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All seven of the luxury suites have been sold, along with all 26 tables in the Crossfire Club and two specially designed tents near the 14th hole. There is a waiting list for the Wednesday pro-am. And all of that occurred before Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh committed to the Chrysler Championship.
Save for a late, unexpected commitment from Tiger Woods, the area's PGA Tour event at the Westin Innisbrook Resort in two weeks could not ask for much more. Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Mike Weir . . . a slew of major-championship winners.
There are few events on the PGA Tour, except for the majors, Players Championship and Tour Championship, that will offer this kind of star power.
Now, if area fans will take notice.
"People here turn out for a winner," said Chrysler Championship tournament director Gerald Goodman. "We have a winner."
Goodman was not disappointed with last year's attendance at the Copperhead course, and sees the tournament in its second year under Chrysler's sponsorship as a work in progress.
But the attendance at the 2003 tournament, in truth, did not approach the level expected for such a high caliber event. During the first two rounds, you could get up close and personal with Els and Mickelson. For those who did attend, it was a real treat, as nothing obstructed their view of the best players in the world.
"Sure, we want it packed," Goodman said. "I think the course can hold 20,000 to 25,000 people a day. That would be very good for us."
Goodman said the tournament is ahead of last year's ticket-selling pace. Having sold-out corporate suites and tents is huge for the bottom line, but getting more people to buy tickets and attend is the next challenge.
Helping the tournament is the Bucs have a bye week and USF football does not have a home game. So does commitments from four of the top five players in the world and seven of the top 10. Woods would help, but his presence should not determine whether an avid golf fan attends.
"You have to get on a plane to see these guys otherwise," Goodman said.
OTHER COMMITMENTS: In addition to Singh, who has eight victories this year and is competing this week in England at the World Match Play Championship, the tournament also received commitments Wednesday from Kenny Perry and Mark Calcavecchia. A surprise commitment came earlier from Sweden's Fredrik Jacobson. He is skipping the defense of his Volvo Masters title in Spain the same week. That is the season-ending event on the European PGA Tour. For information visit www.chryslerchampionship.com
NEW SCHEDULE: The PGA Tour announced its 2005 schedule this week, and it is virtually the same as 2004. The tour will begin Jan. 6 with the Mercedes Championships in Hawaii and conclude in early November at the Tour Championship in Atlanta. The Chrysler Championship dates are Oct. 27-30, the same weekend as this year. In fact, all six of the Florida-based PGA Tour events are in the same slots.
SLOWING DOWN: Already a member of the LPGA Hall of Fame, the winner of 53 tournaments, including seven major championships, Annika Sorenstam wonders what else is left to accomplish. Now 34, Sorenstam has five victories this year on the LPGA Tour. She is competing in this week's World Championship, and hinted she could be inching toward retirement.
"I'm getting closer," she said. "I'm getting very satisfied with my career. I've achieved a lot more than I ever thought I would. It's just tough to keep motivating yourself and go out there and grind because the competition is so tough now and you have to do it every day. I have a lot of interests that one of these days I want to pursue. ... If someone would have told me if I won 20 times, would you be happy and would you quit I probably would have said yes. But here I am a little later and still grinding and still enjoying it."
TIGER'S FUTURE: While on his honeymoon, Woods took a few minutes to take part in a conference call to promote his Target World Challenge in December. Most of the questions, however, concerned his marriage to Elin Nordegren and how it might affect his future. Woods, who in the past six weeks has dropped from No. 1 in the world to No. 3 and has not won a stroke-play event this year, said there's no issue.
"It's not going to change the way I play golf," he said. "I've been with Elin and happy together the last two years. Just because you're married, it doesn't change the relationship. I just hope I can get the ball in the hole a little faster."
- Information from other news organizations was used in this report.