Players Preview: No 5th Major, But Major Feel

By Jared Trexler

The Phanatic Magazine

Welcome to the Players Stadium Course, a fitting name for a piece of golf architecture in the PGA Tour's backyard -- built by Pete Dye with revisionist tinkering by a host of name players, and with the spectator's keen interest at heart.

Large mounds -- golf plateaus if you like -- provide picturesque backdrops, stunning vistas, and dramatic amphitheaters, especially circling the final three strips of land surrounded by trees, and a Florida beach's three famed ingredients.

Sand. Water. And susceptibility to gusty, swirling winds. The latter is what makes the par-5 16th a thinker's hole -- Do I go for the green in two? -- the famed island par-3 17th a test of wills and the par-4 18th the scariest tee shot in golf.

And then there's the water, beautiful to the eye and menacing to the heart. It lunges out at players to the right of the 16th green and hugs tightly to the left hip of the 18th hole from start to finish.

And 17 -- well the water is psychologically damning. How could anyone else explain the pre-shot terror and subsequent sinking of ball and hope all over a quaint little nine iron?

However, this year's story doesn't begin at the closing three holes, though they will go far in determining the championship novel's conclusion.

This year is about a new TPC Sawgrass, one with subtle changes, including a few feet added to the left side of the 17th island to support a new hole location. A chipping area taking the place of a bunker long right of the 7th green. About a Tiger Woods pitching wedge worth of card yardage added my moving several tees to Delray Beach.

Most importantly, the unseen changes may have the most impact on the tournament shot-to-shot. Sawgrass' "S" shaped fairways with sharp ending points that lead to tall rough, sand and water will again enter the equation thanks to firmer fairways, and in turn, approach shots not struck from the short grass will no longer allow spin to push them toward the hole.

It's all a result of a new drainage system -- a high-tech, hands-on system that allows the golf course superintendent and his henchmen to set the course's playability to a tee if not for some unforeseen rain squall charging in off the Atlantic. After last year's event, Pete Dye and company cut open Sawgrass' heart to find a sponge of forgiveness, soaking in rain water and yielding forgiving conditions even in the most challenging scoring environments.

Thus, the revamping project began, and didn't end until the clubhouse and championship itself also received major face lifts. An approximate $32 million dollars -- or the yearly salary of our very own John McMullen -- later, a breathtaking Mediterranean clubhouse now greets the players, giving the tournament an instant epic feel at the main entrance.

Then there is the tournament's new place on the FedEx Cup roster, a mid-May date comfortably placed between April's Masters and June's United States Open. A date that gives The Players Championship an opportunity to spread its collective wings and soar to even greater heights. Instead of playing little brother to March Madness and second fiddle to a fast-approaching Masters, The Players is now situated right in-between two majors with a perfect spot on the golf calendar.

Below, The Phanatic's 19th Hole dives into The Players Championship with three pressing questions then handicaps the field teeing off Thursday in Ponte Vedra Beach.

1. Tiger called the 17th hole "gimmicky" in his Tuesday news conference. Big deal?

Not at all. The story needs to remain on the biggest purse in golf, a cool $9 million, the best field in golf and a new and improved Stadium Course. Woods knew he stuck his foot in mouth upon surmising that the 17th hole would "make a great 8th hole." It's the Stadium Course's landmark, its identifying point for golf fans and even the non-golf spectators. Woods has had his share of success on the diabolical hole -- remember NBC tower announcer Gary Koch's "Better than most...Better than most...Better than most!" line after Tiger's sidewinding 50-footer found the bottom of the cup. Yet, he's also found H20 and made the unenviable walk to the drop area. Woods, who has improved mightily with the media as he's matured, likely misspoke, and in turn, the scribes and talking heads misconstrued the message's real intent. He's not in love with the hole...but he's still got to navigate it at least four times this week.

2. The best performance in Players Championship history?

Craig Perks, who played a Tuesday practice round with Tiger, had quite a finish, capped by his chip-in par at the 18th to win in 2002 with a score a 280 -- 16 shots behind the all-time, never-will-be-broken scoring record of Greg Norman. Norman's dominating 1994 tournament victory will never be surpassed for several reasons, the most important being his blitz of the Stadium Course caused the first of several rounds of renovations. Secondly, at his world-class best Norman's high-ball, attack-attack game fit the TPC to a tee. He opened with a 63 then shot three consecutive 67s to win going away at 24-under. Another historic Players snapshot came on the 17th green that Sunday when Fuzzy Zoeller thought it was finally time to cool Norman off, wiping his brow with a golf towel.

3. What will the course changes mean in terms of winning score this week?

The course will play major-like, firm and fast, throughout the four days if the weather holds up. Isolated storms are a possibility each day but the tournament looks to be played in low-to-mid-80s with a mix of sun and clouds for the better part of four days. If it remains, the course will play similar to Southern Hills off the tee with an intense premium on shot shape and accuracy. You may even see some stinger long irons from Tiger on the shorter to medium length holes. The rough won't be overly long, instead forcing the players to decide between safe approach or risky attempt with the possibility of a flyer lie. The greens will likely hover around 11 on the Green-O-Meter, plenty of pace for complexes with this many humps and bumps. With all that said, I envision a winning score anywhere from 2 to 7 under depending on who can take advantage of softer morning conditions the first two days.

HANDICAPPING THE FIELD

Best Bets: Woods -- he of godly fame with a win last week at the Wachovia -- and owner of a victory and second place finish in this event. However, an interesting aside, Woods has ZERO Top 10s in his last five trips around the TPC. Adam Scott -- Having just a so-so year to date by his standards, Scott hoisted the Players trophy in 2004 with a T8 the following year.

Darkhorse: Ernie Els -- my how the mighty have fallen. Just putting Els in this category details his struggles his season save for a messy Masters rebound the following week at Hilton Head. Ernie hurt has back at the Wachovia and comes to The Players with little fanfare. That's usually when he strikes. He finished T8 last year, but surprisingly that equals his best finish ever. In a week where ball striking and steely-nerved putting will be a premium, it's time for Els to wake up.

19th Hole's champion: Els.

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Jared Trexler can be reached at jtrexler@phanaticmag.com