Golf International Magazine Online

Four days after nearly making history at the British Open, Greg Norman labored to a 4-over 75 Thursday in the opening round of the Seniors British Open to finish seven shots behind co-leaders Bruce Vaughan and Eduardo Romero.

In sunny conditions at Troon, Norman bogeyed six of the first 10 holes and was 6 over before he finally birdied the par-4 13th. He birdied the final hole with a pitch to 3 feet.

“Things just weren’t going my way early on,” Norman said. “I just had to hang in there and guts it out the best I could. The ball just wasn’t rolling my way.”

The Australian said windy conditions, similar to the British Open, had an impact on his game.

“I got to the first tee and I never played this golf course in this wind before,” Norman said. “I didn’t feel that confident with some of the tee shots.”

The 53-year-old Norman led the British Open at Royal Birkdale with nine holes to play Sunday and appeared on course to become the oldest winner of a major before he finished third behind Padraig Harrington.

While Norman struggled, playing partner Tom Watson made every green and missed only one fairway in a bogey-free 70. Andy Bean, John Cook and Kirk Hanefield and Nick Job were one shot off the leaders.

Vaughan made eight birdies for a 3-under 68 on the links course. But his round was hampered by a double-bogey and a triple. He recovered from the 7s on the sixth and 12th holes to play the last six at 3-under par.

“It was either feast or famine,” Vaughan said. “Outside of those two hockey sticks (7s), it was a good round.”

Romero had only one bogey, driving into a fairway bunker at the par-5 sixth hole.

Romero captured his second Seniors tournament three weeks ago at the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open at Endicott, N.Y. He lost a playoff to Loren Roberts at the Senior British championship two years ago at Turnberry.

“I feel strong, I feel good and I feel happy,” said the Argentine, whose highlight was a 15-foot birdie putt at the 17th. “I think this is my week. I love this tournament and I am in good form, especially my putting.”

Watson was pleased with his round.

“I don’t think I have made all 18 greens ever in my life,” said Watson, a three-time Senior British Open winner. “I am very happy. I shot a good round of golf in unusual conditions with the wind changing direction.”

Vaughan, in his second season on the Champions Tour, said he would be pleased to win his first tournament on a links course used regularly for the British Open.

“I love coming over here,” he said. “I wouldn’t want a steady diet of it, but it’s great to come over here to play these kind of golf courses.”

Craig Stadler hit a hole-in-one at the “postage stamp” eighth hole—the shortest in the history of the British Open—winning 123 bottles of wine, one for every yard, as a prize from a sponsor.

Stadler used a pitching wedge to the front of the green and the ball bounced twice before rolling in. The ace happened after he birdied the seventh. Stadler finished with a 74.

Senior British Open Championship Scores

68 Bruce Vaughan, Eduardo Romero (Arg)

69 Nick Job (Eng), Andy Bean, Kirk Hanefeld, John Cook

70 Bernhard Langer (Ger), Joey Sindelar, Gene Jones, Tom Watson, John Morse, Mark McNulty (Irl)

71 Tony Johnstone (Zim), Eamonn Darcy (Irl), John Bland (Rsa)

72 Mike Williams (Zim), Luis Carbonetti (Arg), Andrew Murray (Eng), J A Fraser (Sco), Ross Drummond (Sco), John Ross

73 David Ogrin, Jeff Hall (Eng), Tim Conley, Mike Reid, Sam Torrance (Sco), Costantino Rocca (Ita), Adrian Morrow (Irl), Jon Chaffee

74 Juan Quiros (Spa), Craig Stadler, Vicente Fernandez (Arg), Wayne Grady (Aus), Ronnie Black, Peter Mitchell (Eng), Philip Blackmar, Denis Durnian, Mark O'Meara, Mark Wiebe, Nobumitsu Yuhara (Jpn), Pete Oakley, Jim Rhodes (Eng), Tomohiro Maruyama (Jpn), David Merriman (Aus)

75 Mike Hulbert, Mike Goodes, Ken Green, Sandy Lyle (Sco), Isao Aoki (Jpn), Martin Poxon (Eng), Mark James (Eng), John Hoskison (Eng), Greg Norman (Aus), Seiji Ebihara (Jpn), Andrew Reynolds (Eng), Gordon J Brand (Eng), Denis O'Sullivan (Irl), Ian Woosnam (Wal), Scott Simpson, Kiyoshi Murota (Jpn), John Mctear (Sco), Tim Simpson, Yutaka null Hagawa (Eng)

76 Gary Hallberg, Ian Brotherston (Sco), Tom Kite, Jim Lapsley (Nzl), Noel Ratcliffe (Aus), Bill Longmuir (Sco), Tom McKnight, Bill null Mccoll (Sco), Bertus Smit (Rsa), Adam Adams, Clarence Rose, Angel Franco (Par), Gary Koch

77 Phil Hinton (Eng), Martin Gray (Eng), James Chancey, Jose Rivero (Spa), Carl Mason (Eng), Bob Gilder

78 Brady Exber, John Mcdonald (Sco), Jerry Bruner, Ray Carrasco, Bob Boyd, Katsuyoshi Tomori (Jpn), Donnie Hammond, David Good, Manuel Pinero (Spa), Antonio Garrido (Spa), Terry Gale (Aus), Jeff Sluman, Tony Allen (Eng), David j Russell (Eng), Simon Owen (Aus), Des Smyth (Irl)

79 Buddy Harston, Guillermo Encina (Chi), Tim Giles (Eng), David a Russell (Eng), Scott Hoch, John Chillas, Andrew Hall (Eng), Bill Lockie (Sco), Jimmy Blair, Torsten Giedeon (Ger), John Harris, Motomasa Aoki (Jpn)

80 Giuseppe Cali (Ita), Tommy Horton (Eng), T.c. Chen (Tpe), Bobby Lincoln (Rsa), Horacio Carbonetti (Arg), Gordon Townhill (Eng), Arthur Pierse (Irl), Ron Streck, Steve Martin (Sco), Bob Cameron (Eng), Peter Teravainen, Peter Dahlberg (Swe), Maurice Bembridge (Eng)

81 Gary Player (Rsa), Tony Price (Wal), Bruce Heuchan, Harumitsu Hamano (Jpn), Bob Charles (Nzl), Shigenori Mori (Jpn)

82 Joel Hirsch, Domingo Hospital (Spa), Jimmy Heggarty (NIrl)

83 Garry Harvey (Sco), David Downie (Sco), Steve Stull, Robin Clark (Eng), Ossie Moore (Aus)

84 Steve Prendergast (Irl), Mike Gallagher (Eng), J.p. Morgan (Eng)

85 Robert Fox (Eng), Niall Lavin (Irl)

87 Paul j Mckellar (Sco), Stewart Graham (Eng)

Lorena Ochoa shot a 7-under par 65 Thursday to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Evian Masters.

The 26-year-old Ochoa started with a birdie on the first hole and added six more on the back nine in a bogey-free round. Ahn Sun-ju, Candie Kung and Angela Park trailed by one stroke.

“I’m just glad I’m at the top,” Ochoa said. “I had a slow start. I made birdie on the first hole and didn’t give myself a lot of birdie chances. I had a break on 10 and 11. I got really good confidence and started feeling good over the ball and the putting.”

Park, a 19-year-old Brazil-born South Korean who gained United States citizenship last month, began with eight pars before she birdied six of the final 10 holes. Annika Sorenstam had four bogeys in her round of 71, six shots off the lead.

Ochoa arrived at Europe’s richest women’s tournament—$487,500 goes to the winner—after a three-week break since finishing 31st in the U.S. Women’s Open. The Mexican star is a six-time winner on the LPGA Tour this season.

“I have my goal for the second part of the season,” Ochoa said. “I’m very motivated to continue playing good and I’m glad I got a good start.”

Laura Diaz (67) shared third place, finishing with birdies on five of the last eight holes.

Like Ochoa, the 33-year-old American took a short break before Evian. She arrived in the French lakeside resort with a rib injury inflicted by her toddler son, Robert.

“My son injured my right rib the Saturday before last and I was forced to withdraw from the Jamie Farr Classic,” Diaz said. “I took a whole week off and didn’t hit a ball until I got here. I didn’t even know if I was going to play.”

Juli Inkster and Angela Stanford, Meena Lee and Suzann Pettersen also shot 67s.

Kim In-kyung, Kim Young and Amy Yang were another shot back, while defending champion Natalie Gulbis—who played with Ochoa Thursday—led a group at 69.

Sorenstam, the 2000 and 2002 Evian champion, played with Helen Alfredsson and Catrin Nilsmark in an all-Swedish trio of former winners.

“Today I left a few shots out there,” Sorenstam said. “I felt good about everything, then I wasn’t able to close.

“We have a lot of holes to go. I have a good strategy. I know how to play this course.”

Evian Masters Scores

65 Lorena Ochoa (Mex)

66 Sun Ju Ahn, Angela Park, Candie Kung (Tai)

67 Juli Inkster, Meena Lee, Angela Stanford, Laura Diaz, Suzann Pettersen (Nor)

68 Young Kim, In Kyung Kim, Amy Yang

69 Linda Wessberg (Swe), Natalie Gulbis, Shi Hyun Ahn, Morgan Pressel, In-Bee Park, Song-Hee Kim, Hwa seon Lee

70 Cristie Kerr, Paula Creamer, Ji-Young Oh, Ya-Ni Tseng, Se Ri Pak, Momoko Ueda (Jpn), Meaghan Francella, Catrin Nilsmark (Swe), Trish Johnson, Hee Young Park

71 Laura Davies (Eng), Giulia Sergas (Ita), Annika Sorenstam (Swe), Eun Hee Ji, Jin Joo Hong, Sarah Lee, Teresa Lu (Tai), Jimin Kang, Mi-Hyun Kim, Na Yeon Choi, Sophie Giquel (Fra)

72 Lindsey Wright (Aus), Karrie Webb (Aus), Hee-Won Han, Becky Brewerton (Gbr), Helen Alfredsson (Swe), Julieta Granada (Par), Christina Kim, Rebecca Hudson (Eng), Ji-Yai Shin, Emma Zackrisson (Swe), Sherri Steinhauer, Mhairi McKay (Sco), Katherine Hull (Aus)

73 Carin Koch (Swe), Diana D'Alessio, Sophie Gustafson (Swe), Maria Hjorth (Swe), Brittany Lang, Hye Jung Choi

74 Minea Blomqvist (Fin), Sun Young Yoo, Jane Park, Pat Hurst, Karine Icher (Fra), Gwladys Nocera (Fra), Jee Young Lee, Ai Miyazato (Jpn), Nicole Castrale, Jeong Jang

75 Paula Marti (Spa), Rachel Hetherington (Aus), Catriona Matthew (Sco), Martina Eberl (Ger), Bo-Bae Song

76 Joanne Mills (Aus), Nikki Garrett (Aus)

77 Wendy Doolan (Aus), Ashleigh Simon (Rsa), Na On Min (Jpn), Silvia Cavalleri (Ita), Brittany Lincicome, Reilley Rankin

78 Lotta Maria Wahlin (Swe), Anna-Lise Caudal (Fra)

79 Louise Friberg (Swe)

80 Tao-li Yang (Chn), Bettina Hauert (Ger), Lisa Hall (Eng), Leta Lindley

Mike Weir gave Canadian Open fans what they came to see on another rainy day at drenched Glen Abbey.

The Canadian icon shot a bogey-free 6-under 65 on Thursday for a share of the lead with Anthony Kim and Eric Axley during the suspended first round. Only half of the players were able to finish the round that was delayed for 5 hours, 42 minutes.

“You want to take advantage of today because it’s only going to get a little firmer and faster,” said Weir, his words punctuated by a clap of thunder that drew a smile and forced him to reconsider his answer. “Maybe not with what’s coming. Maybe not.”

Richard Johnson, J.P. Hayes, Nicholas Thompson, Ryan Armour and Jason Allred shot 67s on the course saturated by 8 inches of rain in six days. John Senden and Charley Hoffman also were 4 under. Senden played nine holes, and Hoffman completed eight.

Because of the wet conditions, players were allowed to use preferred lies.

“We’re playing lift, clean and place and, if you hit fairways, you’re going to have great opportunities to go at flags,” Kim said. “The course isn’t overly long. But if you can hit some 7-irons 15 feet and shake some of those in, you’ll be in good shape. I hit every fairway and that gave me a lot of opportunities to go at some pins.”

Two-time defending champion Jim Furyk, a few minutes away from teeing off when play was suspended because of lightning a little before 1 p.m., was 1 under at the turn.

A brief storm hit at about 1:30 p.m. and waves of showers followed, flooding bunkers and fairways on the course that many players thought would be unplayable after heavy rain Wednesday. Play resumed at about 6:30 p.m., and was suspended because of darkness at 8:49 p.m., leaving the course once again to the weary maintenance crew.

“I heard in the locker room somebody said they were here until 3 in the morning,” Weir said. “I’m sure they got a couple hours of sleep and were right back at it first thing. They’ve had their work cut out and they’ve done a great job. It exceeded my expectations what I thought I was going to see out there.”

Weir’s 65, highlighted by 11 one-putt greens, matched his best score in the tournament and was his first opening sub-70 round of the year. He finished with a 5-foot birdie putt on the par-4 ninth, drawing one last round of cheers from the adoring fans who lined the fairways 10 deep in places.

“It played probably about as easy as Glen Abbey can play given the ball’s not running out through the fairways on some of the doglegs,” Weir said. “You just kind of hit it to the corner and it’s just stopping there. … With the greens being soft, you can fly the ball right to the hole and it would stop.”

Trying to become the first Canadian winner since Pat Fletcher in 1954, Weir is back at Glen Abbey for the first time since a playoff loss to Vijay Singh in 2004. The 2003 Masters champion is making his 18th appearance in the event. He missed the cut in his first nine starts—eight at Glen Abbey and one at Royal Montreal.

“I did need to get over the struggles I had around here,” Weir said. “Finally shooting some good rounds in 2004 helped me get over the mental hurdle that I can shoot better than 70 out here.”

With the national championship stuck in a difficult schedule spot after the British Open and before the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and PGA Championship, Weir is skipping the WGC event next week at Firestone.

“This is like a major here and the PGA is a major,” Weir said. “It’s (Firestone) a golf course I’ve never played that well. Of the tournaments coming up, if I was going to skip one, that was going to be it. I really want to be ready for the PGA. The PGA is close to home for me, as well.”

Kim, the Wachovia Championship and AT&T National winner, is coming off a seventh-place tie in the British Open. The 23-year-old American was back in form Thursday after adjusting his swing to cope with the strong wind at Royal Birkdale.

“I really didn’t feel comfortable until today,” Kim said. “Yesterday, playing 15 holes, my game was a little bit off. My putter was off. Everything was just a little bit rusty. I definitely feel like I have my legs under me now.”

Axley, the 2006 Texas Open winner, closed with a 15-foot eagle putt on par-5 18th.

Greg Norman used last week’s British Open as a warmup and almost made history. The warmup over, he is now setting his sights on the Senior British Open.

Leading the tournament at Royal Birkdale with nine holes to play, the 53-year-old Australian was on course to become the oldest winner of a major, but finished six shots behind Padraig Harrington in a tie for third.

“Now, my expectations are good,” Norman said Wednesday. “I like the golf course. Remember my comment last week: ‘I was using the British Open for a warmup to the British Senior Open’—should have been the other way round.

“So now I’ve warmed up, basically. OK, so now I’ve got to step up and, hopefully, I can do that over the next four or five days.”

For the first two rounds Thursday and Friday at Troon, Norman will play in the same group as Tom Watson, winner of five Opens and three of the past five Senior British Opens, and Sandy Lyle as he bids for his first seniors title.

Lyle also has an Open title, as well as the 1988 Masters, but he was lambasted by the media at Royal Birkdale last week when he walked off the course after completing half of the opening round at 11 over.

Because of his various business interests, plus playing tennis for fun with new wife Chris Evert, Norman picks and chooses his seniors events and this is just his fourth. He finished third at this tournament three years ago at Royal Aberdeen, and tied for sixth at this year’s Senior PGA Championship at Oak Hill, Rochester.

Norman said he shouldn’t have any problems coming back from Sunday’s letdown, where he led into the final round by two strokes yet knew the title was gone when he walked up to the 17th green at Birkdale.

As Norman and Harrington walked up the 18th to receive a standing ovation, he let the Irishman—about to win the title for the second year in a row—have the spotlight.

“I had to respect Padraig and the situation,” Norman said. “You had to let him absorb the moment.”

But the Australian who has had tough defeats in majors before—most notably in the 1996 Masters to Nick Faldo—still felt the pain of losing.

“Yeah, it hurts. Deep down inside, it hurts, no question,” he said. “When you’re a sportsman in the arena, no matter how old or how young you are, and you give yourself an opportunity and it doesn’t eventuate, you do feel it.

“I’m a human being too and I love to play the game.”

Norman said he has different priorities now compared with when he was the world’s top player in the days before Tiger Woods. But he still wants to do well on the golf course without the routine of daily practice.

“It’s totally different nowadays with your expectations then when you are the No. 1 and people expect you to perform,” he said. “Nowadays, my practice routine and my happiness and where I want to be in my life, it’s totally different for me.

“So I can waltz in there like (I did) at Birkdale and I can be realistically honest with myself. Deep down inside, do you want to perform well. Always, you want to perform well.”

Lyle will be happy if he can just complete the first two rounds.

The Scot on Wednesday explained his early exit from the Open last week, saying a sore and numb left hand forced him to retire after just 10 holes.

“Last week was not a thing I like to do on a regular basis. But you’ll know from talking to my previous caddies I’ve had sore hands and knuckles for a couple of years now. … I was playing with a sort of numb knuckle in my left hand and I couldn’t let it continue.”

Apart from Watson and Lyle, Norman has familiar rivals who have won tournaments this year.

Seniors newcomers Ian Woosnam and Bernhard Langer have each won two events. But Jay Haas, who won his second Senior PGA title in three years, has pulled out after the death of his sister-in-law.

Watson also has a Champions Tour victory this season and could complete his third Open double. He has won both the Open and Seniors Open at Turnberry and Muirfield, and another of his five Open triumphs was at Troon in 1982.

“It doesn’t look like they’re taking much pity on us old people as far as the length of the golf course is concerned,” Watson said of the 7,064-yard, par-71 links course that will have most of the same tee placements as for the Open.

“It’s going to be a very long and difficult golf course at Troon here.”

Annika Sorenstam is determined her final year on the LPGA Tour will not become a sentimental journey.

Yet she might make an exception at the Evian Masters this weekend, when tournament officials plan to show their affection by naming part of the course in her honor.

The 37-year-old Swede with 72 career victories plans to retire at the end of the season to marry and start a family. Sorenstam says the Evian Masters has always been close to her heart.

“Evian is just an amazing place,” Sorenstam said Wednesday. “It’s so beautiful. My parents always come here. I bring other family members. It’s just a lot more relaxed than other tournaments. So, this event I’ll certainly miss more than other tournaments.”

A section of the course named “Annika’s Place” will be a constant reminder of the two-time Evian champion.

“It is in the heart of the tournament and Annika is in our hearts,” tournament director Jacques Bungert said.


The event boasts total prize money of $3.25 million—matching the U.S. Women’s Open—and is a centerpiece at the stylish five-star resort hotel. The course is set on a hillside near Lake Geneva and across from Switzerland, with French Alpine peaks stretching off in the distance.

Sorenstam remembers the tournament’s modest beginnings during her first visit in 1995.

“I remember the first time I played here, I think there was—well, there were no ropes,” she said. “There were maybe two spectators, now we have thousands.

“It’s been great to see the tournament grow. It just seems to improve in every area.”

The tournament field Thursday includes Lorena Ochoa, who took Sorenstam’s No. 1 ranking last year and has six victories so far. She tops the money list at more than $2 million.

The 26-year-old Mexican said she can appreciate Sorenstam’s decision to step away from golf.

“She would love to have a family, and I respect that very much,” Ochoa said. “I learned so much from her, and she has always been my motivation to get to the top and improve my game.”

Sorenstam won the Evian event in 2000—when it debuted on the LPGA Tour— and again in 2002.

Ochoa has never won at Evian, finishing third three times and runner-up to Paula Creamer in 2005.

Natalie Gulbis is defending the title she won in a playoff against Jeong Jang last year. Creamer arrives fresh off a win two weeks ago at the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic in Sylvania, Ohio.

Inbee Park, who won the U.S. Women’s Open, will chase the $487,500 winner’s prize, along with past champions Karrie Webb, Wendy Doolan and Rachel Hetherington.

Sorenstam will play with fellow Swedes and Evian winners Helen Alfredsson (1994, 1998) and Catrin Nilsmark (1999) on Thursday.

“That doesn’t happen too often, so I’m looking forward to that,” Sorenstam said. “There are some emotions. But I didn’t want to make this a farewell tour because I’m still focusing on my game, and I didn’t want it to be some kind of tribute or something like that.

“I’m here to play, I’m here to compete and I’m here to finish on a strong note.”

Next week, Sorenstam will play in the British Women’s Open in her last major and final tournament in Europe. First, she’ll get a sendoff at the Evian Masters that she’ll fondly remember.

“We love Annika,” Bungert said. “We will definitely show her how emotional we are about her.

Jim Furyk has his sights set high at rain-soaked Glen Abbey in his bid for a third straight Canadian Open title.

Coming off a fifth-place tie in the bump-and-run British Open at windswept Royal Birkdale, Furyk has adjusted his ball flight skyward to take advantage of the soft conditions on the course saturated by nearly 8 inches of rain in five days.

“This is definitely a golf course where you want to bring the ball in high into a lot of these greens, coming off a week where I didn’t hit it higher than about head high for four days,” Furyk said Wednesday before the latest round of heavy rain left the scheduled 7 a.m. Thursday start in jeopardy. “So it’s different, but I just want to slowly get my feel and my rhythm back and get the ball in the air.”

Stephen Ames also is looking up after tying for seventh at Royal Birkdale.

“I’ve gone from a 10-foot high ball flight to a 120-foot high ball flight,” said Ames, a naturalized Canadian citizen from Trinidad & Tobago.

At No. 10 in the world ranking, Furyk is the top player in the national championship hampered by a difficult schedule spot after the British Open and before the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and PGA Championship. While Furyk plans to play all four events, Canadian star Mike Weir is skipping the WGC event next week at Firestone to give himself a break before the PGA Championship.

Weir is back at Glen Abbey for the first time since a playoff loss to Vijay Singh in 2004. The 2003 Masters champion is making his 18th appearance in the tournament. He missed the cut in his first nine starts—eight at Glen Abbey and one at Royal Montreal—and failed to advance to weekend play in 2005 and 2006.

“I finally played the golf course well,” Weir said. “I never played very well here at all and I finally figured out a way to score around here. I do feel more comfortable around this golf course than in years past. … When I first started playing here I wasn’t very good. I was struggling on the Canadian Tour.”

Weir, Ames and the 17 other Canadians in the field are trying to become the first home winner since Pat Fletcher in 1954.

“The player who does the best this week and wins is going to be driving it in the fairway, because the rough is thick and, with it being wet, you’re not going to bounce it very far,” Weir said. “So the key is to keep that ball in the fairway.”

Furyk won in 2006 at Hamilton and successfully defended his title last year at Angus Glen for the last of his 13 PGA Tour titles.

“It’s interesting coming back to an event where you’ve won and it’s on a different golf course,” Furyk said. “You lose the warm, fuzzy feeling.”

Furyk’s left wrist was taped Wednesday as a precaution. He had arthroscopic surgery on the wrist in 2004 to repair cartilage damage.

“My wrist was just a little sore yesterday,” Furyk said. “Why? I don’t know whether it was from the hard ground last week or the flight coming back. Sometimes you get some inflammation and such. It’s an old injury.

“It was real tender yesterday and bothering me, so I decided not to push it and kind of take the day off, just kind of chipped and putted a little. It felt great today. It didn’t bother me a bit.”

World No.1 Lorena Ochoa of Mexico, World No.2 Annika Sorenstam and World No.3 Suzann Pettersen of Norway have arrived for the 2008 Evian Masters, from July 24-27 this week.

They join World No.4 Paula Creamer of the United States, who won the event in 2005, recent rookie major winner Yani Tseng of Taiwan, who is fifth in the world, and defending champion Natalie Gulbis of the United States, currently the World No. 35.

Gulbis earned her first title in six years on the LPGA at the 2007 Evian Masters, defeating South Korea’s Jeong Jang in a one-hole sudden death play-off. As a result she earned a first prize of US$450,000.

This week’s 90 woman field also features current New Star Money List leader Gwladys Nocera from France, who is competing on home turf for the first time in the 2008 Ladies European Tour season.

Nocera, a two time winner on the LET this year, is keen to improve on past performances and is pleased to be representing a new major partner of the Evian Masters, Société Générale, which will be the “Presenting Sponsor” of the event for five years.

Among the 34 Ladies European Tour members in the field, 10 players have already won this year, while Nocera, Pettersen, England’s Rebecca Hudson and Sweden’s Lotta Wahlin have all won twice.

The Evian Masters celebrates its 15th anniversary in 2008 and LPGA rookie Momoko Ueda, of Japan, is serving in her second year as an ambassador for the tournament. Ueda, who competed in the 2007 Evian Masters based on her performance on the LPGA of Japan (JLPGA) won the 2007 Mizuno Classic to earn her 2008 LPGA Tour card. Ueda has notched two top-10 finishes, but her first official victory as a member of the LPGA has eluded her.

In addition to next week’s Ricoh Women’s British Open, the Evian Masters is one of two designated majors on the Ladies European Tour. The increased purse total, of US$3.25 million, matches the U.S. Women’s Open as the highest purse in women’s golf.

Padraig Harrington never tires of reading the fine print on the silver claret jug, and as he stood up from a table Monday morning at Royal Birkdale, he slowly turned golf’s oldest trophy to see his name on consecutive rows.

There were 126 names. It’s also worth noting what wasn’t on the jug.

“I don’t think this champion has anything to worry about with asterisks etched next to his name,” Royal & Ancient chief executive Peter Dawson said. “He proved that last year.”

The bluster at the start of this British Open was whether the winner should get full credit because Tiger Woods couldn’t play. That was long forgotten after Harrington shot a 32 over his final nine holes in 30 mph wind to follow Woods as a back-to-back champion.

The only question is how much more the Irishman can achieve.

“Winning the first major last year … the reflection on that was, ‘Guys have won one major. Let’s try to set yourself apart and win two,”’ Harrington said Monday after his four-shot victory moved him up to No. 3 in the world. “Now that I’ve got two, I’m in a different club now. What’s the next club? I will have time to reflect and reset some new goals. You’ve got to keep pushing.”

The next target presumably is winning a major other than the British Open, and his next chance is coming quickly. The PGA Championship starts in only three weeks at Oakland Hills outside Detroit.

But that can wait.

Harrington took a phone call from Mary McAleese, the president of Ireland, and was still sorting through more than 100 text messages. The first sip from the claret jug was John Smith’s Smooth Bitter, just like last year, although the champion was pleased that when the party ended about 4 a.m., and he emptied the jug, he tasted a few drops of claret.

This wasn’t as exhilarating as his playoff victory at Carnoustie last year over Sergio Garcia, perhaps because that was his first major and the engraver had to wait until the final putt before going to work.

“This time around was a more determined effort. It was more satisfying and in many ways more rewarding,” Harrington said. “To have doe it back-to-back is very special. To have two majors is very special. But I think what I take most from it is going out in the last group and performing when I needed to.

“Playing golf in the final round of a major when it’s put up to you is a nice feeling.”

The presence of 53-year-old Greg Norman with a one-shot lead going to the back nine and Ian Poulter making a late charge in his pink pants made it difficult to appreciate what Harrington did late Sunday afternoon.

Of the last 10 players on the course, nine of them averaged a 40 on the back nine. Harrington shot 32.

Woods won the U.S. Open on one good leg, and to a much lesser extent, it can be said that Harrington won the British Open with only one good hand. He injured his right wrist the Saturday before the British Open by swinging a club into a bean bag, much like Henry Cotton used to swing into a tire to strengthen his wrists.

Harrington has odd practice habits, but they are not without purpose.

He often practices hitting the driver with only his right hand, then only his left hand, and sometimes he putts with one leg on the ground. For years, he’s created new drills to keep his interest and challenge his skills.

Harrington has a friend who is a 2-handicap, and they have a running bet that Harrington can beat him with one hand. Harrington also has a wager with another friend that he can exceed 170 mph ball speed by swinging with one hand.

“I can hit one-handed—this is going to sound ridiculous—farther than I hit it two-handed,” Harrington said. “There is a little practicality. It is working on strengthening my right side and left side, working on speed on the right side and left side. The only time I practice, silly as it may look, is to improve my golf. I never waste any time.”

The 36-year-old Harrington is motivated by fear that he is not the greatest talent in golf and must constantly prove himself. He still remembers when he was 18 and dominating junior golf in Ireland, yet a 20-man panel did not put him on the list of best golfers under 21.

“I’ve never looked like I had the surface talent that many players—stars of the future—look to have,” he said. “Whoever was picking could find reasons that maybe my swing didn’t look right. In many ways, I’d had to deal with that sort of thing. I learned over the years that it’s more important what’s underneath the surface.”

Harrington had a hard time returning the claret jug at the start of the week, which all defending champions do. He mainly kept it on his breakfast table, which is where it was Monday morning as he ate his porridge and looked at the Ryder Cup standings on the Internet, his name atop the list for Europe.

“It was tough giving it back,” he said. “I’m going to enjoy it even more.”

Harrington took the jug on many journeys last year, none more amusing than his visit to San Francisco. He was in a cab with two friends, the claret jug in its case on his lap, when he noticed the taxi driver wearing a golf glove on his hand. Harrington began chatting about golf without letting on that he was the British Open champion. Only when he got out of the cab did his friends tell the driver that the claret jug was in that case. The cabbie didn’t believe a word.

“I did have a call from one of the lads,” Harrington said. “And I promised we’d bring the jug to San Francisco and hunt down that taxi driver. That’s one thing I’m going to do.”

Fresh off a disqualification on the LPGA Tour, Michelle Wie has decided to tee it up against the men, again.

Wie will play next week in the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open, the first time she’ll play on the PGA Tour this year, tournament organizers said.

It will be her eighth time playing on the PGA Tour, and she has yet to make a cut. The only time Wie has made money playing against the men was on the Korean Tour, in 2006, at the SK Telcom Open.

“It’s not every day that a woman is given the opportunity to play on the greatest tour in the world,” Wie said in a statement. “This is a tremendous opportunity for me to learn from these great players and take those lessons into the future to becoming the best player I can be on any tour. This is another step in the process of making me a better player.”

Wie, who is 18 and attends Stanford part time, has no status on any tour. She has only one sponsor’s exemption left this year. She will be playing her seventh and final LPGA Tour event of this year at the CN Canadian Women’s Open in August.

The Reno-Tahoe Open starts July 31 at Montreux Golf & Country Club. The Nevada tournament is one of the weakest fields on the PGA Tour, held opposite the World Golf Championship in Ohio. Steve Flesch won the Reno-Tahoe Open last year.

“This will be a great experience for the community to see a player like Michelle in this setting,” tournament director Michael Stearns said in a statement. “Michelle is getting her game together, she’s getting back in the swing of things and we have no problem extending her this opportunity.”

Wie showed signs of improvement this past weekend at the State Farm Classic in Illinois. She was a shot off the lead going into the final round when Tour officials discovered that she had left the scoring area without signing her scorecard after Friday’s second round. Wie finished her round Saturday, and after officials spoke with her about the scorecard problem, she was disqualified.

A win or high finish would have all but guaranteed her enough money to finish in the top 80 LPGA players this year, the cutoff for automatic inclusion in next year’s tour.

There’s been speculation Wie would concentrate solely on women’s competition, especially after last year when she injured both wrists and made only two cuts.

Wie’s chances of securing a 2009 LPGA Tour card now rest with her winning roughly $80,000 in her final tournament, which probably would take a top-three finish. Otherwise, she could be headed to the first of two stages of qualifying.

“I think the qualifying conflicts with school, so I probably won’t go to that,” Wie said last month at the U.S. Women’s Open in Minnesota. But that was when she had greater hopes of winning enough money to become exempt for next year.

Her father made it sound as though Q-school was a distinct possibility at the time.

“What other options do we have?” he said.

Padraig Harrington enjoys few moments more than the walk down 18th fairway of a century-old links course, especially with a four-shot lead in the British Open and the engraver putting the final touches on the oldest trophy in golf.

He stopped Sunday to share the moment with Greg Norman, who knows this path all too well.

Celebration for one, sympathy for the other.

“I did say to him coming down 18 that I was sorry it wasn’t his story that was going to be told,” Harrington said. “I did feel that, but I wanted to win myself. In this game, you have to take your chances when you get them.”

Harrington seized his opportunity by smashing a pair of fairway metals into the par 5s that carried him to a 32 on the back nine of blustery Royal Birkdale and made him Europe’s first player in more than a century to win the British Open two years in a row.

“Obviously, winning a major puts you in a special club,” Harrington said after closing with a 1-under 69 to win by four shots over Ian Poulter. “Winning two of them puts you in a new club altogether.”

Norman got a chance no one saw coming.

Still on his honeymoon with tennis great Chris Evert, at 53 only a part-time golfer with no expectations, the Shark found himself with a two-shot lead going into the final round and still one shot ahead with nine holes to play.

It ended like so many other majors for Norman—a quick succession of bogeys, the clutch shots belonging to someone else. He made eight bogeys in gusts that reached 40 mph, closed with a 77 and tied for third.

“Where does it rank in those? Probably not as high as some of the other ones,” Norman said of the six other times he lost a 54-hole lead in a major. “Quite honestly, I’m sure I surprised a lot of people.”

So did Harrington.

The 36-year-old Irishman injured his right wrist eight days ago, and it was so