TOUR Insider: Verizon Heritage

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Here we go again with the annual Exhale Open.

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Boo Weekley en route to his Monday victory in last year's Verizon Heritage.

LOOK BACK TO '07

Video: Final-round recap
Stats: Tournament results

The Verizon Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links has followed the Masters Tournament on the PGA TOUR schedule since its inception in 1969. Most of the field that journeys this week to Hilton Head Island, S.C., is coming from other points in the U.S. and abroad, but about one-quarter of the contestants will have first played at least two rounds up the road in Georgia at Augusta National Golf Club.

It's a week many players savor, former champion Justin Leonard being one of them.

"I have no trouble at all [preparing]," said Leonard, who won in 2002. "I find that when you've been working hard preparing for the Masters and a major tournament and you're grinding for a week, then the week after seems like a bit of a breeze. The Masters is like final exams and then Hilton Head is Spring Break.

Nevertheless, while players decompress from a week of major championship pressure, they have to gear their games to a compressed layout.

"It's more of a challenge to adjust than people might think," said former U.S. Open champion Jim Furyk, who was runner-up at the Verizon Heritage in 2005 and '06. "You go from Augusta National, which is such a big place -- a lot of area, big greens, big bunkers and all -- to a golf course with small greens, narrow fairways ... to change your game from Augusta to Hilton Head, it's not an easy thing to do. The focus is totally different."

Indeed, Harbour Town is a mere 6,913 yards (compared to Augusta National's 7,445 yards) flowing lazily over low-lying coastal land. Pete Dye and Jack Nicklaus designed a layout that is notable for claustrophobic driving areas lined by tall pines, waste areas and water hazards that leave only 27 acres of playing area and tiny, flat greens that possess subtle breaks. Harbour Town's greens average roughly 3,700 square feet, smallest on the TOUR.

Another important factor is the setup; for the third week in a row, a TOUR course will have negligible rough (about an inch). At Harbour Town, of course, into the rough usually translates to behind some trees.

While this week's site is one of the shortest courses on the PGA TOUR, it remains a scoring conundrum. Harbour Town ranked the 19th most difficult layout last year, up from 24th the year prior. It was the fourth-hardest test in 2005, making it on par with major examinations.

"It's going to be a fun week, no matter what happens," said Boo Weekley, who chipped in for par on the final two holes at Harbour Town to win his first PGA TOUR titles. "This week, man, the golf was hard. But I'm ready. This golf course (Augusta) will get you ready for anything."

FEDEXCUP POINTERS

• According to the entry list, 37 Masters participants have decided to make the trip east to Hilton Head, including defending champion Boo Weekley and former winners Stewart Cink, Aaron Baddeley, Justin Leonard and Peter Lonard. Of those 37 players, 19 made the cut at Augusta National.

• Mark Calcavecchia replaced is PING Raptor driver with the new G10, which, true to its name, provided him with an extra 10 yards, though he felt like he was giving up a bit of accuracy. "But it's good, because instead of being 30 yards behind everyone else, I'm only 20," he deadpanned. He won't need it as much as Harbour Town, where he has just two top-10 finishes.

• Bob Estes wore a glove for the first time since 1991 at Houston and switched to an interlocking grip. He ended up tied for sixth. Estes hasn't finished under par for 72 holes at Harbour Town since 2003, when he recorded the last of his 13 top-10s.

• Bernhard Langer remains the only player to win the Verizon Heritage after winning the Masters Tournament, having done the double in 1985. Others have found a trip to Augusta is a great warm-up for Hilton Head. Until Aaron Baddely's victory last year, Bob Tway, in 1995, was the only player to triumph at Harbour Town without playing in the Masters the prior week. Then Boo Weekley made it two straight last year.

• Weekley, who at Harbour Town will play the second of five consecutive events, was the 10th man to win the Verizon Heritage in his first appearance and the third in a row following Aaron Baddeley and Lonard.

• Major champions tend to thrive at Hilton Head. Of the previous 38 winners of this event, only 10 are without a major championship to their credit, however, seven of the last 11 haven't won a major, including the last four men.

• Recent winners have shown the value of establishing a good lead through three rounds. Three of the last six champions needed only a score in the 70s the final day to triumph, and two of them -- Justin Leonard and Peter Lonard -- shot 73 and 75, respectively, on the way to victory.

• Davis Love III, whose major championship streak ended last week when he failed to qualify for the Masters, has won the Verizon Heritage five times, and four have come after playing in the Masters (the exception is his first, in 1987). He'll get a chance for a second title without going to Augusta this week.