The Players Championship: Examining Potential Champions in 2022

Making the case for and against the top ten players in the world at the 2022 Players Championship

#1. Jon Rahm

Case For: Jon Rahm is still the number one player in the world, this is because when the Spaniard has a “bad performance” it is actually just another top twenty finish. It must be nice to be picking up top 20’s in every start when you are quote on quote ‘not at your best’. That is how good the number one player in the world is, and when he puts it all together he is capable of blowing away any field he is a part of.

The Spaniard has made the cut in all four of his previous visits to TPC Sawgrass, and in his last two starts at The Players Championship, he has finished 12th and 9th. He finished 9th (PLAYERS), 5th (Masters), 8th (PGA), 1st (U.S. Open), 3rd (British Open), in the five biggest events of 2021. Looks pretty good, doesn’t it?.

Case Against: For all of his high finishes he has still yet to win since he did so last June at the aforementioned U.S. Open. Then there is the whole ordeal with the putter, a part of the world number one’s game that he seems lost with at the moment. On top of one of the most memorable missed putts you will ever see, Jon also lost on the greens last week for a third consecutive event.
When he has been at his worst at TPC Sawgrass is when he has struggled on the greens, yikes!. He lost over six strokes with the putter in 2018 when he finished 63rd, and four strokes on the greens in 2017 when he finished 72nd. It could be another bad week for the current world number one if he can’t get things corrected with the putter.

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#2. Collin Morikawa

Case For: In 2021 the Players Champion was one of the best iron players on the planet in Justin Thomas, in fact, some of the best ball strikers of all time have found success at TPC Sawgrass throughout its history. The list of former Players Champions includes Tiger Woods, Henrik Stenson, Adam Scott, and Sergio Garcia, just to name a few. All are elite iron players and ball strikers.

Collin Morikawa very much fits into that category already in his young and promising career. He ranks 4th on tour in strokes gained approach, and 2nd in greens in regulation percentage, so far in 2022.

Jon Rahm isn’t the only player to have put up nice results in the big events last year. Outside of his debut at TPC Sawgrass in 2021, Morikawa finished 18th (Masters), 8th (PGA), 4th (U.S. Open), and 1st (British Open), in the big events. The last time was a learning experience for Morikawa at the PLAYERS, this time he can tear the place up!.

Case Against: Morikawa can overcome deficiencies with his putter, he has done it before. But when the putter is giving him trouble it puts that much more pressure on the rest of his game and makes it that much more difficult to win. Morikawa lost strokes with the flat stick at TPC Sawgrass last year on his way to a 41st place finish. The one time he lost strokes in 2022 with the putter came in Abu Dhabi, where he finished 62nd.