PGA starts spring off right in St Pete/Clearwater for 2010 Transitions Championship from Innisbrook Resort

Think Florida sun, surf and golf. Now add in a dash of the PGA & you’ve got the makings for a great weekend on Florida’s Gulf Coast.

Hey - Golf on the Gulf! Pretty cool!

I digress…

Transitions Championship brings PGA Golf to the Gulf. Photo courtesy of Transition Championship.

This weekend the PGA Tour returns to Palm Harbor’s Innisbrook Resort & Golf Club for the 2010 Transitions Championship. 

Tee-off for the event is Thursday, March 18th with nearly 150 of Golf’s best & most skilled taking to the green, working to tame the famed Copperhead Course, including the legendary “Snake Pit”. 

The Snake Pit, made up of the 16th, 17th, & 18th holes, rank among the 4th hardest set of finishing holes on any PGA Tour stop. 

Touting three of the Tour’s best, Steve Stricker (#2), Ian Poulter (#5) and Jim Furyk (#7) will be leading the field for this year’s event. Other high profile players will be John Daly, Kenny Perry, Stewart Cink, and last year’s Transitions champ, Retief Goosen. 

This year’s purse for the tournament is $5.4 million, with the addition of competing for FedEx Cup points that will qualify and seed the field for the PGA Tour playoffs - a series of four high-stakes tournaments that begin in August. 

The Transitions Championship begins Thursday at 7:45 am with the tournament’s 1st round. Fridays’ 2nd round and Saturday’s 3rd round set the stage for the always exciting Final Round on Sunday. This is spring time in St. Petersburg/Clearwater, so the weather will be prime.

Can’t make it? Check out the action on the Golf Channel from 3 - 6 pm on Thursday and Friday, and on NBC Saturday and Sunday from 3 - 6 pm. 

Innisbrook is part of the Salamander folks, and is a Golf & Spa Resort. With 608 guest suites and rooms, there are 4 restaurants, the Innisbrook Golf Institute, 11 tennis courts, six swimming pools, fitness center, children’s program, and so much more.

According to press materials, U.S. Ryder Cup Captain Paul Azinger has called Copperhead “The best course we play on TOUR®.” 

The Transitions Championship will benefit more than 100 local Tampa Bay charities. Over the last 5 years, this tournament has made a charitable contribution of more than $9 million, with a total over the last 33 years of more than $24 million. 

Now that’s a great reason to celebrate Golf on the Gulf. 

For tickets:

Publix Super Markets
www.transitionschampionship.com
or by calling
727-942-5566
Tickets purchased in advance are $40 per day (Tuesday - Sunday)
$95 for a weekly badge
Those 17 & under are FREE all week