ROYAL & ANCIENT GOLF CLUB OF ST. ANDREWS
BRITISH OPEN
Site: Gullane, Scotland
Schedule: Thursday-Sunday
Course: Muirfield Golf Club (7,192 yards, par 71)
Purse: $7.95 million. Winner's share: $1.43 million
Last year: Ernie Els won at Royal Lytham & St. Annes for his second victory in the event and fourth major championship. The South African made a 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole to reach 7 under par and won when Australia's Adam Scott missed a 7-footer on No. 18 for his fourth straight bogey.
Last week: Jordan Spieth won the John Deere Classic to become the first teenager to win on the PGA Tour since 1931, beating Zach Johnson and David Hearn with a par on the fifth hole of a playoff. The 19-year-old Spieth earned a spot at Muirfield. . . . Phil Mickelson won the Scottish Open at Castle Stuart, edging South Africa's Branden Grace with a birdie on the first extra hole.
Notes: Tiger Woods, the winner at St. Andrews in 2000 and 2005 and Royal Liverpool in 2006, is coming off a four-week break because of soreness in his left elbow. He won the last of his 14 major titles in the 2008 US Open. Woods has a PGA Tour-high four victories this year to push his career total to 78, four short of Sam Snead's tour record. . . .The tournament is the third major of the year. Scott won the Masters, and Justin Rose took the US Open. . . . Els won the 2002 tournament at Muirfield. . . . Nick Faldo, the 1987 and 1992 winner at Muirfield, is in the field. . . . The tournament will be played next year at Royal Liverpool, and the 2015 event is set for St. Andrews.
PGA TOUR
SANDERSON FARMS CHAMPIONSHIP
Site: Madison, Miss.
Schedule: Thursday-Sunday
Course: Annandale Golf Club (7,202 yards, par 72)
Purse: $3 million. Winner's share: $540,000
Last year: Scott Stallings won his second tour title, shooting 68-64-64-68 to finish at 24 under. Jason Bohn was second, two strokes back.
Last week: Jordan Spieth won the John Deere Classic to become the first teenager to win on the PGA Tour since 1931, beating Zach Johnson and David Hearn with a par on the fifth hole of a playoff. The 19-year-old Spieth earned a spot in the British Open.
Notes: Davis Love III is in the field. He failed to qualify for the British Open, ending his start streak in the event at 26. . . . Jack Nicklaus designed the Annandale course. . . . The Canadian Open is next week at Glen Abbey in Oakville, Ontario.
LPGA TOUR
MARATHON CLASSIC
Site: Sylvania, Ohio
Schedule: Thursday-Sunday
Course: Highland Meadows Golf Club (6,428 yards, par 71)
Purse: $1.3 million. Winner's share: $195,000.
Last year: South Korea's So Yeon Ryu made six straight birdies in a final-round 62 en route to a seven-stroke victory.
Last week: South Korea's Hee Young Park won the Manulife Financial LPGA Classic in Waterloo, Ontario, beating Angela Stanford with a birdie on the third hole of a playoff. They finished at 26-under 258 to match the LPGA Tour record for lowest total score.
Notes: Inbee Park won the first three major championships of the season — the Kraft Nabisco, LPGA Championship and US Women's Open — and has six victories this year. The top-ranked South Korean star tied for 14th last week in Canada, ending her victory streak at three. . . . Se Ri Pak has won the event five times. . . . Paula Creamer won in 2008, opening with a 60. . . . The tour is off next week. Play will resume Aug. 1-4 with the Women's British Open at St. Andrews.
OTHER TOURNAMENTS
MEN
Web.com Tour: Midwest Classic, Thursday-Sunday, Nicklaus Golf Club at LionsGate, Overland Park, Kan.
USGA: US Amateur Public Links, through Saturday, Laurel Hill Golf Club, Lorton, Va.
PGA Tour Canada: The Players Cup, Thursday-Sunday, Pine Ridge Golf Club, Winnipeg, Manitoba.
European Challenge Tour: Tuscany Open, Thursday-Sunday, UNA Poggio dei Medici Golf Club, Florence, Italy.
eGolf Professional Tour: HGM Hotels Classic, Wednesday-Saturday, Rock Barn Golf Club, Robert Trent Jones Course, Conover, NC.
WOMEN
Symetra Tour: Northeast Delta Dental International, Friday-Sunday, Beaver Meadow Golf Course, Concord, NH.
Ladies European Tour: Spanish Women's Open, Thursday-Sunday, Club de Campo Villa de Madrid, Madrid.
Japan LPGA Tour: Samantha Thavasa Girls Collections Ladies, Friday-Sunday, Eagle Point Golf Club, Ibaraki, Japan.
