The PGA Tour stays in Florida this week as we head to the Copperhead course at the Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbour for the Tampa Bay Championship presented by EverBank.
This is a Par 71, 7340 yard course that was ranked 5th easiest of the Par 71 courses played on tour last year. The tournament was founded in 2000 and has always been played at the Copperhead course. There are five Par 3′s and four Par 5′s to contest and the closing three holes (16,17,18) are rated amongst the most challenging closing stretch on the Tour.
The fairways and Greens are Bermudagrass with the fairways being tighter than most courses on the tour and the greens smaller than average. The Par 4, 460 yard, 16th hole is the most difficult on the course with water along the whole right hand side. This can create havoc if the wind is coming in from the left.
This event has gone through a few names changes in its short history. It was originally known as the Tampa Bay Classic from 2000-2001, however there was no tournament in 2001 due to September 11 terrorist attacks. In 2002 it became the Tampa Bay Classic Presented by Buick. After one year of sponsorship from Buick it became the Chrysler Championship from 2003-2006. Pods then sponsored it in 2007-2008 as the PODS Championship until it became the Transitions Championship from 2009-2012. This year it has gone through another name change. It is now known as the Tampa Bay Championship presented by EverBank. (Bit of a mouth full)
After two stellar fields at the WGC Cadillac Championship and Honda Classic in the past two weeks we still have a good turnout of top players for this tournament. Former World number One player Luke Donald heads the field along with Adam Scott and Sergio Garcia. Throw in players of the calibre of Jason Day, Jim Furyk, Louis Oosthuizen, Jason Dufner, Martin Kaymer and Geoff Ogilvy and you have yourself a great line up of players worthy of any field.
The Top Five in betting this week are: $15.00 Sergio Garcia, $15.00 Adam Scott. $17.00 Luke Donald, $19.00 Matt Kuchar and $19.00 Webb Simpson.
Looking at the Copperhead course this week we can expect to so some real challenging golf as it can play difficult at times, especially if the wind decides to make things exciting which always plays a part in Florida. This can cause a lot of problems for many players especially those with little experience on the Copperhead course. The Par 5′s will also play a major part this week as they are all reachable for most players, so Par 5 stats should be closely monitored.
When looking at the past winners of this tournament they have all ranked highly in Greens in Regulation stats and have been good ball strikers, so again keep this in mind when looking for the winner as most of the greens are smaller than the tour average. It will also pay to look at good Par 3 performers as there are 5 of them to contend with this week. Taking all this into consideration I have found a player who fits the bill this week.
Webb Simpson $19.00 www.sportsbet.com.au
Webb has had seven starts this season and made six cuts. His only blemish was in the Humana Challenge back in January. Five of those events resulted in Top 25 finishes with two of them being T6th at the Northern Trust and T5th in the WGC Accenture Match Play.
When it comes to this event Simpson has good form lines. Last year he finished T10th, just three shots from the winner. In 2011 it was a 2nd place finish, beaten by Gary Woodland who finished one stroke ahead on -15. Add to this a T13th in 2010 and you have a player who appears to feel comfortable on the course.
Simpson’s stats this season have him ranked 14th in greens in regulation, 6th in scrambling, 11th in par 4 performance and 2nd in GIR from other than the fairway.
His game is heading in the right direction and he is ready to win, especially with several big names missing this week.
At the current odds Webb represents an excellent each way selection who will be up there on the leader board heading into Sunday.
Good luck and good punting.