The PLAYERS Championship Power Rankings: Top 10 at TPC Sawgrass

I already mentioned it in the intro, but it’s worth repeating: It’s really hard to play well at TPC Sawgrass as a newcomer. It’s what makes Si-Woo Kim’s win last year in his second go-round all the more impressive.

Rory McIlroy had no such luck. He struggled his first few times around TPC Sawgrass, missing his first three cuts.

“I find it very tricky. I really have to think about what I’m hitting off the tee,” McIlroy said in 2012. “Second shots and stuff are fine, it’s just tee shots for me that I struggle with. It’s only a few tee shots. Most of them are okay.”

McIlroy is at his best, compared to the field, when conditions are soft and he can play relentlessly. TPC Sawgrass plays firm and fast and requires a precise game plan.

Once McIlroy learned that, he’s been a new man around these parts. McIlroy tied for eighth in 2013 and followed with three more finishes in a row inside the top 12.

His T35 in 2017 was his recent low water mark.

“I feel like I’ve learned enough about the golf course over the past few years and I’ve started to realize that it is actually a very well designed golf course and you have to play it in the right spots and you have to hit right shots at the right times,” McIlroy said in 2016.

McIlroy’s played solidly in 2018. His win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational highlights three top-five finishes, one coming at the Masters.

He tied for 16th last week and would have been right in it if not for a Friday 76.

He’s been in the negative for strokes gained putting the last three years, and is now 17th.

McIlroy isn’t an accurate driver, but that’s OK if he can navigate alright with his woods and irons: he’s first on Tour in fairway proximity, so there’s no need to be a hero off the tee.