The Starter: Round 1, CA Championship

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Mar. 12, 2009
By PGATOUR.COM staff

LIVE@: Coverage from Doral, 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET

The first group will soon tee off in today's first round of the World Golf Championships-CA Championship. Here's how it sets up:

Groups We're Watching

Tee time	Players
10:55 am ET No. 10		Nick Watney, Geoff Ogilvy, Louis Oosthuizen Defending champ Ogilvy looks for his second-straight World Golf Championships win. Track 'em
11:25 am ET No. 10		Tiger Woods, Mike Weir, Robert Karlsson Woods makes his first start in a stroke-play event since last June's U.S. Open. Track 'em
12:45 pm ET No. 1		Martin Kaymer, Phil Mickelson, Andres Romero Mickelson looks for his first win at Doral, a place where's he's been close in the past. Track 'em

EXPERT PREVIEW: PGA TOUR Network on-site correspondent Mark Carnevale previews Thursday's first round:

There could be a change in the Official World Golf Rankings if a number of stars align, but I would not count on it. If Sergio Garcia wins the World Golf Championships-CA Championship and Tiger Woods finishes 27th or lower, Sergio would overtake Tiger, and become the new world No. 1.

I don't expect this to happen based on Tiger's history at Doral. I expect Tiger to play well at Doral, as he was pleased with how things turned out in Tucson, except for losing in the second round of the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship.

Thursday's forecast

Mostly Sunny
Temp: 78 high/67 low
It will be mostly sunny throughout the day. Winds will come out of the east at 13 mph.

Speaking of the Accenture Match Play Championship, the winner there, Geoff Ogilvy, happens to be the defending champion of the CA Championship. Geoff seems to fly under the radar quite a bit. Other than Tiger, he has more wins in the World Golf Championships events then any other player. Keep your eye on Geoff, and do not be surprised if he picks up his third win of 2009.

Players seemed very reluctant to talk today as I walked the range. They appeared to be very focused and working hard on their games. Maybe it was the realization that this could be their chance to pick up a World Golf Championships victory, as Tiger, who has dominated these events, will gain more confidence and trust in his game as he plays more competitive rounds. Personally, if I were playing, I would be concerned about him too.

For all of you out there who are enamored with Phil Mickelson's short game, you will get a chance to learn the ins and outs of it. Phil will be releasing his DVD "Secrets of the Short Game" on April 7. I talked with Phil prior to the CA Championship about the DVD, and he was excited about doing it. He had wanted to do one after his first major victory, but it took awhile. I saw some of the video, and it truly is enlightening and done very articulately.

The one stat(s) you need to know

Tiger Woods has never placed outside of the top 10 in six career starts at Doral. Over that time, Woods has racked up three wins that all came in succession from 2005-07.

'I HAVE GREAT MEMORIES OF THIS TOURNAMENT'
Given his history, it's easy to see why Camilo Villegas enjoys South Florida so much.

First, the obvious: He's Colombian and there's a huge South American population in the greater Miami area. If past years are a proper indicator, they'll turn out in droves to watch Villegas in the World Golf Championships-CA Championship beginning on Thursday at Doral, where he tied for second behind Tiger Woods in 2006.

Villegas

But there's also plenty of other reasons, namely that one of his big breaks came in the region a decade ago.

Villegas won the Junior Orange Bowl championship as a 17-year-old in 1999, perhaps the most significant of the many early steps he took toward golf stardom. From there, he got a scholarship to play at University of Florida, turned pro in 2004 and finally got his first two wins on the PGA TOUR last season.

Now the 10th-ranked player in the world, a World Golf Championships win would make another great Miami memory for Villegas.

"I have great memories about the tournament," Villegas said. "And when that happens, you look forward to going to those places again and again."

Villegas has such popularity in Miami, he was the focus of some pre-tournament TV ads put together by organizers at Doral. The spots appeared in both English and Spanish, playing to the dynamic of the South Florida population.

Villegas is hardly alone in feeling at home at Doral: Spain's Sergio Garcia, who could overtake Woods for the world's No. 1 ranking this week, said he also gets warm welcomes when playing in Miami.

"I enjoy the course. I enjoy the city. It's a great city," Garcia said. "There's a lot of Spanish speakers here, and it just makes it a little bit more special to come back here, being Spanish and everything." -- The Associated Press

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