Golf Glance
Tuesday February 18, 2003Site: Los Angeles.
Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.
Course: Riviera Country Club (7,078 yards, par 71).
Purse: $4.5 million. Winner's share: $810,000.
Television: USA (Thursday-Friday, 3-6 p.m.) and ABC (Saturday-Sunday, 3-6 p.m.).
Last year: Len Mattiace won his first tour title, closing with a 68 to beat South Africa's Rory Sabbatini by a stroke.
Last week: Tiger Woods won the Buick Invitational in his first start following knee surgery, finishing four strokes ahead of Sweden's Carl Pettersson.
Notes: Woods is back after missing his hometown event last year because of a virus. He made his first tour appearance in the 1992 tournament. Then 16, he missed the cut with rounds of 72 and 75. ... Ernie Els will return next week for the Match Play Championship at La Costa. He won the Johnnie Walker Classic last week in Australia for his fourth victory in five 2003 starts. ... Ben Hogan stamped the course as ``Hogan's Alley'' with three victories in 17 months the 1947 and 1948 Los Angeles Opens and 1948 U.S. Open. ... Colin Montgomerie is making his first start of the year. He lost a playoff to Steve Elkington at Riviera in the 1995 PGA. ... Sergio Garcia missed the cut last week in Australia. ... Fred Couples won in 1990 and 1992, and was second in 1993, 1994 and 1996. ... Robert Allenby won the 2001 event in a six-man playoff. ... The Chrysler Classic of Tucson also is next week, opposite the Match Play Championship.
On the Net: http://www.pgatour.com">http://www.pgatour.com
= ^CHAMPIONS TOUR= ^Verizon Classic=
Site: Lutz, Fla.
Schedule: Friday-Sunday.
Course: TPC of Tampa Bay (6,783 yards, par 71).
Purse: $1.6 million. Winner's share: $240,000.
Television: The Golf Channel (Friday, 1:30-4 p.m., 8-10:30 p.m.) and CNBC (Saturday-Sunday, 6-8 p.m.).
Last year: Doug Tewell won the first of two 2002 titles, holding off Hale Irwin and Bruce Fleisher by a stroke.
Last week: Argentina's Vicente Fernandez won for the first time since 1999, beating Tom Watson and Ireland's Des Smyth by three strokes in the ACE Group Classic.
Notes: Jack Nicklaus is making his second straight start. He tied for 58th last week in Naples with rounds of 76, 71 and 72. ... Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Lee Trevino also are in the field. ... Watson is winless in 84 pro starts in Florida. ... Bob Gilder won the 2001 event in his third senior start. ... The tour is off next week. Play will resume March 7-9 with the BosqueReal Championship in Mexico.
On the Net: http://www.pgatour.com">http://www.pgatour.com
= ^PGA EUROPEAN TOUR= ^ASIAN PGA TOUR= ^Malayasian Open=
Site: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.
Course: The Mines Resort and Golf Club (6,768 yards, par 71).
Purse: $1.1 million. Winner's share: $183,330.
Television: The Golf Channel (Thursday-Friday, 9-11 a.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 9 a.m.-noon).
Last year: Scotland's Alastair Forsyth won his first tour title, beating Australia's Stephen Leaney on the second hole of a playoff at Royal Selangor.
Last week: South Africa's Ernie Els won for the fourth time in five events this year, setting European, Australasian and Asian tour records with a 29-under total in a 10-stroke victory in the Johnnie Walker Classic in Perth.
Notes: South Africa's Retief Goosen tops the field along with European Ryder Cup players Padraig Harrington, Lee Westwood and Paul McGinley. ... The Match Play Championship is next week at La Costa in Carlsbad, Calif., followed by the Dubai Desert Classic and Qatar Masters.
PGA European Tour site: http://www.europeantour.com
Asian PGA Tour site: http://www.asianpgatour.com
= ^AUSTRALIAN LADIES TOUR= ^LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR= ^ANZ Ladies Masters=
Site: Gold Coast, Australia.
Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.
Course: Royal Pines Resort, East Course (6,396 yards, par 72).
Purse: $475,000. Winner's share: $70,000.
Television: The Golf Channel (Wednesday-Friday, 11 p.m.-3 a.m.; Saturday, 8-10:30 p.m., 11 p.m.-3 a.m.; Sunday, 8-10:30 p.m.).
Last year: Sweden's Annika Sorenstam ended Karrie Webb's bid to become the first tour player to win the same event five straight years, beating the Australian with a par on the fourth hole of a playoff.
Last week: Australia's Tamara Hyett birdied the first hole of a playoff with England's Laura Davies to win the Players' Championship in Nelson Bay.
Notes: Sorenstam is skipping the tournament. ... Webb won the LPGA Skins Game in Hawaii on Jan. 26, taking 12 skins for an event-record $470,000. She was 96 under in her four straight Royal Pines victories. ... The Australian Women's Open is next week at Terry Hills in Sydney. ... The LPGA Tour season will begin March 13-16 with the Welch's/Fry's Championship in Tucson, Ariz.
Australian Ladies Tour site: http://www.alpgtour.com
Ladies European Tour site: http://www.ladieseuropeantour.com
= ^OTHER TOURNAMENT=
CANADIAN TOUR: TravelTex.com Canadian Tour Challenge, Thursday-Sunday, Barton Creek Resort, Fazio Foothills Course, Austin, Texas. Television: The Golf Channel (Thursday-Friday, 4-6 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 3-5 a.m., 4-6 p.m.). On the Net: http://www.cantour.com
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