On the Tours

The problematic and oft-criticized reign of Carolyn Bivens as the chief executive of the LPGA Tour has officially come to an end.

On Monday the LPGA Board of Directors jointly announced Bivens resignation and the elevation of LPGA Board member Rear Admiral Marsha J. Evans, Navy (retired) to the role of interim commissioner effective immediately. 

The Royal Canadian Golf Association (RCGA) in partnership with title sponsor RBC, announced today that John Daly has accepted an exemption to compete at the 2009 RBC Canadian Open, July 20-26 at Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ontario.

Daly, whose last appearance in Canada came in 2007, has competed in seven Canadian Opens throughout his PGA Tour career with his best finish coming in 2001 when he finished fourth. Long considered among the PGA Tour’s highest profile competitors and a Canadian fan favourite, Daly’s return to Glen Abbey will find him among the most followed players during tournament week. 

GRAND BLANC, Mich. - Preparations have been set in place for the 2009 Buick Open to get underway as planned at Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club in Grand Blanc, Michigan, Monday-Sunday, July 27-August 2.  The tournament recently announced that it expects another world-class field that already includes solid pro commitments.

Defending champion Kenny Perry leads the field of early player commitments that includes the recently-crowned U.S. Open winner Lucas Glover, 2008 Ryder Cup team members and former Buick Open champions Justin Leonard (1996) and Jim Furyk (2003), and Brian Gay, who has recorded two wins on the PGA Tour this year.  

BETHESDA, Md. - Tournament host Tiger Woods, newly crowned U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover and defending champion Anthony Kim headline a star-filled field at next week's AT&T National.

Woods, the top-ranked player in the world, will welcome 119 of the world’s best golfers to the Blue Course at storied Congressional Country Club in Bethesda for the $6 million event to be played June 30-July 5.

The PGA Tour has announced that Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, N.J., and Plainfield Country Club in Edison, N.J., will host The Barclays, the first event of the PGA Tour Playoffs for the FedExCup, in 2010 and 2011, respectively. This year's Barclays will be contested at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, N.J., Aug. 27-30.

Ridgewood Country Club hosted The Barclays in 2008 when Vijay Singh won the first of two Playoff events en route to capturing the FedExCup. The 2011 Barclays will be the first PGA Tour event at Plainfield Country Club, although the Donald Ross-design has hosted the 1978 United States Amateur Championship and the 1987 United States Women's Open.  

The 109th edition of the Men's U.S. Open Championship tees of Thursday morning at Bethpage Black. The USGA had a little fun with the pairings, including the featured group that currently holds all four major championships. That group consists of Tiger Woods, Padraig Harrington and Angel Cabrera.

Whether you'll be following in person at Bethpage or tuning in to the various forms of coverage over the first two days, you'll want to know who is playing with who, so without further ado here are the pairings for Thursday and Friday.

The PGA Tour recently announced a multi-year agreement to bring the Champions Tour to Asia for the first time with the debut of an official tournament in the fall of 2010.

The tournament will be played at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea in Songdo International Business District (IBD), located 40 miles west of Seoul in the country’s largest current economic development project. Songdo IBD is being developed by Gale International, a New York-based real estate development and investment firm. Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea is being co-developed by Gale International and Kitson & Partners, a leading golf community and club development company.

BLAINE, Minn. - Tournament officials with the 3M Championship, held July 10-12 in Blaine, Minn., announced that the 2009 Champions Tour event will be free for the public. The tournament is the first ever free Champions Tour event with free admission, parking and shuttles.

"Giving back is the right thing to do," said Hollis Cavner, tournament director. "We've received such tremendous support from fans and corporate partners over the past 17 years. We are thrilled that we have an opportunity to say thank you and provide this free gift to golf fans."

DUBLIN, Ohio – Tournament officials announced today that three-time Memorial winner and World No. 1 Tiger Woods will compete in the 34th Memorial Tournament scheduled for June 1-7 at Muirfield Village Golf Club.

Woods will be making his tenth appearance at the Memorial and his first since missing the 2008 Tournament due to a knee injury. He has recorded six top-10 finishes at Muirfield Village Golf Club and has never missed the cut. Woods and 2008 winner Kenny Perry are the only three-time winners of the Memorial, and Woods holds the only sub-70 scoring average in Tournament history at 69.59. He also holds the record for low back-to-back rounds with 63-65 during Rounds 2 and 3 in 2000, and he ranks No. 2 on the Memorial’s career money list with more than $2.7 million in earnings. 

HOUSTON – Long considered one of the top sports cities in the United States, it has been almost six years since the stars of the LPGA Tour have competed in Houston, Texas. But this fall, golf fans can look forward to the return of women's professional golf to Texas when The Houstonian Golf & Country Club plays host to the LPGA Tour Championship.

The 2009 LPGA Tour Championship, to be held November 17-22, will feature a field of 120 of the top LPGA professionals in the world, a $1,500,000 purse, and a unique format that will see a cut after 36 holes to the low 70 professionals and an additional cut after 54 holes to the low 30 pros.