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On the tee

PGA Tour

The Players Championship

Site: Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

Schedule: Thursday-Sunday

Course: TPC Sawgrass, Players Stadium Course (7,215 yards, par 72)

Purse: $9.5 million Winner's share: $1.71 million

FedEx Cup points: 27,500 Winner's share: 4,950

TV: Golf Channel (Thursday-Friday, 1-7 p.m., 9 p.m.-midnight) and NBC (Saturday-Sunday, 2-7 p.m.)

Last year: Phil Mickelson won the second of his three 2007 titles, closing with a 68 for a 2-stroke victory over Sergio Garcia. Mickelson finished at 11-under 277.

Last week: Anthony Kim won the Wachovia Championship for his first PGA Tour victory. The 22-year-old Kim had a tournament-record 16-under 272 total for a 5-stroke victory over Ben Curtis.

Notes: Tiger Woods is sidelined following knee surgery. He won the 2001 tournament. ... The Pete Dye-designed course was renovated after the March 2006 event. ... Fred Funk won the 2005 tournament to become the oldest champion at 48. In 2004, Adam Scott beat Padraig Harrington by a stroke to become the youngest winner at 23. ... Greg Norman set the tournament record in 1994. He opened with a 63 and finished with three 67s for a 24-under 264 total. ... Jack Nicklaus is the only three-time champion, winning in 1974 at Atlanta Country Club, 1976 at Inverrary and 1978 at Sawgrass Country Club. ... The AT&T Classic is next week in Duluth, Ga., followed by the Colonial in Fort Worth, Texas, and the Memorial in Dublin, Ohio.

On the Web: www.pgatour.com

LPGA Tour

Michelob Ultra Open

Site: Williamsburg, Va.

Schedule: Thursday-Sunday

Course: Kingsmill Resort & Spa, River Course (6,315 yards, par 71)

Purse: $2.2 million Winner's share: $330,000

TV: ESPN2 (Friday-Sunday, 2-4 p.m.)

Last year: Suzann Pettersen became the first Norwegian winner in LPGA Tour history, beating Jee Young Lee with a par on the third extra hole. Pettersen finished the season with five victories, including the LPGA Championship.

Last week: Paula Creamer won the SemGroup Championship for her second victory of the year, beating Juli Inkster with a birdie on the second hole of a playoff. Lorena Ochoa, going for a record-tying fifth straight victory, finished 5 strokes back.

Notes: Michelle Wie is making her second LPGA Tour start of the year. In the Fields Open in Hawaii in February, the Stanford freshman tied for last among the 74 players who made the cut -- 20 strokes behind winner Creamer. Wie is 149th in the world rankings. ... Ochoa, a five-time winner in seven starts this year, tops the field along with Pettersen, Creamer, Inkster, Annika Sorenstam, 2005 winner Cristie Kerr, Morgan Pressel and 2006 champion Karrie Webb. ... Sorenstam is coming off a playoff victory over Creamer two weeks ago in the Stanford International Pro-Am. ... Anheuser-Busch started the tournament after dropping its PGA Tour event at Kingsmill in a cost-cutting move. ... The Sybase Classic is next week in Clifton, N.J.

On the Web: www.lpga.com

PGA European Tour

Italian Open

Site: Milan, Italy

Schedule: Thursday-Sunday

Course: Castello di Tolcinasco Golf and Country Club (7,283 yards, par 72)

Purse: $2.63 million Winner's share: $437,745

TV: Golf Channel (Thursday-Friday, 9:30-11 a.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.)

Last year: Spain's Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano won the rain-shortened tournament, beating Austria's Markus Brier with a birdie on the second hole of a playoff

Last week: Ireland's Peter Lawrie won the Spanish Open for his first European tour victory in 175 attempts, topping Ignacio Garrido with a par on the second hole of a playoff after the Spaniard's approach shot rolled into the water.

Notes: The Arnold Palmer-designed Castello di Tolcinasco opened in 1993. ... The Irish Open is next week at Adare Manor, followed by the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth and the Celtic Manor Wales Open.

On the Web: www.europeantour.com

Nationwide Tour

Fort Smith Classic

Site: Fort Smith, Ark.

Schedule: Thursday-Sunday

Course: Hardscrabble Country Club (6,783 yards, par 70)

Purse: $550,000 Winner's share: $99,000

TV: None

Last year: Jay Williamson won his first Nationwide Tour title, shooting 69-66-66-63 for a 1-stroke victory over Justin Bolli and Garrett Willis

Last week: Canada's Bryan DeCorso won the South Georgia Classic for his first tour title, closing with a 3-under 69 for a 3-stroke victory.

Notes: Zach Johnson won the 2003 tournament. ... The Perry Maxwell-designed course opened in 1927. ... The BMW Charity Pro-Am is next week in Greer, S.C., followed by the Prince George's County Open in Mitchellville, Md.

On the Web: www.pgatour.com

Champions Tour

Next Event: Regions Charity Classic, May 16-18, Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Ross Bridge, Hoover, Ala.

Last week: Zimbabwe's Denis Watson won the FedEx Kinko's Classic for his second victory of the year and fourth in two years, birdieing the final hole for a 1-stroke victory over Nick Price, 2007 winner Scott Hoch and Tim Simpson.

On the Web: www.pgatour.com

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