| 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 | |
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 British Open 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 British Open 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 |
| 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]
Five men have won The Players Championship more than once through 2011.
|
|||||||||||||||||