Tampa undertakes new role on PGA Tour calendar
Tampa is the third-largest city in the golf-glutted state of Florida, but as it pertained to PGA Tour scheduling, 'The Big Guava' was annually relegated to bottom chick in the pecking order.
The tour's springtime jaunt through Florida, which typically marked a time of buzz and brio, was chiefly an east-coast affair. Western Floridians were mere television spectators.
By the time the world's premier troupe of golfers pulled into town, it was late October, well into the fading epilogue that used to be the PGA Tour's Fall Finish, and far removed from the throbbing junctures of activity in summer. It languished in virtual scheduling limbo, wedged between the player-favored Disney event and the climactic (or, some would say, anti-climactic) Tour Championship.
Despite the adversity, the fledgling tournament, born back in 2000, had attracted relatively decent fields and received some helpful boosts when Vijay Singh and Retief Goosen each won the title in back-to-back years.
Fortune bestowed a blessing when PGA Tour officials decided that their beloved Players Championship shouldn't suffer the indignity of an early season slot and bumped up the grand event to May, effecting a shake-up in the calendar's scheme. Subsequently, the World Golf Championships co-opted Doral as a venue, essentially dissolving two former tournaments -- the Ford Championship and the American Express Championship -- into one (now the CA Championship) and causing even greater imbalance in the order of things.
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| Vijay Singh won the Tampa title in 2004. (Getty Images) |
The publication of the 2007 schedule confirmed what was widely anticipated. Tampa was moving from late night to prime time. In the spirit of its new sponsor -- PODS or Portable Storage On Demand -- the tournament was packed up and transported to the greener pastures of early spring.
This week the PODS Championship, as it is now called, embarks on its new life as an early season event with a plummy position on the schedule, but one significant element remains the same -- the lack of a sizable contingent from the upper ranks.
Just four of the top 20 players in the world have committed to the tournament. Singh, who has slid back to the ninth spot in the Official World Golf Rankings, is the highest ranked player making the trip. The start will be his fifth straight Tampa appearance.
So what keeps bringing him back? Beside its relative proximity to his home in Ponte Vedra Beach on the opposite coast, the tournament offers Singh and other entrants a fine competitive experience on a lush layout at Innisbrook Resort. The Copperhead Course, the work of designer Larry Packard, is a 7,340-yard march through rolling fairways and vistas of pine trees with a fierce assortment of fast greens.
Over the years, Singh has shown an high aptitude at the host course, tallying a stroke average of 69.07 and a 27-under-par scoring total with a victory in 2004 and runner-up honors in 2003.
His return this year is particularly sensible as it comes just four weeks before the Masters. The Copperhead, with its tricky greens and longish dimensions, provides a nice preparation in the run-up to Augusta National. Ranked the 13th most difficult on the 2006 PGA Tour, the course poses a tough challenge to every aspect of the game, which is much in line with what players faced last week at PGA National. These two stops ought to grow in popularity once word gets around and the top players figure out that they're missing an opportunity.
Presently those in the know are scarce. In addition to Singh, Trevor Immelman, Sergio Garcia and Charles Howell III are the only other representatives from the top 20 who are on board for this week's event. Reliable stalwarts like Chris DiMarco, Stuart Appleby and Chad Campbell strengthen things up a bit, as does the presence of recently ascendant figures like John Rollins, Jeff Quinney and Justin Rose. But no Woods, no Mickelson, no Els, no Furyk.
•Two-time Tampa champion K.J. Choi goes for a third tournament title this week. The South Korean won the 2002 event by seven strokes and turned in a similar performance in 2006. Last year, Choi shot a 5-under 66 in the second round to take the lead, but driving inaccuracy caused trouble for him throughout the third round. A clutch birdie on 18 preserved his lead overnight. On Sunday, Choi opened with an eagle on the first hole and it was smooth sailing from there.
•Three of the four contestants in Monday's playoff at the Honda Classic had planned visits to Tampa. Before the events of this past weekend transpired, Camilo Villegas and Boo Weekley were committed to playing in the PODS Championship, while Mark Wilson sat on the alternate list. With his victory, Wilson moves up several rungs on the PGA Tour priority rankings, securing a sure spot in the PODS field should he opt to play.
• John Daly withdrew from the Honda Classic after injuring his shoulder trying to halt his backswing while a fan attempted to photograph him. Instead of taking a few weeks to heal, Daly is going to test his shoulder at the PODS Championship. Uncommon valor or miraculous recovery? You be the judge.
