By Greg Robertson
ESPN Golf Online
Sunday, July 2

Details
When	Thursday-Sunday
Course	TPC at River Highlands, Cromwell, Conn.
Par/Yardage	Par 70; 6,820 yards
Purse	$2.8 million (Winner: $504,000)
1999 champion	Brent Geiberger
Tournament record	25-under 259 (Tim Norris, 1982)
Television	Thursday-Friday: 2-4 p.m. ET (ESPN) Saturday: 4-6 p.m. ET (ABC) Sunday: 3-6 p.m. ET (ABC)

The tournament

	Hole by hole
	Hole	Par	Yards
	1	4	434
	2	4	341
	3	4	431
	4	4	460
	5	3	223
	6	5	574
	7	4	443
	8	3	202
	9	4	406
	Out	35	3514
	10	4	462
	11	3	158
	12	4	411
	13	5	523
	14	4	421
	15	4	296
	16	3	171
	17	4	420
	18	4	444
	In	35	3306
	Total	70	6820
	Key holes: The tournament comes down to playing the par-4s, since there are 12 on the course. Two of the more interesting are Nos. 15 an 17. At just 296 yards, the 15th can be reached with a perfect drive, but the key word in perfect. The fairway doglegs to the left and bunkers guard both sides of the green. The 17th features a 90-degree dogleg to the right, a bank along the left rough and water along the right. Stewart Cink made an incredible shot from that bank over the water and onto the green to secure his first tour win in 1997

The Canon Greater Hartford Open means two things on the PGA Tour: You'd better be prepared to go low if you expect to win, and don't be surprised if there are newcomers on the leaderboard.

Despite having just two par-5s on the course, the TPC at River Highlands is a place to make birdies. In the past six years, the winning score has been in double digits under par, topped by Brent Geiberger's 18-under 262 last year.

In fact, the winner at Hartford has not shot a single round in the 70s since D.A. Weibring shot 70 during the third round of the 1996 event. Want more evidence that River Highlands is a scoring mecca? Last year, both Doug Martin and Mike Reid shot four rounds in the 60s, and they tied for 34th.

Geiberger's win last year continued a trend of firt-time winners at Hartford. Geiberger, Olin Browne (1998) and Stewart Cink (1997) all won for the first time in this event, so don't be surprised if another newcomer is hanging around on Sunday.

Geiberger's win was not only historic for him, but for his family. The son of Al Geiberger became the first son of a former PGA Tour champion to win a tour event since Guy Boros, son of Julius Boros, won the 1996 Greater Vancouver Open.

Geiberger was also the first player since Justin Leonard at the 1996 Buick Open to win a tournament in which he had a hole-in-one.

One of the newcomers to keep an eye on this week is making his professional debut. NCAA champion Charles Howell turned professional on Tuesday, and he picked a good time to earn some money. Not only did he shatter scoring records at the NCAA Finals this month, he played the Buy.com Tour last week and tied for second at the Greensboro Open.

This event is being played earlier than normal this season. Last year, Geiberger won in early August during the lull between the British Open and PGA Championship. This year, the British Open lurks just three weeks away, leaving many of the top players on a break.

Tiger Woods, David Duval, Tom Lehman, Phil Mickelson and Fred Couples are just some of the top stars skipping the week.

Many of them will be in the field next week at the Western Open. The tour then heads to Milwaukee for the final British Open tuneup.

A dozen players to watch
Billy Andrade: This is a big week for the Rhode Island resident, but 2000 has been nothing but a struggle for Andrade. He has made just seven cuts in 18 starts and hasn't cracked the top 20. Maybe New England can turn him around.

Notah Begay III: Was it a weak field, or has Begay become a top-notch player? His win last week at St. Jude was his third in 10 months. last year, he tied for 14th here with four rounds in the 60s, including a 64 on Sunday.

Olin Browne: Browne earned his first PGA Tour win at Hartford with an amazing playoff chip in 1998, but 2000 has been a struggle. He has missed eight cuts in 18 starts, with his best finish a tie for 13th at the Memorial.

Stewart Cink: Cink has owned this tournament in the three years he has been on tour. He won as a rookie in 1997, lost a playoff to Browne in 1998 and tied for eighth last year. And in 2000, he is playing his best golf.

Jim Furyk: Furyk hasn't missed a cut in 16 starts this season, but the past month has been a disappointment. He was 60th at the U.S. Open, 51st at Westchester and 25th at Memorial. It's time for him to find his swing again.

Brent Geiberger: He picked up his first win in Hartford last year by a comfortable three shots. But he's taken a step back in 2000, showing no positive results after a pair of top-10s on the West Coast swing.

Pete Jordan: The four-time Q-School veteran went a long way toward securing his 2001 card with a tie for fourth last week at Memphis, taking him to 96th on the money list. He shared the 36-hole lead in this event last year before settling for sixth.

Justin Leonard: After a season of struggles, Leonard has come out of his funk in the past month. He finished second at both the Memorial and Kemper, and was a respectable 16th at the U.S. Open.

Davis Love III: Love seemed to contend all spring, with seven top-10 finishes from February through May. But he was 33rd at Westchester and nowhere near the cut at the U.S. Open. It's time to get back on track.

Steve Lowery: The veteran has had quite a run of late, finishing fifth at Memorial, second at Kemper and 10th at Westchester. He'll see if two weeks off have cooled him down.

Tom Scherrer: Scherrer broke through with his first win at Kemper to start June, then finished seventh last week at Memphis. This course is much like the TPC at Avenal, so Scherrer should be confident.

Mike Weir: The lefthander has been in the top 20 in two-thirds of his tournaments this year, including six top-10 finishes. His last four starts have been strong, including a tie for 16th at the U.S. Open.