Transitions Championship
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Location | Palm Harbor, Florida |
| Established | 2000 |
| Course(s) | Innisbrook |
| Par | 71 |
| Length | 7,340 yards |
| Tour(s) | PGA Tour |
| Format | Stroke play |
| Prize fund | $5,500,000 |
| Month played | March |
| Tournament record score | |
| Aggregate | 266 Vijay Singh (2004) |
| To par | −18 Vijay Singh (2004) |
| Current champion | |
| Gary Woodland | |
The Transitions Championship is a men's professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, and is played annually on the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club in Palm Harbor, Florida.
Contents |
[edit] History
The tournament was founded in 2000 as the Tampa Bay Classic. It was originally an alternate event played the same week as the Presidents Cup in 2000, and the same week as the WGC-American Express Championship in 2002. It was supposed to be played the same week as the WGC-American Express Championship on September 13–16, 2001. However, the September 11 attacks forced the cancellations of both tournaments.[1]
From 2003 to 2006, the Tampa Bay event had a slot in the schedule to itself as the last full-field event before the Tour Championship. The Chrysler Corporation was the title sponsor.
Since 2007, the Tampa Bay event has been played in March. For a time the tournament was without a title sponsor, leading to speculation on its fate beyond 2007. Then, on January 24, 2007, tournament officials and the PGA Tour announced a six-year sponsorship agreement with the PODS of Clearwater, Florida.[2] However, the company chose to exercise an option to withdraw as title sponsor after the 2008 event, and tournament officials searched to find a replacement.[3] On June 4, 2008, Transitions Optical, Inc., the photochromic lens manufacturer headquartered locally in Largo, Florida, was announced as the new title sponsor.[4]
The players with the most wins in the event are Retief Goosen (2003 and 2009), and K. J. Choi (2002 and 2006). Goosen is also the tournament's leading money winner, with over $2,000,000 in earnings at the event.
The tournament record was set by Vijay Singh in 2004 with a −18 winning total of 266.
[edit] Winners
| Date | Winner | Country | Score | 1st Prize ($) | Purse ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transitions Championship | |||||
| Mar 20, 2011 | Gary Woodland |  United States |
269 (−15) | 990,000 | 5,500,000 |
| Mar 21, 2010 | Jim Furyk | United States |
271 (−13) | 972,000 | 5,400,000 |
| Mar 22, 2009 | Retief Goosen |  South Africa |
276 (−8) | 972,000 | 5,400,000 |
| PODS Championship | |||||
| Mar 9, 2008 | Sean O'Hair | United States |
280 (−4) | 954,000 | 5,300,000 |
| Mar 11, 2007 | Mark Calcavecchia | United States |
274 (−10) | 954,000 | 5,300,000 |
| Chrysler Championship | |||||
| Oct 29, 2006 | K. J. Choi |  South Korea |
271 (−13) | 954,000 | 5,300,000 |
| Oct 30, 2005 | Carl Pettersson |  Sweden |
275 (−9) | 954,000 | 5,300,000 |
| Oct 31, 2004 | Vijay Singh |  Fiji |
266 (−18) | 900,000 | 5,000,000 |
| Nov 2, 2003 | Retief Goosen | South Africa |
272 (−12) | 864,000 | 4,800,000 |
| Tampa Bay Classic presented by Buick | |||||
| Sep 22, 2002 | K. J. Choi | South Korea |
267 (−17) | 468,000 | 2,600,000 |
| Tampa Bay Classic | |||||
| Sep 16, 2001 | Canceled due to the September 11 attacks | ||||
| Oct 22, 2000 | John Huston | United States |
271 (−13) | 432,000 | 2,400,000 |
Note: Green highlight indicates scoring records.
[edit] Multiple winners
Two players have won this tournament more than once through 2011.
- 2 wins
- K. J. Choi: 2002, 2006
- Retief Goosen: 2003, 2009
[edit] References
- ^ "2001 PGA Tour Schedule". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/golf/01sked/pga.htm. Retrieved March 16, 2011.
- ^ "Tampa Event Named PODS Championship". GolfChannel.Com. January 24, 2007. http://www.thegolfchannel.com/core.aspx?page=15101&select=21607. Retrieved January 25, 2007.
- ^ Page, Rodney (March 8, 2008). "Finding sponsor top priority". St. Petersburg Times. http://www.sptimes.com/2008/03/03/Sports/Finding_sponsor_top_p.shtml. Retrieved April 6, 2008.
- ^ "Transitions Optical preserves Tampa leg of Florida swing". PGATour.com. June 4, 2008. http://www.pgatour.com/2008/tournaments/r475/06/04/transitions/index.html. Retrieved September 24, 2008.
[edit] External links
- Official website
- Coverage on PGA Tour's official site
- Transitions Championship results since 2000 - Winners, Finishers, Scores and Earnings
