Golf glance

Golf glance










The Sports Xchange June 10, 2013 2:00 AMThe SportsXchange



COMING UP

PGA TOUR: The 133rd United States Open on the East Course at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa., Thursday through Sunday.

TV: Thursday and Friday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. EDT on ESPN, 3-5 p.m. EDT on NBC and 5-7 p.m. EDT on ESPN; Saturday and Sunday, 1-7:30 p.m. EDT on NBC.

LAST YEAR: Webb Simpson shot 68-68 on the weekend, making a clutch up-and-down from the fringe on the 72nd hole, to claim his first major championship by one stroke over 2010 champion Graeme McDowell and Michael Thompson at the Olympic Club in San Francisco. McDowell, who closed with a 73 after sharing the 54-hole lead with Jim Furyk, had his chances to force a playoff but missed a 20-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole and 25-foot birdie putt on the last. Furyk held the lead on the 16th tee but hooked his drive into the trees en route to the first of his two bogeys on the last three holes to close with a 74. He tied for fourth. Thompson posted a 3-under-par 67, best score of the final day, and waited two hours to find out that it was not quite enough. Simpson carded four birdies in a span of five holes through No. 10 and was steady down the stretch with eight consecutive pars as Furyk and McDowell fell back.



CHAMPIONS TOUR: Encompass Championship at North Shore Country Club in Glenview, Ill., June 21-23.

TV: Friday, 12:30-2:30 p.m. EDT; Saturday, and Sunday, 3-5 p.m. EDT, on the Golf Channel each day.

LAST YEAR: Inaugural event, with the Champions Tour returning to the Chicago area for the first time since 2002, when Bob Gilder captured the SBC Championship at Harborside International Golf Club.



LPGA TOUR: The 68th United States Women's Open at Sebonack Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y., June 27-30.

TV: Thursday and Friday, 3-7 p.m. EDT on ESPN2; Saturday and Sunday, 3-6 p.m. EDT on NBC.

LAST YEAR: Na Yeon Choi of South Korea built a six-stroke lead by shooting 7-under-par 65 in the third round and held on for a four-stroke victory over Amy Yang, also from South Korea, despite closing with a 73 at Blackwolf Run Golf Course in Kohler, Wis. The 24-year-old Choi claimed her sixth victory on the LPGA Tour, but her first major title. She was coasting along with a five-stroke lead after nine holes in the final round, but she lost her ball after hooking a drive into the trees en route to a triple-bogey 8, reducing the lead to two shots. However, Choi righted the ship with a birdie on the next hole, and after par saves on the 12th and 13th holes, she locked up the title with birdies on the 15th and 16th. Choi became the fourth South Korean to claim the title in a five-year span, joining Inbee Park (2008), Eun-Hee Ji (2009) and So Yeon Ryu (2011).

Atricles Course: http://golfatn.blogspot.com/