Everything about The Players Championship totally explained
The Players Championship (often styled
THE PLAYERS Championship) is an annual golf tournament on the
PGA Tour.
The inaugural event in 1974 was played at Atlanta Country Club in
Marietta, Georgia before moving to 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 isn't uncommon for "TPC" in this context to be conflated with "The Players Championship" because they happen to have the same initials).
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 by certain sections of the
North American media as the "Fifth
Major", but it doesn't have official major status. The field usually includes the top fifty golfers in the
world rankings, but unlike the three majors which are staged in the
U.S., it doesn't count as an official event on the
European Tour, which has the
Deutsche Bank Players Championship of Europe, although it's an imperfect parallel. The winner receives a fixed allocation of 40 points towards his
Official World Golf Ranking, which is the most allocated to any event apart from the majors, in which winners earn 50 points. For comparison, the winners of the three individual
World Golf Championships generally receive between 35 and 39 points. The winner of The Players Championship also receives a 5 year exemption on the
PGA Tour, a 3 year invitation to
The Masters, a 3 year exemption for the
British Open, and an exemption to the
U.S. Open and the
PGA Championship for that year.
The Players Championship can be further distinguished from the "
Majors" in that it's 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
USGA, the
British Open by the
R&A, and the
PGA Championship by the
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. They are also sometimes refered to as 'running the gauntlet'.
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
U.S. Open in June, the
British Open in July, and the
PGA Championship in August).
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Following the 2006 event, the course underwent a major renovation, which received very positive reviews from the players in 2007.
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.
Winners
| Year |
Player |
Country |
Score |
1st Prize ($) |
| The Players Championship |
| 2008 |
Sergio García |
|
283 (-5)* |
1,710,000 |
| 2007 |
Phil Mickelson |
|
277 (-11) |
1,620,000 |
| 2006 |
Stephen Ames |
|
274 (-14) |
1,440,000 |
| 2005 |
Fred Funk |
|
279 (-9) |
1,440,000 |
| 2004 |
Adam Scott |
|
276 (-12) |
1,440,000 |
| 2003 |
Davis Love III |
|
271 (-17) |
1,170,000 |
| 2002 |
Craig Perks |
|
280 (-8) |
1,080,000 |
| 2001 |
Tiger Woods |
|
274 (-14) |
1,080,000 |
| 2000 |
Hal Sutton |
|
278 (-10) |
1,080,000 |
| 1999 |
David Duval |
|
285 (-3) |
900,000 |
| 1998 |
Justin Leonard |
|
278 (-10) |
720,000 |
| 1997 |
Steve Elkington |
|
272 (-16) |
630,000 |
| 1996 |
Fred Couples |
|
270 (-18) |
630,000 |
| 1995 |
Lee Janzen |
|
283 (-5) |
540,000 |
| 1994 |
Greg Norman |
|
264 (-24) |
450,000 |
| 1993 |
Nick Price |
|
270 (-18) |
450,000 |
| 1992 |
Davis Love III |
|
273 (-15) |
324,000 |
| 1991 |
Steve Elkington |
|
276 (-12) |
288,000 |
| 1990 |
Jodie Mudd |
|
278 (-10) |
270,000 |
| 1989 |
Tom Kite |
|
279 (-9) |
243,000 |
| 1988 |
Mark McCumber |
|
273 (-15) |
225,000 |
| Tournament Players Championship |
| 1987 |
Sandy Lyle |
|
274 (-14)* |
180,000 |
| 1986 |
John Mahaffey |
|
275 (-13) |
162,000 |
| 1985 |
Calvin Peete |
|
274 (-14) |
162,000 |
| 1984 |
Fred Couples |
|
277 (-11) |
144,000 |
| 1983 |
Hal Sutton |
|
283 (-5) |
126,000 |
| 1982 |
Jerry Pate |
|
280 (-8) |
90,000 |
| 1981 |
Raymond Floyd |
|
285 (-3)* |
72,000 |
| 1980 |
Lee Trevino |
|
278 (-10) |
72,000 |
| 1979 |
Lanny Wadkins |
|
283 (-5) |
72,000 |
| 1978 |
Jack Nicklaus |
|
289 (1) |
60,000 |
| 1977 |
Mark Hayes |
|
289 (1) |
60,000 |
| 1976 |
Jack Nicklaus |
|
269 (-19) |
60,000 |
| 1975 |
Al Geiberger |
|
270 (-10) |
50,000 |
| 1974 |
Jack Nicklaus |
|
272 (-16) |
50,000 |
* Indicates a win in a playoff
Multiple winners
Five men have won The Players Championship more than once through 2008.
2 wins
Further Information
Get more info on 'The Players Championship'.
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