RENO, Nev. -- The 10th playing of the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open is this week at Montreux Golf and Country Club. Steve Flesch, who won the 2007 tournament, qualified for the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and is in Akron, Ohio. Jeff Quinney, No. 56 in the Official World Golf Ranking, is the highest-ranked player in the field.

In the nine-year history of the event, where eight players have won the title (Vaughn Taylor won in both 2004 and 2005), an American has walked away with victory every year. France's Jean Van de Velde is the international player who came closest to winning, losing in a playoff in 2000 to Scott Verplank. A year ago, Zimbabwe's Brendon de Jonge and Australia's Steve Elkington had the best finishes among international players. They both tied for sixth.

Wind is often an issue at Montreux Golf and Country Club. With gusts to 35 mph in the final round in 2007, only three players were able to break 70. Low-round honors belonged to Rich Barcelo, with a 4-under 68. The other sub-70 rounds came from Paul Stankowski and Brian Gay, who both shot 69s. In 2004, with gusts reaching 45 mph during the final round, only two players -- Carl Pettersson and Cameron Beckman -- shot sub-70 rounds. Both players had 69s.

The Legends Reno-Tahoe Open has a tradition of crowning champions who either have or have gone on to play in either the Presidents Cup or Ryder Cup, or both. Former U.S. Presidents Cup team members who have won in Reno include Notah Begay III and Scott Verplank, while U.S. Ryder Cup team members who also won this tournament are John Cook, Chris Riley, Vaughn Taylor and Verplank.

Steve Flesch was the only wire-to-wire winner on the 2007 PGA Tour. Flesch opened with a one-shot lead, moved ahead by two at the halfway mark, led by five through 54 holes and won by five strokes. The only other start-to-finish winner in Legends Reno-Tahoe Open history is Vaughn Taylor in 2005.

Players with Nevada ties have had success at this tournament, with University of Nevada-Las Vegas graduate Chris Riley winning in 2002 and University of Nevada alum Kirk Triplett winning in 2003 in the town where he went to college. A year ago, Reno resident and University of Nevada graduate Rich Barcelo tied for fourth.

Four times in tournament history, the eventual champion has shot a 63. Notah Begay III did it in 1999 (third round) and Kirk Triplett (final round) in 2003. In each of the last two years, the winners have also shot 63s: Will MacKenzie (first round in 2006) and Steve Flesch (first round in 2007).

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