Philadelphia, PA – PGA TOUR - ZURICH CLASSIC OF NEW ORLEANS, TPC LOUISIANA, Avondale, Louisiana - Newly crowned Masters champion Bubba Watson returns to action this week after hitting the interview circuit hard over the last couple weeks.
Watson also spent some down time with his newly-adopted child, but now will get back to business on the course as the defending champion.
The left-hander birdied the second playoff hole last year to beat Webb Simpson. Both players shot 69 in the final round, before Watson won in the playoff.
The win was Watson's third on the PGA Tour, and his victory three Sundays ago at Augusta was his fourth title.
He is one of four players ranked in the top 10 in the world competing this week. Luke Donald, Steve Stricker and Justin Rose are the other three.
Watson is also one of seven former winners of this event in the field, and one of 13 major champions playing this week.
TPC Louisiana first hosted this tournament in 2005, and has been hosting since 2007. The event moved back to English Turn in 2006 as the TPC recovered from Hurricane Katrina.
Golf Channel has the action on Thursday and Friday before CBS takes over on the weekend.
The tour heads to North Carolina next week for the Wells Fargo Championship. Lucas Glover two-putted for par on the first extra hole last year to beat Jonathan Byrd. Glover will face a field that includes 2007 champ Tiger Woods.
EUROPEAN TOUR
BALLANTINE'S CHAMPIONSHIP, Blackstone Golf Club, Seoul, South Korea - The European Tour wraps up its three-week Asian swing this week with the Ballantine's Championship.
Last year, Lee Westwood closed with a 67 to fend off Miguel Angel Jimenez by a single stroke. The Englishman is not in the field this week to defend his title.
Jimenez is in the field along with Open Champion Darren Clarke, Adam Scott, Paul Casey and Ian Poulter. They will be joined at Blackstone Golf Club by Asian standouts Sang-moon Bae, Y.E. Yang and Kyung-tae Kim.
Marcus Fraser and Thongchai Jaidee are the only two past champions in the field this week. This event needed a playoff to determine a winner in two of the first four years.
Golf Channel will have tape-delayed coverage all week.
The European Tour returns to Spain next week for the Open de Espana, where Thomas Aiken won by two strokes last year.
LPGA TOUR
MOBILE BAY LPGA CLASSIC, Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail (Crossings Course at Magnolia Grove), Mobile, Alabama - The LPGA returns to the mainland this week for the Mobile Bay LPGA Classic.
The event will be played on part of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail that runs through the state.
Maria Hjorth posted back-to-back 67s on the weekend to rally and win the title last year. Hjorth trailed by two entering the final day, but overtook both third-round leaders.
Song-Hee Kim closed with a 71 to end alone in second at minus-eight, while Lexi Thompson stumbled to a six-over 78 to slide into a share of 19th.
Thompson was trying to become the youngest-ever winner on the LPGA Tour. She accomplished that feat later in the year at the Navistar LPGA Classic in Prattville, Alabama.
This will be the fourth year of the event, and the first three winners (Hjorth, Se Ri Pak and Angela Stanford) are all in the field this week.
The bigger story is who is not playing. Women's world No. 1 Yani Tseng is skipping the tournament after winning three of the first seven events of the season.
Golf Channel will cover the action all four rounds.
The tour heads to Rio de Janeiro next week for the two-day, unofficial HSBC LPGA Brasil Cup. Mariajo Uribe won that title by two strokes last year.
NATIONWIDE TOUR
SOUTH GEORGIA CLASSIC, Kinderlou Forest Golf Club, Valdosta, Georgia - After a week off, the Nationwide Tour returns to action with the South Georgia Classic.
Ted Potter, Jr. posted rounds of 65-68 on the weekend to win by three strokes over Mathew Goggin. Potter has graduated to the PGA Tour and will not be on hand to defend his title.
Three of the five previous champions -- Ewan Porter, Bryan DeCorso and John Kimbell -- are in the field this week.
There is no television coverage this week.
The tour remains in Georgia next week for the Stadion Classic at UGA. Last year, Georgia senior Russell Henley became the second amateur to ever win on the Nationwide Tour as he closed with three straight rounds in the 60s to beat Troy Kelly by two strokes.
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