Best of the Players Championship: The 25 Most Dominant Performances
By Bill Felber
Elkington was a two-time Player s champion, having edged Fuzzy Zoeller by a stroke in 1991. There was no such tension in 1997…merely a coronation.
An opening round 66 gave him a one-stroke advantage over five players, and Elkington never let up. He held that one-stroke lead on Friday, expanded it to two on Saturday, and waltzed home Sunday seven ahead of Scott Hoch, the runner-up. Elkington’s lead over Hoch was as large as the advantage Hoch held over the eight players who tied for 14th place.
He posted rounds of 66-69-68-69.
His biggest advantage turned out to be on Sawgrass’ greens. Elkington needed only 24 putts on Sunday and only 105 for the week. Then again, Elkington did benefit, in a way, from extra practice. “I didn’t sleep very well last night … (so he) sat in my room and putted for three hours,” he told reporters after the final round.
The Australian was as impressed with the steadiness of his performance as everybody else…maybe more so. Reflecting on the breadth of his triumph, he did not appear to be troubled by false modesty.
“I basically blew away the best field we’ve ever had,” he opined. Nobody argued with him.