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Buick ends 50 years of PGA Tour sponsorship
By the Associated Press
Wednesday, August 05, 2009 | No comments posted.
Buick ended more than 50 years of PGA Tour sponsorship when it announced that it no longer will sponsor golf tournaments in Michigan and California because of the court-ordered restructuring of parent General Motors.
The decision came two days after Tiger Woods won the Buick Open in Grand Blanc, Mich. Woods acknowledged the end of the tournament, which he won for the third time, by heaving his golf ball toward a massive gallery after his final putt.
The additional blow came with the end of the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines, where Woods has won a record six times. The Buick Invitational is among the top tournaments in the early part of the PGA Tour schedule because it typically is the first event on network TV and has the highest TV rating because of Woods.
The Buick Open will be replaced on the schedule next year by a new tournament at The Greenbrier in West Virginia, according to two officials with knowledge of the deal. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the tour does not plan to announce the new event until Wednesday. Golfweek was the first to report on The Greenbrier getting a tournament.
TENNIS
Marin Cilic upset
WASHINGTON — Qualifier Somdev Devvarman of India recorded the biggest win of his career, upsetting No. 6 seed Marin Cilic of Croatia 7-5, 6-4 to advance to the third round of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic.
Defending champion and No. 2 seeded Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina avoided another upset, as did 10th-seeded Tommy Haas of Germany. Del Potro rallied for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over Taiwan’s Yen-Hsun Lu in the second round, and Haas also won his second-round match, 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 over Canada’s Frank Dancevic.
No. 8 seed Czech Tomas Berdych defeated Latvia’s Ernests Gulbis 6-2, 7-6 (6) to move into the third round.
The 2007 and 2008 NCAA men’s singles champion at Virginia and surprise quarterfinalist in this event last year, Devvarman broke serve twice in each set and was able extend rallies against Cilic despite having played matches in four consecutive days.
Germany’s Benjamin Becker beat American Robby Ginepri 7-6 (3), 6-7 (1), 7-6 (4) to advance to the second round, where he will face top-seeded Andy Roddick. Roddick, a three-time Washington champion who hasn’t played since his loss to Roger Federer in the Wimbledon final, said Monday he’s recovered from the right hip flexor he sustained in the July 5 match.
In other first-round matches, qualifier Sebastien De Chaunac of France defeated Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin 6-3, 7-6 (7); and Germany’s Rainer Schuettler beat Leonardo Mayer of Argentina 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (5).
Krumm falls
CARSON, Calif. — Kimiko Date Krumm lost to Sabine Lisicki of Germany, 7-6 (5), 2-6, 7-5, in the first round of the LA Women’s Tennis Championships at The Home Depot Center.
Lisicki, 19, was joined in the second round by No. 10 seed Li Na, No. 14 Jie Zheng and unseeded Daniela Hantuchova, among others, and of those winning Tuesday, Li, at 27, is the oldest.
Former champion Ana Ivanovic — the No. 6 seed — outlasted Vania King 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 and Vera Zvonareva beat Peng Shuai 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (6) in second-round matches.
GOLF
Kang has medalist honors
ST. LOUIS — Danielle Kang, of Thousand Oaks, Calif., rolled in a 30-foot par putt at the 18th hole to earn stroke-play medalist honors Tuesday by one shot at the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship.
Kang’s putt capped off a 3-under round of 68 for a 36-hole total of 4-under 138 on the 6,422-yard, par-71 layout at Old Warson Country Club. The 16-year-old Kang edged Marina Alex, 19, of Wayne, N.J., and 16-year-old Jessica Korda of Bradenton, Fla.
Alex and Korda, both finished at 3-under 139.
Kang, competing in her second Women’s Amateur and sixth USGA championship, registered seven birdies and four bogeys. The round included three consecutive birdies from No. 12.
“I’m excited,” Kang said. “My dad was like, ’Let’s get medalist today.’ I wanted to accomplish something for making match play.”
Korda’s 4-under-par 67 tied for the lowest round of the championship with 17-year-old Sun Gyoung Park of Vail, Ariz., who finished fourth at 140 after a 67 on Tuesday.
First-round leader Amy Anderson, 17, of Oxbow, N.D., had a 75 and finished at 1-over 143. The newly minted U.S. Girls’ Junior champion was bidding to become the third player in USGA history to earn medalist honors in the Girls’ Junior and Women’s Amateur in the same year.
The incoming North Dakota State freshman still has a chance to become the first player to win both titles in the same year.
The match-play cut was at 9-over 151, with six golfers playing off for the final spot. Amelia Lewis, 18, of Jacksonville, Fla., was the survivor.
The decision came two days after Tiger Woods won the Buick Open in Grand Blanc, Mich. Woods acknowledged the end of the tournament, which he won for the third time, by heaving his golf ball toward a massive gallery after his final putt.
The additional blow came with the end of the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines, where Woods has won a record six times. The Buick Invitational is among the top tournaments in the early part of the PGA Tour schedule because it typically is the first event on network TV and has the highest TV rating because of Woods.
The Buick Open will be replaced on the schedule next year by a new tournament at The Greenbrier in West Virginia, according to two officials with knowledge of the deal. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the tour does not plan to announce the new event until Wednesday. Golfweek was the first to report on The Greenbrier getting a tournament.
TENNIS
Marin Cilic upset
WASHINGTON — Qualifier Somdev Devvarman of India recorded the biggest win of his career, upsetting No. 6 seed Marin Cilic of Croatia 7-5, 6-4 to advance to the third round of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic.
Defending champion and No. 2 seeded Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina avoided another upset, as did 10th-seeded Tommy Haas of Germany. Del Potro rallied for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over Taiwan’s Yen-Hsun Lu in the second round, and Haas also won his second-round match, 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 over Canada’s Frank Dancevic.
No. 8 seed Czech Tomas Berdych defeated Latvia’s Ernests Gulbis 6-2, 7-6 (6) to move into the third round.
The 2007 and 2008 NCAA men’s singles champion at Virginia and surprise quarterfinalist in this event last year, Devvarman broke serve twice in each set and was able extend rallies against Cilic despite having played matches in four consecutive days.
Germany’s Benjamin Becker beat American Robby Ginepri 7-6 (3), 6-7 (1), 7-6 (4) to advance to the second round, where he will face top-seeded Andy Roddick. Roddick, a three-time Washington champion who hasn’t played since his loss to Roger Federer in the Wimbledon final, said Monday he’s recovered from the right hip flexor he sustained in the July 5 match.
In other first-round matches, qualifier Sebastien De Chaunac of France defeated Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin 6-3, 7-6 (7); and Germany’s Rainer Schuettler beat Leonardo Mayer of Argentina 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (5).
Krumm falls
CARSON, Calif. — Kimiko Date Krumm lost to Sabine Lisicki of Germany, 7-6 (5), 2-6, 7-5, in the first round of the LA Women’s Tennis Championships at The Home Depot Center.
Lisicki, 19, was joined in the second round by No. 10 seed Li Na, No. 14 Jie Zheng and unseeded Daniela Hantuchova, among others, and of those winning Tuesday, Li, at 27, is the oldest.
Former champion Ana Ivanovic — the No. 6 seed — outlasted Vania King 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 and Vera Zvonareva beat Peng Shuai 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (6) in second-round matches.
GOLF
Kang has medalist honors
ST. LOUIS — Danielle Kang, of Thousand Oaks, Calif., rolled in a 30-foot par putt at the 18th hole to earn stroke-play medalist honors Tuesday by one shot at the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship.
Kang’s putt capped off a 3-under round of 68 for a 36-hole total of 4-under 138 on the 6,422-yard, par-71 layout at Old Warson Country Club. The 16-year-old Kang edged Marina Alex, 19, of Wayne, N.J., and 16-year-old Jessica Korda of Bradenton, Fla.
Alex and Korda, both finished at 3-under 139.
Kang, competing in her second Women’s Amateur and sixth USGA championship, registered seven birdies and four bogeys. The round included three consecutive birdies from No. 12.
“I’m excited,” Kang said. “My dad was like, ’Let’s get medalist today.’ I wanted to accomplish something for making match play.”
Korda’s 4-under-par 67 tied for the lowest round of the championship with 17-year-old Sun Gyoung Park of Vail, Ariz., who finished fourth at 140 after a 67 on Tuesday.
First-round leader Amy Anderson, 17, of Oxbow, N.D., had a 75 and finished at 1-over 143. The newly minted U.S. Girls’ Junior champion was bidding to become the third player in USGA history to earn medalist honors in the Girls’ Junior and Women’s Amateur in the same year.
The incoming North Dakota State freshman still has a chance to become the first player to win both titles in the same year.
The match-play cut was at 9-over 151, with six golfers playing off for the final spot. Amelia Lewis, 18, of Jacksonville, Fla., was the survivor.
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