The Live Report, Round 1: Transitions Championship
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WE EXPECTED THIS (6:51 p.m.) -- Jim Furyk's opening 65 is starting to sound more remarkable by the minute. Kenny Perry, who just completed his 67, had this to say about the Copperhead course in the first round:
"It's tough out there. It's U.S. Open conditions," Perry said. "The greens are hard, and that rough is brutal. You can't get out of the rough if you hit it in the rough. There's no breather holes out there. There's no hole like you can take a breath and feel like you're okay on this hole."
David Toms, who knows a thing or two about tough conditions, had this to add:
"You really have to play your way around," Toms said. "It's a lot like a major championship where you need to hit the fairway. And even from the middle of the fairway, there are not a lot of pins you can shoot at. So you really have to golf your ball, and makes for a good, tough track."
Toms had a bogey-free 68 to move into the top 10 and put himself in position to win for the first time since 2006.
"I think I kept it in play and that's the reason I was able to make a lot of pars," Toms said. "Made a couple of decent putts for birdie. Just a good, solid day for me."
PERRY MAKES LATE RUN (6:05 p.m.) -- Jim Furyk's lead was nearly spoiled by Kenny Perry, who finished with a 67 after making birdies on two of the last three holes.
Perry was his usual solid self at Copperhead. He hit nearly two-third of the fairways and 11 of 18 greens, which was accentuated by his 25 putts.
Perry's exceptional run on the PGA TOUR is nearing its one-year mark. Starting last May in the THE PLAYERS Championship, where he played in the final group with Paul Goydos, Perry has been among the top players in the world, winning four times and making serious comments about playing the PGA TOUR well after his 50th birthday.
"Kenny is playing phenomenal golf right now," Fred Funk said. "He's a guy that's a one-dimensional player; and what I mean by one-dimensional, is one shot, he hits the high draw, or call it a hook even. But he hits the ball so solid all the time."
Perry's one of the few people in the field this week with a mathematical chance to catch FedExCup leader Geoff Ogilvy (Zach Johnson and Nick Watney are the others). Perry, who won earlier this year at the FBR Open, can overtake Ogilvy with a victory.
Here's a look at Perry's card:
YOU DON'T ALWAYS NEED A WEDGE (5:41 p.m) -- Interesting shot today from Bob Estes, who saw his ball caught up in the thick rough around the ninth green. Instead of taking a wedge and closing the face for the chip, Estes took a 5-wood and popped the ball out. The ball rolled straight into the cup for a birdie 3.
Estes has yet to make a bogey today, and he's another one of those veterans who was expected to well at Copperhead.
Estes has quietly had a solid year so far. He was tied for fourth at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and tied for 12th at the Sony Open in Hawaii. He's 51st in FedExCup points after failing to crack the top 100 in either of the system's first two years.
To watch the chip Estes hit with a fairway wood, click here 
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FURYK'S LEAD LOOKS SAFE (5:22 p.m.) -- The afternoon groups are finishing up at Copperhead, and no one is near the 6 under mark that Jim Furyk set earlier in the day. David Toms and Tom Lehman are the closest at 3 under, but both are nearly done with their rounds.
| A sip of Maginnes | |
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WOODY PREFERS THE BAY AREA, FLORIDA VERSION (4:48 p.m.) -- Woody Austin was a bank teller in the Tampa area when he got his big break on the PGA TOUR, and he's always happy when the time comes for the Florida Swing.
He dislikes the West Coast Swing -- because of the poa annua greens, he says -- and he never gets going early in the year because it's tough for him to practice in the cold of Wichita, Kan., where he lives year-round.
"Not a good starting combination," said Austin, who was among the leaders after a two-under 69 on Thursday. "I love it when we finally get out of California and get to Florida."
Austin went to high school at Tampa's Chamberlain High and says he usually draws a crowd every year when he plays at Copperhead.
"I still have my circle of friends from here, a couple of guys that I graduated with, a couple of them will be out tomorrow," Austin said. "I'll have quite a few friends tomorrow."
FUNK WITHDRAWS (4:14 p.m.) -- The elevation changes around Innisbrook were not kind to Fred Funk's surgically-repaired knee. Funk had knee surgery last winter and has also battled a nasty staph infection in his leg.
The 52-year-old, making his first PGA TOUR start of the season, withdrew after a 78 on Thursday. Funk said on Wednesday that he was testing the knee in a PGA TOUR event after playing in three Champions Tour tournaments, where he has the option of using a cart.
"The irony of that is that I got paired with Gary Player the first round my first week, and here is a 72-year-old guy sprinting down the fairway," Funk said. "I said, Damned if I'm getting in a cart.' So I walked, at least nine holes, and then I hopped in a cart."
Funk initially approached the 2009 season with designs on a split schedule, but the knee problems have derailed that plan.
"When I got the staph infection that changed everything," Funk said. "Now, I'm going to play about 18, 19 on the Champions Tour and I'll play seven or eight on the PGA TOUR. So I'll play 25 or 26 events if all goes well."
SHOT OF THE DAY CANDIDATE (4:06 p.m.) -- Brian Gay's accuracy off the tee and flawless putting make him tough at Copperhead -- he tied for fourth here in 2007 -- but he needed a 30-footer to save par on the par-3 17th.
Gay left his tee shot in the bunker and was only able to get his bunker blast to 30 feet, but the veteran sank the putt to remain in red figures. To watch the putt, click here .
| A sip of Maginnes | |
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THE REIGN FROM SPAIN (3:26 p.m.) He's as tall as a Barcelona tower, and his tee shots can nearly carry the Strait of Gibraltar.
Meet Alvaro Quiros. And he's playing this week in the Transitions Championship.
The 24-year-old from Spain averaged an incredible 322 yards off the tee last week in the World Golf Championships-CA Championship. It was six yards longer than Bubba Watson.
Quiros started his round with a pair of birdies on Thursday but gave the shots back with three bogeys around the turn. Even if he misses the cut this week, this world-class player has the game to win a lot of times on the PGA TOUR.
ISHIKAWA HAS LATE TEE TIME ON FRIDAY (2:53 p.m.) -- Ryo Ishikawa has a long time to work on his game between rounds -- the Japanese phenom doesn't tee off in the second round until 2:26 p.m.
His first round was a success -- he only hit half of the fairways and still shot a two-under 69 -- and he used only 26 putts. He was bogey-free until he bunkered his drive on the 215-yard par-3 17th. Replay Ishikawa's round
Here's a look at Ishikawa's card:
JIM FURYK 'FUNNY SWING TALK' FINALLY OVER? (2:30 p.m.) -- Naturally, Furyk was summoned into the media center after his opening 65, and most of the talk centered around his schedule (he started later this year) and his health (he's pain-free).
It's a welcome change from 10 years ago, when Furyk's loopy swing was the talk of the PGA TOUR. In recent years, as people have gotten used to his action, the talk has gradually decreased.
"My rookie year, I would play a good round like I did today, I would come into the press room, I would spend 20 minutes here and 19 of it talking about my swing and one of it talking about my round," Furyk said.
"It's different. I think people have seen it now. Just really isn't anything I've talked about that you will that much, really the last ten years to be honest with you. I guess that's -- I don't know if it's a compliment or not. It is what it is. I think that I've really improved as a ballstriker over the last 15 years.
"I think I was a very average ball-striker when I came on TOUR with a good short game, and I learned to become a good ballstriker, by TOUR standards, and got better as the years went on. Might be one of the reasons why people quit talking about it, as well."
•To see Furyk's swing in slow-motion using SwingPlex, click here. | More SwingPlex
OUTSIDE THE ROPES ARCHIVE (2:13 p.m.) -- One of the best video features on PGATOUR.COM is Outside the Ropes, and we now have a handy archive available if you want to watch them all.
We currently have 32 of the videos done -- everyone from Matt Jones to Boo Weekley to Vijay Singh.
SCOTT'S STRUGGLES CONTINUE (1:48 p.m.) -- Adam Scott tied for second in the Hawaii, but he's been going downhill ever since. It didn't get any better during his first foray on the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook.
Scott opened with a 74 on Thursday and will have to rally in order to avoid his first missed cut since last fall at The Barclays. But Scott's results are deceiving -- he was bounced in the first round of the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship and was near the bottom of the field in the no-cut World Golf Championships-CA Championship.
Scott, making his first trip to Palm Harbor for this tournament, struggled with finding the fairway in Round 1, and his putter was balky (30 putts). He hit only nine of 18 greens.
Scott has fallen to 20th in the Official World Golf Rankings, but better things may be looking on the horizon. Because he was second in Hawaii, he's still 28th in FedExCup points, ahead of such players as K.J. Choi, Anthony Kim and Stewart Cink.
MORNING MOVERS (1:12 p.m. ET) -- Furyk wasn't the only 2007 winner looking to make a comeback to the winner's circle. Rory Sabbatini is also trying to snap a winless streak that dates back to the Colonial in May 2007.
Sabbatini teed off on the back nine and was sailing along in the first round until he hit the par-4 third hole, where he stumbled to a triple-bogey. He finished with an even-par 71.
For exclusive video highlights of the morning wave from the first round, click here.
ROUGH FINISH FOR FURYK (12:55 p.m. ET) -- Furyk is in the clubhouse with a 65 after finishing bogey-par on the final two holes.
It could have been worse, though. Furyk left his approach on the par-4 ninth in the bunker, but he blasted to 10 feet and sank the putt.
Furyk's stats for the day: 12 of 14 fairways hit and 25 putts. He only averaged 270 yards off the tee, but length is a non-issue at Innisbrook. Replay Furyk's round
Here's a look at Furyk's card:
ISHIKAWA UPDATE (12:21 p.m.) -- Ryo Ishikawa has been a grinder all day at Copperhead. After opening with two birdies, he's reeled off a string of pars to remain among the leaders.
Ishikawa hits it 300 yards and straight most of the time, and when he putter gets going, he's dangerous. He'd only used 14 putts in his first 10 holes. Ishikawa has three par-3s left, so we'll see how his iron play performs as he closes his round.
At least for now, Ishikawa looks like he's going to be around on the weekend. He's also beaming from his invitation to play in next week's Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard.
"The Japanese Tour season is not open yet. It starts after the Masters," Ishikawa said on Tuesday. "It's great that I can play such many events in the States. So playing seven or eight events before the opening of the season, I think the chances to win will get bigger. It's difficult to say how many events I can win, but my goal for this year is to compete in as many events as I can."
CUE THE 'BYRD'S THE WORD' HEADLINES (11:50 a.m.) -- Three-time PGA TOUR winner Jonathan Byrd just got to five under after 11 holes, and he'd have a better shot at the course record had he not bogeyed the par-5 14th.
Byrd has dominated the par-3s so far -- he's birdied all three of them he's played in the first round. One of Innisbrook's unique features are its five par-3s, which gives the course a par of 71. Most par-71 courses simply cut out a par 5, but the Copperhead Course is different in that regard.
MORNING ADVANTAGE(S) (11:37 a.m.) -- Two-time Transitions Championship winner K.J. Choi and defending champion Sean O'Hair have been stuck on even par most of the day, which is not a bad thing. Even par is well within the cut line, and a round in the 60s on the weekend should bring anyone back to the leaders.
Still, one has to wonder whether Choi and O'Hair will be able to make up much ground in Round 2. Both benefited from an early tee time on Thursday. Playing in the morning wave in Florida is a slight advantage because the wind tends to blow harder in the afternoon, and the March sun quickly dries out the Bermuda greens.
WHAT GIVES COPPERHEAD ITS BITE? (11:16 a.m.) -- The field has raved about the condition of the track at Innisbrook this week. The fairways are film and fast, and the Bermuda greens are in outstanding shape.
If the wind stays calm, don't look for the 4 under that Sean O'Hair shot last year to be good enough to win.
The PGA TOUR Network's John Maginnes had an excellent explanation in his TOUR Insider as to why the Copperhead Course is quickly growing a reputation as one of the best courses on TOUR:
"Although it has all the elements of a typical Florida course -- wind, water and sand -- this layout features topography generally found in points further north," Maginnes wrote. "The Copperhead course is an anomaly with its dramatic elevation changes. From the first hole, a downhill par 5, to the 18th, a sweeping, uphill par 4, every shot possesses its own unique challenge. Many of the holes feature elevated, well-protected greens that are a challenge to hit from the fairway and nearly impossible to hit from the rough."
ONE-MAN SHOW CONTINUES (11:06 a.m.) -- It's becoming more and more evident that Furyk is probably going to make the cut. Kidding.
Furyk's now six under after another one-putt, this time from 10 feet on the 435-yard par-4 second. No one else is within two shots of this early advantage, and he still has a par-5 left to play.
In case you're wondering, the course record is nine-under 62, so Furyk needs four more birdies for a new mark.
| Furyk's PGA TOUR record in '09 | |||||||||||||||
| Jim Furyk didn't make his '09 TOUR debut until the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, and he only broke 70 twice in his first eight stroke-play rounds: | |||||||||||||||
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FURYK'S PUTTER STILL ON FIRE (10:46 a.m.) -- Furyk can seemingly do no wrong in the first round. After dumping his tee shot into a fairway bunker on the 560-yard first hole (his 10th of the day), he pitched his third shot to 20 feet and drilled the putt. He's now three shots up on the field, and he's used only 12 putts through 10 holes. To follow his round, click here.
NO SHOCKER HERE (10:33 a.m.) -- Jim Furyk finished solo third in the World Golf Championships-CA Championship last week after shooting a 67 in the final round at Doral. As the Blue Monster got tougher last week, Furyk saw the leaders come back to him, and he simply ran out of time to catch Phil Mickelson.
Clearly, Furyk has found something in his game during the Florida Swing. He was a clear-cut favorite already this week at the brutal Copperhead Course, which demands the very attributes Furyk has brought to the table in his 15 years on TOUR.
Furyk teed off on the tougher back nine on Thursday morning and promptly reeled off four birdies and five pars to take the early lead. Typically, Furyk missed only two fairways and needed only 11 putts.
PERFECT START FOR ISHIKAWA (10:22 a.m) -- He missed the cut in his PGA TOUR debut at The Northern Trust Open, but Japanese teenager Ryo Ishikawa is off and rolling at the Copperhead Course on Thursday morning.
Ishikawa, who is playing with Nationwide Tour graduates Jarrod Lyle and Scott Piercy, birdied each of his first two holes. After easily birdieing the par-5 first, he stuck his approach to 10 feet on the 435-yard par-4 second hole. To follow his round, click here.
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