The Transitions Championship has had a short and checkered history. Founded in 2000 as an alternate event to the President’s Cup, it began life as the Tampa Bay Classic. In 2001, it was supposed to be the alternate event to the WGC-American Express Championship, but was cancelled because of the terrorist attacks on September 11. It served as the alternate event in 2002.
Chrysler became the sponsor in 2003, and the event had its own slot as the last full-field event before the Tour Championship. Renamed the Chrysler Championship, the tournament held that spot until 2006.
In 2007, the tournament found a new slot in the schedule, and a new sponsor: PODS. Originally, PODS had a six year sponsorship agreement, but backed out on an option after 2008. Transitions Optical, another Florida corporation, became the sponsor in 2009.
The players with the most wins in the event are Retief Goosen (2003 and 2009), and K.J. Choi (2002 and 2006).
Retief Goosen is also the tournament’s leading money winner, with over $2,000,000 in earnings at the event.
The tournament record was set by Vijay Singh in 2004 with a −18 winning total of 266.
| Date | Winner | Country | Score | 1st Prize ($) | Purse ($) |
| Transitions Championship | |||||
| Mar. 28, 2012 | Luke Donald | England | 271 (-13) | 990,000 | 5,500,000 ($) |
| Mar. 20, 2011 | Gary Woodland | United States | 269 (-15) | 990,000 | 5,500,000 ($) |
| Mar 21, 2010 | Jim Furyk | United States | 271 (−13) | 972,000 | 5,400,000 |
| Mar 22, 2009 | Retief Goosen | South Africa | 276 (−8) | 972,000 | 5,400,000 |
| PODS Championship | |||||
| Mar 9, 2008 | Sean O’Hair | United States | 280 (−4) | 954,000 | 5,300,000 |
| Mar 11, 2007 | Mark Calcavecchia | United States | 274 (−10) | 954,000 | 5,300,000 |
| Chrysler Championship | |||||
| Oct 29, 2006 | K. J. Choi | South Korea | 271 (−13) | 954,000 | 5,300,000 |
| Oct 30, 2005 | Carl Pettersson | Sweden | 275 (−9) | 954,000 | 5,300,000 |
| Oct 31, 2004 | Vijay Singh | Fiji | 266 (−18) | 900,000 | 5,000,000 |
| Nov 2, 2003 | Retief Goosen | South Africa | 272 (−12) | 864,000 | 4,800,000 |
| Tampa Bay Classic presented by Buick | |||||
| Sep 22, 2002 | K. J. Choi | South Korea | 267 (−17) | 468,000 | 2,600,000 |
| Tampa Bay Classic | |||||
| Sep 16, 2001 | Cancelled due to the terrorist attacks on September 11 | ||||
| Oct 22, 2000 | John Huston | United States | 271 (−13) | 432,000 | 2,400,000 |
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