Philadelphia, PA (Best E Casino) - LPGA TOUR - MCDONALD'S LPGA CHAMPIONSHIP, Bulle Rock Golf Course, Havre de Grace, Maryland - The LPGA tees it up at the second major of the season this week with the McDonald's LPGA Championship.
Suzann Pettersen posted four rounds under par, including a five-under 67 in the final round, to walk off with her first major championship title last year.
The title came two months after Pettersen collapsed in the final round of the season's first major, the Kraft Nabisco Championship. There, Pettersen coughed up four shots in a three-hole span from the 17th to cede the title to another first-time major champion, Morgan Pressel.
Pettersen atoned for that collapse at Bulle Rock. She ran home four birdies on the back nine to fend off Karrie Webb, the 2001 champion. Webb finished second for the second year in a row.
When Webb won in '01, that made her youngest player to complete the career Grand Slam. She was just 26 at the time.
Women's world No. 1 Lorena Ochoa is expected to play this week after missing last week's event to be with her ailing uncle, who later passed away.
Ochoa has won the last two majors, the Kraft earlier this year and the Women's British Open last year. Those were her first two major titles.
Annika Sorenstam won this event three straight years from 2003-2005. Only Mickey Wright has won this title more than Sorenstam.
Two-time winner Juli Inkster will snap her run of 56 straight majors played to attend the graduation of her youngest daughter. Inkster last missed a major when she gave birth to that same daughter.
After 11 years at DuPont Country Club, this is the fourth straight year at Bulle Rock.
The Golf Channel will have three hours of coverage four days. The LPGA Tour returns to action in two weeks with the Wegmans LPGA, where Ochoa is the defending champion.
PGA TOUR
STANFORD ST. JUDE CHAMPIONSHIP, TPC Southwind, Memphis, Tennessee - The PGA Tour moves to Memphis this week for the final tune-up before the second major of the year, the U.S. Open.
Last year, Woody Austin fired an eight-under 62 to come from behind and pick up his first tour win since 2004. Third-round leader Adam Scott stumbled to a five-over 75 and ended alone in seventh.
The win helped propel Austin to a berth on the U.S. Presidents Cup squad.
With the U.S. Open next week, only one of the top-10 players and five of the top-25 in the world rankings are slated to play this week at the TPC Southwind.
Heading that list is world No. 10 Vijay Singh. Singh has played here twice, including last year, and his best finish is a tie for 13th back in 1992.
Also teeing it up is last week's winner Kenny Perry. The Kentucky native will play this week, but skip the U.S. Open.
The Golf Channel will cover action the first two days before handing off to CBS for the final two rounds. Next week is the U.S. Open, where Angel Cabrera is expected to defend his title on the South Course at Torrey Pines.
EUROPEAN TOUR
BANK AUSTRIA GOLFOPEN, Fontana Golf Club, Vienna, Austria - Richard Green bogeyed the final hole of regulation to create a playoff last year, but he fought back to down Jean-Francois Remesy in the extra session.
Green returned to the 18th hole for the playoff and made birdie to pick up the win. Green closed with a one-under 70 in the final round, while Remesy fired a seven-under 64 to force the playoff.
This event is in its fifth year as part of the European Tour's International schedule. The first 13 years, the tournament was part of the Challenge Tour.
Green is back to defend his title, while two-time winner here Markus Brier will also tee it up at Fontana Golf Club this week.
The Golf Channel will have three hours of coverage all four days. Next week most of the top players in the world will be at the U.S. Open. For those not making that field, the European Tour has the Saint Omer Open, where Carl Suneson won last year.
NATIONWIDE TOUR
THE REX HOSPITAL OPEN, TPC Wakefield Plantation, Raleigh, North Carolina - Kyle Thompson opened with rounds of 64-65 last year and went on to win the The Rex Hospital Open by two shots over Bob Burns.
Thompson has moved on to the PGA Tour this year, but he has struggled badly. He has made the cut in just four of his 12 starts and has only one top-25 finish, a tie for 15th in Puerto Rico.
This is the 15th year of the tournament and it will be the eighth straight year at TPC at Wakefield Plantation.
There is no television this week. The Nationwide Tour returns to action in two weeks with the Knoxville Open, where Chez Reavie won last year.
