(Sports Network) - PGA TOUR - TRAVELERS CHAMPIONSHIP - TPC River Highlands, Cromwell, Connecticut - In the wake of the U.S. Open playoff, a sense of normalcy returns to the PGA Tour with the Travelers Championship. Hunter Mahan has put his mark on this event in recent years. He finished in a tie for second in 2006, then last year earned his maiden PGA Tour victory in a playoff against Jay Williamson.

Mahan rolled in a seven-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole of the tournament. Williamson missed a 12-footer that would've won the championship outright, so it was back to 18 for the playoff.

Williamson hit his approach in the extra session near the spot Mahan was in regulation. Mahan stiffed a wedge inside three feet. Williamson pushed his birdie effort and Mahan tapped in for birdie and his first PGA Tour win.

The victory propelled Mahan to a nice end of the season. He rattled off three consecutive top-10s, including a tie for sixth at the British Open. Jack Nicklaus honored him with a captain's pick for the U.S. Presidents Cup team.

This year, Mahan has a pair of top-10 finishes and tied for 18th at last week's U.S. Open.

Williamson won earlier in the year on the Nationwide Tour and graduated to the PGA Tour this year. Unfortunately for Williamson, he has zero top 10s in 2008 and languishes in 154th on the PGA Tour money list.

This event was known as the Greater Hartford Open and Buick Championship in recent years.

It was five years ago that Suzy Whaley, an LPGA Teaching and Club Professional from Connecticut, teed it up at this event. Whaley, who won a Connecticut qualifier in the fall of 2002 to gain entrance, missed the cut shooting rounds of 75-78.

The Golf Channel and CBS have coverage this week.

Next week is the Buick Open. Brian Bateman earned his first PGA Tour victory in Michigan last year.

LPGA TOUR

WEGMANS LPGA, Locust Hill Country Club, Pittsford, New York - Three guesses who won this event last year.

Of course it was Lorena Ochoa.

She picked up her first LPGA Tour playoff victory when she defeated In-Kyung Kim on the second extra hole. Both players missed the fairway and green at the second playoff hole, but Ochoa made a three-footer for par after Kim missed from 15 feet. It was Ochoa's second win at this tournament.

So far in 2008, Ochoa has six wins, but it has been four tournaments since her last title, which came at the Sybase Classic.

The Annika Sorenstam Retirement Tour moves through Pittsford this week. If you can believe this, Sorenstam has never won this championship before. Her best finish was a second to Dottie Pepper in the rain-shortened 1996 event.

Michelle Wie returns to the LPGA Tour this week. In 2008, Wie has tied for 72nd at the Fields Open in Hawaii and missed the cut at the Michelob Ultra Open. Wie tied for sixth a few weeks back at the Ladies German Open.

ESPN2 has the broadcast on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Next week is the crown jewel on the LPGA Tour schedule, the U.S. Women's Open Championship, where Cristie Kerr took her first major title last year. The event will be staged at Interlachen, which has never hosted this prestigious championship.



EUROPEAN TOUR

BMW INTERNATIONAL, Golfclub Munchen Eichenried, Munich, Germany - Niclas Fasth may have won the title by two shots last year, but the story really comes from the co-runner-up.

Bernhard Langer is a Hall of Famer and without question, Germany's best golfer. He has finished second five times, but this is the only European Tour event held in Germany the two-time Masters champion has never won.

This might be Langer's best chance at a trip to the winner's circle. He has won twice on the Champions Tour this year and took second to Jay Haas in the Senior PGA Championship. Langer even tied for 15th at The Players Championship.

Miguel Angel Jimenez had the best U.S. Open of the field. He tied for sixth place.

The Golf Channel handles the telecast.

The European Tour moves to France for the Open de France. Graeme Storm won his first European Tour title last year.



CHAMPIONS TOUR

BANK OF AMERICA CHAMPIONSHIP, Nashawtuc Country Club, Concord, Massachusetts

- All eyes upon Jay Haas this week.

After a three-week break, the Champions Tour returns to action and Haas carries a two-tournament winning streak into the Bank of America Championship.

Haas won the incredibly difficult Senior PGA Championship, then took the Principal Charity Classic the following week.

If Haas needed any more confidence, he is the defending champion this week. He overtook Tom Purtzer, Brad Bryant and Leonard Thompson for his fourth win of the 2007 season.

Purtzer is due here. He has been the 36-hole leader the last three years, but never visited the winner's circle.

The Golf Channel will be busy since it has this tournament all three rounds.

Lonnie Nielsen is scheduled to be on hand to defend his Commerce Bank Championship next week.



NATIONWIDE TOUR

KNOXVILLE OPEN, Fox Den Country Club, Knoxville, Tennessee - Chez Reavie earned his first Nationwide Tour title last year, but won't be on hand to defend. He is a member of the PGA Tour, although floundering somewhat in 122nd place on the tour's money list.

Kyle McCarthy finished second last year and he got in as the 31st alternate.

One player scheduled to compete this week is Justin Hicks. Remember him? He was a first-round co-leader at the U.S. Open until he fell into a tie for 74th place.

This event will not be broadcast.

Next up is the Wayne Gretzky Classic. This is the first year of the event named after one of hockey's greatest legends.



CANADIAN TOUR

GREATER VANCOUVER CHARITY CLASSIC, Hazelmere Country Club, South Surrey, British Columbia, Canada - James Lepp is the focus of attention this week.

He won this championship last year and took the title as an amateur in 2003. Lepp captured the NCAA Individual championship in 2005 as a member of the University of Washington golf team.

Lepp waited a while to get his first win as a professional. Two long delays on Sunday sent this tournament back, but he finally joined Rob McMillan as players to win on the Canadian Tour as amateurs and professionals.

Lepp lost a playoff last week to Daniel Im at the Colonist Times Open, so there is some momentum in pursuit of a third title at this event.

The ATB Financial Classic is up next week and Mike Grob walked away with the win last year.



USGA

U.S. WOMEN'S AMATEUR PUBLIC LINKS, Erin Hills Golf Course, Erin, Wisconsin - Two days of stroke play, followed by three days and five rounds of match for the U.S. Women's PubLinx.

Last year Mina Harigae took the title, but its most famous champion is one Michelle Wie.

Wie toppled Virada Nirapathpongporn, 1-up in 2003, then lost in the final the following year to Yani Tseng. All Tseng did was win a major title two weeks ago at the LPGA Championship.

There is no television and the next USGA event is the U.S. Women's Open next week.



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