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The sun sets behind the iconic 17th green at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. (Scott Kunath/PGA TOUR)
• FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 600 points.
• CHARITY: More than 300 Northeast Florida charities receive assistance from THE PLAYERS, among them Wolfson Children’s Hospital, American Cancer Society and Epilepsy Foundation of Florida. Last year’s event raised a record $8.1 million for charity, bringing its total to more than $75 million since it settled at TPC Sawgrass 37 years ago.
• FIELD WATCH: FedExCup leader Adam Scott, World No.1 Jason Day and No. 2 Jordan Spieth join defending champion Rickie Fowler to head up what is annually one of the year’s deepest lineups. The roster features 46 of the top 50 in the world ranking, with Valspar Championship winner Charl Schwartzel and Lee Westwood the notable absences. ... Jim Furyk, who lives minutes from TPC Sawgrass, makes just his second start following a seven-month layoff to resolve a wrist injury. He owns four top-5 finishes at THE PLAYERS, including runner-up two years ago. … One additional berth is available for the winner of this week’s Wells Fargo Championship, 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: Fowler fashioned perhaps the greatest Sunday in the event’s 42-year history – erasing a five-shot deficit over the final six holes and prevailing in a three-man, four-hole playoff with his third birdie of the day at No.17. Fowler needed just 11 shots over his final four holes of regulation, carding birdie/eagle/birdie/birdie to set a new low for the four-hole Sawgrass finish. That only got him into an aggregate playoff with Sergio Garcia and Kevin Kisner, who needed their own clutch shots down the stretch to get in. All three parred No.16 on the first extra hole, and Kisner matched Fowler’s birdie at No.17. Garcia was eliminated after the 18th, sending Fowler and Kisner back to the 17th tee. Kisner’s gutsy tee shot settled 12 feet away – only to be outdone when Fowler stuck his shot just inside 5 feet on the riskier right side. Kisner missed his birdie try, and Fowler’s make sealed his first PGA TOUR victory in three years.
• STORYLINES: Fowler, ranked No.5 in the world, naturally faces a tough followup to last year’s heroics. Though he won in Abu Dhabi and lost a playoff in Phoenix, he arrived at the Wells Fargo Championship without a victory on U.S. soil since last September. Also, THE PLAYERS has never crowned a back-to-back champion. … Spieth makes his first start since his Sunday collapse at the Masters, when he took a five-shot lead to the back nine and was exited Amen Corner trailing by four. The 22-year-old Texan said this week he has no lingering nightmares. … New Masters champion Danny Willett also makes his first start since donning the Green Jacket at Augusta National. It’ll be just his second encounter with TPC Sawgrass, having missed the cut last year.
• SHORT CHIPS: A total of 45 balls splashed down in the water surrounding No.17 last year, right on average since the PGA TOUR began keeping count 13 years ago. That followed an all-time low of 28 wet finishes the year before. The record is 93, when the event first moved to May in 2007. … Fowler’s heroics last year aside, Paul Azinger (1987) is the only man to birdie No.17 in all four regulation rounds. … Last year’s finish marked the eighth time in the past nine editions that the 54-hole leader did not go on to win THE PLAYERS. Martin Kaymer was the lone exception, holding off Furyk in fading light two years ago.
• TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 1-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 2-7 p.m. (NBC).
• PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 7:30 a.m.-7 p.m. (featured groups), 9 a.m.-7 p.m. (featured holes). Saturday-Sunday, 8:30 a.m.-7 p.m. (featured groups), noon-7 p.m. (featured holes).
• RADIO: Thursday-Friday, noon-7 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 1-7 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com).
The PGSF makes it last stop in Florida at The Players Champion at sawgrass. Always a fun tournament to watch with an excellent field
No real movement on the overall leader board,
DFS still leading the way
Good Luck to everyone this week
