The Players Championship

[OHS1Golfer]

Quinney <----man-boobs..yuck.

hahahaha thats true and funny

[Puttin4Bird]

I have not been a Sergio fan in the past and I am not jumping on the Sergio Band Wagon, however I enjoyed watching him this week and actually wanted him to win for some strange reason. I felt like he held himself exceptionally well all week and didnt whine and complain about every missed shot. He was a very gracious winner. You could tell he was very happy to be in the spotlight. He had to work really hard to win this one and it is nice to see him make some putts when it mattered.

I agree, I don't usually cheer for Sergio but I found myself wanting him to win this weekend and I don't know why. I think he's a little puke a lot of the times and hate how it's never his fault when he plays bad, but never the less, I couldn't help but pull for him this weekend. I think that is because I know he has solid enough driver and iron play to contend with TW, now if he can putt he is definitely going to be a rival we've all been waiting for.

[Thrash13]

Unlike most people here, I've actually been a Sergio fan since the 99' PGA Championship. I've always expected more from him though, and it was nice to see him live up to the potential a little bit at least. Still, this doesn't mean anything unless he wins a major. When Adam Scott won, it silenced his critics for a year or so. But after that year or so, they were back on him to win a major. This win will get people off Sergio for a little bit, but they will be back on him pretty quickly if he doesn't win a major in 2008.

As for hit putting, it didn't really win anything for him on Sunday. In fact, it was a mixed bag. Sure, he made some key putts on the holes listed in a previous post, but he also missed a couple key ones. His putting was better on Sunday than the other three days, but it didn't win him the tournament. His ball striking was great enough to overcome his putting troubles like Erik said.

Nonetheless, it was a great win for the Spaniard, and hopefully it spills over into the remaining majors this season. He has as good a shot as anyone not named Tiger at Torrey Pines.........if his putting is ok. He will have more birdie chances than anyone else (possibly including Tiger), but he will have to make some putts. If he does, he could win the thing. You never know.

[RichF]

Sergio's win = bad news for the US Ryder Cup team.

[Thrash13]

Sergio's past performance in The Ryder Cup really had nothing to do with how he was playing going into the event. He has always been at his best in The Ryder Cup. It's the other guys' performance the U.S. will need to worry about.

Nonetheless, The Players win was a lot more important for his confidence in majors than in The Ryder Cup.

[BASHERBAKER69]

I don't think Sergio has ever been lacking in confidence on the big stage. His nickname is El Nino- he literally just goes for it and can be temperamental at times. He has to be one of he favourites for the US Open coming up soon, along with Cabrera, TW, Phil M, Stricker and Paul Casey.

Sergio has always been a great player but has not always shown it- I sometimes say that to myself though when thinking about my own performance on the course .

[RichF]

Sergio's past performance in The Ryder Cup really had nothing to do with how he was playing going into the event. He has always been at his best in The Ryder Cup. It's the other guys' performance the U.S. will need to worry about.

Yeah, granted, but a lot of folks suggested his last day at The Open last year really affected him.

I'm glad he's won this Player's Championship and hope he can make inroads from here - the guy's got stellar talent.

[BallStriker]

Sorry if this has been raised above, but is the TPC Sawgrass a good course for a bigtime tournament? It seems that there have been a number of off the radar guys make a run at winning -- of course, Craig Perks immediately comes to mind.

Is it too penal in spots -- thus making it a crapshoot based on weather -- do certain players contend simply because they got the best of the varying conditions and avoid the major disasters?

I've always heard that a good judge of a course is by who wins over the years (i.e., less-than-top courses have surprise winners/contenders -- which has been TPC Sawgrass' MO).

Thoughts?

[Thrash13]

Sorry if this has been raised above, but is the TPC Sawgrass a good course for a bigtime tournament? It seems that there have been a number of off the radar guys make a run at winning -- of course, Craig Perks immediately comes to mind.

Not at all. Since I've been watching golf, the only unknown Players winner was Craig Perks. All the others have been pretty big names. This is the same as the others majors as well. Len Mattiace nearly won The Masters in 2003. In the PGA Championship, I'd list winners such as Mark Brooks, Shaun Micheel, and even Rich Beem as relative unknowns. Paul Lawrie won The Open Championship the same year Van de Velde had a great shot at winning.

It's professional golf, and all these guys that tee it up are well above average at what they do. Any of these guys can win when they put it all together mentally and physically. In closing, the TPC at Sawgrass isn't any different than the other major courses when it comes to putting out a great winner. There will always be surprises on the leaderboard, but for the most part, the cream rises to the top in the majors and Players.

[meeks7]

I thought that The Players was a great tournament to watch because no one just ran away with the tournament, it was close through out the whole tournament. I think that TPC at Sawgrass is one of the best places to have a playoff, and to start it on one of the most know holes in golf.