Philadelphia, PA – PGA TOUR - THE BARCLAYS, Bethpage State Park (Black Course), Farmingdale, N.Y. - The PGA Tour FedExCup Playoffs begin Thursday with The Barclays, the first of four events.
Bill Haas is the defending FedExCup champion, and is in the field as one of the top 125 players in the standings.
Heath Slocum just made the field thanks to finishing in a share of 31st at last weekend's Wyndham Championship, which actually went to a Monday finish because of weather. Slocum was the only player who moved into the top 125, bumping Jhonattan Vegas out of the playoff picture.
The field for The Barclays is packed with big names -- two-time FedExCup champion Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els and Lee Westwood are among those contending for the title.
Last year, Dustin Johnson shot a 6-under 65 on Saturday to win the event, which was shortened to 54 holes because of Hurricane Irene. He won by two strokes over 2010 champion Matt Kuchar.
Both those players will be at Bethpage to contend for the title.
Golf Channel is the lone broadcaster Thursday and Friday, and will also have TV coverage during the weekend. CBS will pick up coverage Saturday and Sunday.
Following The Barclays, the top 100 in the points standings will be eligible to play the Deutsche Bank Championship the following week in Norton, Massachusetts.
Webb Simpson was the winner of that event last year.
EUROPEAN TOUR
JOHNNIE WALKER CHAMPIONSHIP, The Gleneagles Hotel, Auchterarder, Perthshire, Scotland - The European Tour returns to the continent for the first time in a month with the Johnnie Walker Championship, and if it's anything like last year's event, it will be well worth watching.
Thomas Bjorn won the 2011 edition despite falling out of the lead following a late bogey.
He still made it into a five-man playoff and it took the bunch five holes to decide the title. Bjorn finished with three consecutive birdies on 18 to claim the victory.
Bjorn is back in the field this week to defend his title, while two others from last year's playoff -- Mark Foster and Pablo Larrazabal -- are also playing.
With the PGA Tour playoffs getting underway this same weekend, the European field is still quite competitive. Marciel Siem, Francesco Molinari and Thorbjorn Olesen, all winners on tour this season, are in the field.
Colin Montgomerie, Paul Lawrie, and Marc Warren lead the Scottish contingent. Warren won the tournament in 2007.
Golf Channel has the broadcast for all four rounds.
Next week, the European Tour heads to Switzerland for the European Masters. Last year, Bjorn followed his Johnnie Walker Championship title with a 72-hole victory at the European Masters.
LPGA TOUR
CN CANADIAN WOMEN'S OPEN, The Vancouver Golf Club, Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada - The LPGA Tour heads to Canada for the last time this season, and Brittany Lincicome will be back to defend her title.
Last year, Lincicome closed with a 2-under 70 to beat Stacy Lewis and 2010 champion Michelle Wie. It was Lincicome's second win of 2011, but she hasn't titled this season. She has a pair of runner-up finishes, including last week at the Safeway Classic.
Lewis and Wie are again in the field this week.
Mika Miyazato, whose victory Sunday at the Safeway Classic was her first on the LPGA Tour, will be playing, as will world No. 1 Yani Tseng. Tseng won three times in a four-event span earlier this year, but hasn't finished in the top-10 in a stroke play event since the Lotte Championship in April.
Golf Channel has coverage of all four rounds.
Following the Canadian Women's Open, the LPGA takes a week off before resuming with the Kingsmill Championship in Williamsburg, Va. The event was previously known as the Michelob Ultra Open, but hasn't been run since 2009, when Cristie Kerr won.
CHAMPIONS TOUR
BOEING CLASSIC, TPC Snoqualmie Ridge, Snoqualmie, Wa. - The Champions Tour head across the country to Washington for the Boeing Classic.
Mark Calcavecchia won last year, beating Russ Cochran on the first playoff hole to get his first Champions Tour victory. A 13-time winner on the PGA Tour and the 1989 British Open champion, Calcavecchia is back in the field to defend his title.
Bernhard Langer, the tour's money leader and 2010 winner of this event, is in the field. Langer titled at the 3M Championship in the first week of August.
Golf Channel has TV coverage for every round.
Following the Boeing Classic, the Champions Tour has off until the middle of September for the Pacific Links Hawai'i Championship, a new event.
WEB.COM TOUR
NEWS SENTINEL OPEN, Fox Den Country Club, Knoxville, Tenn. - The Web.com Tour heads to Tennessee for the News Sentinel Open.
Last year, Kirk Triplett won by two strokes over Marco Dawson, but he will not be back to defend his title. Triplett has moved on to the Champions Tour, where he's won once this season.
The field does include Shawn Stefani, who earned his first tour title last week at the Midwest Classic.
There is no TV coverage for this event.
The Web.com Tour continues next week in Pennsylvania with the Mylan Classic, which Gary Christian won in 2011.
CANADIAN TOUR
CANADIAN TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP, Scarboro Golf & Country Club, Toronto, Ontario, Canada - The flagship event of the Canadian Tour takes place this week in Toronto, and Stuart Anderson will be back to defend his title.
Last year, Anderson -- a Calgary, Alberta native -- beat local favorite Richard Scott on the second playoff hole to win the event for the second time. He also claimed the title in 2006.
This week's field also includes Alan McLean, who captured his first tour victory last weekend at the Windsor Roseland Charity Classic.
Following this event, the Canadian Tour has off until September 6, when the Great Waterway Classic begins. It is new to the tour calendar.
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