A Western Story

Popular PGA Tour Event Returns for 101st Edition.

Still basking in the afterglow of the memorable 2003 U.S. Open played at Olympia Fields, the Chicagoland area will again welcome the best golfers in the world for the 2004 Cialis Western open this July.

The oldest and one of the most respected tournaments on the PGA TOUR, the Western Open returns to the popular Cog Hill Golf and Country Club from June 28 to July 4. Defending champion Tiger Woods will likely headline a field that is annually among the finest on the PGA TOUR.

Woods, a four-time winner en route to claiming 2003 PGA TOUR Player of the Year honors, cruised to victory last year, tying the tournament record with a 21-under 267 total. The impressive effort, which included a wire-to-wire victory, was five shots better than Rich Beem, and earned Woods an $810,000 payday.

With the victory, Tiger became the first-ever PGA TOUR player to win four tournaments in a season for five straight years and joined four other golfers as a three-time winner of the Western Open.

The tournament, now entering its 101st year of existence, will be aired by USA Network on Thursday and Friday and by ABC on Saturday and Sunday.

In addition to the popular Western Open, the Midwest plays host to several other PGA TOUR events each year. The week following the Western Open, the John Deere Classic returns to the TPC at Deere Run in Silvis, Ill. and two weeks later the Greater Milwaukee Open is played at the Brown Deer Park GC in Milwaukee.