2008 Players Championship
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | May 8–11, 2008 |
| Location | Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, U.S. |
| Course(s) | TPC at Sawgrass |
| Tour(s) | PGA Tour |
| Statistics | |
| Par | 72 |
| Length | 7,215 |
| Field | 144 players, 74 after the cut |
| Cut | 148 (+4) |
| Prize fund | $9,500,000 |
| Winner's share | $1,710,000 |
| Champion | |
 Sergio García | |
| 283 (-5) | |
The 2008 Players Championship was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour that was contested from May 8–11. It was the 35th Players Championship. The tournament was won by Spain's Sergio García, who gained the biggest win of his career after downing Paul Goydos in a playoff.
Venue
The 2008 Players Championship was the 28th held at the TPC at Sawgrass Stadium Course in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
Course layout
| Tee | Rating/Slope | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yardage | n/a | 423 | 532 | 177 | 384 | 471 | 393 | 442 | 237 | 583 | 3,642 | 424 | 558 | 358 | 181 | 481 | 449 | 523 | 137 | 462 | 3,573 | 7,215 |
| Par | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 36 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 36 | 72 |
Past champions in the field
Made the cut
| Player | Country | Year(s) won | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total | To par | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stephen Ames |  Canada | 2006 | 74 | 68 | 74 | 72 | 288 | E | 5 |
| Fred Couples |  United States | 1984, 1996 | 70 | 72 | 77 | 72 | 291 | +3 | T15 |
| Phil Mickelson | United States | 2008 | 70 | 73 | 71 | 78 | 292 | +4 | T21 |
| Steve Elkington |  Australia | 1991, 1997 | 69 | 76 | 77 | 72 | 294 | +6 | T32 |
| Davis Love III | United States | 1992, 2003 | 73 | 74 | 70 | 80 | 297 | +9 | T54 |
| Adam Scott | Australia | 2004 | 75 | 71 | 71 | 80 | 297 | +9 | T54 |
Missed the cut
| Player | Country | Year(s) won | R1 | R2 | Total | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Justin Leonard | Australia | 1998 | 75 | 74 | 149 | +5 |
| Fred Funk | United States | 2005 | 74 | 77 | 151 | +7 |
Round summaries
First round
Second round
| # | Player | Country | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenny Perry | United States | 68-70=138 | -6 |
| T2 | Sergio García | Spain | 66-73=139 | -5 |
| Paul Goydos | United States | 68-71=139 | ||
| Bernhard Langer |  Germany | 72-67=139 | ||
| 5 | Anthony Kim | United States | 70-70=140 | -4 |
| 6 | Boo Weekley | United States | 70-71=141 | -3 |
| T7 | Stephen Ames | Canada | 74-68=142 | -2 |
| Briny Baird | United States | 71-71=142 | ||
| Fred Couples | United States | 70-72=142 | ||
| Ben Crane | United States | 70-72=142 | ||
| John Merrick | United States | 70-72=142 | ||
| Kevin Stadler | United States | 70-72=142 |
Third round
| # | Player | Country | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paul Goydos | United States | 68-71-70=209 | -7 |
| 2 | Kenny Perry | United States | 68-70-72=210 | -6 |
| 3 | Sergio García | Spain | 66-73-73=212 | -4 |
| T4 | Bernhard Langer | Germany | 72-67-75=214 | -2 |
| Phil Mickelson | United States | 70-73-71=214 | ||
| Jeff Quinney | United States | 71-73-70=214 | ||
| T7 | Stuart Appleby | Australia | 72-72-71=215 | -1 |
| Briny Baird | United States | 71-71-73=215 | ||
| J. B. Holmes | United States | 72-72-71=215 | ||
| Greg Kraft | United States | 75-72-68=215 | ||
| Tom Lehman | United States | 73-73-69=215 | ||
| Tim Petrovic | United States | 73-73-69=215 | ||
| Boo Weekley | United States | 70-71-74=215 |
Final leaderboard
In tough conditions, both the final pairing struggled on the final day; overnight leader Paul Goydos could only manage a 2-over-par 74, whilst Kenny Perry crashed to an 81. In the groups ahead, the pairing of Jeff Quinney and Sergio García produced some of the best golf of the day, but García would be the one who edged to a one-stroke clubhouse lead at 5-under-par. Goydos would end up only matching that score, taking the two to a sudden-death playoff. At the first playoff hole, the infamous par-3 17th, García's par would be enough to win him the title when Goydos could make only bogey.
| # | Player | Country | Score | To par | Winnings ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sergio García | Spain | 66-73-73-71=283 | -5 | 1,710,000 |
| 2 | Paul Goydos | United States | 68-71-70-74=283 | -5 | 1,026,000 |
| 3 | Jeff Quinney | United States | 71-73-70-70=284 | -4 | 646,000 |
| 4 | Briny Baird | United States | 71-71-73-72=287 | -1 | 456,000 |
| 5 | Stephen Ames | Canada | 74-68-74-72=288 | E | 380,000 |
| T6 | Ben Crane | United States | 70-72-75-72=289 | +1 | 307,563 |
| Ernie Els |  South Africa | 72-71-74-72=289 | |||
| Tom Lehman | United States | 73-73-69-74=289 | |||
| Brett Quigley | United States | 70-76-72-71=289 | |||
| T10 | Chad Campbell | United States | 73-72-77-68=290 | +2 | 218,500 |
| J. B. Holmes | United States | 72-72-71-75=290 | |||
| Greg Kraft | United States | 75-72-68-75=290 | |||
| Henrik Stenson |  Sweden | 73-71-75-71=290 | |||
| Dean Wilson | United States | 74-72-75-69=290 |
External links
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Coordinates: 30°11′48″N 81°23′37″W / 30.19667°N 81.39361°W