Teeing it up /This week’s golf at a glance
Updated: 09/03/08 6:28 AM
PGA Tour
Event: BMW Championship. Site: St. Louis. Schedule: Thursday-Sunday. Course: Bellerive Country Club (7,456 yards, par 71). Purse: $7 million. Winner: $1.26 million.
FedEx Cup winner’s share: 11,000. TV: Golf Channel (Thursday, 2-6 p. m., 8:30 p. m.-12:30 a. m.; Friday, 3:30-6:30 a. m., 2-6 p. m., 8:30 p. m.-12:30 a. m.; Saturday, 3: 30-6: 30 a. m.) and Ch. 2 (Saturday, noon-3:30 p. m.; Sunday, 2-6 p. m.). Last year: Tiger Woods won for the fourth time at Cog Hill in LeMont, Ill., matching the lowest final round of his career with an 8-under 63 and shattering the course record at 22-under 262. Aaron Baddeley was second, two strokes back. Last week: Vijay Singh shot an 8-under 63 on Monday to win the Deutsche Bank Championship, his second straight in the FedEx Cup playoff system and third in five weeks. The 45-year-old Singh, also the 2004 winner at TPC Boston, had a tournament-record 22-under 262 total. He has 34 PGA Tour victories, a record 22 after turning 40. Mike Weir was second, five strokes back. Chip shots: Woods hasn’t played since season-ending surgery after the U. S. Open. . . . The top 70 in the FedEx Cup standings qualified for the event. The field will be cut to 30 for the Tour Championship on Sept. 25-28 at East Lake in Atlanta. . . . Singh has a 12,225-point lead over Sergio Garcia. The Fijian, a playoff winner two weeks ago in the FedEx Cup opener at Ridgewood, is assured of taking the lead into the Tour Championship and another top finish might be enough to wrap up the title at Bellerive. . . . Singh earned $2.52 million the last two weeks to replace Woods atop the money list at over $6.4 million. . . . The tournament, previously the Western Open, will return to Cog Hill in 2009 and 2011. The 2010 event will be played at Crooked Stick outside Indianapolis. . . . The tour is off next week. The Viking Classic is Sept. 18-21 at Madison, Miss., opposite the Ryder Cup at Valhalla in Louisville, Ky.
LPGA Tour
Next event: Bell Micro LPGA Classic, Sept. 11-14, Magnolia Grove, The Crossings, Mobile, Ala. Last event: Cristie Kerr won the Safeway Classic on Aug. 24 for her 11th tour title and first since the 2007 U. S. Women’s Open. She beat Helen Alfredsson and Sophie Gustafson with a 15-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole.
Champions Tour
Next event: Greater Hickory Classic, Sept. 12-14, Rock Barn Golf and Spa, Conover, N. C. Last week: Jeff Sluman won the First Tee Open for his second Champions Tour victory, closing with a 67 at Pebble Beach for a five-stroke victory over Fuzzy Zoeller and Craig Stadler. Sluman also won the Bank of America Championship in June.
AREA HOLES-IN-ONE
Lynne Blachard, on the 127-yard 16th hole at Sheridan Park, with a hybrid. Jim Egloff, on the 166-yard 18th hole at Oak Run, with a 5-iron. Walter Geising, on the 157-yard 15th hole at Elma Meadows, with a hybrid. Leeman Harris, on the 182-yard 13th hole at Delaware, with a 5-iron. Brad Kelchlin, on the 316-yard fifth hole at Hamburg, with a driver. Dr. Russ Miller, on the 294-yard 16th hole at Fox Valley, with a 3-wood. Shane Moonan, on the 200-yard 17th hole at Harvest Hill, with a 5-wood. Dave Pruett, on the 130-yard 12th hole at Rosebrook, with a 9-iron. Mike Pula, on the 136-yard third hole at Cazenovia, with a 7-iron. David Roberts, on the 171-yard 12th hole at Terry Hills, with a 5-iron. Sam Sebastian, on the 125-yard seventh hole at Harvest Hill, with a 9-iron. R. P. Stringfellow, on the 161-yard third hole at Brookfield, with 7-iron. Connie Thill, on the 122-yard sixth hole at Elma Meadows, with a 6-iron. Tom Trigilio, on the 153-yard third hole at Batavia, with a 5-iron.
