Champions: Moonlighting at British Open, Viking Classic

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Tom Watson is back at the British Open this week at Royal St. George's.

The Champions Tour is idle for a week before heading to Walton Heath Golf Club in London, England for the 2011 Senior British Open on July 18-24. The purse is $2 million and the winner will receive double Charles Schwab Cup points. Last year at Carnoustie, Bernhard Langer held off a Sunday charge by 2010 U.S. Ryder Cup captain Corey Pavin to win by one stroke and claim his first major title on the Champions Tour.

LAST WEEK

Jeff Sluman started his round on Sunday three shots back of Jay Haas, but he finished the day not only two-under par, but also with a two-shot victory and the Nature Valley First Tee Open title at Pebble Beach(68-68-70). The win at Pebble is Sluman's third victory at that tournament venue, previously winning the 2008 and 2009 events as well.

CHARLES SCHWAB CUP

Tom Lehman still leads the season-long race, but Sluman moved up three spots to number 6. Haas, who led for much of the tournament at Pebble Beach moved up from 27th to T-14th. John Cook also swapped places with Tom Watson, moving up to 3rd in the standings and knocking Watson down to 4th.

COMING UP

For a few Champions Tour members, a return to Walton Heath Golf Club for the Senior Open Championship will be a familiar one. Tom Kite, Jerry Pate and Tom Watson all were a part of the 1981 Ryder Cup victory for the United States in London when the U.S. team won 18.5 -- 9.5. The European squad that year also included first-time Ryder Cup competitor and 2010 Senior Open Champion Bernhard Langer.

Mark Calcavecchia, Bernhard Langer, Tom Lehman, Mark O'Meara and Tom Watson will all compete in the Open Championship this week at Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent., about 75 miles southeast of London. Watson had a runner-up finish in the 2009 Open Championship after falling to Stewart Cink in a playoff at Turnberry.

More than a dozen Champions Tour regulars are in the field this week at the PGA TOUR's Viking Classic at Annandale Golf Club in Madison, Mississippi including Fulton Allem, Dan Forsman, Tom Pernice, Jr. and Kenny Perry.

NUMBERS

• 16 -- Consecutive rounds that were below par for Peter Senior, who recorded a 75 on Saturday in the Nature Valley First Tee Open at Pebble Beach to end his streak. In Senior's 35 rounds of stroke-play thus far this season he has carded just four rounds of over-par golf. Earlier this season, both John Cook and Olin Browne had 15 consecutive sub-par rounds played.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Gary Player has agreed to join fellow World Golf Hall of Fame members Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus as honorary starters at the Masters in April. The three account for 13 green jackets combined, including seven consecutive titles at Augusta National from 1960 through 1966.

• PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem announced "The First Tee Campaign for 10 Million Young People" last week, and said he envisioned an effort in the $100 million range to be raised between now and October 2012, and a hope of 10 million young junior golfers involved by 2017.

• LPGA Tour player Cindy LaCrosse teed it up at the U.S. Women's Open at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs this past week. Cindy's father, Doug actually competed in the 2008 U.S. Senior Open there as well. Despite the family course knowledge and help from her dad, Cindy missed the cut.

ON THIS DATE

• 7/12/75 -- Tom Watson wins the first of five British Open crowns when he defeats Jack Newton in a playoff at Carnoustie.

• 7/13/63 -- Bob Charles defeats Phil Rodgers in a 36-hole playoff to win the British Open.

• 7/13/68 -- Gary Player claims his second British Open title when he prevails over Bob Charles and Jack Nicklaus at Carnoustie.

• 7/13/74 -- Gary Player wins the British Open at Royal Lytham by four strokes over Peter Oosterhuis. It was his third win in the event and each victory came in a different decade.

• 7/15/72 -- Lee Trevino successfully defends his British Open title, beating Jack Nicklaus by one stroke at Muirfield.

• 7/17/83 -- One year after winning the British Open at Royal Troon, Tom Watson wins his fifth title in that event when he beats Hale Irwin and Andy Bean by one stroke at Royal Birkdale.

• 7/17/94 -- Nick Price plays the final three holes eagle-birdie-par to make up a two-stroke deficit to Jesper Parnevik and claims the British Open at Turnberry.

QUOTES TO NOTE

"I wish every kid in America could be a golfer. We would be a much better country. This is such a fantastic sport, and it teaches so many lessons to all of us." -- Peter Jacobsen and why he loves the Nature Valley First Tee Open format including the First Tee junior golfers from across the country.

"Let me just say, desperate men do desperate things." -- Jeff Sluman talking about switching to the long putter earlier this year. He went on to say that he probably would not have won this past weekend had he not made the switch.