The Players Championship (commonly known as simply The Players, stylized by the PGA Tour as The PLAYERS Championship) is an annual golf tournament on the
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also ...
. Originally known as the Tournament Players Championship, it began in
1974.
The Players Championship at one point offered the highest purse of any tournament in golf ($20 million). The field usually includes the top 50 players in the
world rankings, but unlike the
major championships and
World Golf Championships
The World Golf Championships (WGC) are a group of annual professional golf tournaments created by the International Federation of PGA Tours as a means of gathering the best players in the world together more frequently than the pre-existing four ...
events, it is owned by the PGA Tour and not an official event on other tours.
Despite not being a major, it has been promoted as such by the tour, dubbed ''the fifth major'', and is often regarded as the next most prestigious tournament in golf. This is because of the characteristics it shares with the majors, such as the high class field and its large purse. It also has a renowned host course in
Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
Ponte Vedra Beach is a wealthy unincorporated seaside community and suburb of Jacksonville, Florida in St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Located southeast of downtown Jacksonville and north of St. Augustine, it is part of the Jackson ...
(the
TPC at Sawgrass
The Tournament Players Club at Sawgrass (TPC at Sawgrass) is a golf course in the southeastern United States, located in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, southeast of Jacksonville. Opened in the autumn of 1980, it was the first of several Tournament ...
Stadium Course at which the tournament has been played since
1982, home of the iconic par-3 No. 17 "Island Green").
Format
As of 2022, the victor receives $3.6 million, the winner's share (18%) of the largest purse in golf ($20 million), and receives 80 points towards his
world ranking
A ranking is a relationship between a set of items such that, for any two items, the first is either "ranked higher than", "ranked lower than" or "ranked equal to" the second.
In mathematics, this is known as a weak order or total preorder of ...
, the largest share aside from the majors, for which winners earn 100 points. For comparison, the winners of the four individual
World Golf Championships
The World Golf Championships (WGC) are a group of annual professional golf tournaments created by the International Federation of PGA Tours as a means of gathering the best players in the world together more frequently than the pre-existing four ...
generally receive between 70 and 78 points.
The winner also receives a five-year exemption on the
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also ...
(formerly ten years),
a three-year invitation to the
Masters Tournament
The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply The Masters, or the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, the Masters is the first maj ...
, three-year exemptions for the
U.S. Open and
The Open Championship
The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...
, and an exemption to the next three
PGA Championship
The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major championships ...
tournaments starting in 2018. The winner earns 600 FedEx Cup points, if a PGA Tour member.
Field
The field consists of 144 players consisting of the following criteria (must be a PGA Tour member in good standing):
#Winners of PGA Tour events since last Players
#Top 125 from previous season's
FedEx Cup
The FedEx Cup is a championship trophy for the PGA Tour. Its introduction marked the first time that men's professional golf had a playoff system. Announced in November 2005, it was first awarded in 2007. Rory McIlroy is the 2022 champion. T ...
points list
#Top 125 (medical)
#Major champions from the past five years
#Players Championship winners from the past five years
#
The Tour Championship
The Tour Championship (stylized as the TOUR Championship) is a golf tournament that is part of the PGA Tour. It has historically been one of the final events of the PGA Tour season; prior to 2007, its field consisted exclusively of the top 30 ...
winners from the past three years
#
World Golf Championship
The World Golf Championships (WGC) are a group of annual professional golf tournaments created by the International Federation of PGA Tours as a means of gathering the best players in the world together more frequently than the pre-existing four ...
winners from the past three years
#
Memorial Tournament
The Memorial Tournament is a PGA Tour golf tournament founded in 1976 by Jack Nicklaus. It is played on a Nicklaus-designed course at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, a suburb north of Columbus. The golf course passes through a large n ...
,
Arnold Palmer Invitational
The Arnold Palmer Invitational is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour. It is played each March at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge, a private golf resort owned since 1974 by Arnold Palmer in Bay Hill, a suburb southwest of Orlando, Florida ...
and
Genesis Invitational
The Genesis Invitational is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour in southern California, first played in 1926 as the Los Angeles Open. Other previous names include Genesis Open, Northern Trust Open and Nissan Open. Played annually i ...
winners from the past three years
#Top 50 from the
Official World Golf Ranking
#
Senior Players Championship
The Senior Players Championship, stylised by the PGA Tour as The SENIOR PLAYERS Championship, is one of the five major championships on golf's PGA Tour Champions. The inaugural event was played in 1983 and the age minimum is 50, the standard fo ...
champion from prior year
#
Korn Ferry Tour
The Korn Ferry Tour is the developmental tour for the U.S.-based PGA Tour, and features professional golfers who have either not yet reached the PGA Tour, or who have done so but then failed to win enough FedEx Cup points to stay at that level. T ...
money leader from prior season
#Money leader during the
Korn Ferry Tour Finals
The Korn Ferry Tour Finals is a series of three golf tournaments that serve as a means of earning PGA Tour membership for the following season ("Tour cards"). The series, which until 2019 consisted of four tournaments, replaced the PGA Tour Quali ...
, if not the regular-season money leader
#Top 10 current year FedEx Cup points leaders
#Remaining positions and alternates filled from the current season FedEx Cup standings
History
The Players Championship was conceived by the PGA Tour commissioner
Deane Beman
}
Deane R. Beman (born April 22, 1938) is an American professional golfer, golf administrator. He was the second commissioner of the PGA Tour, serving from 1974 to 1994.
Early years
Born in Washington, D.C., Beman attended the University of Maryl ...
; the inaugural event in
1974 was played at
Atlanta Country Club in
Marietta, Georgia
Marietta is a city in and the county seat of Cobb County, Georgia, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 60,972. The 2019 estimate was 60,867, making it one of Atlanta's largest suburbs. Marietta is the fourth largest ...
, concluding on Labor Day weekend in early September.
[ It moved to ]Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
for 1975, at the Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth
Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...
in August, and then to south Florida for 1976
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...
at Inverrary Country Club in Lauderhill
Lauderhill, officially the City of Lauderhill, is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census,the city's population was 74,482. It is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area, which was home to an estimated 6,0 ...
, at its East Course in late February. In these first three years the event replaced existing events, the Atlanta Classic
The Atlanta Classic was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour, a regular stop in suburban Atlanta for over four decades. It was founded in 1967 PGA Tour, 1967, although previous events dating to 1934 are included in the PGA Tour's past winners list. AT ...
in 1974, the Colonial National Invitational in 1975 and the Jackie Gleason-Inverrary Classic in 1976, which each returned to the schedule the following year.
In 1976 the PGA Tour agreed a multi-year deal to play the event up the coast at Sawgrass Country Club
Sawgrass Country Club is a private member owned country club in the southeastern United States, located at Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, southeast of Jacksonville. A Distinguished 5 Star Platinum Club of America and a Premier Private Country Club of ...
in Ponte Vedra Beach
Ponte Vedra Beach is a wealthy unincorporated seaside community and suburb of Jacksonville, Florida in St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Located southeast of downtown Jacksonville and north of St. Augustine, it is part of the Jackso ...
in mid-March, beginning in 1977. Since 1982, it has been played across the road to the west, at the Stadium Course at TPC at Sawgrass
The Tournament Players Club at Sawgrass (TPC at Sawgrass) is a golf course in the southeastern United States, located in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, southeast of Jacksonville. Opened in the autumn of 1980, it was the first of several Tournament ...
.[ The word "Tournament" was dropped from the title following the 1987 event.
Following the ]2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
event, the course underwent a major renovation, which received very positive reviews from the players in 2007. Included in the renovation was a new Mediterranean Revival
Mediterranean Revival is an architectural style introduced in the United States, Canada, and certain other countries in the 19th century. It incorporated references from Spanish Renaissance, Spanish Colonial, Italian Renaissance, French Colonia ...
-style clubhouse.
The 2020 Players Championship was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
.
Five players have won The Players and a major championship in the same calendar year: Jack Nicklaus ( 1978, Open
Open or OPEN may refer to:
Music
* Open (band), Australian pop/rock band
* The Open (band), English indie rock band
* ''Open'' (Blues Image album), 1969
* ''Open'' (Gotthard album), 1999
* ''Open'' (Cowboy Junkies album), 2001
* ''Open'' (YF ...
), Hal Sutton ( 1983, PGA), Tiger Woods
Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, and holds numerous golf records.
*
*
* Woods is widely regarded as ...
( 2001, Masters), Martin Kaymer
Martin Kaymer ( ; born 28 December 1984) is a German professional golfer. A winner of two major championships, he was also the No. 1 ranked golfer in the Official World Golf Ranking for eight weeks in 2011.
Kaymer achieved his first major vict ...
( 2014, U.S. Open), and Cameron Smith Cameron Smith may refer to:
* Cameron Smith (rugby league, born 1983), Australian rugby league footballer
* Cameron Smith (rugby league, born 1998), English rugby league footballer
* Cameron Smith (golfer) (born 1993), Australian golfer
* Cammy Smi ...
(2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
, Open
Open or OPEN may refer to:
Music
* Open (band), Australian pop/rock band
* The Open (band), English indie rock band
* ''Open'' (Blues Image album), 1969
* ''Open'' (Gotthard album), 1999
* ''Open'' (Cowboy Junkies album), 2001
* ''Open'' (YF ...
).
Move to May
For the first thirty years at Ponte Vedra Beach, the championship was played in mid- to late March, several weeks before The Masters
The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply The Masters, or the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, the Masters is the first maj ...
. (Three weeks prior for the first six seasons then two weeks prior in 1983.) It was moved to May in 2007, to the weekend including the second Saturday, as part of a restructuring of the PGA Tour. This restructuring involved the introduction of the lucrative FedEx Cup
The FedEx Cup is a championship trophy for the PGA Tour. Its introduction marked the first time that men's professional golf had a playoff system. Announced in November 2005, it was first awarded in 2007. Rory McIlroy is the 2022 champion. T ...
, which concludes with The Tour Championship
The Tour Championship (stylized as the TOUR Championship) is a golf tournament that is part of the PGA Tour. It has historically been one of the final events of the PGA Tour season; prior to 2007, its field consisted exclusively of the top 30 ...
. The change gave 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 Open Championship
The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...
in July, the PGA Championship
The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major championships ...
in August, and the Tour Championship in September).
With the rearrangement of 2007, the final round of The Players Championship was usually on the second Sunday of May, Mother's Day
Mother's Day is a celebration honoring the mother of the family or individual, as well as motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on different days in many parts of the world, most commonly in the ...
in the United States. To mark this, most players wore pink
Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...
shirts or accessories on Sunday, and many in the galleries also joined them in donning pink garb. (The two exceptions were in 2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
and 2016, when the final round was on Sunday, May 15.)
In August 2017, it was announced that The Players would return to March beginning in 2019, due to a realignment of the golf season that moves the PGA Championship from August to May.
Playoffs
The playoff format was sudden-death through 2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
, lately starting at the par-3 17th hole. The format was changed to a three-hole aggregate in 2014, similar to the PGA Championship
The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major championships ...
, played over the final three holes, in order. If still tied, the playoff goes to sudden-death on the same three holes, but starts at the 17th.
Since moving to the Stadium Course in 1982, only four playoffs have been necessary ( 1987, 2008, 2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
, 2015). The 1987 playoff started at the par-5 16th and went to a third extra hole at the par-4 18th, with three pars by the winner; the next two ended at the first extra hole (17), also with pars by the victors. (The only playoff prior to the Stadium Course was in 1981; it also ended on the first hole with a par by the winner.)
The 2015 playoff was the first for the three-hole aggregate and included three participants; two birdied 17 and the other player was eliminated after three holes. It went to sudden-death at 17 and became the first playoff at the Players to end with a birdie.
Defending champions
The Players has yet to produce a successful title defense; victories in consecutive years. Jack Nicklaus won three of the first five events, but in alternating years on different courses. Since moving to TPC Sawgrass in 1982, five players have won twice, but the shortest span between victories is six years (Steve Elkington
Stephen John Elkington (born 8 December 1962) is an Australian professional golfer on the PGA Tour Champions. Formerly on the PGA Tour, he spent more than fifty weeks in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Ranking from 1995 to 1998.
Elkington ...
: 1991, 1997).
The best finish by a defending champion is a tie for fifth place ( 1977, 1990
File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...
, 2001) and the closest margin is four strokes behind (1977, 1981, 1989, 2005). The defending champion has missed the cut ten times, most recently in 2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
, and has not participated (for health reasons) on three occasions ( 1983, 1998, 2014). The most recent top-ten finish was in 2005, a tie for eighth place.
Venues
Course lengths
* Par 72, except for 1975 (par 70)
Winners
''Note: Green highlight indicates scoring records.''
Source:
Multiple winners
Six players have won the tournament more than once:
*3 wins:
** Jack Nicklaus: 1974, 1976, 1978
*2 wins:
** Fred Couples: 1984, 1996
**Steve Elkington
Stephen John Elkington (born 8 December 1962) is an Australian professional golfer on the PGA Tour Champions. Formerly on the PGA Tour, he spent more than fifty weeks in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Ranking from 1995 to 1998.
Elkington ...
: 1991, 1997
** Hal Sutton: 1983, 2000
**Davis Love III
Davis Milton Love III (born April 13, 1964) is an American professional golfer who has won 21 events on the PGA Tour, including one major championship: the 1997 PGA Championship. He won the Players Championship in 1992 and 2003. He was in the ...
: 1992, 2003
**Tiger Woods
Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, and holds numerous golf records.
*
*
* Woods is widely regarded as ...
: 2001, 2013
Each of Nicklaus' three victories were at different courses but none were at the Stadium Course, where the other multiple winners won both their titles. The shortest span between wins at the Stadium Course is six years (Elkington) and the longest is seventeen years (Sutton).
Tournament highlights
*1974: Jack Nicklaus wins the inaugural edition of the tournament. He beats J. C. Snead
Jesse Carlyle "J. C." Snead (born October 14, 1940) is an American professional golfer who won tournaments on both the PGA Tour and Champions Tour. Snead is the nephew of hall of famer Sam Snead.
Snead, who prefers that people called him by his ...
by two shots near Atlanta.
*1977: Mark Hayes wins by two shots over Mike McCullough at Sawgrass Country Club, despite shooting the highest winning score on the PGA Tour, 289, since Nicklaus at the 1972 U.S. Open.
*1978: Jack Nicklaus wins his third Tournament Players Championship title. He edges Lou Graham
Louis Krebs Graham (born January 7, 1938) is an American professional golfer who won six PGA Tour tournaments including the 1975 U.S. Open. Most of his wins were in the 1970s.
Lou Graham was born in Nashville, Tennessee. He started playing g ...
by one shot.
*1979: Bob Murphy Robert, Rob, Bob or Bobby Murphy may refer to:
Sports Ice hockey
*Robert Ronald Murphy or Ron Murphy (1933–2014), Canadian ice hockey player
* Bob Murphy (ice hockey) (born 1951), Canadian retired professional ice hockey player
* Rob Murphy (ice ...
, a five-time winner on the PGA Tour, shoots a final round 92. Winds were gusting up to 45 miles per hour that day.
*1980: Playing in a final threesome with Gary Player
Gary James Player DMS, OIG (born 1 November 1935) is a South African retired professional golfer who is widely considered to be one of the greatest golfers of all time. During his career, Player won nine major championships on the regular tou ...
and Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino
Lee Buck Trevino (born December 1, 1939) is an American retired professional golfer who is regarded as one of the greatest players in golf history. He was inducted to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1981. Trevino won six major championships and ...
shoots a final round 70 to edge Ben Crenshaw
Ben Daniel Crenshaw (born January 11, 1952) is a retired American professional golfer who has won 19 events on the PGA Tour, including two major championships: the Masters Tournament in 1984 and 1995. He is nicknamed '' Gentle Ben''.
Profession ...
by one shot.
*1981: Raymond Floyd defeats Curtis Strange
Curtis Northrup Strange (born January 30, 1955) is an American professional golfer and TV color commentator. He is the winner of consecutive U.S. Open titles and a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame and Virginia Sports Hall of Fame. He spent ...
and Barry Jaeckel
Barry Louis Jaeckel (born February 14, 1949) is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour.
Jaeckel was born in Los Angeles, California, and is the son of actor Richard Jaeckel. He attended Palisades High ...
on the first hole of a sudden death playoff. In addition to the tournament title, Floyd collects an additional $250,000 bonus due to his win at the Doral-Eastern Open
The Doral Open was a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour in the southeastern United States. It was played annually for 45 seasons, from 1962 to 2006, on the "Blue Monster" course at the Doral Golf Resort & Spa in Doral, Florida, a subur ...
the week before.
*1982: After winning the first tournament at the Stadium Course by two shots over Brad Bryant
Bradley Dub Bryant (born December 11, 1954) is an American professional golfer.
Bryant was born in Amarillo, Texas, the son of a Southern Baptist pastor. He moved with his family to Alamogordo, New Mexico during his youth. Bryant attended the U ...
and Scott Simpson, Jerry Pate
Jerome Kendrick Pate (born September 16, 1953) is an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour Champions, formerly on the PGA Tour. As a 22-year-old rookie, he won the U.S. Open in 1976.
Early years
Born in Macon, Georgia, Pate grew up in the ...
tosses PGA Tour Commissioner Deane Beman
}
Deane R. Beman (born April 22, 1938) is an American professional golfer, golf administrator. He was the second commissioner of the PGA Tour, serving from 1974 to 1994.
Early years
Born in Washington, D.C., Beman attended the University of Maryl ...
and course architect Pete Dye
Paul Dye Jr. (December 29, 1925 – January 9, 2020), known as Pete Dye, was an American golf course designer and a member of a family of course designers. He was married to fellow designer and amateur champion Alice Dye.
Early life
Dye was ...
into the water adjacent to the 18th green before jumping in himself.[
*1983: Hal Sutton wins by one shot over Bob Eastwood. John Cook came to the 72nd hole tied for the lead with Sutton before hitting his tee shot in the water on his way to a double bogey.
*1984: Fred Couples shoots a course record 64 during the second round of play on his way to a one-shot victory over Lee Trevino.
*1986: John Mahaffey wins by one shot over ]Larry Mize
Lawrence Hogan Mize (born September 23, 1958) is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and currently plays on the Champions Tour. He is well known for one career-defining shot – a chip from off the green at the 11th hole at ...
after Mize makes bogey on four of the last five holes during the final round of play.
*1987: Sandy Lyle
Alexander Walter Barr Lyle (born 9 February 1958) is a Scottish professional golfer. Lyle has won two major championships during his career. Along with Nick Faldo and Ian Woosnam, he became one of Britain's top golfers during the 1980s. He spe ...
defeats Jeff Sluman
Jeffrey George Sluman (born September 11, 1957) is an American professional golfer who has won numerous professional golf tournaments including six PGA Tour victories.
Early years
Sluman was born and reared in Rochester, New York. After graduati ...
with a par on the third hole of a sudden-death playoff. At the playoff's second hole, Sluman stood over a birdie putt to win, and a spectator jumped into the water surrounding the 17th green. He backed away, then missed.[
*1988: Jacksonville area resident ]Mark McCumber
Mark Randall McCumber (born September 7, 1951) is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour and Champions Tour.
McCumber was born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida, where he attended Robert E. Lee High School. He turned p ...
wins by four shots over Mike Reid.
*1989: Tom Kite
Thomas Oliver Kite Jr. (born December 9, 1949) is an American professional golfer and golf course architect. He won the U.S. Open in 1992 and spent 175 weeks in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Ranking between 1989 and 1994.
Career
Kite w ...
wins for the second consecutive week. He beats Chip Beck by one shot.
*1991: Steve Elkington
Stephen John Elkington (born 8 December 1962) is an Australian professional golfer on the PGA Tour Champions. Formerly on the PGA Tour, he spent more than fifty weeks in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Ranking from 1995 to 1998.
Elkington ...
wins by one shot over Fuzzy Zoeller. Phil Blackmar
}
Philip Arnold Blackmar (born September 22, 1957) is an American professional golfer. He played on the PGA Tour from 1985 to 2000 and on the Champions Tour from 2007 to 2012. He was the tallest player on the PGA Tour during his time on tour, sta ...
had solo possession of the lead before hitting his tee shot into the water on the 71st hole resulting in a double bogey.
*1992: Mark Calcavecchia
Mark John Calcavecchia (born June 12, 1960) is an American professional golfer and a former PGA Tour member. During his professional career, he won 13 PGA Tour events, including the 1989 Open Championship. He plays on the Champions Tour as well a ...
and John Daly, the first pair on the final day of the tournament, are reprimanded by Deputy PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem
Timothy W. Finchem (born April 19, 1947) is an American lawyer and retired golf administrator, who served as commissioner of golf's PGA Tour from 1994 to 2016. He served in the White House for two years during the administration of President J ...
"for failure to exert their best effort" after they finish their 18 holes of golf in only two hours and three minutes.
*1994: Greg Norman
Gregory John Norman AO (born 10 February 1955) is an Australian entrepreneur and retired professional golfer who spent 331 weeks as world number one in the 1980s and 1990s. He won 89 professional tournaments, including 20 PGA Tour tournament ...
shoots the 72-hole record score for the tournament, 264, on his way to a four shot victory over Fuzzy Zoeller.
*1995: After Norman's record score, the course is made tougher by the creation of new, rock hard greens. Lee Janzen
Lee McLeod Janzen (born August 28, 1964) is an American professional golfer who is best known for winning the U.S. Open twice in 1993 and 1998. He currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions, and was an eight-time winner on the PGA Tour.
Early yea ...
shoots 283 to win the tournament, the biggest one-year swing for a tournament played on the same layout in PGA Tour
The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also ...
history.
*1996: Twelve years after his first win at the TPC at Sawgrass, Fred Couples triumphs again. He shoots a final round 64 to beat Colin Montgomerie
Colin Stuart Montgomerie, OBE (born 23 June 1963) is a Scottish professional golfer. He has won a record eight European Tour Order of Merit titles, including a streak of seven consecutively from 1993 to 1999. He has won 31 European Tour events ...
and Tommy Tolles
Thomas Louis Tolles Jr. (born October 21, 1966) is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour, the Nike Tour, and the PGA Tour Champions.
Tolles was born in Ft. Myers, Florida. He has two Nationwide Tour victories and has fin ...
by four shots.
*1999: David Duval
David Robert Duval (born November 9, 1971) is an American professional golfer and former World No. 1 Golfer who competed on the PGA Tour and currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. Duval won 13 PGA Tour tournaments between 1997 and 2001; incl ...
wins by two shots over Scott Gump
Scott Gump (born December 17, 1965) is a former American professional golfer.
Gump was born in Merritt Island, Florida. He has had three Nationwide Tour victories and has finished runner-up three times in PGA Tour tournaments, including The Play ...
. The win by Duval propels him to No. 1 in the World rankings.
*2000: Hal Sutton wins at the TPC at Sawgrass for a second time. He edges Tiger Woods
Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, and holds numerous golf records.
*
*
* Woods is widely regarded as ...
by one shot.
*2002: Playing for the first time ever in The Players Championship, Craig Perks
Craig William Perks (born 6 January 1967) is a professional golfer from New Zealand who won the 2002 Players Championship.
Early life and amateur career
Born and raised in Palmerston North, New Zealand, Perks played college golf in the United ...
finishes eagle-birdie-par to win by two shots over Stephen Ames. It is the only PGA Tour win for Perks.
*2003: Davis Love III wins The Players Championship for a second time. He shoots a final round 64 to win by six shots over Jay Haas
Jay Dean Haas (born December 2, 1953) is an American professional golfer formerly of the PGA Tour who now plays on the PGA Tour Champions.
Early life and amateur career
Haas was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and grew up in Belleville, Illinois. ...
and Pádraig Harrington
Pádraig Peter Harrington (born 31 August 1971) is an Irish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour, PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions. He has won three major championships: The Open Championship in 2007 and 2008 and the PGA Champi ...
.
*2004: In spite of hitting his 2nd shot at the 72nd hole into the water, Adam Scott is able to get it up and down for bogey to win by one shot over Pádraig Harrington.
*2005: Fred Funk
Frederick Funk (born June 14, 1956) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions.
Early life
Fred Funk was born in Takoma Park, Maryland. He tried several sports, and even boxed for eight years for a junio ...
becomes the tournament's oldest champion by edging Tom Lehman
Thomas Edward Lehman (born March 7, 1959) is an American professional golfer. A former number 1 ranked golfer, his tournament wins include one major title, the 1996 Open Championship; and he is the only golfer in history to have been awarded th ...
, Luke Donald, and Scott Verplank
Scott Rachal Verplank (born July 9, 1964) is an American professional golfer, who has played on the PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions.
Early years and amateur career
Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, Verplank was a leading member of the W.T. W ...
by one shot. During the final round, Bob Tway
Robert Raymond Tway IV (born May 4, 1959) is an American professional golfer who has won numerous tournaments including eight PGA Tour victories. He spent 25 weeks in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking in 1986–87.
Early life
Tway w ...
hits four balls into the water surrounding the 17th green, scoring a twelve on the hole.
*2010: After 206 career PGA Tour starts, Tim Clark breaks through for his first Tour win.
*2011: K. J. Choi
Choi Kyung-Ju ( ko, 최경주; born 19 May 1970), commonly known as K. J. Choi, is a South Korean professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions. Since turning pro in 1994, he has won more than twenty p ...
becomes the first Asian born golfer to win The Players Championship. He defeats David Toms
David Wayne Toms (born January 4, 1967) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. From 1992 to 2017, Toms was a member of the PGA Tour, where he won 13 events, including one major, the 2001 PGA Championship ...
on the first hole of a sudden death playoff.
*2013: Roberto Castro
Roberto Castro (born June 23, 1985) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour.
Amateur career
Castro played college golf at Georgia Tech. While at Georgia Tech, he was named first-team All-American in 2005, second-team All-Ame ...
ties the course record with a 9-under 63 in the opening round. Sergio García
Sergio García Fernández (; born 9 January 1980) is a Spanish professional golfer. He has played on the European Tour, PGA Tour and LIV Golf Invitational Series. García has won 36 international tournaments as a professional, most notably th ...
, tied for the lead with Tiger Woods at 13-under par going to the par-3 17th hole in the final round, puts two balls into the water. Tiger Woods
Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, and holds numerous golf records.
*
*
* Woods is widely regarded as ...
wins the event for the first time since 2001. It is his 78th career PGA Tour win in his 300th start.
*2014: Ongoing injuries prevent Tiger Woods
Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, and holds numerous golf records.
*
*
* Woods is widely regarded as ...
from defending his title. In the first round, Martin Kaymer
Martin Kaymer ( ; born 28 December 1984) is a German professional golfer. A winner of two major championships, he was also the No. 1 ranked golfer in the Official World Golf Ranking for eight weeks in 2011.
Kaymer achieved his first major vict ...
ties the course record with a 63 matching Fred Couples (1992), Greg Norman
Gregory John Norman AO (born 10 February 1955) is an Australian entrepreneur and retired professional golfer who spent 331 weeks as world number one in the 1980s and 1990s. He won 89 professional tournaments, including 20 PGA Tour tournament ...
(1994) and Roberto Castro
Roberto Castro (born June 23, 1985) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour.
Amateur career
Castro played college golf at Georgia Tech. While at Georgia Tech, he was named first-team All-American in 2005, second-team All-Ame ...
(2013). Kaymer goes on to win wire-to-wire.
*2015: Following a three-way tie at 12-under par in regulation play, the tournament's first aggregate three-hole playoff over holes 16–18 is conducted between Rickie Fowler, Kevin Kisner
Kevin James Kisner (born February 15, 1984) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour.
Early life
Kisner was born in Aiken, South Carolina and attended South Aiken High School. He played college golf at the University of Geor ...
and Sergio García
Sergio García Fernández (; born 9 January 1980) is a Spanish professional golfer. He has played on the European Tour, PGA Tour and LIV Golf Invitational Series. García has won 36 international tournaments as a professional, most notably th ...
. Kisner and Fowler both go par-birdie-par to end the playoff at 1-under par, while García can only muster three pars to finish at even par and is eliminated. The playoff continues into sudden death, starting at the 17th, where both Kisner and Fowler have birdie opportunities. Kisner's birdie try from about 12 feet is unsuccessful, while Fowler's effort, inside of five feet, drops home for the victory.
*2017: 21-year-old Kim Si-woo
Kim Si-woo ( ko, 김시우; born 28 June 1995), also known as Si Woo Kim, is a South Korean professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He won the 2017 Players Championship to become the youngest ever winner of the event at age 21.
Profess ...
becomes the event's youngest winner.
*2020: The tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. The first round had been played. Hideki Matsuyama
is a Japanese professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He is the first-ever Japanese professional golfer to win a men's major golf championship the 2021 Masters Tournament.
As of January 2022, Matsuyama has 17 worldwide wins, eight car ...
led, having tied the course record with a score of 63 (−9). Half of the $15 million purse was distributed to the players who played the first round, $52,000 each.
Gallery
File:TigerWoodsTPC2007.jpg, Tiger Woods
Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, and holds numerous golf records.
*
*
* Woods is widely regarded as ...
at the 17th hole in the 2007 Players Championship.
File:PhilMickelsonTPC18thTee.jpg, Phil Mickelson
Philip Alfred Mickelson (born June 16, 1970), nicknamed Lefty, is an American professional golfer who plays for LIV Golf. He has won 45 events on the PGA Tour, including six major championships: three Masters titles (2004, 2006, 2010), two ...
on the 18th hole in the 2007 Players Championship.
File:SergioGarciaTPCChampion2008 2.jpg, Sergio García
Sergio García Fernández (; born 9 January 1980) is a Spanish professional golfer. He has played on the European Tour, PGA Tour and LIV Golf Invitational Series. García has won 36 international tournaments as a professional, most notably th ...
winning the 2008 Players Championship.
File:US Navy 090506-N-0486G-003 Former President of the United States George H. W. Bush shakes hands with Rear Adm. Joseph Kernan, commander, U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command and U.S. 4th Fleet on the 18th green at TPC Sawgrass.jpg, Former President George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...
shakes hands with Rear Adm. Joseph Kernan and then received the Professional Golfers Association Tour Lifetime Achievement Award.
File:Adam Scott, cropped.jpg, Adam Scott chips out of the trap for par on #3 during the 2008 Players Championship.
File:Dierks Bentley meets with service members before his concert for the Players Championship at the Tournament Players Club Sawgrass during Military Appreciation Day in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., May 8, 2013 130508-N-TC587-036.jpg, Dierks Bentley
Frederick Dierks Bentley (; born November 20, 1975) is an American country music singer and songwriter. In 2003, he signed to Capitol Nashville and released his eponymous debut album. Both it and its follow-up, 2005's '' Modern Day Drifter'', a ...
meets with service members at the 2013 Players Championship.
References
External links
Coverage on the PGA Tour's official site
TPC at Sawgrass official site
Results at golfstats.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Players Championship
Annual sporting events in the United States
Recurring sporting events established in 1974
1974 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)