Golf

Singh, Garcia lead PODS field

Despite Tiger Woods' pass, other highlights include Trevor Immelman and K.J. Choi.

By BOB HARIG
Published March 3, 2007

Vijay Singh, a past winner, and Sergio Garcia, making his first appearance, headline the field for the PODS Championship next week at the Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor.

The final commitment deadline passed Friday, and the $5.3-million PGA Tour event secured eight of the top 25 in the Official World Ranking, 19 of the top 30 from this year's FedEx Cup points standings and 39 of the top 60 from last year's tour money list.

But the tournament, as expected, will have to wait at least another year for Tiger Woods.

The game's No. 1 draw is taking a pass, as are several other prominent names, leaving Singh, ranked ninth, as the only top-10 player at the event.

Garcia, who is 13th, and South Africa's Trevor Immelman, who joined the field Friday and is 12th, give the tournament a strong foreign contingent that also includes defending champion K.J. Choi of South Korea, Australia's Nick O'Hern - who knocked off Woods on Feb. 23 at the Match Play Championship - and Australia's Stuart Appleby.

Chris DiMarco is also in the field, as is John Daly on a sponsor's exemption. Daly, who pulled a muscle Thursday and withdrew from the Honda Classic, told tournament director Gerald Goodman he intends to play. Daly is one of 15 major champions in the field.

But the tournament is missing four prominent players who were here for the Chrysler Championship in October - Ernie Els, past champion Retief Goosen, Adam Scott and Mike Weir. They are at the Johnnie Walker Classic in Thailand. It also failed to secure Phil Mickelson, who last played at Innisbrook in 2004, and the man who beat him at the summer's U.S. Open, Geoff Ogilvy. Jim Furyk, playing this week at the Honda Classic, is also skipping.

"Yes, that's disappointing," Goodman said. "But we believe we have the second-best field on the PGA Tour this year for a full-field event, behind only the Nissan Open. And since we've moved to March, our excitement level has picked up.

"We know some players had some obligations overseas, and that took some of the top-10 players away. But that doesn't make a complete golf tournament. The tournament before us and those after us have been around for 40 years. This is our first time in March, and to have the strength in numbers speaks well for us."

The event was one of the big winners last year when it gained a prestigious spot as part of the Florida Swing and the FedEx Cup schedule. The March opening in Florida was created when the Players Championship moved to May.

Bob Harig can be reached at 727 893-8806 or harig@sptimes.com.

[Last modified March 3, 2007, 01:19:01]