The Players Championship
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| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Location | Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida |
| Established | 1974 |
| Course(s) | TPC at Sawgrass, Stadium Course |
| Par | 72 |
| Length | 7,215 yards |
| Tour(s) | PGA Tour |
| Format | Stroke play |
| Prize fund | $9,500,000 |
| Month played | May |
| Tournament record score | |
| Aggregate | 264 Greg Norman (1994) |
| To par | -24 Greg Norman (1994) |
| Current champion | |
| K. J. Choi | |
 2011 Players Championship |
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The Players Championship (often styled as THE PLAYERS Championship) is an annual golf tournament on the PGA Tour.
Originally known as the Tournament Players Championship, the inaugural event in 1974 was played at Atlanta Country Club in Marietta, Georgia before moving to the Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas in 1975 and Inverrary Country Club in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida in 1976. Beginning in 1977, the event relocated to Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, first being played at Sawgrass Country Club's Oceanside Course (a combination of the "East" and "West" 9-hole courses). Since 1982 it has been played across the road from Sawgrass Country Club, on the Stadium Course at the "Tournament Players Club at Sawgrass" (usually referred to as the TPC at Sawgrass). It is not uncommon for "TPC" in this context to be conflated with "The Players Championship" because they happen to have the same initials – in fact, this confusion was the reason why the tournament's original name was shortened to just "Players Championship" prior to the 1988 event, although some confusion between the two still persists occasionally.
The Players Championship offers the highest prize fund of any tournament in golf ($8 million 2004–06, $9 million in 2007, $9.5 million in 2008), and is sometimes referred to as the "Fifth Major," but it does not have official major status. The field usually includes the top 50 golfers in the world rankings, but unlike the three majors which are staged in the United States, it does not count as an official event on the European Tour. The winner receives a fixed allocation of 80 points towards his Official World Golf Ranking, which is the most allocated to any event apart from the majors, in which winners earn 100 points. For comparison, the winners of the three individual World Golf Championships held during the PGA Tour regular season generally receive between 70 and 78 points.[1] The Players Championship also receives a 5-year exemption on the PGA Tour, a three-year invitation to the Masters Tournament, three-year exemptions for The Open Championship and for the U.S. Open, and an exemption to the PGA Championship for that year.
The Players Championship can be further distinguished from the "Majors" in that it is owned and administered by the PGA Tour. In contrast, The Masters is owned by the Augusta National Golf Club; the U.S. Open by the United States Golf Association (USGA); The Open Championship by The R&A, an offshoot of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews; and the PGA Championship by the Professional Golfers' Association of America (PGA of America).
The Players Championship is best known for what may be the single most recognizable par 3 in professional golf, the Stadium Course's 17th hole, known to golf fans worldwide as "the Island Green" and what has become TPC Sawgrass' signature hole. The final three holes are considered one of the toughest finishes in golf.
The Players Championship had been played in late March for most of its existence, two weeks before The Masters. In 2007 it was moved to mid-May, as part of a restructuring of the PGA Tour. This restructuring involved the introduction of the lucrative FedEx Cup, which concludes with The Tour Championship, now played six weeks earlier, in mid-September. This gives the PGA Tour a marquee event in six consecutive months (The Masters in April, The Players in May, the U.S. Open in June, the Open Championship in July, the PGA Championship in August, and the Tour Championship in September). [1]
Following the 2006 event, the course underwent a major renovation, which received very positive reviews from the players in 2007. Included in the renovation was a new 77,000 square-foot (7153 m²) Mediterranean Revival-style clubhouse.
With the rearrangement of 2007, the final round of The Players Championship is scheduled for the second Sunday of May, Mother's Day. This parallels the U.S. Open, which concludes on the third Sunday of June, Father's Day.
Contents |
[edit] Winners
| The Players Championship | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Country | Score | To par | 1st Prize ($) | Purse ($) |
| 2011 | K. J. Choi |  South Korea |
275 | -13* | 1,710,000 | 9,500,000 |
| 2010 | Tim Clark |  South Africa |
272 | -16 | 1,710,000 | 9,500,000 |
| 2009 | Henrik Stenson |  Sweden |
276 | -12 | 1,710,000 | 9,500,000 |
| 2008 | Sergio García |  Spain |
283 | -5* | 1,710,000 | 9,500,000 |
| 2007 | Phil Mickelson |  United States |
277 | -11 | 1,620,000 | 9,000,000 |
| 2006 | Stephen Ames |  Trinidad and Tobago Canada |
274 | -14 | 1,440,000 | 8,000,000 |
| 2005 | Fred Funk | United States |
279 | -9 | 1,440,000 | 8,000,000 |
| 2004 | Adam Scott |  Australia |
276 | -12 | 1,440,000 | 8,000,000 |
| 2003 | Davis Love III (2) | United States |
271 | -17 | 1,170,000 | 6,500,000 |
| 2002 | Craig Perks |  New Zealand |
280 | -8 | 1,080,000 | 6,000,000 |
| 2001 | Tiger Woods | United States |
274 | -14 | 1,080,000 | 6,000,000 |
| 2000 | Hal Sutton (2) | United States |
278 | -10 | 1,080,000 | 6,000,000 |
| 1999 | David Duval | United States |
285 | -3 | 900,000 | 5,000,000 |
| 1998 | Justin Leonard | United States |
278 | -10 | 720,000 | 4,000,000 |
| 1997 | Steve Elkington (2) | Australia |
272 | -16 | 630,000 | 3,500,000 |
| 1996 | Fred Couples (2) | United States |
270 | -18 | 630,000 | 3,500,000 |
| 1995 | Lee Janzen | United States |
283 | -5 | 540,000 | 3,000,000 |
| 1994 | Greg Norman | Australia |
264 | -24 | 450,000 | 2,500,000 |
| 1993 | Nick Price |  Zimbabwe |
270 | -18 | 450,000 | 2,500,000 |
| 1992 | Davis Love III (1) | United States |
273 | -15 | 324,000 | 1,800,000 |
| 1991 | Steve Elkington (1) | Australia |
276 | -12 | 288,000 | 1,600,000 |
| 1990 | Jodie Mudd | United States |
278 | -10 | 270,000 | 1,500,000 |
| 1989 | Tom Kite | United States |
279 | -9 | 243,000 | 1,350,000 |
| 1988 | Mark McCumber | United States |
273 | -15 | 225,000 | 1,250,000 |
| Tournament Players Championship | ||||||
| Year | Player | Country | Score | To par | 1st Prize ($) | Purse ($) |
| 1987 | Sandy Lyle |  Scotland |
274 | -14* | 180,000 | 1,000,000 |
| 1986 | John Mahaffey | United States |
275 | -13 | 162,000 | 900,000 |
| 1985 | Calvin Peete | United States |
274 | -14 | 162,000 | 900,000 |
| 1984 | Fred Couples (1) | United States |
277 | -11 | 144,000 | 800,000 |
| 1983 | Hal Sutton (1) | United States |
283 | -5 | 126,000 | 700,000 |
| 1982 | Jerry Pate | United States |
280 | -8 | 90,000 | 500,000 |
| 1981 | Raymond Floyd | United States |
285 | -3* | 72,000 | 400,000 |
| 1980 | Lee Trevino | United States |
278 | -10 | 72,000 | 400,000 |
| 1979 | Lanny Wadkins | United States |
283 | -5 | 72,000 | 400,000 |
| 1978 | Jack Nicklaus (3) | United States |
289 | +1 | 60,000 | 300,000 |
| 1977 | Mark Hayes | United States |
289 | +1 | 60,000 | 300,000 |
| 1976 | Jack Nicklaus (2) | United States |
269 | -19 | 60,000 | 300,000 |
| 1975 | Al Geiberger | United States |
270 | -10 | 50,000 | 250,000 |
| 1974 | Jack Nicklaus (1) | United States |
272 | -16 | 50,000 | 250,000 |
* Indicates a win in a playoff
Note: Green highlight indicates scoring records.
Sources[2][3]
[edit] Multiple winners
Five men have won The Players Championship more than once through 2011.
- 3 wins
- Jack Nicklaus: 1974, 1976, 1978
- 2 wins
- Fred Couples: 1984, 1996
- Steve Elkington: 1991, 1997
- Davis Love III: 1992, 2003
- Hal Sutton: 1983, 2000
[edit] Tournament highlights
- 1974: Jack Nicklaus wins the inaugural edition of the tournament. He beats J.C. Snead by two shots.[4]
- 1977: Mark Hayes wins by two shots over Mike McCullough in spite of shooting the highest winning score on the PGA Tour, 289, since Jack Nicklaus at the 1972 U.S. Open.[5]
- 1978: Jack Nicklaus wins his third Tournament Players Championship title. He edges Lou Graham by one shot.[6]
- 1979: Bob Murphy, a five-time winner on the PGA Tour, shoots a final round 92. Winds were gusting up to 45 miles per hour that day.[7]
- 1980: Playing in a final threesome with Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino shoots a final round 70 to edge Ben Crenshaw by one shot.[8]
- 1981: Raymond Floyd defeats Curtis Strange and Barry Jaeckel on the first hole of a sudden death playoff. In addition to the tournament title, Floyd collects an additional $250,000 bonus due to his win at the Doral-Eastern Open the week before.[9]
- 1982: After winning the tournament by two shots over Brad Bryant and Scott Simpson, Jerry Pate tosses PGA Tour Commissioner Deane Beman and TPC at Sawgrass course architect Pete Dye into the water adjacent to the 18th green before jumping in himself.[10]
- 1983: Hal Sutton wins by one shot over Bob Eastwood. John Cook came to the 72nd hole tied for the lead with Sutton before hitting his tee shot in the water on his way to a double bogey.[11]
- 1984: Fred Couples shoots a course record 64[12] during the second round of play on his way to a one-shot victory over Lee Trevino.[13]
- 1986: John Mahaffey wins by one shot over Larry Mize after Mize makes bogey on four of the last five holes during the final round of play.[14]
- 1987: Sandy Lyle defeats Jeff Sluman on the third hole of a sudden death playoff. On the playoff's second hole as Sluman stood over a 6-foot birdie putt that could have won him the championship, a spectator jumps into the water surrounding the 17th green.[15]
- 1988: Jacksonville area resident Mark McCumber wins by four shots over Mike Reid.[16]
- 1989: Tom Kite wins for the second consecutive week. He beats Chip Beck by one shot.[17]
- 1991: Steve Elkington wins by one shot over Fuzzy Zoeller. Phil Blackmar had solo possession of the lead before hitting his tee shot into the water on the 71st hole resulting in a double bogey.[18]
- 1992: Mark Calcavecchia and John Daly are reprimanded by Deputy PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem "for failure to exert their best effort" after they finish their 18 holes of golf in only two hours and three minutes time.[19]
- 1994: Greg Norman shoots the 72-hole record score for the tournament, 264, on his way to a four shot victory over Fuzzy Zoeller.[20]
- 1995: After Norman's record score, the course is made tougher by the creation of new, rock hard greens. Lee Janzen shoots 283 to win the tournament, the biggest one-year swing for a tournament played on the same layout in PGA Tour history.[21]
- 1996: Twelve years after his first win at the TPC at Sawgrass, Fred Couples triumphs again. He shoots a final round 64 to beat Colin Montgomerie and Tommy Tolles by four shots.[22]
- 1999: David Duval wins by two shots over Scott Gump. The win by Duval propels him to #1 in the World rankings.[23]
- 2000: Hal Sutton wins at the TPC at Sawgrass for a second time. He edges Tiger Woods by one shot.[24]
- 2002: Playing for the first time ever in The Players Championship, Craig Perks finishes eagle-birdie-par to win by two shots over Stephen Ames.[25]
- 2003: Davis Love III wins The Players Championship for a second time. He shoots a final round 64 to win by six shots over Jay Haas and Pádraig Harrington.[26]
- 2004: In spite of hitting his 2nd shot at the 72nd hole into the water, Adam Scott is able to get it up and down for bogey to win by one shot over Pádraig Harrington.[27]
- 2005: Fred Funk becomes the tournament's oldest champion by edging Tom Lehman, Luke Donald, and Scott Verplank by one shot. During the final round, Bob Tway hit four balls into the water surrounding the 17th green, and scored a twelve on the hole.[28]
- 2011: K. J. Choi becomes the first Asian born golfer to win The Players Championship. He defeats David Toms on the first hole of a sudden death playoff.[29]
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ The fourth WGC event, the HSBC Champions, is held after The Tour Championship. The prize money is not official on the PGA Tour, but the tournament counts as an official win for PGA Tour members. The winner of the 2009 edition (the first to receive WGC status), Phil Mickelson, earned 66 points.
- ^ The Players Championship – Winners – at www.pgatour.com
- ^ The Players Championship – Winners – at golfobserver.com
- ^ 'Hungry' Nicklaus wins
- ^ Hayes uses wind in surprising win over talented field
- ^ Nicklaus not up to par
- ^ Wadkins survives elements to win by five-strokes
- ^ Trevino tames Sawgrass
- ^ Record payoff for Floyd
- ^ Beaman, Dye celebrate with Pate
- ^ Sutton gets lucky to win rich tour players' toruney
- ^ Couples shoots 64 to take lead of two strokes
- ^ Fred Couples shows he can handle the pressure
- ^ Mahaffey tops $2-million
- ^ Sandy Lyle wins TPC in playoff
- ^ McCumber wins, sets record
- ^ Players champion flying high
- ^ Breakfast club putting advice gives Elkington the Players title
- ^ Love conquers all to win Players Championship
- ^ Norman storms to record in Players Championship
- ^ Zullo, Allan, "Astonishing but True Golf Facts", Andrew McMeels Publishing, Forest Fairview, North Carolina, 2001.
- ^ Couples finishes too strong to win Players Championship
- ^ Perfect weekend for Duval
- ^ Sutton holds on for one-stroke victory
- ^ Perks wins Players Championships
- ^ Love's incredible round of golf wins Players Championship
- ^ Scott survives 18 to win Players Championship
- ^ Funk wins Players
- ^ Choi wins Players Championship
[edit] External links
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