THE PLAYERS Championship: top five TPC Sawgrass sleepers

With one of the strongest fields in all of golf, THE PLAYERS Championship also boasts the toughest group of “sleepers”

THE PLAYERS Championship always tops the list of star-studded fields on the PGA Tour – it’s almost impossible to match the drawing power of this event. The crown jewel of the Tour returns to its home at TPC Sawgrass every year with the biggest names in golf competing for the one of the biggest cash prizes of the year.

It may not be the toughest math to figure out – a $10 million purse with almost $2 million to the winner tends to bring out the best. But with 48 of the top 50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking in the field, even the week’s sleeper candidates can be some pretty big names. You’ll see that here, with three top-25 players in this column.

Hey, someone has to be a “sleeper” and Pete Dye’s Stadium Course is no slouch.

THE PLAYERS Championship may never be the year’s “fifth major” – and it shouldn’t, but that’s for another day. It still boasts a prestige that ranks among the game’s best events. The winner this week will need to have a well-balanced game, with no one skill favored too heavily over another. There’s a reason that, even with some of the sport’s biggest names as past champions, nobody has ever successfully defended their title. The field is simply that strong.

Without further ado, let’s jump into this week’s sleeper projections.