Thread Tools

Display Modes

**truebluefan** · 04-16-2008, 08:29 AM

TPC Tampa Bay, Lutz, Florida
Purse: $1,700,000

**truebluefan** · 04-19-2008, 10:52 AM

Entering the 2007 Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am, Tom Watson had the dubious distinction of having entered 93 PGA TOUR or Champions Tour events in Florida without a victory. He didn't make it 94.

Watson came from one stroke off the pace on the final day to edge Andy Bean and Jay Haas by a stroke to win the tournament in the Tampa suburb of Lutz.

With the Champions Tour taking last week off, Watson played in his 35th Masters Tournament, shooting rounds of 75-75 to miss the cut by three strokes. This season, Watson has made three Champions Tour starts, with his best performance coming at The Ginn Championship at Hammock Beach in Palm Coast, Fla., where he tied for sixth.

A big group of celebrities, including Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Ronde Barber and Derrick Brooks, as well as former NFL players Jerry Rice and Joe Theismann and World Golf Hall of Fame member Nancy Lopez, will also be playing.

This year marks the 21st anniversary for the Champions Tour stop in Tampa, the third- longest span in one metropolitan area. This is also the 17th year for this event at the TPC Tampa Bay, currently the second-longest span at one club on the circuit.

Only Dale Douglass and Gary Player have played in all 20 of the previous Champions Tour events in Tampa. Douglass won the inaugural event in 1988 by two strokes over Orville Moody, while Player's best finish in Tampa is a third in 1988. When Douglass won the tournament at Tampa Palms, then known as the GTE Suncoast Seniors Classic, he collected $45,000 from the $300,000 purse. This year's winner earns $255,000 from a purse of $1.7 million.

This week's Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am is the last of four Champions Tour events in Florida in 2008. The event's April date marks the latest the tournament has been played. In this year's Champions Tour events in the Sunshine State, Scott Hoch has enjoyed the most success, winning both the Allianz Championship and The ACE Group Classic. Bernhard Langer recently won The Ginn Championship at Hammock Beach.

Last year in Tampa, Tom Watson's victory at the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am ended an 0-for-93 TOUR victory drought in the Sunshine State. Jay Haas, last year's runner-up, has an even longer winless streak in Florida than Watson had, going 0 for 110 in the Sunshine State in his TOUR career.

In addition to his runner-up finish near Tampa in 2007, Haas finished second at last year's Allianz Championship in Boca Raton. He also finished second at the 2003 PLAYERS Championship (Ponte Vedra Beach) on the PGA TOUR.

Mike Hulbert, a winner of three PGA TOUR events, turned 50 on April 14 and is eligible to make his Champions Tour debut at this week's Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am. Hulbert becomes the fourth member of the Champions Tour's Class of 2008 to debut in a five-event stretch, following Sandy Lyle (Toshiba Classic), Ian Woosnam (The Ginn Championship at Hammock Beach) and Joey Sindelar (The Cap Cana Championship).

David Ogrin played in his first Champions Tour event in late January at the Turtle Bay Championship. Hulbert is attempting to join Mark McNulty (2004) as the second player in tournament history to win in his first appearance on the Champions Tour. Hulbert could also become just the 13th professional in Champions Tour history to win his debut. Mark Wiebe was the last to do so at last fall's SAS Championship in Raleigh.

Tom Watson's winning total of 4-under 209 last year was the highest winning score at the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am since 1996. It was the highest winning score in relation to par in a 54-hole Champions Tour event since Dana Quigley won the 2002 Siebel Classic in Silicon Valley with a 4-under total.

**truebluefan** · 04-19-2008, 08:43 PM

Knee surgery hasn't slowed Mark Wiebe a bit. Coming off a victory two weeks ago in the Cap Cana Championship in the Dominican Republic, Wiebe followed his opening 66 with a 65 on Saturday to take a three-stroke lead in the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am.

"I feel confident with my game," Wiebe said. "I played some good golf."

Wiebe reached 11 under to tie the event 36-hole record held by Bruce Fleisher (2000 and 2002). Defending champion Tom Watson (71) and Scott Hoch (67) were 8 under, and Tom Jenkins (66) and Mike Reid (68) followed at 6 under.

Wiebe had surgery Feb. 20 in Denver to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. He was back on the course hitting balls two weeks later.

"I had to talk my doctor into it," he said.

At the Cap Cana Championship, Wiebe won his second Champions Tour event in 12 starts since turning 50 in September. He had two victories on the PGA Tour.

"I don't anticipate him coming back to everyone else," Hoch said. "I think someone is going to have to go after him."

Hoch closed strong with birdies on 13, 15, 17 and 18.

"I started making putts," Hoch said.

Long ones at that.

His birdie putts at 15 and 17 were each 25 feet.

"I'm pleased with where I'm at," said Hoch, a two-time winner this year. "But yesterday I played much better and there's room for improvement."

Watson was stuck in neutral much of his round.

A day birdieing seven of his final nine holes, Watson opened with 13 straight pars, made birdies at 14 and 16 but gave both shots back with a double bogey on the par-3 17th after hitting his tee shot on the 217-yard hole into the water.

**truebluefan** · 04-20-2008, 11:58 PM

LUTZ, Fla. (AP) -- Tom Watson successfully defended his Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am title Sunday, saving bogey after hitting into the water on No. 18 for a 1-under 70 and a one-stroke victory over Jay Haas and Scott Hoch.

A year after ending an 0-for-93 Florida drought at the TPC Tampa Bay, Watson finished at 9 under for his 50th title on the Champions Tour and PGA TOUR combined.

"I'm on a streak," Watson said. "I've got to buy a house down here."

Hoch (71) had a chance to force a playoff, but his short par putt on 18 lipped out.

"I just hit a terrible putt," Hoch said. "I had not been putting all that good, but I haven't missed anything like that."

Watson's 7-iron approach on the 456-yard 18th missed the green to the right and trickled into the water. After dropping, he pitched with a sand wedge to 5 feet, made the bogey putt, then waited inside the scorer's trailer well behind the stands surrounding the green as Hoch played the final hole.

Complete article