TPC Sawgrass has winners of all kinds Few tournaments in golf are as equal opportunity as the Players Championship. Since it was established in 1974, there has never been a repeat champion. Figuring out who has an edge at the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass is about as difficult as hitting the legendary island green 17th in 30 mph winds.
Architect Pete Dye’s Florida masterpiece, built on foreboding swampland south of Jacksonville, defies easy classification. At 7,215 yards, it’s not excessively long. With greens rolling at 12.5 on the Stimpmeter, it’s not excessively fast. Ranked 23rd out of 51 PGA Tour courses, it’s not excessively tough, despite the daunting presence of 93 bunkers and 24 water hazards.
Since the Players moved to Sawgrass in 1982, the course has shown little bias. Winners of the Players have included greats Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods and non-greats Craig Perks and Jodie Mudd. There have been long-hitting champions (Fred Couples, Davis Love III) and short-hitting winners (Tom Kite, Calvin Peete). There have been victors who hit draws (Justin Leonard) and fades (Lee Trevino). There have been first-time winners (Tim Clark) and last-time winners (Jerry Pate); and creative artists (Phil Mickelson, Greg Norman) and relative house painters (Lee Janzen, Mark McCumber).
| Players Championship |
| When » Thursday-Sunday |
| Where » TPC Sawgrass, Ponte Verda Beach, Fla. |
| TV » Golf (Thur.-Fri. 1-7 p.m.) |
| Golf (Sat.-Sun. 12-2 p.m.) |
| NBC (Sat.-Sun. 2-7 p.m.) |
The Players doesn’t discriminate by age, race or national origin. Fred Funk was 48 when he won in 2005. The previous year, Adam Scott won at age 23. In the last decade, champions have come from all corners of the globe — South Korea, South Africa, Sweden, New Zealand, Canada, Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Australia and the United States.
“I don’t think it favors any one style of golf. It doesn’t really favor the bomber,” said world No. 2 Luke Donald, who will try to become the first Englishman to win the tournament. “It’s a course that if you’re playing well, you’re going to do well.”
While the British Open traditionally favors those who can play in the wind, the U.S. Open rewards accuracy, and Masters favors length and creativity around the greens, the Players — often referred to as the fifth major — is a tournament where everyone feels they have an equal chance.
Hunter Mahan, the only player with two PGA Tour wins this season, believes however that there will be a premium on accuracy this week.
“You can’t just step on the tee and spray it everywhere,” Mahan told reporters. “You’re going to have to be a technician when you play it. You’ve got to hit fairways. You’ve got to hit greens. I don’t think you can really win from the trees. The course is too challenging, too punishing.”
Once derided as a tricked-up course, Sawgrass has earned a measure of respect in recent years despite the presence of the cussed and discussed signature 17th, which has been the scene of much high-profile carnage over the last three decades.
“I think 17 is a great hole. But not [as] the 17th,” Tiger Woods said. “I think it’s a perfect eighth hole or something like that. As a great finishing hole, I’m not in that opinion. But I think the collection of holes, 16th, 17th and 18th is the most dramatic that I think we play out here on tour.”
