PGA TOUR's WEC-Bridgestone Invitational

Site: Akron, Ohio.

Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.

Course: Firestone Country Club, South Course (7,360 yards, par 70).

Purse: $8 million. Winner’s share: $1.35 million.

FedEx Cup points: 26,250. Winner’s share: 4,725.

Television (all times PDT): Golf Channel (Thursday-Friday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., 5:30-9:30 p.m.) and CBS (Saturday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.).

Last year: Tiger Woods won for the third consecutive year and sixth time overall. He closed with a 5-under 65 at Firestone for an 8-under 272 total and an eight-shot victory over Rory Sabbatini and Justin Rose.

Last week: Chez Reavie won the Canadian Open for his first PGA Tour title, beating Billy Mayfair by three strokes at water-logged Glen Abbey.

Notes: The PGA Championship is next week at Oakland Hills. … Woods, sidelined by a knee injury, swept the 1999-01 tournaments at Firestone. In 2000, he won by 11 strokes, matching the course record with a 61 en route to a tournament-record 21-under 259 total. In 2001, he beat Jim Furyk with a birdie on the seventh extra hole. … Phil Mickelson won the 1996 World Series of Golf at Firestone. … Kenny Perry, a three-time winner this year, is 60-under in his last four events. He has played 16 rounds in a row in par or better, breaking 70 in 15 of them. … Reavie earned spots in the event and the PGA Championship with his victory in Canada.

On the Net: http://www.worldgolfchampionships.com
PGA Tour site: http://www.pgatour.com
PGA European Tour site: http://www.europeantour.com

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LPGA's Women's British Open

Site: Sunningdale, England.

Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.

Course: Sunningdale Golf Club (6,408 yards, par 72).

Purse: $2.1 million. Winner’s share: $320,000.

Television (all times PDT): TNT (Thursday-Friday, 7-9 a.m.) and ABC (Saturday, 10:30 a.m.-noon; Sunday, 10 a.m.-noon).

Last year: Lorena Ochoa won her first major title, beating Jee Young Lee and Maria Hjorth by four strokes at St. Andrews. The victory was the fourth of the top-ranked Mexican star’s eight 2007 tour titles.

Last week: Sweden’s Helen Alfredsson won the Evian Masters in France for her first LPGA Tour title in five years, beating rookie Na Yeon Choi with a birdie on the third hole of a playoff. The 43-year-old Alfredsson, also the 1994 and 1998 Evian winner, has six career LPGA Tour victories.

Notes: The tournament became an official LPGA Tour event in 1994 and was elevated to major status in 2001, replacing the du Maurier in Canada. … A six-time winner this year, Ochoa was fifth last week in France. … Annika Sorenstam, retiring after the season, won in 2003 at Royal Lytham and St. Annes to complete the career Grand Slam. … England’s Karen Stupples won in 2004 at Sunningdale, opening the final round with an eagle and a double eagle en route to a five-stroke victory. Stupples finished at 19-under 269, tying the record for a major championship set by Dottie Pepper in the 1999 Nabisco Dinah Shore. … Sherri Steinhauer won the 1998, 1999 and 2006 tournaments. … Karrie Webb won in 1995, 1997 and 2002. … The tour is off next week. Play will resume with the Canadian Women’s Open on Aug 14-17 at Ottawa Hunt.

On the Net: http://www.ricohwomensbritishopen.com
LPGA Tour site: http://www.lpga.com
Ladies’ Golf Union site: http://www.lgu.org
Ladies European Tour site: http://www.ladieseuropeantour.com

CHAMPIONS TOUR/USGA's U.S. Senior Open

Site: Colorado Springs, Colo.

Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.

Course: The Broadmoor, East Course (7,254 yards, par 70).

Purse: TBA ($2.6 million in 2007). Winner’s share: TBA ($470,000 in 2007).

Television (all times PDT: ESPN (Thursday-Friday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.) and NBC (Saturday-Sunday, noon-3 p.m.).

Last year: Brad Bryant won at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin, closing with a 4-under 68 in windy conditions for a three-stroke victory over Ben Crenshaw. Third-round leader Tom Watson shot a 78 to finish fourth, five strokes back.

Last week: Bruce Vaughan won the Senior British Open at Troon, beating John Cook with a birdie on the first hole of a playoff.

Notes: Greg Norman is making his third consecutive start. He tied for fifth last week at Troon after tying for third in the British Open at Royal Birkdale. … Allen Doyle won in 2005 at NCR and 2006 at Prairie Dunes. … Hale Irwin won in 1998 and 2000, setting the tournament record of 17-under 267 in 2000 at Saucon Valley. He won the U.S. Open in 1974, ’79 and ’90. … Miller Barber is the only three-time champion, winning in 1982, ’84 and ’85. … The course is the longest in event history. … Annika Sorenstam won the 1995 U.S. Women’s Open at The Broadmoor, also the site of Jack Nicklaus’ 1959 U.S. Amateur victory. … If the leaders are tied after 72 holes, the winner will decided in a three-hole playoff. It would then go to sudden death. … The 2009 tournament will be played at Crooked Stick in Carmel, Ind. The 2010 event is set for Sahalee in Sammamish. … The tour is off next week. Play will resume with The Tradition on Aug. 14-17 in Sunriver, Ore.

On the Net: http://www.ussenioropen.com
Champions Tour site: http://www.pgatour.com
PGA European Seniors Tour site: http://www.europeantour.com

PGA TOUR's Legends Reno-Tahoe Open

Site: Reno, Nev.

Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.

Course: Montreux Golf and Country Club (7,472 yards, par 72).

Purse: $3 million. Winner’s share: $540,000.

FedEx Cup points: 12,500. Winner’s share: 2,250.

Television (all times PDT): Golf Channel (Thursday, 3:30-5:30 p.m.; Friday, 10:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m., 3:30-5:30 p.m.; Saturday, 10:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m., 3:30-6 p.m.; Sunday, 10 p.m.-midnight, 3:30-6 p.m.; Monday, 10 p.m.-midnight).

Last year: Steve Flesch won his third career PGA Tour title, beating Kevin Stadler and Charles Warren by five strokes.

Last week: Chez Reavie won the Canadian Open for his first PGA Tour title, beating Billy Mayfair by three strokes at water-logged Glen Abbey.

Notes: Michelle Wie received a sponsor exemption for her eighth PGA Tour start. In her the State Farm Classic in her last LPGA Tour event, the 18-year-old Stanford student was disqualified for failing to sign her second-round scorecard. … Flesch is playing the Bridgestone Invitational. … Jeff Quinney, at No. 56, is the highest-ranked player in the field. … David Duval also is the field.

On the Net: http://www.pgatour.com

NATIONWIDE TOUR's Cox Classic

Site: Omaha, Neb.

Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.

Course: Champions Run (7,145 yards, par 71).

Purse: $700,000. Winner’s share: $126,000.

Television (all times PDT): Golf Channel (Thursday, 9-11 a.m.; Friday, 12:30-2 a.m., 9-11 a.m.; Saturday, 12:30-2 a.m., noon-2 p.m., 7-9 p.m.; Sunday, noon-2 p.m., 7-9 p.m.).

Last year: Roland Thatcher won his second 2006 title, beating 19-year-old Australian Jason Day by a stroke.

Last week: Bill Lunde won the Children’s Hospital Invitational in Columbus, Ohio, for his first tour victory, chipping in from 30 feet for birdie on the 72nd hole to beat Dustin Bray by a stroke.

Notes: In 2005, Jason Gore earned an immediate promotion to the PGA Tour, winning a playoff for his tour-record third straight victory. Gore, who shot a 59 in the second round and had eight straight birdies in his closing 63, beat Roger Tambellini with a birdie on the second extra hole. … The Wichita Open is next week, followed by the Xerox Classic in Rochester, N.Y.

OTHER MEN's TOURNAMENTS

NGA HOOTERS TOUR: Texas Honing Open, Thursday-Sunday, Golfcrest Country Club, Pearland, Texas. On the Net: http://www.ngahooterstour.com

JAPAN GOLF TOUR: Sun Chlorella Classic, Thursday-Sunday, Otaru Country Club, Hokkaido, Japan. On the Net: http://www.jgto.org

PGA EUROPEAN CHALLENGE TOUR: Challenge of Ireland, Thursday-Sunday, Glasson Golf Hotel and Country Club, Athlone, Ireland. On the Net: http://www.europeantour.com