The Player’s Championship Preview

This week marks a special week for me. It is the first week that I get to write for The Sand Trap, and it is also time for the Player’s Championship! That is right, this tournament has been my favorite tournament since I can remember, and it is no different this year. The Masters is right around the corner, but as most people know, the PGA players treat The Player’s Championship as the “unspoken” 5th major.

The field at the Player’s Championship never lacks for star power, and this year is no different. The top 50 players in the world will come together for the first time in 2005, and they’re all looking to keep that ranking going into The Masters. After this week, the top 50 will all be exempt for the first major of the year, just two short weeks away. You can bet they will all be pushing that much harder to do well this week.

A lot of the talk going into the week is focused once again around the “Big Four” – Vijay Singh, Tiger Woods, Ernie Els, and Phil Mickelson. Each of them have already won at least one worldwide event in 2005, all but Singh have won two, and all are playing very solid golf coming into this week – Singh could very easily be leading with three victories, after all.

Vijay, Tiger, and Ernie all played last week at Bay Hill while Phil Mickelson got in a little early practice at the TPC at Sawgrass. Last week at the Bay Hill Invitational, Vijay regained the #1 spot in the world rankings. He also made a key mistake for the second week in a row, once again costing him a victory. Two weeks ago at the Honda Classic, Singh missed a three-foot putt in a playoff and lost to Padraig Harrington. Just last Sunday, he hit a 7-iron into the water on the 18th hole at Bay Hill causing him to lose by two strokes to Kenny Perry. Vijay has let it be known that he could care less about the top spot in the world and that he would much rather be winning the golf tournaments. As for Tiger and Ernie, well, they both finished in a tie for 23rd.

The #1 ranking is once again up for grabs at The Player’s Championship. The top spot has changed hands twice in the last three weeks and could very well change once again. Tiger can regain it back if he finishes in the top seven and Vijay finishes worse than that. If both Woods and Singh finish outside of the top seven, Tiger will need to beat Vijay to have any chance at regaining the top spot. Ernie Els can also become the #1 player in the world with a win and finishes from both Woods and Singh outside the top three. Phil Mickelson has no chance of becoming the #1 player in the world this week, but he can sure become a lot closer if he gets a win.

The players are getting a lot of the hype going into the tournament, but the TPC at Sawgrass may be the real star this week. This is no doubt one of the most popular venues on the PGA Tour, if not the most popular. Located in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, this course is a 7093-yard, par-72 layout. Last year, the field averaged 73.004 and the winning score was a fairly gentle -12. The course itself has a lot of history, but the 17th hole in general may be the most popular par 3 in golf. The famed island green has played host to many great memories for the fans, although some of them have been very bad for the players. This year, the fans will get to see the 17th hole from a new perspective as “Cable Cam” is being introduced.

The 17th at Sawgrass: perhaps the most famous par 3 in the game of golf?

If the tournament is a close one on Sunday afternoon, you can bet that everyone will have their eyes on the 17th and 18th holes at Sawgrass. The tournament has been decided there many times throughout the years. So just because the players are getting a lot of the hype, that don’t mean the course itself isn’t getting its fair share of hype as well.

This week is going to be a great one for the game of golf. Who can forget last year’s finish? Adam Scott had the lead going into 18 and hit his second shot in the water. He then chipped to within ten feet and sunk his bogey putt for the win!

Look for the “Big Four” to all play well this weekend, but don’t forget about the defending champ! The odds aren’t with Adam Scott this week, as there has never been a repeat winner in this tournament’s history and the best finish by a defending champ was a tie for fifth. Scott will be out to change all of that this week at Sawgrass.

Also, keep an eye on Padraig Harrington. He is coming off his first ever win in America two weeks ago, and he has finished 2nd the last two years at The Player’s Championship. Other past winners of this event include David Duval, Tiger Woods, and Davis Love III.

No matter what the result this weekend, one thing is for sure: The TPC at Sawgrass will be an awesome setting for the top 50 players in the world and the rest of the field as well. And Easter Sunday will be a great day to crown yet another Player’s Championship winner.

Catch The Player’s Championship on your tube this week at these times:

Thu   12:00-6:00 pm ET    ESPN
Fri   12:00-6:00 pm ET    ESPN
Sat   2:00-6:00 pm ET     NBC
Sun   1:30-6:30 pm ET     NBC

Photo Credit: © Stephen Szurlej, GolfWorld.