This Week in Golf - July 29th through August 1st

Golf Betting Lines

07/26/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - WOMEN'S BRITISH OPEN, Royal Birkdale Golf Club, Southport, England - The women remain in Europe this week for the fourth and final major of their season, the Women's British Open.

Catriona Matthew was the only player in red figures at the end of last year's Women's British Open as she finished at three-under par and won by three strokes over Karrie Webb.

It was Matthew's first major championship. Webb was denied her fourth Women's British title.

Matthew has not won an LPGA Tour event since, but did compete in her fifth Solheim Cup for the European Tour last fall.

Last year, the event was contested at Royal Lytham & St. Annes and switches to Royal Birkdale this year.

The last time Birkdale hosted the Women's British Open in 2005, Jeong Jang fired four rounds in the 60s and cruised to a four-stroke win over Sophie Gustafson. Jang matched the 36-hole scoring record with her two-day total of 134 and had the second-lowest 54-hole score (203) in tournament history.

Jang won wire-to-wore after opening with a four-under 68. Also that week, Kris Tschetter posted an eight-under 29 over nine holes in the third round. That matched the lowest nine-hole score in Women's British Open history and set the mark for lowest score in relation to par.

Sherri Steinhauer was the last American women to win this title in 2006. She also won in '98 and '99. Prior to her, Emilee Klein was the previous American woman to win this title in 1996. Only one of those counted as a major championship title, though, as the event wasn't designated a major until 2001.

The first three majors this year have been won by Yani Tseng (Kraft Nabisco), Cristie Kerr (LPGA Championship) and Paula Creamer (U.S. Women's Open).

ESPN will have coverage from 9-11 a.m. (et) the first two days, then three hours of coverage each of the final two rounds starting at 10 a.m.

After a two-week break, the LPGA Tour returns to action in Oregon for the Safeway Classic, where M.J. Hur won last year.

CHAMPIONS TOUR

U.S. SENIOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP, Sahalee Country Club, Sammamish, Washington - The Champions Tour heads to the west coast this week as Sahalee Country Club will host the season's third major, the U.S. Senior Open.

Fred Funk blew away the field last year at Crooked Stick as he fired four rounds in the 60s, including a seven-under 65 in the final round, to cruise to a six-stroke victory over Joey Sindelar.

Funk set a pair of records by finishing at 20-under par. He broke Hale Irwin's U.S. Senior Open record for most strokes under par, by three, and he was also the lowest player under par in any of the USGA Open Championships.

It was Funk's second major championship victory on the Champions Tour. He also won the 2008 JELD-WEN Tradition.

This will be the first of three USGA Open Championships to be contested in the state of Washington.

The last major in Washington state was the 1998 PGA Championship, which Sahalee hosted. Vijay Singh was the winner that week and 34 players who were in that field are competing this week. Funk shared 23rd in '98, while Mark O'Meara and Nick Price tied for fourth behind Singh. John Cook was the only other player in the top 10 that week -- he finished ninth -- who is competing this week.

There are 27 players in the field who have combined to win 49 majors on the Champions Tour.

Tom Lehman was a playoff winner over Fred Couples at the first major this season, the Senior PGA Championship, while Bernhard Langer fended off Corey Pavin last weekend at the Senior British Open.

ESPN2 will have four hours of coverage each of the first two rounds starting at 5 p.m. (et), while NBC will air three hours of play beginning at 4 p.m. the final two rounds.

The Champions Tour heads to Minnesota next week for the 3M Championship, where Langer won by one shot over Andy Bean last year.

The next USGA event will be the U.S. Women's Amateur, which runs from August 9-15 at Charlotte Country Club.

PGA TOUR

THE GREENBRIER CLASSIC, The Old White Course, White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia - The Greenbrier Classic is a new event on the PGA Tour schedule this year and it comes before one of the busiest stretches of the season.

Players who are qualified for all four PGA Tour playoff events and the Ryder Cup could potentially play seven of the next nine weeks following The Greenbrier Classic with a World Golf Championships event, a major and the four playoff events coming before the Ryder Cup.

The Old White Course at the Greenbrier resort will host a field that includes just two of the top 25 players in the world and seven of the top 25 on the FedEx Cup points list.

There are five PGA Tour winners from this season competing this week, including two-time winner Jim Furyk. He is one of 10 major champions in the field.

Not only are many of the top players taking this week off, so is network television. Golf Channel will air all four rounds from 3-6 p.m. (et).

There are two events next week. The top players in the world will be in Ohio for the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, where Tiger Woods is the defending champion. The remaining PGA Tour players will be in New York for the Turning Stone Resort Championship, where Matt Kuchar won last year.

EUROPEAN TOUR

IRISH OPEN, Killarney Golf & Fishing Club, Killarney, Ireland - Shane Lowry became the third amateur to win a European Tour event when he captured this title last year.

The young Irishman needed three extra holes to fend off Robert Rock for the victory. Not only did Lowry need a playoff to gain the title, he had to sit through a two-hour weather delay.

After Lowry and Rock matched pars on the first extra hole and birdies on the second, Lowry ran home a six-foot birdie effort on the third playoff hole to join Pablo Martin and Danny Lee as the only amateurs to win on the European Tour.

Not only was the win Lowry's first on the European Tour, it was also his first tour start. Since that win in May '09, he has posted just two top-10 finishes, both of which came this season.

Lowry will have a tough fight on his hands this week as the field will be led by fellow Irishmen and recent major champions Padraig Harrington and Graeme McDowell, as well as Rory McIlroy.

Golf Channel will have three hours of coverage of all four rounds starting at 10 a.m. (et) the first two days and at 9 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

The European Tour is in the United States for the next two weeks with the WGC- Bridgestone Invitational next week, followed by the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits.

NATIONWIDE TOUR

COX CLASSIC, Champions Run, Omaha, Nebraska - Last year's Cox Classic was a low-scoring affair.

Rich Barcelo went lowest as he closed with a six-under 65 to finish 20-under 264 and win by a single stroke over Tom Gillis. The victory was Barcelo's first on the Nationwide Tour.

Both Barcelo and Gillis are competing on the PGA Tour this week.

There are 13 winners from 2010 in the field this week, including two-time winner Tommy Gainey and last week's champ D.J. Brigman. The field also includes 24 of the top 25 players on the money list.

Golf Channel has two hours of coverage the first two days starting at 12:30 p.m. (et), then three hours of action starting at 1 p.m. the final two days.

The tour heads to Kansas next week for the Wichita Open, where Chris Tidland was victorious last year.