The Players Championship

"Tournament Players Championship" redirects here. For the British golf tournament, see Tournament Players Championship (United Kingdom).

For other uses, see Players Championship.

The Players Championship

File:PlayersChampionshipNewLogo.png
Tournament information
Location	Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
Established	1974, 50 years ago
Course(s)	TPC at Sawgrass, Stadium Course (1982–present)
Par	72
Length	7,215 yards (6,597 m)
Tour(s)	PGA Tour
Format	Stroke play
Prize fund	$10 million
Month played	May
Tournament record score
Aggregate	264 Greg Norman (1994)
To par	−24 Greg Norman (1994)
Current champion
Rickie Fowler
2015 Players Championship

TPC Sawgrass

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Location in Florida

The Players Championship (often styled as THE PLAYERS Championship or The PLAYERS) is an annual golf tournament on the PGA Tour. Originally known as the Tournament Players Championship, it began in 1974. The Players Championship offers the highest prize fund of any tournament in golf ($10 million in 2015). The field usually includes the top 50 players in the world rankings, but unlike the three major championships staged in the United States, it is not an official event on the European Tour.

The Players has often been considered the unofficial "fifth major" due to its prestige, its host course (the TPC at Sawgrass Stadium Course at which the tournament has been played since 1982, home of the iconic par-3 #17 "Island Green"), and its considerably larger purse.

Format

The victor receives $1.80 million, the winner's share (18%) of the largest purse of any tournament in golf ($10 million), and receives 80 points towards his world ranking, the most share aside from the majors, for which winners earn 100 points. For comparison, the winners of the four individual World Golf Championships generally receive between 70 and 78 points. The winner also receives a five-year exemption on the PGA Tour, a three-year invitation to the Masters Tournament, three-year exemptions for the U.S. Open and The Open Championship, and an exemption to that year's PGA Championship in August. The winner earns 600 FedEx Cup points, if a PGA Tour member.

Field

The field consists of 144 players consisting of the following criteria:

1. Winners of PGA Tour events since last Players
2. Top 125 from previous season's FedEx Cup points list
3. Top 125 from current season - Medical Extension
4. Major champions from the past five years
5. Players Championship winners from the past five years
6. WGC winners from the past three years
7. The Tour Championship winners from the past three years
8. Top 50 from the Official World Golf Ranking
9. Senior Players champion from prior year
10. Web.com Tour money leader from prior season
11. Money leader during the Web.com Tour Finals, if not the regular-season money leader
12. Top 10 current year FedEx Cup points leaders
13. Remaining positions and alternates filled through current year FedEx Cup standings

Since 2015, winners of the Memorial Tournament and the Arnold Palmer Invitational earned invitations to the next three Players Championships.

History

The Players Championship was conceived by the PGA Tour commissioner at the time, Deane Beman. The inaugural event in 1974 was played at Atlanta Country Club in Marietta, Georgia. It moved to the Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas in 1975 and to Inverrary Country Club in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida in 1976. Beginning in 1977, the event was played at Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, initially at Sawgrass Country Club's Oceanside Course (a combination of the "East" and "West" 9-hole courses). Since 1982, the tournament has been played across the road from Sawgrass Country Club, on the Stadium Course at TPC at Sawgrass.

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 (7,150 m²) Mediterranean Revival-style clubhouse.

For most of its existence, the tournament was played in late March, 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. The change gave 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).

With the rearrangement of 2007, the final round of The Players Championship is scheduled for the second Sunday of May, Mother's Day. To mark this, during the fourth round almost all players wear pink shirts or accessories, and many in the galleries also join them in donning pink garb. This scheduling parallels the U.S. Open, which concludes on the third Sunday of June, Father's Day. Both tournaments share the same broadcast partner, NBC Sports, through 2014. Also, like The Masters, US television coverage is presented with limited commercial breaks through the use of a "presenting partner": currently, this is PricewaterhouseCoopers, who use several of their ads to promote youth golfing program The First Tee.

Through 2013, the playoff format was sudden-death, lately starting at the par-3 17th hole. Since moving to the Stadium Course in 1982, only three playoffs have been necessary (1987, 2008, 2011) and the last two ended at the first extra hole, with pars by the victors. (The 1987 playoff started at the par-5 16th and went to a third extra hole at the par-4 18th, also a par by the winner.) The format was changed to a three-hole aggregate in 2014, similar to the PGA Championship, played over the final three holes, in order. If still tied, the playoff goes to sudden-death on the same three holes, starting at the 17th, the 18th, the 16th, and repeating thereafter until one player's score is lower. The format was first used in 2015.

Tournament venue

Years	Venue	Location
1982–2015	TPC Sawgrass	Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
1977–1981	Sawgrass Country Club	Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
1976	Inverrary Country Club	Fort Lauderdale, Florida
1975	Colonial Country Club	Fort Worth, Texas
1974	Atlanta Country Club	Marietta, Georgia

Winners

The Players Championship
Year	Player	Country	Score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up	1st prize ($)	Purse ($)
2015	Rickie Fowler	United States	276	−12	Playoff	Sergio García Kevin Kisner	1,800,000	10,000,000
2014	Martin Kaymer	Germany	275	−13	1 stroke	Jim Furyk	1,800,000	10,000,000
2013	Tiger Woods (2)	United States	275	−13	2 strokes	David Lingmerth Jeff Maggert Kevin Streelman	1,710,000	9,500,000
2012	Matt Kuchar	United States	275	−13	2 strokes	Ben Curtis Rickie Fowler Zach Johnson Martin Laird	1,710,000	9,500,000
2011	K. J. Choi	South Korea	275	−13	Playoff	David Toms	1,710,000	9,500,000
2010	Tim Clark	South Africa	272	−16	1 stroke	Robert Allenby	1,710,000	9,500,000
2009	Henrik Stenson	Sweden	276	−12	4 strokes	Ian Poulter	1,710,000	9,500,000
2008	Sergio García	Spain	283	−5	Playoff	Paul Goydos	1,710,000	9,500,000
2007	Phil Mickelson	United States	277	−11	2 strokes	Sergio García	1,620,000	9,000,000
2006	Stephen Ames	Canada	274	−14	6 strokes	Retief Goosen	1,440,000	8,000,000
2005	Fred Funk	United States	279	−9	1 stroke	Luke Donald Tom Lehman Scott Verplank	1,440,000	8,000,000
2004	Adam Scott	Australia	276	−12	1 stroke	Pádraig Harrington	1,440,000	8,000,000
2003	Davis Love III (2)	United States	271	−17	6 strokes	Jay Haas Pádraig Harrington	1,170,000	6,500,000
2002	Craig Perks	New Zealand	280	−8	2 strokes	Stephen Ames	1,080,000	6,000,000
2001	Tiger Woods	United States	274	−14	1 stroke	Vijay Singh	1,080,000	6,000,000
2000	Hal Sutton (2)	United States	278	−10	1 stroke	Tiger Woods	1,080,000	6,000,000
1999	David Duval	United States	285	−3	2 strokes	Scott Gump	900,000	5,000,000
1998	Justin Leonard	United States	278	−10	2 strokes	Glen Day Tom Lehman	720,000	4,000,000
1997	Steve Elkington (2)	Australia	272	−16	7 strokes	Scott Hoch	630,000	3,500,000
1996	Fred Couples (2)	United States	270	−18	4 strokes	Colin Montgomerie Tommy Tolles	630,000	3,500,000
1995	Lee Janzen	United States	283	−5	1 stroke	Bernhard Langer	540,000	3,000,000
1994	Greg Norman	Australia	264	−24	4 strokes	Fuzzy Zoeller	450,000	2,500,000
1993	Nick Price	Zimbabwe	270	−18	5 strokes	Bernhard Langer	450,000	2,500,000
1992	Davis Love III	United States	273	−15	4 strokes	Ian Baker-Finch Phil Blackmar Nick Faldo Tom Watson	324,000	1,800,000
1991	Steve Elkington	Australia	276	−12	1 stroke	Fuzzy Zoeller	288,000	1,600,000
1990	Jodie Mudd	United States	278	−10	1 stroke	Mark Calcavecchia	270,000	1,500,000
1989	Tom Kite	United States	279	−9	1 stroke	Chip Beck	243,000	1,350,000
1988	Mark McCumber	United States	273	−15	4 strokes	Mike Reid	225,000	1,250,000
Tournament Players Championship
1987	Sandy Lyle	Scotland	274	−14	Playoff	Jeff Sluman	180,000	1,000,000
1986	John Mahaffey	United States	275	−13	1 stroke	Larry Mize	162,000	900,000
1985	Calvin Peete	United States	274	−14	3 strokes	D. A. Weibring	162,000	900,000
1984	Fred Couples	United States	277	−11	1 stroke	Lee Trevino	144,000	800,000
1983	Hal Sutton	United States	283	−5	1 stroke	Bob Eastwood	126,000	700,000
1982	Jerry Pate	United States	280	−8	2 strokes	Brad Bryant Scott Simpson	90,000	500,000
1981	Raymond Floyd	United States	285	−3	Playoff	Barry Jaeckel Curtis Strange	72,000	400,000
1980	Lee Trevino	United States	278	−10	1 stroke	Ben Crenshaw	72,000	400,000
1979	Lanny Wadkins	United States	283	−5	5 strokes	Tom Watson	72,000	400,000
1978	Jack Nicklaus (3)	United States	289	+1	1 stroke	Lou Graham	60,000	300,000
1977	Mark Hayes	United States	289	+1	2 strokes	Mike McCullough	60,000	300,000
1976	Jack Nicklaus (2)	United States	269	−19	3 strokes	J. C. Snead	60,000	300,000
1975	Al Geiberger	United States	270	−10	3 strokes	Dave Stockton	50,000	250,000
1974	Jack Nicklaus	United States	272	−16	2 strokes	J. C. Snead	50,000	250,000

Note: Green highlight indicates scoring records.
Sources

Multiple winners

Six players have won the tournament more than once:

• 3 wins:
  • Jack Nicklaus: 1974, 1976, 1978

• 2 wins:
  • Fred Couples: 1984, 1996
  • Steve Elkington: 1991, 1997
  • Hal Sutton: 1983, 2000
  • Davis Love III: 1992, 2003
  • Tiger Woods: 2001, 2013

Tournament highlights

Phil Mickelson with the 2007 Player Championship trophy

• 1974: Jack Nicklaus wins the inaugural edition of the tournament. He beats J.C. Snead by two shots near Atlanta.
• 1977: Mark Hayes wins by two shots over Mike McCullough at Sawgrass Country Club, despite shooting the highest winning score on the PGA Tour, 289, since Nicklaus at the 1972 U.S. Open.
• 1978: Jack Nicklaus wins his third Tournament Players Championship title. He edges Lou Graham by one shot.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 1982: After winning the first tournament at the Stadium Course by two shots over Brad Bryant and Scott Simpson, Jerry Pate tosses PGA Tour Commissioner Deane Beman and course architect Pete Dye into the water adjacent to the 18th green before jumping in himself.
• 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.
• 1984: Fred Couples shoots a course record 64 during the second round of play on his way to a one-shot victory over Lee Trevino.
• 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.
• 1987: Sandy Lyle defeats Jeff Sluman with a par on the third hole of a sudden-death playoff. At the playoff's second hole, Sluman stood over a 6-foot (1.8 m) birdie putt to win, and a spectator jumped into the water surrounding the 17th green. He backed away, then missed.
• 1988: Jacksonville area resident Mark McCumber wins by four shots over Mike Reid.
• 1989: Tom Kite wins for the second consecutive week. He beats Chip Beck by one shot.
• 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.
• 1992: Mark Calcavecchia and John Daly, the first pair on the final day of the tournament, 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.
• 1994: Greg Norman shoots the 72-hole record score for the tournament, 264, on his way to a four shot victory over Fuzzy Zoeller.
• 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.
• 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.
• 1999: David Duval wins by two shots over Scott Gump. The win by Duval propels him to #1 in the World rankings.
• 2000: Hal Sutton wins at the TPC at Sawgrass for a second time. He edges Tiger Woods by one shot.
• 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. It was the only PGA Tour win for Perks.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 hits four balls into the water surrounding the 17th green, scoring a twelve on the hole.
• 2010: After 206 starts, Tim Clark breaks through for his first PGA Tour win.
• 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.
• 2013: Roberto Castro ties the course record with a 9-under 63 in the opening round. Sergio García, tied for the lead with Tiger Woods at 13-under going to the 17th par-3, puts two balls into the water. Tiger Woods won the event for the first time since 2001. It was his 78th career PGA Tour win in his 300th start.
• 2014: Ongoing injuries prevented Tiger Woods from defending his title. In the first round, Martin Kaymer tied the course record with a 63 matching Fred Couples (1992), Greg Norman (1994) and Roberto Castro (2013). Kaymer would go on to win wire-to-wire.
• 2015: Following a three-way tie at 12-under par in regulation play, the tournament's first aggregate three-hole playoff over holes 16–18 was conducted between Rickie Fowler, Kevin Kisner and Sergio García. Kisner and Fowler both went par-birdie-par to end the playoff at 1-under par, while García could only muster three pars to finish at even par and was thus eliminated. The playoff continued into sudden death starting at the 17th, where both Kisner and Fowler had birdie opportunities. Kisner's birdie try from about 12 feet was unsuccessful, while Fowler's effort, inside of five feet, dropped home for the victory.

Gallery

• 
  Tiger Woods at the 17th hole in the 2007 Players Championship.
• 
  Phil Mickelson on the 18th hole in the 2007 Players Championship.
• 
  Sergio García winning the 2008 Players Championship.
• 
  Former President George H. W. Bush shakes hands with Rear Adm. Joseph Kernan and then received the Professional Golfers Association Tour Lifetime Achievement Award.
• 
  Adam Scott chips out of the trap for par on #3 during the 2008 Players Championship.
• 
  Dierks Bentley meets with service members at the 2013 Players Championship.

External links

• Coverage on the PGA Tour's official site
• TPC at Sawgrass official site
• Results at golfstats.com