The Week July 6-12
SMUGLY AMERICAN
A roll call of American no-shows for this week's British Open:
Fred Couples (lost interest), Ben Crenshaw (the dog ate my
game), John Daly (issues, man), Brad Faxon (sore wrist), Scott
Hoch (says his foot hurts), Steve Jones (undisclosed illness),
Tom Kite (no can play) and Jack Nicklaus (barely ambulatory).
Would all of these players bail on a Stateside major, say the
Masters, under like circumstances? Not bloody likely.
PGA
A final-round 66 at Brown Deer Park gave Carlos Franco a
two-stroke victory over Tom Lehman in the Greater Milwaukee Open
and made him the fourth multiple winner in '99, joining David
Duval, Payne Stewart and Tiger Woods.... U.S. Amateur champ Hank
Kuehne will make his pro debut next week at the John Deere
Classic in Coal Valley, Ill.... Ladbrokes of London has made
Woods the favorite, at 5 to 1, to win the Open, while Duval is
10 to 1.
LPGA
By winning the Michelob Light Classic at Forest Hills in St.
Louis, Annika Sorenstam broke a winless streak that dated back
to last Sept. 13 and was the longest of her career. Sorenstam,
who beat Tina Barrett on the third hole of sudden death, became
the fifth player to win the same LPGA tournament three years in
a row. Laura Davies won the Standard Register Ping four straight
times from '94 through '97.... Marisa Baena was slapped with a
one-stroke penalty when her caddie dropped a towel on her ball,
causing it to move. She missed the cut by a shot.
SENIOR
Dave Eichelberger, who won the U.S. Senior Open by three strokes
over Ed Dougherty at Des Moines Country Club, didn't finish
higher than 30th in a major last year when he was a Senior
career-worst 42nd in earnings.... After 32 starts as a Senior,
Dougherty is still looking for his first victory.
ALSO
Colin Montgomerie's three-stroke win over Sergio Garcia, Michael
Jonzon and Mats Lanner at the Standard Life Loch Lomond in
Glasgow was his first European tour victory in his native
Scotland and his 20th overall.... Garcia moved from 18th to
seventh--just ahead of captain Mark James--on the Ryder Cup
points list.... Titleist, which owns club and ball endorsement
rights to Woods, has filed suit against Nike in federal court,
claiming that Nike's new TV ads imply that Woods plays Nike
balls.... Naree Wongluekiet, 13, won the American Junior Golf
Association Tournament of Champions at Ohio State, beating
players up to 18 years of age, while her twin sister, Aree, tied
for seventh.
UP and Down
Buddy trips Loch Lomond
Francophiles Anglophobes
Annika's threepeat Annika's winless streak
Des Moines Los Angeles
Tiger's dribbles Titleist's quibbles
COLOR PHOTO: PHOTOGRAPH BY MIKE KING IRISH AYESTiger Woods was the crowd favorite at Waterville, in County Kerry, when he and some fellow U.S. pros warmed up for this week's British Open.
