E-Notes: Last stop in Florida

text size

• The Champions Tour heads to the TPC Tampa Bay this week for the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am. The course was the fourth hardest on Tour last year, playing to a stroke average of 74.071 (+3.071). It was the toughest non-major course on the 2007 Tour. Four holes -- 4, 8, 15 and 18 -- ranked among the 50 toughest holes on Tour last year.

Irwin

• Hale Irwin has a remarkable record at many places, but he has been particularly successful at TPC Tampa Bay. In 10 career starts, Irwin has a victory, three seconds and a third among his eight Top-10 finishes. Irwin, by the way, is celebrating his 40th year as a professional this season.

• Two Champions Tour members made the cut last week at The Masters. Rookies Ian Woosnam (44th) and Sandy Lyle (45th) each survived to play the weekend at Augusta.

• When Tom Watson won last year's Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am it, marked his first career victory in the state of Florida after going winless in 93 previous starts in the state.

• This year marks the 21st anniversary for the Champions Tour stop in Tampa, the third- longest span in one metropolitan area. This is also the 17th year for this event at the TPC Tampa Bay, currently the second-longest span at one club on the circuit. Only Dale Douglass and Gary Player have played in all 20 of the previous Champions Tour events in Tampa. Douglass won the inaugural event in 1988 by two strokes over Orville Moody, while Player's best finish in Tampa is a third in 1988. When Douglass won the tournament at Tampa Palms, then known as the GTE Suncoast Seniors Classic, he collected $45,000 from the $300,000 purse. This year's winner earns $255,000 from a purse of $1.7 million.

Hoch

• This week's Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am is the last of four Champions Tour events in Florida in 2008. The event's April date marks the latest the tournament has been played. In this year's Champions Tour events in the Sunshine State, Scott Hoch has enjoyed the most success, winning both the Allianz Championship and The ACE Group Classic. Bernhard Langer recently won The Ginn Championship at Hammock Beach.

• Mike Hulbert, a winner of three PGA TOUR events, turned 50 on April 14 and is eligible to make his Champions Tour debut at this week's Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am. Hulbert becomes the fourth member of the Champions Tour's Class of 2008 to debut in a five-event stretch, following Sandy Lyle (Toshiba Classic), Ian Woosnam (The Ginn Championship at Hammock Beach) and Joey Sindelar (The Cap Cana Championship). David Ogrin played in his first Champions Tour event in late January at the Turtle Bay Championship. Hulbert is attempting to join Mark McNulty (2004) as the second player in tournament history to win in his first appearance on the Champions Tour. Hulbert could also become just the 13th professional in Champions Tour history to win his debut. Mark Wiebe was the last to do so at last fall's SAS Championship in Raleigh, N.C.