Golf glance

Golf glance









Tom LaMarre, The Sports Xchange July 7, 2013 11:30 PMThe SportsXchange



COMING UP

PGA TOUR: John Deere Classic at TPC John Deere in Silvis, Ill., Thursday through Sunday.

TV: Thursday and Friday, 3-6 p.m. EDT on the Golf Channel; Saturday and Sunday, 1-2:30 p.m. EDT on the Golf Channel and 3-6 p.m. EDT on CBS.

LAST YEAR: Zach Johnson hit his approach shot from 193 yards with a 6-iron to within inches of the hole for a birdie on the second hole of a playoff to defeat Troy Matteson. Johnson, who grew up not far away in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and considers the John Deere his hometown event, claimed his ninth victory on the PGA Tour after tying for third at TPC Deere Run in 2011 and tying for second in 2009. It appeared that Johnson would win in regulation after two-putting for a birdie on the par-5 17th hole, but Matteson holed a 60-foot eagle putt on the same hole to tie for the lead and missed a 15-footer to win in the 72nd hole. Johnson missed his own 15-footer from the fringe on the final hole of regulation. On the first extra hole, both players drove into the same bunker and hit their approach shots into the water to card bogey 6s. Matteson missed a 43-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole.



CHAMPIONS TOUR: The 34th United States Senior Open Championship at Omaha Country Club, Omaha, Neb., Thursday through Sunday.

TV: Thursday and Friday, 4-8 p.m. EDT on ESPN2; Saturday and Sunday, 3-6 p.m. EDT on NBC.

LAST YEAR: Roger Chapman of England, who claimed his first victory on the Champions Tour two months earlier in the Senior PGA Championship, came from four strokes down in the final round to win by two shots over Corey Pavin, Bernhard Langer, Fred Funk and Tom Lehman at Indianwood Golf and Country Club in Lake Orion, Mich. The 53-year-old Chapman joined Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Hale Irwin as the only players to win the U.S. Senior Open and Senior PGA Championship in the same year. Langer, who won two majors on the PGA Tour and has two more on the Champions Tour, entered the final round with a four-stroke lead, but he closed with a 2-over-par 72. That opened the door for Chapman, who followed three 68s with a 66 in the final round, taking charge with four birdies in the last 11 holes.



LPGA TOUR: Manulife Financial LPGA Classic at Grey Silo Golf Course in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, Thursday through Sunday.

TV: Thursday and Friday, 12:30-2:30 p.m. EDT; Saturday and Sunday, 2:30-5:30 p.m. EDT, on the Golf Channel each day.

LAST YEAR: Brittany Lang earned her first victory on the LPGA Tour in the inaugural event by holing a six-foot birdie putt on the third playoff hole to defeat Hee Kyung Seo of South Korea. Lang made birdie on all three extra holes, while Chella Choi of South Korea dropped out with a par on the first playoff hole and Inbee Park of South Korea was finished after a par on the second. Lang, who closed with a 67, had a chance to win in regulation but missed a birdie putt, as did Choi (63), Park (69) and Seo (67). It took the 26-year-old Lang, who left Duke after her sophomore season, seven years to win on the LPGA Tour, and she also became the first former Blue Devil to win on the circuit.