Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - PGA TOUR - WASTE MANAGEMENT PHOENIX OPEN, TPC Scottsdale, Scottsdale, Arizona - The annual party in the desert is this week in Scottsdale as the PGA Tour heads to the TPC Scottsdale for the Waste Management Phoenix Open, where the normally big crowds will be bigger than ever this week. Minus last years champion Kevin Stadler, the tournament gets a huge boost from the return of Tiger Woods. Returning to the tour for his first official event since the PGA Championship, Woods is teeing it up at this tournament for the first time since 2001. The par-3 16th is far and away the most raucous hole in golf, and it was never louder than when Woods aced the hole in 1997. Woods raised the roof as beers and debris showered down on the tee box. The 16th has never been the same since. Bleachers and corporate sky boxes surround the hole, housing 20,000 fans, or more, at any given time. Last year, Stadler closed with a 3-under 68 and rallied past Bubba Watson for the win. The victory was Stadlers first on the PGA Tour. However, he will not defend as he is battling a hand injury. Woods wont be the only star on site this week. Phil Mickelson, who won this tournament as an amateur while he attended Arizona State, will tee it up at this event for the 26th time. Also teeing it up this week will be Watson, Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, Matt Kuchar and Bill Haas, who beat Kuchar and four other players by one stroke to win the Humana Challenge on Sunday. Golf Channel will have coverage all four days. Their coverage on Saturday and Sunday will be early, before they hand off to CBS for the first time this year. The PGA Tour returns to California next week for the Farmers Insurance Open, where Scott Stallings will defend his title against a field that includes Woods, Mickelson and Dustin Johnson, who returns to the tour for the first time since last years Canadian Open. EUROPEAN TOUR OMEGA DUBAI DESERT CLASSIC, Emirates Golf Club (Majlis Course), Dubai, United Arab Emirates - While many of the top PGA Tour players will be in the Arizona desert this week, several top European Tour stalwarts will tee it up in Dubai. World No. 1 Rory McIlroy will headline the field at Emirates Golf Club this week. In his last 11 worldwide starts, McIlroy has been outside the top-8 just once. McIlroy has finished second or tied for second in each of his last four official starts. McIlroy trailed third-round leader Stephen Gallacher by two strokes entering the final round last year, but stumbled to a 2-over 74 and slid into a share of ninth place. Gallacher fired a 63 in round three to grab the lead, and he closed with an even-par 72, which was enough to give him a 1-stroke win over Emiliano Grillo, who tied for fifth last week in Qatar. The victory for Gallacher was his second straight at this event, and third on the European Tour. He was the first player to successfully defend a title in the 25-year history of the tournament. Among those in the field with McIlroy and Gallacher will be world No. 2 Henrik Stenson, Sergio Garcia, Martin Kaymer, Graeme McDowell, Lee Westwood and last weeks winner, Branden Grace. Golf Channel has early morning coverage of all four rounds this week. The European Tour heads to Asia next week for the Maybank Malaysian Open, where Westwood cruised to a 7-stroke win over three players last April. LPGA TOUR COATES GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP, Golden Ocala Golf and Equestrian Club, Ocala, Florida - The LPGA Tour kicks off its 2015 schedule in Florida this week with a new event. For a first-year event, the field is full of stars. Sixteen of the top-20 players in the world are in the field this week. That group includes Inbee Park, Lydia Ko and Stacy Lewis, the top-3 players in the world, along with reigning U.S. Womens Open Champion Michelle Wie and Lexi Thompson, who won the 2014 Kraft Nabisco Championship. Former major winners Paula Creamer, Morgan Pressel and Karrie Webb are in the field as well. Tiger Woods niece, Cheyenne, was one of the two sponsor invites to the event. Golf Channel will have coverage of all four rounds of the event, that runs from Wednesday to Saturday. The tour heads to Atlantis next week for the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic, where Jessica Korda closed with a 66 last year to hold off Lewis. WEB.COM TOUR PANAMA CLARO CHAMPIONSHIP, Panama Golf Club, Panama City, Panama - Like the LPGA, the Web.com Tour kicks off its season this week. The Web.com Tour starts with five straight events outside the United States. First up is the Panama Claro Championship, where Carlos Ortiz cruised to a 4- stroke win last year. The win for Ortiz was his first of three on the season, and that earned him a trip to the PGA Tour. Ortiz was just 2-under par after 36 holes, but he played the final 36 holes in 10-under par en route to a 4-shot win over Jason Gore. Thanks to his promotion to the PGA Tour, Ortiz will not be on hand, but there are some familiar names in the field like Carlos Franco, Tim Herron, Frank Lickliter, Jamie Lovemark, Ryuji Imada, Rod Pampling and Vaughn Taylor. There is no television coverage this week. The Web.com Tour heads to Bogota next week for the Pacific Rubiales Colombia Championship, where Alex Cejka carded a 63 in the third round and was awarded the victory after rain washed out play for the fourth straight day. Jack Morris Jersey . Tristan Jackson returned a missed field goal 129 yards early in the fourth quarter as the Roughriders beat the B.C. Kirk Gibson Jersey . Pierre last November, only to watch St. Pierre leave the UFC octagon with his welterweight title belt and a split-decision victory. http://www.tigersgearshop.com/Tigers-Den...ids-Jersey/.com) - The Los Angeles Dodgers made it official Tuesday and signed pitcher Brandon McCarthy to a four-year contract. Jeimer Candelario Jersey . As they are wont to do, the Spurs made things real easy. The Spurs signed Parker to a multi-year contract extension on Friday, ensuring that the six-time All-Star point guard will be in the fold whether Duncan and Ginobili are able to continue their careers or not. Michael Fulmer Jersey . -- Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw was placed on the 15-day disabled list Saturday for the first time in his seven-year career because of a swollen muscle in his left upper back.Paris, France (SportsNetwork.com) - Serena Williams highlighted Sundays winners in the first round of the French Open. The world No. 1 Williams began her title defense at Roland Garros with a 6-2, 6-1 win over French wild card Alize Lim on Court Chatrier. Williams was erratic at times, piling up 36 unforced errors, but the 17-time Grand Slam singles champion saved all seven break points she faced and fired 37 winners to just seven for Lim, who was making her debut in the main draw of a major. "I was a little nervous, as I always am in my first rounds. Its kind of always hard for me to shake those nerves," Williams said. The American beat Maria Sharapova last year to capture her second career French Open crown. She also won this clay-court tournament in 2002, beating older sister Venus in the final. Another former champion, Italian Francesca Schiavone, was ousted on Day 1, losing 6-3, 6-3 to Croatias Ajla Tomljanovic. Schiavone won the French Open title in 2010 and was the runner-up to Li Na the next year.dddddddddddd Third-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland advanced, defeating Chinas Shuai Zhang 6-3, 6-0 on the red clay at Stade Roland Garros. Radwanskas best result at the French Open was a spot in the quarterfinals last year. Venus, an owner of seven Grand Slam singles titles, moved into the second round after posting a 6-4, 6-1 win over 17-year-old Swiss Belinda Bencic. The 29th-seeded Venus played her 58th career match at Roland Garros, the most among active players. Other seeded winners included No. 8 Angelique Kerber of Germany, No. 14 Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain and No. 31 Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia. Romanian Monica Niculescu rallied to beat 25th-seeded Estonian Kaia Kanepi 5-7, 6-3, 6-1. American Varvara Lepchenko, Austrian Yvonne Meusburger, French wild card Claire Feuerstein, Slovakian Anna Schmiedlova, Spaniard Garbine Muguruza, Swede Johanna Larsson and Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova also moved into the second round. ' ' '