Golf Glance
The Associated Press
Comments 
0
Published: November 17, 2009
Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.
Course: The Houstonian Golf and Country Club (6,650 yards, par 72).
Purse: $1.5 million. Winner's share: $225,000.
Television: Golf Channel (Thursday-Saturday, 4-6 p.m., 10:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m.; Sunday, 3-5 p.m., 10:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m.; Monday, 10 a.m.-noon).
Last year: Inaugural event.
Last week: Michelle Wie won her first LPGA Tour title, beating Paula Creamer by two strokes in the Lorena Ochoa Invitational. The 20-year-old Wie shot 70-66-70-69 at Guadalajara Country Club, Ochoa's home course. Wie was making her 65th LPGA Tour start.
Notes: The top 120 on the money list after the Mizuno Classic two weeks ago qualified for the season-ending tournament. The event replaced the ADT Championship, the limited-field Trump International finale that had a $1 million top prize. Jiyai Shin won that event last year, beating Karrie Webb by a stroke in the eight-player Sunday shootout. ... Wie is making her 19th LPGA Tour start of the season. She also will play the European tour's Dubai Ladies Masters in December. ... Shin has an eight-point lead over Ochoa in the player of the year race. Cristie Kerr is third, 29 points behind Shin. Points are awarded to the top 10 finishers, with the tournament winner getting 30, second place 12 and third nine. If Shin ends Ochoa's three-year reign, the 21-year-old South Korean will sweep the rookie and player awards. Nancy Lopez is the only player to win both in the same season, accomplishing the feat in 1978. Tied with Ochoa for the tour victory lead with three, Shin wrapped up the money title last week. She has made $1,775,104 — $279,292 more than second-place Kerr. ... Ochoa leads Shin in the Vare Trophy scoring average race, 70.2250 to 70.2674.
On the Net: http://www.lpga.com
___
Site: Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.
Course: Jumeirah Golf Estates, Earth Course (7,675 yards, par 72).
Purse: $7.5 million. Winner's share: $1.25 million.
Television: Golf Channel (Thursday, 3-8 a.m., 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., 6:30-10:30 p.m.; Friday-Sunday, 1-8 a.m., 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., 6:30-10:30 p.m.; Monday, 1-4 a.m., 8-10 a.m.).
Last year: Inaugural event.
Last week: Tiger Woods won the Australian Masters for his seventh victory of the year, closing with a 4-under 68 at Kingston Heath. Paid a $3 million appearance fee to make his first Australian start in 11 years, Woods has 82 official worldwide victories. Greg Chalmers finished second, two strokes back. ... France's Gregory Bourdy won the Hong Kong Open for his third European tour title, beating Rory McIlroy by two strokes. Bourdy jumped to 47th on the money list to earn a spot in Dubai.
Notes: The top 60 on The Race to Dubai money list qualified for the season-ending event, with only Paul Casey (rib injury) and Anthony Kim missing. The 20-year-old McIlroy tops the standings with $3,778,016. Second-place Lee Westwood ($3,587,256), third-place Martin Kaymer ($3,471,564) and fourth-place Ross Fisher ($3,132,976) are the only player in contention for the $1.5 million top prize from the $7.5 million bonus pool. McIlroy, Westwood or Kaymer would win with a tournament victory, regardless of where the others finished. The Race to Dubai money winner also will receive a seven-year European tour exemption. The tournament winner will get a five-year exemption. ... Citing the economic downturn, the event purse and bonus pool were cut 25 percent in September — from $20 million to $15 million. ... Padraig Harrington, Geoff Ogilvy, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Camilo Villegas and Sergio Garcia are in the field. ... The Omega Mission Hills World Cup is next week in China.
On the Net: http://www.europeantour.com
___
PEBBLE BEACH RESORTS: Callaway Golf Pebble Beach Invitational, Thursday-Sunday, Pebble Beach Golf Links, Spyglass Hill Golf Course and Del Monte Golf Course, Pebble Beach, Calif. On the Net: http://www.pebblebeach.com
JAPAN GOLF TOUR: Dunlop Phoenix, Thursday-Sunday, Phoenix Country Club, Miyazaki, Japan. On the Net: http://www.jgto.org
PGA TOUR AUSTRALASIA: NSW PGA Championship, Thursday-Sunday, Wollongong Golf Club, Wollongong, Australia. On the Net: http://pgatour.com.au
CHAMPIONS TOUR: Champions Tour National Qualifying Tournament, Tuesday-Friday, TPC Scottsdale, Champions Course, Scottsdale, Ariz. On the Net: http://www.pgatour.com
ASIAN TOUR: Cambodian Open, Thursday-Sunday, Phokeethra Country Club, Siem Reap, Cambodia. On the Net: http://www.asiantour.com
TOUR OF THE AMERICAS: Roberto de Vicenzo Classic, Thursday-Sunday, San Eliseo Golf and Country Club, San Eliseo, Argentina. On the Net: http://www.tourdelasamericas.com
JAPAN LPGA TOUR: Daio Paper Open, Friday-Sunday, Elleair Golf Club, Ehime, Japan. On the Net: http://www.lpga.or.jp
Prev
Something to say about this topic? Submit a Letter to the Editor online
Thank you for joining our conversations on newsok. We encourage your discussions but ask that you stay within the bounds of our terms and conditions. Please help us by reporting comments that violate these guidelines. To review our rules of engagement, go to Commenting and posting policy.
Log in below or sign up (it's free).