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Published February 05, 2015
Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - PGA - TRAVELERS CHAMPIONSHIP, TPC River Highlands, Cromwell, Connecticut - The PGA Tour heads to Connecticut for its annual stop at the TPC River Highlands.
Ken Duke birdied the second playoff hole last year to defeat Chris Stroud and win for the first time on the PGA Tour. Duke had four rounds in the 60s, including a final-round 66 to earn a spot in the playoff.
Stroud, who was also battling for his first tour title, closed with a 67 to join Duke in the playoff.
Duke has struggled all year. His best finish was a share of 16th at the Tournament of Champions in Hawaii. His next best finish was a tie for 29th in Phoenix.
Reigning Masters champion Bubba Watson headlines a group of six players ranked in the top 15 in the world that are in the field this week at River Highlands. Watson won this title in 2010 and was runner-up in 2012.
Also teeing it up is Patrick Cantlay, who fired a 60 at this event three years ago. He is coming back from a stress fracture in his back. Bobby Wyatt, NCAA Individual winner Cameron Wilson and U.S. Amateur runner-up Oliver Goss are all in the field this week as well. Patrick Rodgers, who had been the No. 1 ranked amateur player, will make his professional debut.
Golf Channel has coverage on Thursday and Friday and early coverage on the weekend before handing off to CBS for the remainder of the action.
The PGA Tour heads to Bethesda, Maryland next week for the Quicken Loans National. Bill Haas rolled to a 3-shot win there last year. Proceeds from that tournament go to the Tiger Woods Foundation, but it is unlikely Woods will play as he continues to recover from back surgery.
USGA
U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP, Pinehurst No. 2, Pinehurst, North Carolina - The men have moved out and the women have moved in to Pinehurst. The women will contest the U.S. Women's Open at Pinehurst No. 2 after Martin Kaymer cruised to a big win there last week.
Many of the women were on hand for the final round, and were scouting the course as Kaymer wrapped up a dominating win on Sunday.
Last year, Inbee Park led by two after 36 holes and pushed the margin to four after 54 holes. She cruised to a 4-shot win over I.K. Kim as both players finished with 2-over 74s.
That duo and So Yeon Ryu were the only three players in the field that finished in red figures last year at Sebonack Golf Club.
Park earned the easy win, which was her third straight major championship title. It was also her sixth win of 2013, and her fourth major overall. Park also won this title in 2008.
Though she lost her spot at the No. 1 ranked player in the world, Park is coming off a win at the Manulife Financial LPGA Classic, and she has four top-8 finishes in her last six starts.
Among the many qualifiers this week is 11-year-old Lucy Li. She won her qualifier by seven strokes to earn a spot in the field. Li is the youngest player to ever qualify for the U.S. Women's Open.
ESPN2 has coverage for the first two days before handing off to NBC for the weekend.
The LPGA heads to Arkansas next week for the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship, where Park is again the defending champion.
EUROPEAN TOUR
IRISH OPEN, Fota Island Resort, County Cork, Ireland - The Irish open moves from Kildare to County Cork this year as Paul Casey defends his title at the Fota Island Resort.
Casey closed with back-to-back 67s last year and he rallied to beat Robert Rock and Joost Luiten by three strokes. The win was Casey's 12th on the European Tour. His 4-stroke comeback matched the largest comeback in event history.
Luiten led Casey by four entering the final round, but stumbled to a 2-over 74 as he went for his third European Tour win.
Many of the top Irish players are teeing it up this week, including Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell. England's Matthew Fitzpatrick will make his professional debut after earning low amateur honors at the U.S. Open last week.
Golf Channel has coverage of all four rounds this week.
The tour heads to Germany next week for the BMW International Open. Ernie Els birdied the final hole of regulation last year to win for the 28th time on the European Tour.
CHAMPIONS TOUR
ENCOMPASS CHAMPIONSHIP, North Shore Country Club, Glenview, Illinois - Craig Stadler broke a long winless drought last year as he hung on to win the Encompass Championship by one stroke over Fred Couples.
Stadler has withdrawn from his last two starts, but is expected to be at North Shore Country Club this week. The former Masters champion hadn't won since the 2004 season before fending off Couples last year.
Bernhard Langer will headline the field this week. He has played 10 events and has posted 10 top-10 finishes, including a pair of wins.
Langer, also a former Masters winner, will headline the action along with Colin Montgomerie, who has seven top-10s in eight starts. Monty finally broke through and won a title in the U.S. three weeks ago, when he won the Senior PGA Championship, the second major of the year on the Champions Tour.
Golf Channel will also have live coverage all three days.
The Champions Tour heads to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania next week for their third major of the year as Kenny Perry defends his title at the Constellation Senior Players Championship.
WEB.COM TOUR
AIR CAPITAL CLASSIC, Crestview Country Club, Wichita, Kansas - Scott Parel fired a 7-under 64 in the final round last year to seal his first Web.com Tour victory.
Parel was one of just two players to card four rounds in the 60s last year.
This season, Parel has struggled with four missed cuts and just two top-25 finishes. The best of those came in his last start in Cleveland, where he shared 18th place.
Carlos Ortiz, the only two-time winner this year on the Web.com Tour, will headline the field this week. He tops the money list as well, and all 10 players from the top-10 on the money list are slated to play in Wichita.
There is no television for this event.
The tour heads to Indiana next week for the United Leasing Championship, where Ben Martin parred the first playoff hole last year to win a 4-way playoff.
PGA TOUR CANADA
SYNCRUDE BOREAL OPEN, Fort McMurray Golf Club, Ft. McMurray, Alberta - The PGA Tour Canada kicks off its third event of the year this week.
Riley Wheeldon opened and closed the tournament with 6-under 66s last year as he rallied to win for the first time on the PGA Tour Canada.
Wheeldon has made the cut in the first two tour starts of the season. He tied for 15th and shared 57th in those events. Wheeldon has broken par in six of his eight rounds this year.
After a week off, the PGA Tour Canada heads to Saskatchewan for the SIGA Dakota Dunes Open, where Wil Collins was a 1-stroke winner last year.
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