The Starter: Round 4, Transitions Championship

text size
Increase Text Size
Decrease Text Size
Email This Story Print This Story RSS
Mar. 21, 2010

PLAY IS UNDER WAY (9:10 a.m.) -- The rain has lightened up at Palm Harbor, and the first groups have hit the course in split tees. Leaderboard | Shot Tracker

SUNDAY UPDATE (8 a.m. ET) -- The rain arrived early at the Copperhead Course. A cold front has moved in, bringing rain to the Palm Harbor area and wiping out a planned 7:45 a.m. ET start off two tees. PGA TOUR officials hope to begin play at 9 a.m. ET.

The final round of the Transitions Championship is set to begin. Here's a look at Sunday's round:

Groups We're Watching
Tee time Players  
9:19 a.m. ET,
No. 1
Padraig Harrington, Jeff Maggert, Webb Simpson
The veteran Maggert, primed Harrington and young Simpson need help from others to contend for the title.
9:30 a.m. ET,
No. 1
Luke Donald, Carl Pettersson, Bubba Watson
Pettersson hasn't won since '08, Donald since '06, and Watson is one of the best yet to win.
9:40 a.m. ET,
No. 1
K.J. Choi, Jum Furyk, Retief Goosen
Furyk's three-shot lead isn't safe, especially with past Transitions champs Choi and Goosen chasing.

EXPERT PREVIEW: PGA TOUR NETWORK on-site correspondent Michael Collins previews Sunday's final round:

mikey.jpg

Weather has forced the PGA TOUR to move tee times up to 7:45 a.m. Split tees (off Nos. 1 and 10) threesomes means they want to finish by 3 p.m. What that means for the guys playing, and all of us watching, is the greens are not gonna be quite as firm and fast as they would've been had the last group teed off at 2.

Sunday's forecast

Thunderstorms
Temp: 73 high/60 low
Rain chances are low in the morning, increasing after noon.

Three of the top five guys have won here before, one guy only has one bogey through 54 holes, and one guy is looking for his first PGA TOUR victory. Talk about a dog fight on a Sunday morning.

Furyk and Choi are the two guys with three rounds in the 60s, so if their high round comes on Sunday, this title is up for grabs.

INSTRUCTOR'S CORNER: Steve Voguit, head instructor at the TOUR Academy at World Golf Village, analyzes the playing conditions this week. For more on the TOUR Academy, click here.

steve_TOURacademy.jpg

The final round of the 2010 Transitions Championship is upon us and should provide a very exciting finish. Unfortunately, the weather is threatening to become a factor during Round 4, with a significant chance of heavy rain and thunderstorms during the afternoon hours, allowing the early groups an opportunity to gain some ground on the leaders. The Copperhead golf course has provided many challenges this week, with the toughest hole changing from round to round. The most difficult hole of the tournament after Round 3 was the 465-yard par-4 16th.

This long par-4's most foreboding challenge is the water hazard lining the entire right side of the hole. Many of the players this week have chosen a club other than driver, trading off distance for better control. When direction is placed at premium, attention to detail is a must. Believe it or not, where we choose to tee the ball up will dramatically change how we see the hole. Let's use hole 16 as an example. If a player tees the ball on the left side of the tee box, he will have a solid view of the water hazard. If he tees the ball on the right side of the tee box, now the view is primarily hazard free. By teeing up the ball closer to the hazard side, the hole will open up, giving a more confident feeling on the tee box.

The Film Room
PGA TOUR Today
Three major champions are within four shots of the lead at the 2010 Transitions Championship. Casey Black previews the final round. Watch it
Round 3 highlights
Jim Furyk takes the lead, shooting a 67 and getting to 11 under, heading into the final round of the 2010 Transitions Championship. Watch it
Shot of the Day: March 20, 2010
Jonathan Byrd chips in from the fringe on the 13th hole to make a tidy birdie during the third round of the 2010 Transitions Championship. Watch it
Live Essentials

Follow every shot with our newest application

The only place on the Internet for real-time live scoring

Listen to expert commentary on the PGA TOUR Network

News, notes, stats and analysis during each round
Email This Story   Print This Story   RSS   Bookmark and Share
SHOP.PGATOUR.COM
PGATOUR shop

Shop your favorite brand name golf equipment and accessories at SHOP.PGATOUR.COM

FANTASY

Click Here
© 1995-2012 PGA TOUR, Inc. | Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. All Rights Reserved. PGA TOUR, Champions Tour, Nationwide Tour and the swinging golfer logo are registered trademarks.
Turner PGATOUR.com is part of Turner Sports Digital, part of the Turner Sports & Entertainment Digital Network