Tampa Bay Championship preview

The PGA Tour remains in Florida this week for the Tampa Bay Championship presented by EverBank at the Innishbrook Resort in Palm Harbor. Luke Donald of England defends the title.

Luke Donald defends Tampa Bay Championship (Getty Images)
Fergus Bisset
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Lowdown: The PGA Tour remains in Florida this week for the Tampa Bay Championship presented by EverBank at the Innishbrook Resort in Palm Harbor. Luke Donald of England defends the title.

This tournament began life in 2000 as the Tampa Bay Classic. It's also been known as the Chrysler Championship, the Pods Championship and, until last year, the Transitions Championship. This season EverBank have taken over as presenting sponsors. The event has been won twice by both Retief Goosen and K.J. Choi. Both are in the field this week.

Last season Luke Donald came through a playoff against former champion Jim Furyk, Sang-Moon Bae of Korea and long-hitting Robert Garrigus. On the first extra hole, the Englishman found the rough from the tee but played a towering recovery shot to set up a short birdie putt. He rolled it home and none of the other playoff contenders were able to match his three.

Designed by Larry Packard and opened in 1974, the Copperhead course at Innisbrook has played host to 14 PGA Tour events over the years. In 1999 the layout was revamped to bring it in line with the modern game. The redesign was completed just in time for the 1999 JCPenney Classic, an event won by John Daly and Laura Davies.

Unusually for a West Coast Florida course, the track features some fairly significant changes in elevation - up to 80 feet. It has traditionally been one of the tougher courses visited by the PGA Tour though it's been a little less testing over the last couple of years. A fine weather forecast for this week should mean the players are able to produce some low scoring. Venue: Innisbrook Resort, Copperhead, Palm Harbor, Florida Date: Mar 14-17 Course stats: par 71, 7,340 yards Purse: $5,500,000 Winner: $990,000 Defending Champion: Luke Donald (-13)

TV Coverage: Thursday 14 - Sky Sports 3 from 7pm Friday 15 - Sky Sports 3 from 7pm Saturday 16 - Sky Sports 3 from 5pm Sunday 17 - Sky Sports 3 from 5pm

Player Watch: Sergio Garcia - The Spaniard was tied third at last week's Cadillac Championship. He's recorded 12 straight top-25 finishes on the PGA Tour and seems to have his putting in check. He has a decent record in this event - two top-20 finishes in his last two starts.

Retief Goosen - Twice a winner of this event, he's showed glimpses of form this year. He has a supremely solid record in this tournament and is second in all-time earnings.

Sang Moon-Bae - Lost out in a playoff for this event last year. He's one of the most talented players on the PGA Tour and just needs to string four good rounds together. This could be the week.

Key Hole: 16th. This 460 yard par-4 has ranked as the toughest hole on the course in each of the tournaments since 2010. Water is a factor all down the right hand side.

Skills required: It's not long driving that tends to win the day at Innisbrook. Far more important is scrambling and putting - Luke Donald put on an impressive display of both to win last season. Where next? European Tour - Avantha Masters preview

Fergus Bisset
Fergus Bisset
Contributing Editor

Fergus is Golf Monthly's resident expert on the history of the game and has written extensively on that subject. He has also worked with Golf Monthly to produce a podcast series. Called 18 Majors: The Golf History Show it offers new and in-depth perspectives on some of the most important moments in golf's long history. You can find all the details about it here.

He is a golf obsessive and 1-handicapper. Growing up in the North East of Scotland, golf runs through his veins and his passion for the sport was bolstered during his time at St Andrews university studying history. He went on to earn a post graduate diploma from the London School of Journalism. Fergus has worked for Golf Monthly since 2004 and has written two books on the game; "Great Golf Debates" together with Jezz Ellwood of Golf Monthly and the history section of "The Ultimate Golf Book" together with Neil Tappin , also of Golf Monthly.

Fergus once shanked a ball from just over Granny Clark's Wynd on the 18th of the Old Course that struck the St Andrews Golf Club and rebounded into the Valley of Sin, from where he saved par. Who says there's no golfing god?

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