PGA TOUR AUSTRALASIA/PGA EUROPEAN TOUR
Australian Masters
Site: Melbourne, Australia.
Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.
Course: Kingston Heath Golf Club (7,059 yards, 6,455 meters, par 72).
Purse: $1.39 million. Winner's share: $250,580.
Last year: Rod Pampling won at Huntingdale, beating fellow Australian Marcus Fraser with a par on the third playoff hole. Pampling finished with a 5-under 67 to match Fraser at 12-under 276.
Last week: Phil Mickelson won the HSBC Champions in China for his second World Golf Championship victory of the year, beating Ernie Els by a stroke. Tiger Woods tied for sixth, five strokes back. ... Australia's Steven Bowditch won the Queensland PGA Championship, shooting 64-64-63-69 for a six-stroke victory in Toowoomba.
Notes: Woods, paid a $3 million appearance fee, is playing in Australia for the first time since the 1998 Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne. He made his only other Australian starts in 1996-97, tying for fifth in the Australian Open at The Australian and tying for eighth in the Masters at Huntingdale. ... Pampling and 2007 winner Aaron Baddeley are in the field along with fellow Australians Geoff Ogilvy, Stuart Appleby, Adam Scott, Nathan Green, three-time winner Craig Parry, Michael Sim and John Senden. Woods, Jason Dufner and Sam Saunders are the only Americans in the 144-player field. Saunders is Arnold Palmer's grandson. ... The tournament is in its first season at Kingston Heath after 30 years at Huntingdale. ... The European Tour's season-ending Dubai World Championship is next week. The top 60 on the Race to Dubai money list will qualify. ... The Australasian Tour's NSW PGA Championship is next week at Wollongong.
On the Net: http://www.australianmasters.com.au
PGA Tour Australasia site: http://pgatour.com.au
PGA European Tour site: http://www.europeantour.com
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PGA EUROPEAN TOUR/ASIAN TOUR
Hong Kong Open
Site: Hong Kong.
Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.
Course: Hong Kong Golf Club (6,700 yards, 6,126 meters, par 70).
Purse: $2.5 million. Winner's share: $416,660.
Last year: Taiwan's Lin Wen-tang beat Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy with a birdie on the second hole of a playoff. Italy's Francesco Molinari dropped out on the first extra hole.
Last week: Phil Mickelson won the HSBC Champions in China for his second World Golf Championship victory of the year, rallying to beat Ernie Els by a stroke. Tiger Woods tied for sixth, five strokes back.
Notes: The European Tour's season-ending Dubai World Championship is next week. The top 60 on the Race to Dubai money list will qualify. ... Money leader Lee Westwood tops the field along with Lin, McIlroy, US PGA Championship winner Y.E. Yang, Ian Poulter, Darren Clarke, Colin Montgomerie, Ben Curtis and Mark O'Meara. ... Westwood has earned $3,605,066, putting him $78,442 ahead of second-place McIlroy. ... Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee and China's Liang Wen-chong are fighting for the Asian Tour money title. Thongchai has a $197,000 lead with three events left. ... Poulter won the Singapore Open two weeks ago. ... The Asian Tour will be at Phokeethra next week for the Cambodian Open.
PGA European Tour site: http://www.europeantour.com
Asian Tour site: http://www.asiantour.com
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US PGA Tour
Children's Miracle Network Classic
Site: Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.
Courses: Walt Disney Resort, Magnolia Course (7,516 yards, 6,873 meters, par 72) and Palm Course (7,010 yards, 6,409 meters, par 72).
Purse: $4.7 million. Winner's share: $828,000.
Last year: Davis Love III won the last of his 20 US PGA Tour titles, finishing with an 8-under 64 for a one-stroke victory over Tommy Gainey.
Last event: The Viking Classic was canceled two weeks ago in Madison, Mississippi because of unplayable conditions at rain-soaked Annandale.
Notes: The tournament ends the Fall Series. The top 125 on the money list will earn full 2010 exemptions. The next 25 will receive conditional status. Ricky Barnes is 121st with $672,437, followed by Steve Flesch ($668,052), Robert Garrigus ($657,204), Rich Beem ($636,831), No. 125 David Duval ($623,824), Chris Riley ($613,027), Jeff Maggert ($611,316) and Tim Herron ($602,453). ... Erik Compton, the player who has had two heart transplants, received a sponsor exemption. He tied for 60th last year. ... Kevin Streelman has a two-stroke lead in the Kodak Challenge for a $1 million prize. The final hole is Magnolia's par-4 17th. ... Tiger Woods won the 1996 and 1999 tournaments. ... The final two rounds will be played on the Magnolia Course.
On the Net: http://www.pgatour.com
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US LPGA TOUR
Lorena Ochoa Invitational
Site: Guadalajara, Mexico.
Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.
Course: Guadalajara Country Club (6,644 yards, 6,075 meters, par 72).
Purse: $1.1 million. Winner's share: $165,000.
Last year: Angela Stanford won the inaugural tournament, edging Annika Sorenstam and Brittany Lang by a stroke. Sorenstam nearly holed her third shot on the par-5 18th, then lipped out a 9-foot birdie try.
Last week: South Korea's Bo Bae Song won the Mizuno Classic in Japan for her first US LPGA Tour title, beating top-ranked Lorena Ochoa, Lang and Hee Young Park by three strokes. The event was co-sanctioned by the Japan LPGA.
Notes: Ochoa, 28 on Sunday, grew up playing at Guadalajara Country Club, still her home course. The tournament host has three victories this year and 27 overall. She's four points behind Jiyai Shin in the player of the year race. ... Shin, Stanford, Michelle Wie, Cristie Kerr, Suzann Pettersen, Paula Creamer, Morgan Pressel and Ai Miyazato also are in the 36-player field. Natalie Gulbis, Juli Inkster, Laura Davies, Sophia Sheridan and Maria Jose Uribe received sponsor exemptions. ... The season-ending US LPGA Tour Championship is next week at The Houstonian.
On the Net: http://www.lpga.com
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OTHER TOURNAMENTS
Men
JAPAN GOLF TOUR: Taiheiyo Masters, Thursday-Sunday, Taiheiyo Club, Gotemba Course, Shizuoka, Japan. On the Net: http://www.jgto.org
SUNSHINE TOUR: Namibia PGA Championship, Thursday-Sunday, Rossmund Golf Club, Swakopmund, Namibia. On the Net: http://www.sunshinetour.com
Women
JAPAN LPGA TOUR: Ito En Ladies Classic, Friday-Sunday, Great Island Club, Chiba, Japan. On the Net: http://www.lpga.or.jp
