Bunker Shots: International Flair

Blasting into the week ahead, from another major event in
Scotland to French, Canadian and Scandinavian tests.

PGA TOUR

RBC Canadian Open

You can’t always judge the appeal of a PGA Tour field by the world
rankings.

That’s the case at the RBC Canadian Open, where the most popular
players in the field aren’t among the top 80 in the world. Fred Couples, John
Daly and David Duval remain strong draws folks want to see. Canadian Mike Weir
is No. 82 in the world, but he will be the biggest draw of all as he bids once
more to win his national open. Paul Casey and Luke Donald are the highest
ranked players competing at Nos. 8 and 9 in the world, respectively. Retief
Goosen, Tim Clark, Hunter Mahan, Camilo Villegas, Sean O’Hair, Ricky Barnes,
Matt Kuchar also spice the field with veterans Paul Azinger and Rocco Mediate
in the mix.

Bunker shot: How is it that Weir makes his 20^th
start in the Canadian Open this week? And that he’s 40 now? The still youthful
looking Canadian can script a wildly popular story if he manages to break
through and win this event for the first time. Though he missed the cut the
first nine times he played the Canadian Open, Weir has managed three top-10s in
his last seven tries. With the Canadian Open being played at St. George’s Golf
and Country Club outside Toronto for the first time since 1968, there’s some
odd mojo in Weir’s favor. Bob Charles won that year. Like Weir, Charles plays
left-handed. Weir’s got some momentum to change, though. He’s missed cuts in
four of his last six starts and has just one top-10 finish this season. 

Mell’s picks: Winner – Luke Donald. Contender – Retief
Goosen. Darkhorse – Stephen Ames.

• Course: St. George’s Golf and Country Club, Toronto,
  Canada. Par 70, 7,046 yards (Designed by Stanley Thompson and opened in 1929).
• Purse: $5.1 million (winner’s share, $918,000).
• TV times: Thursday-Friday, Golf Channel, 3-6 p.m., replays
  8:30-11:30 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, CBS, 3-6 p.m.
• Last year: Nathan Green defeated Retief Goosen on the second hole
  of a playoff.

Senior Open Championhsip

It’s the first of back-to-back Champions Tour majors.

After a week at Carnoustie, the senior circuit will head back to
the states for next week’s U.S. Senior Open at Sahalee outside Seattle. For a
select group at St. Andrews, it’s the second of three consecutive majors.

Bunker shot: Mark Calcavecchia and Tom Lehman looked
more than ready to claim a senior major with their “warm-ups” at St.
Andrews last week. The challenge is less daunting this week with the dominant
Fred Couples skipping the trip overseas to play the RBC Canadian Open. Still,
Tom Watson, winner of five British Open titles and three senior British Open
titles, is expected to bounce back strong after missing the cut at St. Andrews
last week. Seven of his eight previously mentioned major championship titles
were claimed in Scotland. He won at Carnoustie in ’75.

Mell’s picks: Winner – Corey Pavin. Contender – Tom
Lehman. Darkhorse – Tom Pernice Jr.

• Course: Carnoustie Golf Links, Carnoustie, Angus, Scotland. Par
  71, 6,785 yards (Designed by Alan Robertson 1850, Old Tom Morris 1867).
• Purse: $2 million (winner’s share, $315,600).
• TV times: Thursday-Friday, TNT, noon-2 p.m. Saturday, 1:30-3 p.m.,
  ABC; Sunday, ABC, 1-3 p.m.
• Last year: Loren Roberts defeated Mark McNulty and Fred Funk in a
  playoff.

Evian Masters

Paula Creamer’s back in action after her inspiring U.S. Women’s
Open victory two weeks ago.

Creamer, who never looked better winning her first major at
brutish Oakmont despite her still sore reconstructed left thumb, is part of a
strong field playing for a giant purse in France. The nature of the event makes
it feel like the women’s fifth major with players getting ready for next week’s
Ricoh Women’s British Open.

The top 24 players in the world are all committed to the Evian
Masters and competing for $3.25 million, which equals the U.S. Women’s Open as
the largest purse in women’s golf. The 111-player field isn’t as large as the
LPGA’s full-field events but it’s an expanded field with 20 players more than a
year ago.

Bunker shot: The fight for No. 1 continues to be the
story within the story again this week with Creamer looking to move up from her
No. 7 ranking with another victory. Ai Miyazato, Evian’s defending champ,
regained the No. 1 ranking from Cristie Kerr by ten thousandths of a decimal
point in this week’s new rankings. Though neither player teed it up last week,
Miyazato’s average jumped over Kerr’s based on points they lost within the
two-year rolling window of the rankings. Watch out for Suzann Pettersen if she
gets her putter working before next week’s Women’s British Open. She’s No. 3 in
the world with a chance to become the fifth different player to hold the No. 1
ranking this year. Pettersen’s ball striking was phenomenal at the U.S. Women’s
Open, but she left saying she could have putted better blindfolded.

Mell’s picks: Winner – Paula Creamer. Contender – Ai
Miyazato. Darkhorse – Helen Alfredsson.

• Course: Evian Masters Golf Club, Evian-les-Bains, France. Par 72,
  6,344 yards (Originally opened in 1904, renovated by Cabell B. Robinson in
  1990).
• Purse: $3.25 million (winner’s share, $487,500).
• TV times: Golf Channel, Thursday-Friday, 6:30-8:30 p.m., replay
  midnight-2 a.m. following Thursday’s round; Saturday, 1-4 p.m., replay
  9:30-11:30 p.m. Sunday, 1-4 p.m., replay 9:30-11:30 p.m.
• Last year: Ai Miyazato broke through to win her first LPGA event,
  defeating Sophie Gustafson in a playoff.

Nordea Scandinavian Masters

Jesper Parnevik, one of Sweden’s favorite sons, hopes to return to
action in his homeland this week.

Parnevik dropped out of the Northern Trust Open in February with
severe back pain. That was his last PGA Tour start and he’s said he’s still
uncertain how the back will hold up in his return. He had hip surgery in the
middle of last season. He won the Scandinavian Masters in 1995 and ’98.

Bunker shot: A year ago, Louis Oosthuizen could
probably have sneaked in and out of the Scandinavian Masters unnoticed. He’ll
get a good feeling just how much his life’s changed this week. He’s suddenly a
headliner thanks to his virtuoso performance winning the British Open Sunday by
a whopping seven shots. He headlines a nice crop of up-and-coming stars in the
Swedish event. Americans Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler also are in this
week’s field, as are Italy’s Edoardo Molinari, winner of the European Tour
event the week before the British Open, and Spain’s Pablo Martin, who three years
ago became the first amateur to win a European Tour event.

Mell’s picks: Winner – Dustin Johnson. Contender –
Edoardo Molinari. Darkhorse – Peter Hedblom.

• Course: Bro Hof Slott Golf Club, Stockholm, Sweden. Par 72, 7,365
  yards (Designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr. and opened in 2007).
• Purse: 1.6 million euros (winner’s share, 333,330 euros).
• TV times: Golf Channel, Thursday-Friday, 8:30-11:30 a.m.;
  Saturday-Sunday, 7:30-10:30 a.m.
• Last year: Argentina’s Ricardo Gonzalo won by two shots.

Nationwide Children’s
Hospital Invitational

Thirteen events remain before the season-ending Nationwide Tour
Championship.

The top 60 on the money list earn their way in, where the top 25
at event’s end win PGA Tour cards.

Bunker shot: Tommy Gainey  became the first two-time winner of the Nationwide Tour this season with his victory last week at the Chiquita Classic. He’s bidding this week to win a third time and become the 10th player in Tour history to earn a same-season promotion to the PGA Tour. Michael Sim did it last year in the middle of August.

Mell’s picks: Winner – Kevin Chappell. Contender – Gavin
Coles. Darkhorse – Joe Affrunti.

• Course: Ohio State University Golf Club, Scarlet Course, Columbus,
  Ohio. Par 71, 7,455 yards (Designed by Alister MacKenzie and opened in 1938,
  Jack Nicklaus oversaw a restoration in 2005).
• Purse: $800,000 (winner’s share, $144,000).
• TV times: Thursday-Friday, Golf Channel, 12:30-2:30 p.m., replay
  2-4 a.m.; Saturday, Golf Channel, 6:30-9:30 p.m., replay 2-4 a.m.; Sunday,
  7:30-9:30 p.m., replay midnight-2 a.m.
• Last year: Derek Lamely’s 6-under-par 65 helped him come from
  eight shots back in the final round and win. He defeated amateur Rickie Fowler
  in a playoff.