This Week in Golf - July 8th through July 11th

Golf Betting Lines

07/05/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION - UNITED STATES WOMEN'S OPEN - Oakmont Country Club, Oakmont, Pennsylvania - The top female golfers in the world are at storied Oakmont Country Club this week for their third major of the season, the United States Women's Open.

At last year's Women's U.S. Open, Eun Hee Ji posted even-par 284 through four rounds for a one-stroke victory over Candie Kung. Last year's championship was contested on the other side of the Keystone State on the Old Course at Saucon Valley.

Ji needed a birdie on the final hole to beat Kung for her first major championship title. It was also Ji's second LPGA Tour victory and she hasn't won since.

The 24-year-old South Korean has finished inside the top 20 just twice all season, and both were ties for 17th. One of those ties was a second-round loss at the Sybase Match Play Championship.

Oakmont has a long history of hosting major championships as it has hosted more USGA and PGA Championships combined than any other course.

The 1973 U.S. Open saw Johnny Miller fire a remarkable eight-under 63 to rally for the title. Miller's 63 stands as the lowest round in any of the four men's majors.

This will be the second time the Women's Open is contested at Oakmont, which has also hosted eight U.S. Opens. Most recently, Angel Cabrera won the 2007 U.S. Open on the course.

The last time the Women's Open was at Oakmont was in 1992, when Patty Sheehan birdied the final two holes to force a playoff with Juli Inkster.

Sheehan won the 18-hole playoff the next day, atoning for a huge collapse in the 1990 Women's Open. She had led by 12 strokes in the third round and by 11 early in the final round, before ending a shot behind Betsy King.

ESPN2 will carry four hours of action on both Thursday and Friday. NBC takes over for the final two rounds and will have coverage from 3-6 p.m. (et) on Saturday and Sunday.

The LPGA Tour will take a week off before returning to action with the Evian Masters, where Ai Miyazato was a playoff winner over Sophie Gustafson last year.

EUROPEAN TOUR

BARCLAYS SCOTTISH OPEN - Loch Lomond Golf Club, Glasgow, Scotland - World No. 2 Phil Mickelson headlines a strong field at the Barclays Scottish Open this week.

Mickelson will be competing on the Scottish Open for the sixth time in his career. He skipped last year's tournament while his wife, Amy, and his mother both started treatment for breast cancer.

Playing against a strong field, Mickelson could take the No. 1 spot in the world rankings from Tiger Woods with either a win or a solo second place finish this week.

He will be joined at Loch Lomond by players like three-time major champions Ernie Els and Vijay Singh, 2009 U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover, 2009 PGA Championship winner Y.E. Yang, Camilo Villegas and reigning U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell.

While Mickelson was tending to family matters last year, Martin Kaymer captured his second win in two weeks. He opened and closed with two-under 69s en route to a two-shot win over two players.

Kaymer won the Open de France the week before and became the second back-to- back winner of the 2009 season on the European Tour.

Golf Channel will have coverage starting at 9:30 a.m. (et) on Thursday and Friday, while action starts at 9 a.m. on the weekend.

The European Tour will remain in Scotland next week for the British Open Championship. Stewart Cink closed with a one-under 69 at Turnberry last year to force a playoff with Tom Watson, who bogeyed the final hole. Cink cruised in the playoff for his first major championship title.

PGA TOUR

JOHN DEERE CLASSIC, TPC Deere Run, Silvis, Illinois - World No. 4 Steve Stricker returns to the TPC Deere Run this week to defend his title at the John Deere Classic.

Stricker opened with an even-par 71 last year, but followed with a 61 en route to a three-stroke win over three players, including former Masters champion Zach Johnson.

The second-round 61 came on Saturday after Friday's action was washed out by rain. That forced players to complete both the third and final rounds on Sunday.

The win was Stricker's second of the season and sixth on the PGA Tour. He has since picked up two more titles.

With many of the top players competing at the Scottish Open, or taking the week off prior to the British Open, Stricker is one of three players ranked in the top 20 in the world competing this week, and one of seven ranked in the top 50.

He will be joined at the TPC Deere Run by Zach Johnson, Tim Clark, Kenny Perry, Rickie Fowler, K.J. Choi and Bubba Watson.

Golf Channel will have action from 3-6 p.m. (et) the first two days, while CBS will be on air the same time for the final two rounds.

With the best of the best in Scotland next week for the British Open, the remainder of the PGA Tour will be in Nevada for the Reno-Tahoe Open, where John Rollins won by three strokes last year.

NATIONWIDE TOUR

FORD WAYNE GRETZKY CLASSIC, The Georgian Bay Club & The Raven Golf Club at Lora Bay, Clarksburg, Ontario, Canada - The Nationwide Tour returns to Canada for the third straight year of the Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic.

Last year, Roger Tambellini earned his third Nationwide Tour title as he cruised to a four-stroke win over Blake Adams.

Tambellini trailed by three strokes after one round as Kyle Reifers opened with a 61, but Tambellini followed his 64 with rounds of 66-66-69 to coast to the win. However, he is not in the field this week.

The 160-player field will be spread over two courses for the first two rounds for a pro-am. They will be joined by former NHL players Matthew Barnaby, Grant Fuhr, Brett Hull, Marty McSorley and Mike Keenan.

Golf Channel will broadcast all four rounds starting at 1 p.m. (et).

Next week is a new event on the Nationwide Tour as it moves to Ohio for the Chiquita Classic.

CANADIAN TOUR

DAKOTA DUNES CASINO OPEN, Dakota Dunes, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada - Andres Gonzalez fired a nine-under 63 in the final round last year to walk away with the title, when the event was known as the Saskatchewan Open.

Gonzalez made an eagle on the final hole to finish one ahead of Scott Gibson and Hugo Leon for his first win on the Canadian Tour.

Gonzalez is slated to defend his title at Dakota Dunes. The only winner from this season playing this week is Mexican PGA Championship winner Andy Matthews.

The Canadian Tour heads to Winnipeg next week for the Canadian Tour Players Cup, where Graham DeLaet was victorious last year.