the inaugural matches in 2000, Britain and Ireland has won the last four.
Last week: Spain's Rafael Cabrera-Bello won the Austrian Open for his first European Tour title, closing with a course-record 11-under 60 for a one-stroke victory over England's Benn Barham. Cabrera-Bello had a chance for the tour's first 59, but missed an eagle putt on 18. He began the final round eight strokes behind Barham.
Notes: Vivendi has a four-year deal to sponsor the team event - officially called The Vivendi Trophy with Severiano Ballesteros - in 2009 and 2011 and the full-field Vivendi Celebrity Trophy in 2010 and 2012. ... Ballesteros had four operations on a malignant brain tumor late last year. The Spanish star won five major titles. ... Karlsson is returning from an eye problem that sidelined him since May. ... Prize money for the Dubai World Championship and the bonus pool will be reduced 25 percent because of the global economic downturn. The winner's check for the Nov. 19-22 tournament in Dubai will be $1.25 million, and first prize for the season-long bonus pool, known as the Race To Dubai, has been reduced to $1.5 million. The total for each has been cut to $7.5 million from $10 million. ... The Alfred Dunhill Links Championship is next week in Scotland, followed by the Madrid Masters.
On the Net: http://www.europeantour.com
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US LPGA TOUR
CVS/pharmacy LPGA Challenge
Site: Danville, California.
Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.
Course: Blackhawk Country Club (6,212 yards, 5,680 meters, par 72).
Purse: $1.1 million. Winner's share: $165,000.
Last year: South Korea's In-Kyung Kim won her first US LPGA Tour title, closing with a 1-over 73 in windy conditions for a three-stroke victory over Angela Stanford.
Last week: South Korea's Na Yeon Choi won the Samsung World Championship at Torrey Pines for her first US LPGA Tour title, blowing a seven-stroke lead before beating Ai Miyazato by a stroke with a 5-foot birdie putt on the final hole. Miyazato bogeyed the final hole after hitting her second shot into a greenside pond.
Notes: Norway's Suzann Pettersen won in 2007, beating top-ranked Lorena Ochoa with a birdie on the second hole of a playoff. ... Juli Inkster, the 1999 and 2000 winner at Twelve Bridges, lives in Santa Cruz. ... Kim won the LPGA State Farm Classic in June. ... Jiyai Shin finished third last week. She has a tour-high three victories and leads the player of the year and rookie of the year points races and also tops the money list. She is trying to become the first player since Nancy Lopez in 1978 to sweep the player and rookie awards. ... Anheuser-Busch declined to renew its sponsorship deal with the Michelob Ultra Open at Kingsmill, ending the Virginia event after seven years. ... The Navistar LPGA Classic is next week in Prattville, Alabama.
On the Net: http://www.lpga.com
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CHAMPIONS TOUR
SAS Championship
Site: Cary, North Carolina.
Schedule: Friday-Sunday.
Course: Prestonwood Country Club (7,197 yards, 6,581 meters, par 72).
Purse: $2.1 million. Winner's share: $315,000.
Last year: Argentina's Eduardo Romero won for the third time in five starts, finishing with a 66 for a three-stroke victory over Tom Kite.
Last week: Jay Haas won the Greater Hickory Classic for the second time in five seasons, closing with a 7-under 65 for a tournament-record 18-under 198 total. He has 13 senior victories. Andy Bean and Russ Cochran tied for second, two strokes back.
Notes: Romero won the Toshiba Classic in March, his only top-10 finish of the season. ... Tom Pernice Jr. is making his first Champions Tour start. He won the US PGA Tour's 1999 Buick Open and 2001 International. ... Curtis Strange is returning following surgery on his right hip. ... The Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship, the fifth of the tour's five majors, is next week at Baltimore Country Club/Five Farms in Timonium, Maryland.
On the Net: http://www.pgatour.com
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OTHER TOURNAMENTS
Men
NATIONWIDE TOUR: WNB Golf Classic, Thursday-Sunday, Midland Country Club, Midland, Texas. On the Net: http://www.pgatour.com
NGA HOOTERS TOUR: Kandy Waters Memorial Classic, Thursday-Sunday, Gordon Lakes Country Club, Fort Gordon, Georgia. On the Net: http://www.ngahooterstour.com
CANADIAN TOUR: Iberostar Riviera Maya Open, Thursday-Sunday, Iberostar Playa Paraiso Golf Club, Riviera Maya, Mexico. On the Net: http://www.cantour.com
JAPAN GOLF TOUR/ASIAN TOUR: Asia-Pacific Panasonic Open, Thursday-Sunday, Joyo Country Club, Kyoto, Japan. On the Net: http://www.jgto.org and http://www.asiantour.com
Women
LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR: Tenerife Ladies Open, Thursday-Sunday, Golf Costa Adeje, Adeje, Spain. On the Net: http://www.ladieseuropeantour.com
JAPAN LPGA TOUR: Miyagi TV Cup Dunlop Ladies Open, Friday-Sunday, Rifu Golf Club, Miyagi, Japan. On the Net: http://www.lpga.or.jp
