The 2007 Women's British Open will be played at St. Andrews, the first time it has been the championship's host.
By Associated Press
Published May 21, 2004
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland - The Old Course at St. Andrews will play host to the 2007 Women's British Open, the first time the Old Course has held a championship for women.
The men's British Open was first played at St. Andrews in 1873, and it has been held there a record 26 times.
"The Old Course and St. Andrews embody much of the long history of golf, and it is right that the only women's major to be played outside the U.S. should now be coming to St. Andrews," Andy Salmon, chief executive of the Ladies Golf Union, said Thursday.
The Women's British Open has been played recently on some of the links used in the men's rotation, such as Turnberry in 2002 and Royal Lytham & St. Annes last year, when Annika Sorenstam completed the career Grand Slam.
"The Old Course at St. Andrew's is the best-known golf course in the world, and by virtue of that fact, there will likely be more fans watching the greatest women golfers in the world than ever before for a single event," LPGA commissioner Ty Votaw said. "This is another signal of the continued growth and advancement of women's professional golf."
The 2007 Women's British Open will be played Aug.2-5.
Also, women golfers will have their own world ranking next year, giving fans something to debate and the tours a way to choose teams if the sport is included in the Olympics.
Votaw said the five women's tours around the world have agreed to develop a ranking system similar to the men's.
The late Mark McCormack, who founded IMG, developed the men's ranking in 1968. It now is used to determine who qualifies for the four major championships.
"We believe that a comprehensive world rankings system that is universally agreed upon by the leading professional golf tours is a natural evolution in the advancement of women's golf," Votaw said.
The formula has not been decided, although Votaw said it probably would measure a player's performance over two years, with points determined by strength of field and emphasis on the most recent 13-week period.
Votaw also said if golf were to become an Olympic sport - which could be early as 2008 in Beijing - the women's world ranking could be the best method to select teams.
LPGA: The three players tied for the first-round lead at the Sybase Classic in New Rochelle, N.Y., have a lot more in common than 5-under-par 66.
Silvia Cavalleri, Nadina Taylor and Young-A Yang are looking to win for the first time on tour. They also are trying to finish in the top 20 of a tournament this year.
Cavalleri has made four cuts, with a tie for 21st her best finish. Taylor has matched that cut number but hasn't managed better than a tie for 37th. Yang has missed five of seven cuts, and her best finish was a tie for 71st.
"This year I knew it would be tough and a learning experience the whole year, and I am just going to try and stay with it and see what happens," said Taylor, who played on the European tour the past two years.
The three were one shot ahead of Becky Morgan, Sherri Steinhauer and Soo-Yun Kang. Amy Hung had 68. Candy Hannemann, Michele Redman, Chiharu Yamaguchi, Rachel Teske and Grace Park carded 69.
PGA: Craig Perks completely overhauled his swing after winning the 2002 Players Championship. This year, he finally realized he had changed too much.
Now he's back on top - at least for a day.
Perks had a bogey-free 6-under 64, including two chip-in birdies, and took the first-round lead at the Colonial in Fort Worth, Texas. He led by a stroke over Jesper Parnevik.
"I didn't see it coming," Perks said. "A round like this, it certainly gives me confidence. It shows me I can still play."
Steve Flesch, who had birdies on four of his first five holes, and Stewart Cink were among five golfers at 66. Defending champion Kenny Perry shot 67, his Colonial-record eighth straight subpar round.
Missing from Hogan's Alley are Vijay Singh, Tiger Woods and Annika Sorenstam, who at last year's Colonial became the first woman in 58 years to play on the PGA Tour.
Phil Mickelson, the Colonial's highest-ranked player (No.2 on the money list) and 2000 champion, opened with 71.
EUROPEAN PGA: Trevor Immelman, Gregory Havret and David Howell shot 7-under 65 to share the lead after the first round of the Deutsche Bank Open in St. Leon-Rot, Germany. Immelman, who has struggled since winning the South African Airways Open in January, birdied five of the first six holes.
Jose Maria Olazabal, Alan McLean, Robert-Jan Derksen and Marcel Siem were a shot back.
STRANGE OUT: Curtis Strange resigned as lead analyst for ABC Sports, saying the network did not give him a long-term deal in exchange for him continuing to cover golf during his prime years as a player on the Champions Tour.
The two-time U.S. Open champion and Ryder Cup captain has been ABC's lead analyst in the tower since 1995. His contract was to expire at the end of the year.
He turns 50 in January and becomes eligible for the Champions Tour.
"If they were asking for the next two years of the current TV contract, which are my best two years on the senior tour, I wanted a commitment back on the next TV contract," Strange said. "It's disappointing."
