Philadelphia, PA (Best E Casino) - USGA - U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP, Torrey Pines Golf Course (South Course), San Diego, California - All eyes will be on San Diego this week as the season's second major is upon us.
The U.S. Open Championship tees off at Torrey Pines, where world No. 1 Tiger Woods has won four straight Buick Invitational titles. While Woods has won on the course six times as a professional, world No. 2 Phil Mickelson has been no slouch there.
Mickelson, who was born in San Diego, has won the Buick three times at Torrey Pines. Of course, that event splits time between the North and South Courses, while the Open will only be contested on the South Course.
The South Course will play to a par-71 this week with the course stretching between 7,541 and 7,643 yards. At its longest, the South Course will play 379 yards longer than any previous U.S. Open course.
The course will include two of the longest par-fours in U.S. Open history as the sixth will play to 515 yards and No. 12 will be 504 yards.
There will be eight past champions in the field this week and those eight players account for 12 titles. Among them are two-time champions Lee Janzen, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen and Woods.
Last year, Angel Cabrera survived Oakmont as he closed with a one-under 69 to hold off Woods and 2003 champion Jim Furyk by a single stroke. For Cabrera, it was his first major championship title as well as his first official PGA Tour win.
The bad news for Cabrera is that since 1991 only two players have finished better than a tie for 40th in their title defenses. Goosen tied for 11th in 2005, while Woods took 12th in '01 and tied for 20th in '03 following his two wins.
Woods began the final round last year two strokes behind third-round leader Aaron Baddeley. By finishing second, Woods has still not come from behind in the final round to win a major championship title.
The pairings this week include the top 12 players in the world rankings being grouped together. One traditional pairing is different this year.
The defending champion (Cabrera) would normally be paired with reigning British Open champ (Padraig Harrington) and reigning U.S. Amateur winner (Colt Knost). However, since Knost turned pro last fall and did not qualify, he was replaced in the group by 1997 PGA Championship winner Davis Love III.
There will be plenty of television coverage this week, including in prime time. ESPN will have seven hours of coverage on Thursday and Friday, while NBC will also have two hours of action in between the ESPN coverage. NBC will cover six hours of action on Saturday and Sunday with coverage running until 10:00 p.m. (et) on Saturday and 9:00 p.m. on Sunday.
The PGA Tour heads to Connecticut next week for the Travelers Championship, where Hunter Mahan won last year.
EUROPEAN TOUR
SAINT-OMER OPEN, Saint Omer Golf Club, St Omer, France - Carl Suneson was one of three players to post four rounds of par or better last year. Suneson closed with a two-under 69 and walked off with a three-stroke win.
However, Suneson is not scheduled to defend his title. That being said, there will be three past winners playing this week -- Nicolas Vanhootegem (2002), Joakim Backstrom (2005) and Cesar Monasterio (2006).
This is the sixth straight year this event will be contested opposite the U.S. Open. It will again be a dual-ranking event with players from the European Tour and the Challenge Tour filling out the field.
There is no television coverage for the tournament. The European Tour shifts to Germany next week for the BMW International Open, where Niclas Fasth won last year.
CANADIAN TOUR
TIMES COLONIST OPEN, Uplands Golf Club, Victoria, British Columbia - The Canadian Tour returns to action this week with the Times Colonist Open.
Last year, Spencer Levin was buoyed by a second-round, seven-under 65. That helped him pick up his second straight win on the Canadian Tour.
Levin finished three strokes clear of two players and four shots ahead of 2006 winner Mike Grob. Levin will not be in the field this week, however.
This is the longest running Canadian Tour event, having been played annually since 1984. The event rotates over three courses -- Royal Colwood, Gorge Vale and Uplands, which will host for the eighth time.
There is no television coverage this week. The tour moves from Victoria to Vancouver next week for the Greater Vancouver Charity Classic, where James Lepp won last year.
