Talkin Sport - AUSTRALASIANS IN ACTION

USPGA TOUR: Stanford St. Jude Championship, TPC Southwind, Memphis, Tennessee

2006 Champion: Jeff Maggert (USA

·                     Six of the top 12 players in the world are in Memphis this week for the last pre-US Open event. The strong field is led by world number four aussie Adam Scott and number 6 Vijay Singh

·                     Adam Scott will be making his first appearance at the tournament this week. He comes into the event in good form. He has had back to back top 10 finishes in his last two starts. He finished T6 at THE PLAYERS Championship and T5 at last week’s Memorial Tournament.

·                     The field this week is a strong one especially as it’s is a warm up to the US Open. Adam Scott, Vijay Singh, Geoff Ogilvy and Padraig Harrington headline the event. The other 3 top 25 players in the field are Retief Goosen Stuart Appleby and David Toms. As well as Adam Scott, other first timers are Goosen, Padraig Harrington and Sergio Garcia. Singh returns to the event for the first time since 1992 and US Open defending champion Geoff Ogilvy will play for just the fourth time, despite missing the cut in his previous three outings at TPC Southwind.

·                     The field also includes 10 past champions.

·                     This week celebrates the 50th anniversary of the tournament.

·                     John Senden was the best of the Aussies at last year’s event. He finished ninth, seven shots behind winner Jeff Maggert.

·                     Greg Norman was the last Australasian to win this event. He won in 1997 by one shot from Dudley Hart

·                     Phil Mickelson withdrew Tuesday from this week's Stanford St. Jude Championship, and will have a cortisone injection in his left wrist. He has been assured he will play in next week’s Open.

·                     This year there is an increased purse of $US6 million, with $1.08 million going to the winner, making it one of the largest purses on the PGA TOUR.

EUROPEAN TOUR: BA-CA Golf Open Presented by Telekom Austria, Fontana GC, Vienna, Austria
Australasian Field: Steven Alker NZL, David Bransdon, Peter Fowler, Richard Green, Simon Nash, Wade Ormsby, Terry Pilkadaris, Scott Strange, John Wade, Matthew Zions.
2006 Champion: Markus Brier (Austria)

·                     Local hero Marcus Brier returns to defend the title that he has won twice in the tournaments four year history. Brier won by three shots in 2006 & claimed his first title in 2004.

·                     The field of Australasians this week boasts 10 players who will face stiff competition from Brier and other European Tour stars including Darren Clarke, Colin Montgomerie and Lee Westwood

·                     Richard Green is the highest ranked Australasian at this week’s event. He is 24th on the European Tour Money List after three top 10 results this season. Green finished T4 at two events this year - The Commercialbank Qatar Masters and the Irish Open and most recently T8 at the BMW PGA Championship in May.

·                     Matthew Zions was the best finisher of the Australasians at last week’s Wales Open alongside Michael Campbell. Both players finished T29.

ASIAN TOUR: Bangkok Airways Open, Santiburi Samui Country Club, Koh Samui
Australasian Field: Scott Barr, Neven Basic, Rowan Beste, Adam Blyth, Marcus Both, Mark Brown NZL, Mitchell Brown, Gavin Flint, Adam Groom, Ashley Hall, Brad Iles NZL, Troy Kennedy, Won Joon Lee, Richard Moir, Jarrod Moseley, Unho Park, Stephen Scahill NZL
2006 Champion: Chawalit Plaphol (Thailand)

·                     The Bangkok Airways Open is the 16th leg of this season’s Asian Tour Schedule

·                     The par-71 course is known by many as the “Beast of Samui”.

·                     Queenslander Adam Blyth is the highest ranked Australasian in the field this week. Blyth is at number 12 on the UBS Order of Merit with results including a 2nd at the Beijing Open and T9 at the Motorola International.

·                     Unho Park is another Australasian playing this week who features in the Top 20 on the UBS OOM. Park, from the Northern Territory is currently 15th with five top 20 results including third at the Motorola International and most recently tied 4th at the SK Telecom Open two weeks ago.

·                     The Bangkok Airways Open is the last event on the Asian Tour calendar before the Tour takes a break and resumes on August 16 for the IRDA Johor Classic in Malaysia

NATIONWIDE TOUR: The Rex Hospital Open, TPC Wakefield Plantation, Raleigh, NC
Australasian Field: Sam Brazel, Adam Crawford, Nick Flanagan, Scott Gardiner, Brad Hughes, David McKenzie, Aron Price, Richard Swift, Grant Waite NZL, Tim Wilkinson NZL
2006 Champion: Brenden Pappas (USA)

·                     The Rex Hospital Open is the 13th of the 32 official events on the 2007 Nationwide Tour. As the season’s midway point approaches, the competition for “The 25” promotion to the PGA TOUR intensifies.

·                     Nick Flanagan resumes his quest this week for his third win of the year and the automatic PGA TOUR promotion that comes with it.

·                    Gary Christian of England and Auburn University occupies No. 25 on this week's money list, just $1,038 ahead of the Tour's youngest player, 19 year old Australian Jason Day. Australasians within the Top 25 are: Nick Flanagan (1),

·                     South African and University of Arkansas product Brenden Pappas returns to the TPC Wakefield Plantation this week to defend The Rex Hospital Open title he captured last year with a chance to make Nationwide Tour history. No player in the 18-year history of the Nationwide Tour has successfully defended a title.

·                     The par 71, 7,257-yard TPC Wakefield Plantation was designed by three-time U.S. Open champion and World Golf Hall of Fame member Hale Irwin. The TPC Wakefield Plantation is home to only three par 5s leaving little room for error.

CANADIAN TOUR: 2007 Spring Qualifying School, Belmont GC, Langley, BC
Australasian Field: Anthony Brown, Michael Choi, Ben Manderson, Craig Scott, Matthew Silk

·                     2007 Canadian Tour Spring Qualifying School is half way through and players have just two days to secure one of the seven exempt cards to be handed out for the remainder of the 2007 season. An additional seven players, plus ties, will earn non-exempt status.

·                     Five Australian players are part of a field of Sixty-eight competitors from eight nations who teed up Tuesday at Belmont GC in Langley, BC with the final round being contested Friday

·                     American Thomas Petersson opened a comfortable lead Wednesday after the second round.The Californian blitzed Belmont GC for a 7-under 63 and is in the house with an 11-under 129 total at the halfway stage

·                     Canadians Brian Benedictson and Andrew Parr are part of a four-way tie for second with Americans Pan Singhaseni and Alex Knoll, six shots behind Petersson.

·                     Australian Craig Scott is one shot behind tied six on 136 with a group of 5 players. He is followed by fellow aussies Anthony Brown tied 11th on 137 and Michael Choi tied 14th on 138.

·                     Further adrift is Matthew Silk tied 38th on 143 and Ben Manderson 50th on 146.

·                     Those securing cards won’t have to travel far to get their first taste of Tour action. The Times Colonist Open will launch the summer-long Canadian swing next week in Victoria.

HOOTERS TOUR: Bentonville Open, Lost Springs Golf & Athletic Club, Rogers, Arkansas

Australasian Field: Adam Kon-Yu, Nick MacKay, Peter Welden, Mark Wuersching, Scott Young

CHALLENGE TOUR: Vodafone Challenge, G&CC An der Elfrather Muhle, Dusseldorf, Germany
Australasian Field: Gareth Paddison NZL
2006 Champion: Martin Kaymer (Germany)

EUROPEAN SENIORS TOUR: Jersey Seniors Classic, La Moye GC, Jersey, Channel Isles
Australasian Field: Mike Clayton, Mike Ferguson, Terry Gale, David Good, Stewart Ginn, Jim Lapsley NZL, David Merriman, Simon Owen NZL, Bob Shearer,
2006 Champion: Guillermo Encina (Chile)

US SENIORS TOUR: The Principal Charity Classic, Glen Oaks Country Club, West Des Moines, Iowa
Australasian Field: Graham Marsh
2006 Champion: Gil Morgan (USA)
Contact: www.principalcharityclassic.com

Television Coverage:

USPGA TOUR: St Jude Classic
Fri 8 June          First round                    LIVE      5.30am            (FOX SPORTS 1)
Sat 9 June        Second round              LIVE      5.30am            (FOX SPORTS 1)
Sun 10 June      Third round                  LIVE      5.00am            (FOX SPORTS 1)
Mon 11 June    Final round                  LIVE      5.00am            (FOX SPORTS 1)

European Tour: BA-CA Open
Thu 7 June        First round                    LIVE      11.00pm           (FOX SPORTS 1)
Sat 9 June        Second round              Delay   2.30am            (FOX SPORTS 1)
Sat 9 June        Third round                  LIVE      10.00pm           (FOX SPORTS 1)
Sun 10 June      Final round                  LIVE      11.30pm           (FOX SPORTS 2)

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Anthony Mundine