PGA TOUR - AT&T PEBBLE BEACH NATIONAL PRO-
AM, Pebble Beach Golf Links, Monterey Peninsula Country Club Shore Course,
Spyglass Hill Golf Course, Pebble Beach, California - It's one of most popular
events on the schedule at one of the most storied places.
Pebble Beach, with all of the celebrities and amateurs, hosts this week's PGA
Tour stop. That venue will play host to the final round after three days on
three courses. The Monetery Course was added back into the mix for 2010,
replacing Poppy Hills Golf Course.
Bill Murray headlines the celebrity group as always. From there, it's a host
of quarterbacks and television personalities with insanely long rounds mixed
in.
Last year, Dustin Johnson, who was a factor at Riviera last week, was declared
the winner some 40 hours after he hit his last shot. Due to rain and wind that
was strong enough to topple a 40-foot tree, play was called on Sunday. When
they went out for the Monday finish, streams replaced fairways and ponds
formed on greens.
For Johnson, it was his second PGA Tour victory and he became the youngest
player to win the title.
This could be considered the test run for a bigger event at Pebble Beach later
in 2010. The U.S. Open returns to the storied course in June with Lucas Glover
the defending champion.
Maybe it'll be there when Tiger Woods comes back. In 2000, when Pebble Beach
last hosted the U.S. Open, Woods won by about 45 strokes in what some consider
his most impressive victory.
The Golf Channel has the action on Thursday and Friday and CBS takes over on
Saturday and Sunday.
Next week there will be two events on the PGA Tour.
First is the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, won last year by Geoff
Ogilvy. Some thought this would be where Tiger returned, but his caddy Stevie
shot that down.
For those not lucky enough to be in the top 64 (technically 66 because of the
absence of both Woods and Phil Mickelson), there's the Mayakoba Golf Classic,
which was won last year by Mark Wilson.
EUROPEAN TOUR
AVANTHA MASTERS, DLF Golf and Country Club, New Delhi, India - European Tour
golf heads to the second-most populated country.
Tri-sanctioned between the European Tour, Asian Tour and Professional Golf
Tour of India, the Avantha Masters boasts a decent field. Darren Clarke and
David Howell are on hand and the field is filled with Indian players.
Jeev Milkha Singh, Jyoti Randhawa and Shiv Kapur are the outstanding Indian
players in the field.
The Golf Channel has the tape-delayed action.
DLF Golf and Country Club hosted the 2008 Johnnie Walker Classic, which was
won by Mark Brown of New Zealand.
CHAMPIONS TOUR
THE ACE GROUP CLASSIC - The Quarry, Naples, Florida - After a long absence and
two events in Hawaii, the Champions Tour returns and is in the continental
United States.
Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus teamed to win the Champions Skins Game and Watson
trumped Champions Tour rookie Fred Couples to win the Mitsubishi Electric
Championship.
Last year, Loren Roberts made a three-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole Sunday
to beat Gene Jones by a stroke.
Couples is in the field this week, but the bigger name for a week anyway is
Paul Azinger. The former U.S. Ryder Cup captain is debuting on the Champions
Tour this week.
The Golf Channel will air all of the action.
Next week is the Allianz Championship, which Mike Goodes won in 2009.
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