Round 1, Transitions Championship

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Mar. 19, 2009
By PGATOUR.COM staff

The first groups have teed off in today's first round of the Transitions Championship. Here's how it sets up:

Groups We're Watching

Tee time	Players
8:17 am ET No. 1		Ryuji Imada, Sean O'Hair, D.J. Trahan Defending champ Sean O'Hair highlights this threesome of established PGA TOUR winners. Track 'em
9:30 am ET No. 1		Rocco Mediate, Tim Clark, Jeff Overton Rocco, who nearly took down Tiger at the U.S. Open, pairs up with the man that recently took Tiger down. Track 'em
1:12 pm ET No. 10		Nick Watney, Trevor Immelman, Brian Gay Watney, a runner-up a week ago, tees it up with the 2008 Masters champion Immelman and Gay. Track 'em

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

Thursday's forecast

Partly Cloudy
Temp: 82 high/60 low
It will be partly cloudy, with winds coming out of the northeast at 8 mph.

They call this course "Copperhead" for a reason. Players are more likely to tiptoe their way around it than go smashing through it.

Unlike last week at Doral, careful players generally beat the bombers here. Sean O'Hair's winning score last year was just 4-under par, with two rounds at even and two at 2 under ... nothing fancy, he just kept away from big numbers.

In fact, if I remember correctly, four different players had four-shot leads during the tournament last year, and none of them were named O'Hair. Anything in the 60s should be just fine today on the scorecard, on a day that might end up in the 80s on the thermometer.

O'Hair's winning formula last year would be a great recipe any year here. He stayed out of the trees off the tee (16th best at hitting fairways), hit his approach shots 11 feet closer than the field average from 125-150 yards out (Copperhead had the fourth Longest Proximity to the Pin from that distance on TOUR last year), and maybe most importantly, only missed one putt inside seven feet all week, on a course where a ton of short putts were missed. Stay out of trouble, stay in the hunt!

A perfect example of that is the record of the best non-winner of this event, Aussie John Senden. He's finished in the top 10 in Greens in Regulation each of the last two years on TOUR, and tied for second each of the last two years at the Transitions Championship.

Stat of the day

Defending champion Sean O'Hair has to like his chances this week. O'Hair comes into the Transitions Championship on the strength of six top-25 finishes in six 2009 starts.

FEDEXCUP NOTES: ROUND 1
• Nick Watney and Dustin Johnson have each picked up the second PGA TOUR victory of their young careers this season, bringing the total number of winners in their 20s to a twelve. This pack of young players is led by past PLAYERS champions Sergio Garcia and Adam Scott, who have totaled seven and six wins, respectively.

Choi

• These dozen players have also had great success in the first two FedExCup competitions. Last year Garcia, Anthony Kim, and Camilo Villegas finished in the top 5 in the final standings, and in 2007 Aaron Baddeley and Garcia finished in the top 10.

• This season Watney and Johnson are leading the pack among these young champions, but there are a lot of events left before the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup.

• Two-time Transitions Championship winner K.J. Choi has finished in the top 10 in each of the first two FedExCup competitions.

• The defending champion this week, O'Hair has played six events in 2009 and is averaging 76.5 points per start. He has yet to finish outside of the top 25.

• In 19 stroke play rounds this season, O'Hair has posted scores under par 16 times and is tied for 15th in scoring average.

-- Mike Vitti, PGA TOUR Staff

The Film Room

	Opening Shot Marc Fein and Brian Katrek discuss the rise of Phil Mickelson, the improvement of Tiger Woods, and the type of player likely to win this week at Innisbrook. Watch it
	Ishikawa in Tampa Japan's 17-year-old Ryo Ishikawa had the attention of the media at the 2009 Transitions Championship as he prepares for his second start. Watch it
	Klauk reflects Rookie Jeff Klauk told tales about his youth and early involvement in golf, and how he almost followed in the footsteps of father Fred, the long-time course superintendend at TPC Sawgrass. Watch it