World Golf Glance.

October 2, 2008

World Golf Glance.
PGA EUROPEAN TOUR

Alfred Dunhill Links Championship

Site: St. Andrews and Carnoustie, Scotland.

Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.

Courses: St. Andrews, Old Course (7,279 yards, 6,656 meters, par 72), Carnoustie, Championship Course (7,412 yards, 6,778 meters, par 72) and Kingsbarns Golf Links (7,150 yards, 6,538 meters, par 72).

Purse: $4.8 million (?3.4 million). Winner’s share: $800,000 (?560,000).

Last year: England’s Nick Dougherty closed with a 1-under 71 at St. Andrews for a two-stroke victory over countryman Justin Rose.

Last week: Spain’s Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano won the British Masters, beating defending champion Lee Westwood with a par on the third hole of a playoff.

Ireland’s Padraig Harrington, the British Open and US PGA champion, won the 2002 and 2006 titles. He tops the field along with European Ryder Cup teammates Westwood, Rose, Paul Casey, Soren Hansen, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Robert Karlsson, Graeme McDowell, Henrik Stenson and Oliver Wilson. Darren Clarke, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen and 2005 winner Colin Montgomerie also are entered. Westwood won the 2003 tournament. … The top 60 players and ties and top 20 pro-am teams will advance to the final round at St. Andrews. … The Madrid Masters is next week, followed by the Portugal Masters.

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Site: Verona, New York.

Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.

Course: Atunyote Golf Club at Turning Stone Resort (7,482 yards, 6,842 meters, par 72).

Purse: $6 million (?4.2 million). Winner’s share: $1.08 million (?760,000).

Last year: Steve Flesch won the inaugural Fall Series event for his second 2007 title. Michael Allen finished second, two strokes back.

Last week: Colombia’s Camilo Villegas won the Tour Championship at East Lake for his second straight victory, beating Sergio Garcia with a par on the first hole of a playoff in the FedEx Cup finale. Villegas also won at Bellerive. Vijay Singh, the winner of the first two playoff events, took the $10 million (?7 million) FedEx Cup prize.

The tournament is the second of seven Fall Series events. … Champions Tour player Joey Sindelar, from Horseheads, New York, is in the field along with Tour Championship participants Dudley Hart, Carl Pettersson, Robert Allenby, Briny Baird and Ryuji Imada. … The final B.C. Open was played at Turning Stone in 2006 because of flood damage at En-Joie Golf Club. John Rollins won the event, closing with a 64 for a one-stroke victory over Bob May. … Atunyote - pronounced uh-DUNE-yote - is the Oneida Indian word for “eagle.” … The Texas Open is next week, followed by the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas.

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US LPGA TOUR

Samsung World Championship

Site: Half Moon Bay, California.

Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.

Course: Half Moon Bay Golf Links, Ocean Course (6,450 yards, 5,898 meters, par 72).

Purse: $1 million (?700,000). Winner’s share: $250,000 (?175,000).

Last year: Lorena Ochoa successfully defended her title at Bighorn in Palm Desert to wrap up her second straight player of the year award. The Mexican star beat Mi Hyun Kim by four strokes for the seventh of her eight 2007 victories.

Last week: Ochoa won the Navistar LPGA Classic in Alabama for her seventh victory of the year and first since May, beating Candie Kung with a par on the second hole of a playoff. Cristie Kerr was eliminated with a bogey on the first extra hole. Ochoa improved to 2-5 in U.S. LPGA Tour playoffs. She has 24 career victories.

Five-time champion Annika Sorenstam is in the elite 20-player field. She’s leaving the tour at the end of the season. … In the eventful 2005 tournament, Sorenstam tied Mickey Wright’s tour record for victories in an event with five, beating Paula Creamer by eight strokes to clinch the money title and her eighth U.S. LPGA Player of the Year award. Michelle Wie, making her pro debut, was disqualified following the final round for signing an incorrect third-round scorecard, an error caused by an improper penalty drop. She would have finished fourth. … Set on bluffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the Arthur Hills-designed Ocean Course takes over for Bighorn, the site for the past four years. … Three-time champion Juli Inkster received a sponsor invitation. The Hall of Famer lives in Santa Cruz. … Angela Stanford took the last available spot in the field from the money list with her victory three weeks ago in Mobile, Alabama. … The tour will remain in California next week for the Longs Drugs Challenge in Danville.

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CHAMPIONS TOUR

Next event: Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship, Oct. 9-12, Baltimore Country Club/Five Farms, East Course, Timonium, Maryland.

Last week: Argentina’s Eduardo Romero won the SAS Championship for his third Champions Tour victory in five starts, closing with a 6-under 66 for a three-stroke victory over Tom Kite at Prestonwood in Cary, North Carolina.

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OTHER TOURNAMENTS

Men

JAPAN GOLF TOUR: Coca-Cola Tokai Classic, Thursday-Sunday, Miyoshi Country Club, West Course, Aichi, Japan.

ASIAN TOUR: Kolon-Hana Bank Korea Open, Thursday-Sunday, Woo Jeong Hills Country Club, Cheonan, South Korea.

SUNSHINE TOUR: Seekers Travel Pro-Am, Thursday-Saturday, Dainfern Country Club, Dainfern, South Africa.

PGA EUROPEAN CHALLENGE TOUR: AGF-Allianz Open de Toulouse, Thursday-Sunday, Golf de Toulouse-Seilh, Seilh, France.
Women

LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR: Madrid Ladies Masters, Thursday-Saturday, Casino Club de Golf Retamares, Madrid, Spain.

JAPAN LPGA TOUR: Japan Women’s Open, Thursday-Sunday, Shiun Golf Club, Niigata, Japan.