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Preview: Transitions Championship
By Michael Williams
GolfWRX Staff Writer
While several of the games marquee names will be taking a breather, there will be plenty of stars ready to step into the spotlight at the Transitions Championship in Tampa, Fla. The venue for this week’s event, the 7,340-yard, par-71 Copperhead course, is best known for “The Snake Pit”, generally regarded as one of the most challenging finishing three holes on Tour. In 2011, the holes collectively played almost a full half stroke over par, making it the fifth toughest finish on the PGA Tour (excluding majors).
“I think it’s as good a finish as we have on the PGA Tour,” said defending champion Gary Woodland. “You have to get the holes before you get to 16 if you want to shoot a good score. If you have to make three pars coming in, you have your work cut out for you.
“There is not a birdie hole the last three holes. If you’re two back and have signed your scorecard and the leaders are still out there, you’re definitely hanging around to see what happens.” Long-hitters such as Woodland will have an advantage at Copperhead, whose pine trees and elevation changes evoke more Carolina than coastal Florida.
Joining Woodland will be defending Masters champion Carl Schwartzel, the only defending major champion in the field. There is a slew of past major champions in the field as well, including Angel Cabrera, Chad Campbell, Stewart Cink, Lucas Glover, Jim Furyk, Retief Goosen, Padraig Harington, Justin Leonard, Geoff Ogilvy, Louis Oosthhuizen, Vijay Singh and David Toms.
Former Masters champion, Trevor Immelman, was set to become another major champion in the field, but was forced to withdraw Thursday morning because of a wrist injury. Immelman underwent wrist surgery at the end of 2009. This year, Immelman has missed three cuts in five. His best finish came when he tied for 12th at the Waste Management Open. He has been replaced in the field by Brian Harmon.
Whether you are looking for a unique perspective on the Copperhead course and the competition over the years or you’re just trying to win your office golf pool, there’s no better person than Innisbrook Director of Golf Rodney Green, who is in charge of all golf operations at the sprawling resort.
“It’s not going to be a birdie-fest out there,” remarked Green. “The most important thing out here is to hit fairways and greens, and the greens are not easy to hit. The guys who are at the top of the leaderboard are typically great iron players with a good overall game “
From his privileged position, Green has the opportunity to chat with the pros in the field on the range and during practice rounds. One of the more intriguing stories in the field is Hank Kuehne, the former wonderboy who is now working his back on the Tour.
“[Kuehne] is a friend from Orlando, and it really is great to see him back competing.”
Green also had a chance to talk to crowd favorite John Daly.
“John was saying how hitting 13 or so greens will be a very good day and par will be a good score,” said Green. Noting the quality of the field, Green remarked, “Justin Rose has always played well here and he is obviously hot right now. Everyone is looking forward to watching the group with Rose, Luke Donald and K.J. Choi. There’s also obviously a lot of interest in the pairing of Woodard, Webb Simpson and Scott Stallings, who were the top three finishers in last year’s event.”
Also in the field is Justin Rose, who is fresh off a come-from-behind win at last week’s WGC-Cadillac Championship at Doral. Rose is looking to become the Tour’s first back-to-back winners since Tiger Woods in 2009.
World No. 1 Rory McIlroy will be taking a breather in advance of the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill in Orlando, which will be his final preparation before the Masters. Also sitting out this week is Woods, who has not played in the tournament since very early in his career. Woods, who withdrew from last week’s WGC-Cadillac Championship due to a strained Achilles, notified the world via Twitter that the injury was deemed to be slight and would not affect his participation at Bay Hill or Augusta. Phil Mickelson will also be taking a path to Augusta that includes Bay Hill but not Innisbrook.
The Transitions Championship airs on The Golf Channel on Thursday and Friday, with weekend coverage moving to NBC. Check local listings for air times.
Notes:
- One of the more interesting opening day pairings to watch will be that of John Daly, Chris DiMarco and Pat Perez. DiMarco is one of the most fiery competitors on the Tour, while Pat Perez is known equally for his brilliant ball-striking and his volcanic outbursts of temper when that ball-striking fails him. There is not room on this website to chronicle the tales of Daly.
- The trend has been for Sunday heroics in 2012 and this week should be no different. Over the last eight PGA Tour stroke-play events, there have been nine different players with a share of the 54-hole lead (Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley were tied entering the final round at Riviera). Of those, two went on to win — McIlroy and George McNeill, who won in Puerto Rico on Sunday.
- The Transitions will be one of a number of Tour events seeking name sponsorship in 2013. The local eyewear manufacturer that is the current sponsor has chosen not to renew after this year’s event.
- The Innisbook Resort property is a part of Salamander Resorts, which is owned by BET founder Sheila Johnson
Click here for more discussion in the “Tour Talk” forum.
Michael Williams is the contributing editor of Newschannel8 Capital Golf Weekly and Bunkershot.com, as well as a member of the Golf Writers Association of America.
You can follow Michael on twitter — @Michaelontv
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Morning 9: Scheffler repeats at Players | Monday PIF meeting | McIlroy takes another shot at Norman
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Tour Rundown: Matching luggage for Scheffler
For those of us from another generation, the disruption of the golf world that we knew well is both exciting and unsettling. The two most potent disruptors are rival golf leagues, not unlike the turmoil seen in the NCAA, and the Anchorman-style gangs of golf reporters. Reconciled to a past era are the dominance of the U.S. PGA Tour and the monthly golf magazines. One element that will not change, at any time in the foreseeable future, however, is the sanctity of the grand slam and golf’s four male major championships. While the LPGA and the PGA Tour Champions have seen a light and added fifth and sixth power titles, the men’s game remains staunchly in the 20th century.
This last topic surges in pertinence each March, just before the playing of The Players Championship. Two camps stake tents and run banners up the poll. One cries out for elevation of the PC to major status, while the other digs a trench around its impregnable quadrilateral. My personal take is this: Every four years since 2016, golf is played at the Olympics. Is Olympic Gold the equivalent of a major title? Yes, it is. It comes around every 1,500 days and brings elite golfers together in competition at the most important athletic event and venue. In my mind, Justin Rose and Xander Schauffele earned major titles in Brazil and Japan, as did Inbee Park and Nelly Korda. As for the Players Championship, why not? The field is stronger by ranking than any major event, and the golf course demands every shot that golfers can create.
The Players Championship is so important to the U.S. PGA Tour that all other tours under its umbrella take the week off. No Korn Ferry, no Tour Champions. The LPGA and the DP World Tour follow suit, which shrinks the amount of watchable golf to two events. On that sour note, let’s run down this week’s play, beginning with the Players Championship and ending with the Asian Tour in Macau.
PGA Tour @ Players Championship: matching luggage for Scheffler
Scottie Scheffler is making a bid to be the player of his generation. From the previous one, a fair number have taken leave from traditional competition. The Johnsons, Koepkas, and Reeds from the 1980s no longer play the events that stand the test of time. The born-in-the-90s generation had its first great champion in Jordan Spieth until he took leave of the senses that brought him to golf’s pinnacle. Spieth’s descent ran opposite Scheffler’s rise.
Scottie Scheffler had won nothing on the PGA Tour until February 13th of 2022. He won on that day in Phoenix, then won three more times by the middle of April. One of those wins was the API at Bay Hill. Last week, Scheffler won for a second time at the Orlando course. Last March, Scheffler won his first Players Championship, by five shots over Tyrrell Hatton. On Sunday, Scheffler dived headfirst into a cauldron of fierce competition. Facing challenges from Olympic champion Schauffele, Open champion Brian Harmon, and U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark, Scheffler breathed. As the only man to reach 20 under par, he earned a second consecutive title at Sawgrass and reminded us that it has been two years since he won the Masters and that he is on a tear.
It all began at the fourth on Sunday for Scheffler. After pars at the opening three holes, Scheffler’s driving wedge from 92 yards landed 20 feet shy of the hole, took one large bounce, then spun left, trickling into the hole for eagle. He followed that incantation with another birdie, then two pars. The stretch from 8 to 12 was where the champion made a statement. His quartet of birdies over that run, brought him to 19-under par and let the pursuing pack know that even lower than the winning 17 under in 2023 would be necessary.
And the trio was game. Harman and Clark both dipped below 70, to reach 19 under at the final pole. Schauffele could not find a similar gear and closed with 70 — 69 would have earned him a playoff with Scheffler. It was the extra gear, the ability to go low when all things mattered, that eleveated the now two-time champion to the top of the podium. In five of his eight tour wins, Scheffler has posted a sub-70 round on day four, and four of those have been 67 or lower.
With elegant precision, Scheffler applied the final thrust at the par-5 16th. He played safely away from Pete’s Pond on the right, into the left greenside bunker at the back of the putting surface. His bunker shot was thing of exquisite accuracy, trickling to a planned stop about 20 inches from the hole. The birdie concluded matters and rang the sort of bell that Dye courses tend to display.
The greenside bunker is not a problem for the defending champ.
Scottie Scheffler’s birdie at 16 moves him back into a share of the lead @THEPLAYERS. pic.twitter.com/aEi7onLZPE
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 17, 2024
Asian Tour @ International Series Macau: Catlin earns playoff victory
There are two sorts of golfers that compete on the Asian Tour, which makes no secret of its alliance with the LIV. The first are the AT stalwarts, the ones who play as golfers have always played, with little guarantee and much pride. The others are the ones who compete on the LIV, eschewing both risk and pride for the guaranteed payday. Their deal costs them world ranking points, so they play in AT events, hoping to qualify for golf’s major events.
This week in Macau, one of those LIV golfers shot 60 on Sunday and did not win the tournament. Hard to believe, you say? Aye, but when another golfer shoots 59 in the third round, follows it up with a 65 on day four, then makes overtime birdie twice at the par-five closer, the razor’s edge of great golf is sharpened. Thus did it happen with American John Catlin and Spaniard David Puig.
It was Catlin who signed for 59, and it took a twisting, eagle putt at the last to enshrine the first-ever, sub-60 on the Asian Tour. It was Puig who closed the gap on Sunday with a 60 of his own, which featured a bogey at the lengthy fifth hole, but was followed by seven birdies and an eagle over the next 13 holes. Catlin had a six-feet putt for the regulation win, but missed. In extra time, Puig nearly holed for eagle at 18, then tapped in for birdie. Catlin’s second danced along the OOB perimeter, before ending on an access road. His drop and pitch left him another six feet to remain alive, and this time, he converted.
At the second go-round of the par-5 finisher, Puig found the green in two, but took three putts from nearly 50 feet. Catlin confronted another challenging pitch for his third, and once again, his wedge game won the day. He tapped in for birdie and the win.
5??9?? ? @JohnCatlin59 eagles the 18th to shoot the first 59 on the Asian Tour ?? #whereitsAT #ThisISEverything #InternationalSeries @intseriesgolf pic.twitter.com/RV9gYy1SIp
— Asian Tour (@asiantourgolf) March 16, 2024
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Morning 9: Rory, Xander, Clark share Players lead | Rory on controversial drop | AK misses Macau cut
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