Transitions Championship Tournament Backspin

THERE'S NO WAY to know at this time exactly, but we may eventually look back at the playoff earlier this year at the Bob Hope Classic between Jhonattan Vegas, Bill Haas and Gary Woodland and think that was the beginning of something special for all three. And now that Woodland has broken through with a one-shot victory over Webb Simpson at the Transitions Championship, he joins the other two with a PGA Tour victory on his resume. A former college basketball player and a tremendous athlete, Woodland hits the ball a tonne -- he's been in the top 10 in driving distance in all three of his full seasons -- but it was his putting on Sunday (needing just 23 putts) that made all the difference.



Where it was won: His par save at the 18th was unquestionably huge, but it doesn't have quite the same magnitude if not for his play at 17. After carding back-to-back bogeys at 15 and 16, Woodland stepped to the tee at the 215-yard par three and promptly laced a five-iron to just over 16-feet. He then coaxed the putt down the hill from left to right for the bounce back birdie. Without that putt, his par saving putt is to force a playoff not prove to be the eventual winner.

Where it was lost: Webb Simpson. After playing the Snakepit -- 16-18, the toughest stretch on the course -- at four-under throughout the week, Simpson waited until the worst possible time to card his first bogey there on his final hole. He was -7 on the par fives entering the final round, but did not register a birdie all day.

Justin Rose. Despite shooting back-to-back 65s and entering the final round with a one stroke lead, Rose didn't play nearly well enough to win on Sunday. He carded four straight bogeys from the seventh to the 10th. In the first three rounds, not only did he only have three bogeys in total, but on that stretch had carded four birdies and eight pars.

Shots of the week











Stat of the week: In the final round Woodland needed only 23 putts and was an incredible 17 of 17 on putts of 20-feet or less, none more important than the 10-footer he made for par at 18 -- his only par of the back nine.

How I did
-Justin Rose, T5
-John Senden, T15
-Geoff Ogilvy, T28
-Stephen Ames, cut
-Charlie Wii, cut

Early look at next week:
-A nice field for the Arnold Palmer Invitational
-Who I like: Sean O'Hair, Zach Johnson, Brandt Snedeker, Kevin Na.