Couch and Willis lead Transitions
BY Bruce Young | US PGA Tour | 2011 Transitions Championship | Round Two | 19 Mar 2011
It has not been a good season to date for 37 year old Garrett Willis but such is his turnaround at this week’s Transitions Championship at the Innisbrook Resort at Palm Harbor in Florida that things could make a dramatic turn for the better.
Willis shares the lead with the better performing Chris Couch who produced a whirlwind finish to his round today recording a final nine holes of 29 to emerge from nowhere to claim a share of the lead.
Willis has not played this event well on the few occasions he has played the Copperhead layout but after a slow start to his round today he quickly regained the form which saw him record and opening round of 66 yesterday. It has been ten years since Willis won his one and only PGA Tour event so he has a big task to go on with it this weekend but he has done everything right so far.
Willis explains that his form in 2011 has not been quite as bad as his results have suggested. “Yeah, actually I have been playing well. Even though my scores have not reflected it this year, I’ve played really well. I’ve had a lot of big numbers this year. México, I was 5-under par and made a 9 on a par 5, which was kind of a shell-shock.
“In Phoenix this year I made four birdies in a row, was going along pretty good and with three holes to go, well inside the cut, made a triple, ended up missing the cut. Actually even though I played well, halfway decent in San Diego, we had several doubles in San Diego; made several doubles at Honda a couple of weeks ago.
“So, I mean, I’ve been playing well. I just have not been eliminating mistakes which I’ve done really well this week because I’ve put the ball in the fairway. That’s what you have to do out here.
Couch has struggled with injury in recent seasons but he has recorded two top tens already in 2011 and may well be on his way to another or perhaps even better. He was asked why he has played so sparingly in 2011. “I usually am a war horse. I’ve become more of a family man, spending time with my wife, Julia, and my little one, Cora, and two boys, Christian and Cayden. I remember when I used to play like 32 tournaments or something.
“One year I played 32 tournaments, and I am getting older. I feel a little more aches and pains.
But I think that I play better when I’m fresh everybody, and that’s been my goal the last couple of years is to stay fresh and have a fresh mind. It seems to work for Tiger, so, you know, trying to do something he does I guess.”
The pair leads by one over Sergio Garcia and Webb Simpson with a group of six players just one shot further back. Garcia is playing his first event in the US since last year’s PGA Championship. He has slipped to 85th in the world ranking but there have been encouraging signs for him of late.
“I’ve seen a lot of good things throughout the three or four tournaments that I’ve played this year,” said the Spaniard soon after his round. “That’s very nice. Obviously still a working process. It’s not done and it needs to get better but at least I’m seeing a lot of improvement and that’s always very positive.”
The leading Australian is Stuart Appleby who is in 11th position at 6 under and just three behind the lead. Geoff Ogilvy is at 5 under, John Senden and Matt Jones at 3 under, Steven Bowditch at 2 under with Marc Leishman and Jason Day at 1 under.
