Tampa Bay Championship Presented by EverBank Tournament Notes

Luke Donald posted a final-round, 5-under 66 to force the first playoff in the 12-year history of the tournament.

On the first extra hole (No. 18), Donald converted a seven-foot birdie putt to defeat Robert Garrigus, Jim Furyk and Sang-Moon Bae to claim his fifth win on the PGA TOUR.

With the victory, his third in the state of Florida, Donald re-emerged as No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking after falling to No. 2 following The Honda Classic two weeks earlier.

More on Luke Donald

Luke Donald’s win at the 2012 Tampa Bay Championship presented by EverBank came in his fourth start in the event. Prior to last year’s win, he finished T6 in 2010, T58 in 2003 and T22 in 2002.

Including his victory at Innisbrook in 2012, Donald totaled eight top-10 finishes en route to a ninth-place finish in the FedExCup standings.

Donald has previously defended three of his four titles. Of them, the best he has managed was a T10 at the 2003 Southern Farm Bureau Classic.

A look at the field

Four of the top-eight ranked players in the Official World Golf Ranking: Luke Donald (No. 3), Louis Oosthuizen (No. 6), Adam Scott (No. 7) and Matt Kuchar (No. 8); in total 21 of the top 50 are scheduled to compete.

Thirteen of the top 30 in the current FedExCup standings.

Fifteen players won PGA TOUR events in 2012, including:

• Multiple winners Jason Dufner and Zach Johnson.
• U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson.
• Nick Watney, who won the first FedExCup Playoff event, The Barclays.
• Matt Kuchar, who followed up his 2012 PLAYERS title with a win earlier this year at the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship.

Two-time heart transplant recipient Erik Compton posted his first career top-10 finish on the PGA TOUR at The Honda Classic (T4) two weeks ago.

Michael Thompson, who jumped into the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking with his victory at The Honda Classic, finished T16 at the 2012 Tampa Bay Championship.

Notable rookies:

• James Hahn—Finished top five at the Humana Challenge (T4) and the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am (T3) and sits third among rookies in FedExCup points (29th).
• Luke Guthrie – Posted best career finish (3) at The Honda Classic and sits 23rd in FedExCup standings, second among rookie class.

Notable sponsor exemptions:

• Patrick Cantlay – 20-year-old won the Colombia Championship on the Web.com Tour event two weeks ago. Cantlay was the No. 1 amateur while at UCLA and is a Web.com Tour member in 2013.
• George Goetzee – 26-year-old South African finished 21st on the European Tour’s Race to Dubai in 2012 and sits inside the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking.

Players in the field with seven or more PGA TOUR wins (11): Vijay Singh (34), Jim Furyk (16), David Toms (13), Justin Leonard (12 wins), Stuart Appleby (9), Zach Johnson (9 wins), Adam Scott (8 wins), Mike Weir (8 wins), Retief Goosen (7 wins) and Geoff Ogilvy (7).

Past champions in the field (8): Luke Donald (2012), Gary Woodland (2011), Jim Furyk (2010), Retief Goosen (2009, 2003), Sean O’Hair (2008), K.J. Choi (2006, 2002), Carl Pettersson (2005) and Vijay Singh (2004).

Tournament notes

In 2011, Gary Woodland became just the second player (Carl Pettersson – 2005) in the (then) 11-year history of the Tampa Bay Championship presented by EverBank to make the event their first victory on the PGA TOUR. He joined John Huston (2000) and Retief Goosen (2003) as the only players to win in their first appearance in the event.

K.J. Choi (2002 and 2006) and Retief Goosen (2003 and 2009) are the only multiple winners of the Tampa Bay Championship presented by EverBank and both are in the field this week. Choi nearly won for a third time, finishing runner-up to Jim Furyk in 2010. No player has yet to successfully defend his title at the Tampa Bay Championship.

Winner of the 2013 Humana Challenge in partnership with the Clinton Foundation earlier this year, Brian Gay is the only player to compete in all previous 12 installments of the Tampa Bay Championship. His best finish was a T4 in 2007.

The four winners on the 2012 Florida Swing finished among the top 10 in the final FedExCup standings: Rory McIlroy – The Honda Classic/2; Justin Rose – WGC-Cadillac Championship/6; Luke Donald – Tampa Bay Championship presented by EverBank/9 and Tiger Woods – Arnold Palmer Invitational/3.

The last four winners of the Tampa Bay Championship presented by EverBank have all finished the season of their win inside the top 20 in FedExCup standings, highlighted by Jim Furyk winning the FedExCup title in 2010, the year of his win in Palm Harbor.

Miscellaneous EverBank new presenting sponsor of Tampa Bay Championship

The PGA TOUR, tournament host organization Copperhead Charities and EverBank Financial Corp (NYSE:EVER) recently announced a one-year agreement whereby EverBank will be the presenting sponsor of the TOUR’s Tampa Bay Championship at Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club.

The tournament represents the second major sports sponsorship for the Jacksonville-based company. Since 2010, EverBank has held the naming rights to EverBank Field, home of the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars.

PGA TOUR Wives Association’s 25th anniversary

Last month, the PGA TOUR Wives Association celebrated its 25th anniversary with the launch of a commemorative book entitled “Beyond the Fairways and Greens; A Look Inside the Lives of PGA TOUR Families.”

The 384-page, hardbound book offers readers a rare glimpse into the lives of TOUR families, through the telling of stories and inclusion of pictures.

The book also features 134 treasured recipes submitted by the families of generations of golfers, including Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Phil Mickelson, and Rickie Fowler.

The book retails for $50 (email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)), with all net proceeds benefiting PTWA-designated charities. Players and wives associated with the book will be available for interviews all week at the Tampa Bay Championship presented by EverBank.

Astellas presents Executive Women’s Day

Presented by Astellas, Executive Women’s Day will be held on Monday, March 11, and will feature well-known sports agent Molly Fletcher.

The day-long summit invites female business leaders from the community to be a part of a forum which focuses on professional, health-related and personal development discussions.

Components include high-profile panelists, topic-specific breakout sessions, a keynote speaker and networking opportunities.

Astellas is a pharmaceutical company, with a primary focus in the area of urological wellness.

Source: PGA Tour