• FULL FIELD: THE PLAYERS Championship
• COURSE: TPC Sawgrass (Stadium), 7,215 yards, par 72. Fashioned from 415 acres of wooded wetlands purchased for $1 by then-commissioner Deane Beman, architect Pete Dye created a layout that challenges all parts of a player’s game and plays no favorites. No two consecutive holes on the Stadium Course play in the same direction, doglegs were created in both directions and care was taken to offer both short and long holes of every par. No hole, though, gets more attention than its shortest – the 137-yard 17th over water to a green connected to land only by a narrow pathway from the back left.
• FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 600 points.
• FIELD WATCH: World No. 1 Rory McIlroy and new Masters champion Jordan Spieth join defending champion Martin Kaymer to head up one of the year’s deepest lineups. The roster features all of the top 50 in the current Offiical World Golf Ranking and 56 of the top 60. ... Tiger Woods, one of just six multiple winners at THE PLAYERS, sees his first action since he tied for 17th at the Masters. That was his first start since a two-month layoff. … One additional berth is available for the winner of this week’s World Golf Championships-Cadillac Match Play, if he hasn’t already qualified.
• 72-HOLE RECORD: 264, Greg Norman (1994).
• 18-HOLE RECORD: 63, Fred Couples (3rd round, 1992), Greg Norman (1st round, 1994), Roberto Castro (1st round, 2013), Martin Kaymer (1st round, 2014).
• LAST YEAR: Kaymer endured a rain delay and suspense-filled final hour before finally ending a 28-month winless drought, holding off Jim Furyk by a stroke in fading light. Kaymer led by three when storms forced a 90-minute delay with four holes left, and all momentum had left when the German returned to the course. An aggressive play led to double bogey at No. 15, and he couldn’t regain a shot after finding a collection area at the par-5 16th.
Calamity almost struck again at No. 17, where his tee shot spun back toward the water before stopping in the collar. A weak chip left Kaymer a 30-foot putt – which found the cup for an improbable par. A safe par at No. 18 completed a closing 71, as Furyk (66) hoped for a playoff. It was Kaymer’s first win anywhere since the Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa at the end of 2012.
• STORYLINES: Spieth, sent to an early Cadillac Match Play exit despite winning two of three first-stage matches, seeks to rebound at a place where he took a share of the lead into last year’s final round. Only Woods (2001) has captured the Masters and THE PLAYERS in the same year. … The Match Play’s final four will face a challenging turnaround, going seven matches at TPC Harding Park before jetting coast-to-coast to prepare for one of the TOUR’s most perplexing layouts. … Kaymer, like every defending champion at TPC Sawgrass, has a chance to make history as the event’s first back-to-back winner. Mark McCumber came the closest, winning in 1988 and tying for sixth in ’89.
• SHORT CHIPS: Last year’s count of 28 balls in the water at No. 17 was the fewest since the PGA TOUR began keeping track 12 years ago. The average now stands at 45.9 since THE PLAYERS moved to its current May date in 2007. That year saw 93 splashdowns, of which 50 came in a wind-whipped opening round. … Paul Azinger (1987) is the only man to birdie No. 17 in all four rounds. … Kaymer’s victory last year made him the first since the date change to close out a 54-hole lead at TPC Sawgrass. Before that, Stephen Ames (2006) was the last 54-hole leader to win. … A three-hole playoff awaits should extra holes be needed, replaying the closing stretch of Nos. 16-18. If a tie remains, sudden death begins at the 17th.
• TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 1-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, noon-2 p.m. (GC), 2-7 p.m. (NBC).
Last week's winner NoleLizards. Congrats!
Updated Standings
1. dfs - 9238
2. Sea - 8581
3. Bobcat - 8183
4. Ed - 7864
5. 2952 - 7450
6. Liz - 7314
7. NMT - 7065
8. Bill - 6206
9. 67810 - 6031
10. NiA - 5657
11. Ocala - 5162
12. DL - 4405
13. ktnole - 4180
14. Baldy - 2151
Good Luck!
