After all the hoopla of last week with the 'big 3' paired together in Dubai, and all the celebs headed by Bill Murray at a beautiful week on the Monterrey Peninsula it's a little quieter this week, but important none the less.
Mike Weir as I wrote yesterday has 2 wins here and is down to 2 events to make his $217,000 and Chris Baryla did not get in as an alternative. Freddie Couples is playing here instead of defending his Champions tour title in Florida, and several of the Euro guys like Paddy Harrington, Luke Donald ( watch for him this week) and Justin Rose and Louis Oosthuizen are in the field.
Meanwhile the European tour continues to spread it's wings as the field travels from Dubai to New Delhi in India where Jeev Milka Singh is a national hero..
Don't forget we have 2 Canucks in the Champions tour field in Naples, at the Acer Classic Rod Spittle and Jim Rutledge, and nice to see a 'twitter' from Gary Player of all people to say that he will be playing here for the 23rd time !!
AP report
PGA tour
Site: Los Angeles.
Course: Riviera Country Club (7,325 yards, par 71).
Purse: $6.5 million. Winner's share: $1.17 million.
Canucks : Mike Weir,
Last year: Steve Stricker won the first of his two 2010 titles, beating Luke Donald by two strokes. Stricker also won the John Deere Classic in July.
Notes: Phil Mickelson, the 2008 and 2009 winner, is playing for the fourth straight week. He tied for ninth at Pebble Beach.
Tiger Woods is skipping his hometown event. He last played at Riviera in 2006. ... Ben Hogan stamped the course as "Hogan's Alley" with three victories in 17 months — the 1947 and '48 Los Angeles Opens and '48 U.S. Open. ... Steve Elkington won the 1995 PGA at Riviera, beating Colin Montgomerie in a playoff. ... Former Lakers star Jerry West is the tournament executive director. ... The World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship is next week in Marana, Ariz., opposite the Mayakoba Golf Classic in Mexico.
LPGA TOUR
Honda PTT LPGA Thailand
Site: Pattaya, Thailand.
Course: Siam Country Club, Pattaya Old Course (6,477 yards, par 72).
Purse: $1.45 million. Winner's share: $217,500.
Canucks : none
Last year: Japan's Ai Miyazato won the season-opening event, holing a 30-foot birdie chip on the final hole for a 9-under 63 and a one-stroke victory over Suzann Pettersen. Miyazato, six strokes behind Pettersen after the third round, matched the tournament record of 21 under set by Pettersen in October 2007. Miyazato then won the HSBC Champions in Singapore to become the first LPGA Tour player in 44 years to sweep the first two events of a season.
Notes: Taiwan's Yani Tseng won the Women's Australian Open and Australian Ladies Masters the last two weeks to take the No. 1 spot in the world. ... Michelle Wie is in the field. ... The tour has been off since Maria Hjorth won the LPGA Tour Championship on Dec. 5. ... Lorena Ochoa won the 2009 event. ... The tournament also is sanctioned by the Thailand Ladies Golf Association. ... The HSBC Women's Champions is next week. The tour will open its U.S. schedule March 18-20 with the LPGA Founders Cup in Phoenix.
CHAMPIONS TOUR
ACE Group Classic
Site: Naples, Fla.
Course: The Quarry (7,094 yards, par 72).
Purse: $1.6 million. Winner's share: $240,000.
Canucks : Rod Spittle, Jim Rutledge
Last year: Fred Couples won the first of his three straight tour victories, holding off Tommy Armour III by a stroke. Couples closed with an 8-under 64, and Armour matched the tour record for lowest score in relation to par with an 11-under 61.
Notes: Couples is skipping his title defense to play in the PGA Tour event at Riviera. ... John Cook won the season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship in Hawaii on Jan. 23. ... Loren Roberts won in 2006 at TwinEagles to become the first Champions Tour player to open a season with three straight victories. Roberts also won in 2009 at TPC Treviso Bay. ... The tour is off the next two weeks. Play will resume March 11-13 with the Toshiba Classic in Newport Beach, Calif.
PGA EUROPEAN TOUR/ASIAN TOUR
Avantha Masters
Site: New Delhi.
Course: DLF Golf & Country Club (7,156 yards, par 72).
Purse: $2.43 million. Winner's share: $405,400.
Last year: Australia's Andrew Dodt won the inaugural event for his first European Tour title. England's Richard Finch was second, a stroke back.
Notes: Indian star Jeev Milkha Singh is a three-time winner on the European Tour. ... New Zealand's Mark Brown won the 2008 Johnnie Walker Classic on the Arnold Palmer-designed course. ... The event also is sanctioned by the Professional Golf Tour of India.
Bryan Angus
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