PLAYERS Championship: Power ranking the top 10 at TPC Sawgrass

The Players Championship is back in March for the first time since 2006.

The fine folks in the Jacksonville area had to wait just 10 months for their beloved Players Championship to return.

Golf’s deepest field descends on TPC Sawgrass in March after the event was held Mother’s Day weekend from 2007-2018.

What does this entail for the tournament?

Florida winds are stronger this time of the year and this week looks to fit right in. Early forecasts call for weekend rain and double digit mile per hour winds.

While the Pete Dye design has the potential to play firm and fast, early reports show the grounds crew has kept the course relatively soft.

The course is a 7,189-yard par-72 that is a puzzler off the tee with an array of blind shots, dog legs and various shot shapes required to succeed here.

No one player seems to excel at Sawgrass and few, if any, have spotless resumes.

Short and straight hitters like Fred Funk have plodded their way to victory here while more aggressive players like Rickie Fowler have gotten it done.

Length can come in handy on some reachable par-4s and par-5s, but several holes will handcuff the bombers off the tee.

The par-3 17th island green is a wild card in that no lead is safe until all 72 holes (or more) are complete.

It’s a course at which Tiger’s won just twice and Phil once. Phil missed five of his last six cuts and considered skipping this year.

Tiger pulled out of last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational citing a neck injury but remains a go for the Players at time of publication.

The 144-player field features nearly the entire top 100 in the world including the top 56. They’re all vying for the biggest purse in golf ($12.5 million) as well as the biggest winner’s check ($2.25 million).

Let’s see who has what it takes to lift the crystal on Sunday: