The Players Championship Preview and Picks

A look inside the ropes of TPC Sawgrass

In the 1970s, PGA Tour Commissioner Deane Beman wanted a tournament to rival that of the majors. He created the Tournament Players Championship in 1974. He wanted a permanent home for his flagship event, so he hired Pete and Alice Dye to design a course in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. TPC Sawgrass opened in 1980 and the Stadium Course has been the home of The Players Championship since 1982.

The course sits adjacent to the PGA Tour’s new $65M headquarters just south of Jacksonville.  The course measures 7,189 yards with Bermuda grass fairways and greens. The course has four par 3s, ten par 4s, and four par 5s that are all reachable in two.

Just like the last two weeks, there’s a plethora of water on the course. There’s a water hazard on every hole except the eighth, although a couple of these holes won’t see a ball in the water the entire tournament. The four par-5s and the drivable par-4 12th played under par last year. Players need to take advantage of these scoring opportunities because the rest of the course doesn’t give much.

TPC Sawgrass is a positional golf course, and most of the field will take less than driver on most of the par-4s. The rough isn’t too penal but long bunkers hug the fairway on nearly every par-4 and par-5.

Players will need to be able to fade and draw the ball through tight windows off the tee to set up the right angles. Accuracy on approach is a necessity, but especially on the six holes with deep, greenside pot bunkers. The greens have averaged 12.5 on the stimpmeter at TPC Sawgrass and will probably be around that speed this year, but they have gotten away from the PGA Tour in the past. In the third round of the 2016 Players, the green speeds went over 15 in a disaster that led to an apology from the tour.

12, 17, and 18 are the three best holes on the course. TPC Sawgrass underwent some renovations in 2017. No hole was affected more than the par-4 12th, which was converted from a positional lay-up hole into a drivable par 4. Alice Dye did not approve of this redesign saying, “If a player is supposed to reach the green from the tee, well, that’s a par 3.” It’s difficult to disagree with Mrs. Dye, but it’s always entertaining watching the pros go for the green from the tee on a par 4.

18 tends to play the hardest on the course due to the demanding tee shot.  Players who bail right to avoid the water left may find themselves with a lie in the dirt with trees blocking a clean shot to the green. The pin location on Sunday is tough to get at and just about every player in the field will gladly take a fairway to green outcome that is followed by a two-putt par.

The most famous hole on the course is the par-3 17th. A glance at the scorecard may give the impression that this is a gentle hole, but it’s anything but. Most of the field will hit just a pitching wedge toward the island green. More often than not the tournament is won or lost on this hole. Rickie Fowler owned the island green. Tiger Woods was better than most. Both made birdie on 17 to win the tournament. Davis Love III was tied for the lead in 1994 until he found the water and made double. Sergio Garcia was tied for the lead in 2013 before finding the water twice. No lead is safe until the 17th is completed.