By Rodney Page, Times Staff Writer
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Champions Tour Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am
When: Friday-Sunday
Course: TPC Tampa Bay, Lutz (par 71, 6,828 yards)
Field: 78 players
Format: 54-hole stroke play event with no cut. Friday-Saturday play features one amateur with one professional in a team better-ball format. Low 16 teams play Sunday.
Defending champ: Bernhard Langer
Purse: $1.7 million ($255,000 winner's share)
Notable celebrities: Ronde Barber, Derrick Brooks, Vince Gill, Craig T. Nelson, John O'Hurley, Stone Phillips, Sterling Sharpe, Emmitt Smith, Joe Theismann, Michael J. Fox (appearing Friday, not playing).
Television: 12:30-2:30 p.m. Friday, Golf Channel; 4-6 p.m. Saturday, Ch. 8; 1-3 p.m. Sunday, Ch. 8
Schedule: Monday — pro-am 12:30 p.m., pro practice rounds; Tuesday — pro practice rounds; Wednesday — Laser Spine Institute Challenge, 10 a.m. shotgun start; Thursday — Laser Spine Institute Challenge, 10 a.m. shotgun start; Friday — first round; Saturday — second round; Sunday — final round
Details: (813) 265-4653; outbackproam.com
Noteworthy: Langer won't defend his title because of a thumb injury. … This is the 19th consecutive year a Champions Tour event has been held at TPC Tampa Bay, the longest stretch on the same course on the tour. … Nine PGA Tour veterans will play this tournament for the first time: Jay Don Blake, Mark Brooks, Mark Calcavecchia, Jim Gallagher Jr., Bill Glasson, J.L. Lewis, Steve Lowery, Kenny Perry and Ted Schulz. Calcavecchia's last win was the 2007 PODS Championship at Innisbrook in Palm Harbor.
Rodney Page, Times staff writer