Power Rankings: Transitions Championship

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After four events in six weeks, the frenetic pace "slows" to one tournament per week until mid-July. Golfers not yet eligible but on the bubble for the Masters have circled March 29 for it is the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking released on that Monday (or the preceding Sunday evening) that is next up in the qualifying criteria for the season's first major.

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In addition to having the customary quartet of par 5s, the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort is a par 71 that features five par 3s. This is one reason why it was the second-most difficult par 71 in 2009 (next to Liberty National), playing +1.157 strokes to par.

Greens in regulations remains the goal of the week at the Transitions Championship, as birdies are relatively rare on the Florida venue. Since moving from fall into March in 2007, Mark Calcavecchia's 10-under-par 274 is as low as anyone has taken it. Last year's winner, Retief Goosen, fired an 8-under 276 over four days.

A chance of rain bookends this week's event. In between, it will be gorgeous and winds are expected to be light. If there is any advantage, it will lean slightly towards the late-early draw.

Power Rankings: Transitions Championship

Rank Player   Comment Steve STRICKER Finished T4 at last year's Transitions, where he led the field in birdies, was fourth in putting and ranked T7 in greens in regulation. Currently No. 1 in the all-around ranking on the PGA TOUR. Placed T16 at last week's WGC-CA Championship. Justin ROSE Makes his return to Innisbrook after a one-year hiatus. Never finished worse than T30 (2004) in four starts - best was T14 in '08. Had a week off after blitzing PGA National with a course-record-tying 64 two Sundays back to finish third. Vijay SINGH Great to see him stack six-figure paydays again. Finished T11 at Doral where he concluded his tournament with a bogey. He's finished T2 in greens in regulation the last two weeks. Former winner here (2004) when it was held in the fall. Charles HOWELL III Co-runner-up here a year ago, finishing T7 in greens hit and eighth in putting. With 27 rounds in the books in 2010, he's 30th in GIR, 44th in putting and seventh in scoring average. Four top 20s in seven starts. Padraig HARRINGTON Hitting just seven GIRs at Doral on Sunday, he shot a 72 and still finished T3. This is his first appearance at Innisbrook, but the swagger is back. He'd be higher on this list if he wasn't taking an ill-timed day off to visit the White House on Wednesday. Stewart CINK Cracks the list based solely on his history at Innisbrook. (OK, so the Sunday 65 at Doral didn't hurt.) He was the hard-luck loser in the muck in 2008, the last time he entered. Finished T3 in '05 and T19 in '06 when it was held in the fall. Charlie WI Relatively streaky golfer, who posted a solo 8th at the Honda two weeks ago. Top 25s last two times at the Transitions, including a T4 in '09. Currently fifth in scrambling. Bill HAAS Comes off impressive T6 at his first-ever WGC event, where he finished T2 in greens hit and birdies at Doral. Yet, he's a sleeper at Innisbrook since he's shot par or better just twice in 12 rounds. D.J. TRAHAN Best finish here in four starts is a T38 last year, but he's posted top 20s in four of his last five events, including a T17 at the Honda, where he led the field in greens hit. He's 12th in both GIR and scoring average on TOUR this year. Mathew GOGGIN Finished T4 here a year ago, when he led the field in greens hit and was T2 in fairways. Also placed T14 in '08. He was T4 at TPC Scottsdale this year. Has cashed in just two of six events in 2010, but I cannot overlook his comfort level at Innisbrook.