Transitions Championship® Set to Host the World's Finest Golfers and On-Site Spectator Experiences to Highlight the Importance of Healthy, Quality Vision for the Entire Family

INNISBROOK, Fla., Feb. 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- A fun-filled week of world-class golf with another top-notch field of PGA TOUR® pros is shaping up for the 2012 Transitions Championship to be held March 12-18 at Innisbrook Resort. Transitions Optical, Inc. is looking forward to a week full of family-friendly experiences and activities for spectators – all highlighting the importance of healthy, quality sight and its connection to both optimum sports performance and enjoying life's every day moments.

The Transitions Championship has been host to many of the world's highest ranking players; in fact, when the PGA TOUR began its 2012 season at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, the elite field of 28 players contained 22 players who participated in the 2011 Transitions Championship. This year's field follows suit, with many of the world's top players again returning to take on the challenging Copperhead Course, which according to Golf World was recently selected in a survey of PGA TOUR players as their ninth favorite course among the 52 courses that annually host tournaments – making the Copperhead Course the highest ranked course in Florida.

Luke Donald, the top-ranked player in the world, and Matt Kuchar are among the names expected to join the usual stellar field for the 2012 Transitions Championship, a field that will include defending champion Gary Woodland. Donald has expressed early interest in participating in the event after a one-year absence; he finished sixth in his last visit to the Copperhead in 2010. Kuchar, who last played in the Transitions Championship in 2009, finished sixth on the PGA TOUR's official money list last year and teamed with Woodland to win the WGC World Cup in China in November.

With the addition of Donald and Kuchar, the Transitions Championship field (based on tentative commitments) is expected to include five of the top six players on last year's Money List. They are #1 Luke Donald, #2 Webb Simpson, #3 Nick Watney, #4 K.J. Choi and #6 Matt Kuchar.

Other notables include past Transitions Championship winners Jim Furyk (2010), Retief Goosen (2009 & 2003), Sean O'Hair (2008), and Carl Pettersson (2005). Choi, mentioned above, won twice on the Copperhead Course – in 2002 and 2006. 

Japanese sensation Ryo Ishikawa is scheduled to compete in the Transitions Championship for the fourth straight year, as will crowd favorite John Daly. Other popular favorites who are expected to play include Trevor Immelman, Kenny Perry, Justin Leonard, Padraig Harrington, Chris DiMarco, Charles Howell III, Jonathan Byrd, Scott Stallings, Heath Slocum and Tampa Bay area-based golfers Ryuji Imada and Michael Bradley. Brandt Snedeker, Mark Wilson and Johnson Wagner – all winners of events already in 2012 – are also expected to play.

Transitions Optical utilizes the tournament to showcase its continued commitment to education surrounding the importance of healthy, quality vision and its connection to sports performance as well as enjoying life's every day moments. The week will kick-off with the "Think About Your Eyes Family Walk," and Transitions Optical will once again host the "Healthy Sight Village" behind the 18th green, which will include the "Think About Your Eyes Pavilion," where attendees will engage in hands-on experiences, such as sports-vision demonstrations and the latest in adaptive eyewear specific to golf, meet and greets with select TOUR pros, health and wellness screenings, and much more.

During tournament week, nearly 2,000 students and teachers from several local elementary schools will be invited to the Transitions Championship "Youth Days," to learn about the connection between healthy sight and reading and learning, in addition to the many other sports-related activities they will participate in within the "Healthy Sight Village."

"We are excited about this year's Transitions Championship, as not only does this event bring world-class golf right here to the Tampa Bay area, but it also allows us to create unique spectator experiences to educate people of all ages about the simple steps they can take to protect and maintain healthy sight in their everyday lives," said Dave Cole, president, Transitions Optical. "Our partnership with the PGA TOUR, the Copperheads and Innisbrook, and the success we have achieved together these past few years, has given us a relevant opportunity to reach consumers and establish a meaningful dialogue about this important issue." 

The Transitions Championship will benefit over 100 local Tampa Bay area charities. The tournament has made a charitable contribution of more than $28 million in the last 35 years. In addition to the charitable impact, the tournament has contributed more than $19 million to the local economy.

Tickets to the 2012 Transitions Championship – March 12-18 at Innisbrook Resort – are on sale now in participating Publix locations or by visiting www.transitionschampionship.com or calling (727) 942-5566.

About The Transitions Championship
The Transitions Championship is a 72-hole official PGA TOUR® event played on the famed Copperhead Course at Innisbrook, a Salamander Golf & Spa Resort in Innisbrook, Florida. Transitions Optical is the title sponsor of the PGA TOUR's Tampa Bay event, which draws a field of 144 of the finest golfers from around the world. Past winners include defending champion Gary Woodland, Jim Furyk, Vijay Singh, Sean O'Hair, and two-time winners Retief Goosen and K.J. Choi. The Transitions Championship benefits more than 100 Tampa Bay area charities and has contributed nearly $28 million to charity in tournament history. The upcoming Transitions Championship will be the twelfth PGA TOUR event sponsored by The Copperheads since 2000 (the 2001 tournament was cancelled following the attacks of 9/11). The tournament tees off March 12-18, 2012 and will include a week of tournament-related activities reinforcing the connection between healthy sight and an overall healthy lifestyle.

SOURCE Transitions Optical, Inc.