Did Pete Dye dream up this hole? How many players hit the water? Who made the last ace on No. 17?
How hard can it be? It’s just a wedge, maybe a 9-iron, for the best players in the world, right?
Factor in wind, water, nerves and a giant gallery, and No. 17 at the Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass is so much more than the yardage on the scorecard might indicate. With its green perched atop wooden bulkheads above a lake, No. 17 is one of – if not the – most famous holes in golf.
While PGA Tour pros normally would tear apart such a short hole, the scoring average on No. 17 during the 2021 Players Championship was 3.23, almost a quarter shot over par, to make it the third-toughest hole versus par on the course that year.
So what gives? If you’ve been fortunate enough to play the course – ranked No. 1 in Florida on Golfweek’s Best list of public-access courses – then you already know. If you haven’t played it, you owe it to yourself.
Here are five things to know about course architect Pete Dye’s most iconic hole – if you can give credit to that famous designer after all.
Coming off a top 20 at the Honda Classic, can Brooks Koepka return to his winning ways at TPC Sawgrass?
It’s time for the first major of the year — well, kinda.
The Players Championship annually boasts the strongest field we see all year long and the golf course is a monster. Pete Dye’s masterpiece in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, offers several scoring opportunities while forcing the players to acknowledge par is a good score more often than not.
Whether they heed the message is up to them.
World No. 1 Jon Rahm, fresh off a top-20 finish in his Arnold Palmer Invitational debut, is the betting favorite at +1200 followed closely by defending champion Justin Thomas at +1300.
Winner of two of his last three starts, Scottie Scheffler is +2000.
Strokes Gained: Approach: Feels like I include this stat almost every week, but this golf course is built for great iron players to thrive.
Bogey avoidance: Keeping the big numbers off the scorecard this week is going to be vital. A few crooked digits around the Stadium Course could result in a Friday trunk slam.
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Data Golf Information
Course Fit (compares golf courses based on the degree to which different golfer attributes — such as driving distance — to predict who performs well at each course – DataGolf): 1. Sedgefield Country Club (home of the Wyndham Championship), 2. TPC Twin Cities (home of the 3M Open), 3. TPC Potomac
Trending: 1. Scottie Scheffler (last three starts: 1, T-7, 1), 2. Justin Thomas (T-20, T-8. 6), 3. Patrick Cantlay (T-4, 2, T-33)
Percent chance to win (based on course history, fit, trending, etc.): 1. Jon Rahm (6.3 percent), 2. Patrick Cantlay (4.3 percent), 3. Justin Thomas (4.1 percent)
Will Zalatoris – Top 20: Miss (T-38)
Matthew Fitzpatrick – Top 20: Cash (+150)
Max Homa – Top 20: Cash (+190)
Rory McIlroy – Top 10: Miss (T-13)
Marc Leishman – Top Australian: Miss (Adam Scott, T-26)
Outrights: Rory McIlroy (T-13), Viktor Hovland (T-2), Will Zalatoris (T-38)
+.4 units on position plays, and -3 units on outrights at API.
+18.44 units on position plays in 2022. +11.5 units on outright plays in 2022.
Brooks Koepka – Top 20 (+190)
Brooks Koepka hits his tee shot on the 13th hole during the final round of the WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale on February 13, 2022, in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Mike Mulholland/Getty Images)
Last season, during this exact week, one of the biggest stars in the game fell below +2000 for the Players. I couldn’t have jumped on it faster.
That was Justin Thomas.
Koepka could do the same this week. He’s coming off a top-20 performance at the Honda Classic where he battled a tough course in tough weather (cough, cough: what we’re gonna see this week).
He missed the Players last year due to injury, but has had some success here in the past with a T-11 in 2018 and T-16 in 2017 (should be noted, both of those finishes came when the tournament was held in May). He’s only played in one March version and tied for 56th.
Cameron Smith – Top 20 (+170)
Cameron Smith of Australia plays his shot from the 11th tee during the Pro-Am Tournament prior to the start of the Sony Open in Hawaii at Waialae Country Club on January 12, 2022, in Honolulu, Hawaii. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)
The Aussie isn’t gonna shy away from the challenge this week. He embraces the wind, and doesn’t mind making par when it’s a good score.
Smith missed the cut in his first two appearances at the Players (both in May). In 2019, when the switch to March was made, Smith played the weekend and tied for 56th. Last year, he improved on that and eventually finished T-17.
Matthew Fitzpatrick – Top 20 (+185)
Matthew Fitzpatrick of England looks on over the fourth green during the first round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am at Pebble Beach Golf Links on February 03, 2022, in Pebble Beach, California. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)
The Englishman is playing great golf to start 2022. In three starts this calendar year, Fitzpatrick has finished T-6 (Pebble), T-10 (Phoenix Open), and T-9 (Arnold Palmer Invitational).
After shooting 1 under over the weekend in difficult conditions at Bay Hill, I’m not too worried about his ability to plot his way around Sawgrass this week.
He finished outside the Top 40 in 2019 but signed for T-9 last season.
Daniel Berger – Top 20 (+150)
Daniel Berger plays his shot from the first tee during the third round of The Honda Classic golf tournament. (Photo: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports)
Sunday at the Honda Classic still looms in the minds of many golf fans, but Berger had a stranglehold on that tournament entering the final round. The injury that plagued him at the Farmers Insurance looked like a non-issue, and his ball-striking was fantastic.
Difficult conditions will challenge the Ryder Cupper again this week, but I think he’ll be up for the task. Berger finished T-9 at the Players last season.
Other names I’m considering for the card
Talor Gooch: Despite the tough front nine on Sunday at Bay Hill, he still tied for seventh in Orlando. He grabbed a top 5 at the Players last season.
Collin Morikawa: This man is such an obvious pick this week I almost didn’t want to include him. But, he’ll probably go on the card.
Rory McIlroy: I bet on him every week. He’ll be on the card.
*Full betting card will be on my Twitter sometime Wednesday, March 9th.
Na said his wife and the baby are doing well and they “are feeling extremely blessed.”
Kevin Na can now fill a tee time slot with his children.
On Monday, March 7, 2022, Na’s wife, Julianne, gave birth to their third child, Logan Leeohn Na.
“Mom and the baby are doing well,” Na shared on Twitter. “We are feeling extremely blessed. Welcome to the Na family Logan! #giftfromgod #family #3”
Na, a five-time winner on the PGA Tour, withdrew from the 2022 Players Championship on Monday afternoon, citing his expected child as the reason. The South Korean previously withdrew ahead of the 2019 BMW Championship at Medinah to be with his wife when his son, Leo LeeWoo Na, was born. The couple also has a daughter, Sophia Ria Na.
say hello to Logan Leeohn Na. Logan was born March 7, 2022. He weighs 6lb 14oz (3.1kg) Mom and the baby are doing well. We are feeling extremely blessed. Welcome to the Na family Logan! #giftfromgod#family #3 pic.twitter.com/Ov1RpDTvFz
The weather forecast looks rough for the competitive rounds of The Players. How will that affect the weekend?
The weather forecast for this week at The Players Championship looks dire but PGA Tour meteorologist on duty this week at the Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, Wade Stettner, is taking the optimistic approach.
“I think they’ll be able to play some golf every day,” he said. “The rainfall amounts we think we’re going to see don’t look like they would be heavy enough to make the course unplayable, given the fact that the drainage is so good and they’ve got the technology to take moisture out of the greens.”
But what will stop the competition in its tracks after the tournament begins on Thursday is lightning — dangerous to players, fans, volunteers and tournament staff.
“Lightning is what will require them to pull everyone off,” he said.
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Some players were already groaning.
“I don’t like rain,” said Paul Casey. “There’s a reason I moved from England to Arizona.”
And some were, well, like ducks to water.
“I grew up in Scotland,” said Russell Knox. “I hope it blows 25 [mph] and pours rain.”
Defending champion Justin Thomas said that if conditions come as advertised, especially on the weekend, it will be interesting.
“When you get wind and cold temperatures like that, it’s just a different animal,” he said about the course. “It’s really just a survival-type thing.”
But he was hopeful.
“At the end of the day, weather people are wrong all the time,” he said. “There’s no reason getting too wrapped up in it.”
Rain moves into Ponte Vedra Beach during the third round of The Players Championship.
The Players at least had Monday and Tuesday, with the sun out and temperatures touching 80 degrees. Almost all of them were taking advantage of the Tour policy that allows shorts during practice rounds.
Stettner said fans should still plan on coming to the golf course on the days they have tickets. Weather warnings will be issued well before any dangerous conditions exist and evacuation plans will begin.
But after the warm and sunny conditions of the past week — and a dry winter — typically crazy March weather appears to be coming. The forecast on Tuesday for Wednesday is a 50 percent chance of rain, going up to 80 percent on Thursday and 90 percent on Friday. Temperatures will at least be in the 70s on those days.
“I think the worst of it will be Friday,” Stettner said.
He’s also not prepared to predict the possibility of a Monday finish, which hasn’t happened on the PGA Tour since The Northern Trust last August at Liberty National in New Jersey — a span of 21 events.
“If we can get through two rounds and make the cut, the rules officials can put the players in threesomes with split tees [going off Nos. 1 and 10],” he said. “At this point, I don’t see any reason we can’t finish on Sunday.”
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Saturday will see some clearing, but it will make way for lower temperatures and brisk wind out of the north. Sunday’s forecast is mostly sunny but fans should bundle up: the current prediction is for a high of 54, which could make it the coldest day in tournament history. Winds will be out of the Northeast at around 10 mph.
After little to no rain for most of the winter, Stettner said the coming wet stuff is courtesy of a front that will stall over Northeast Florida. The Tour has also played most of its events on the Western Swing, then at the Honda Classic and the Palmer Invitational, under superb conditions.
“It’s been beautiful weather,” Knox said. “Amazing … we were definitely due [for rain and wind].”
If the tournament has to go to a Monday finish, which hasn’t happened since 2005, it might be the best day of the week: 67 degrees and little chance of rain.
What is offering optimism is the nature of the playing surface given a wholesale renovation in 2006 and several touchups since then. In addition to adding sandy soil that promotes better drainage, the Tour has a system under the greens that draws moisture from the putting surface at the whim of agronomy director Jeff Plotts.
It’s why the tournament was able to finish on Sunday despite weekend downpours in 2011, 2013 and 2014.
The last Monday finish was the result of perhaps the worst weather over an entire tournament week in Players history. After a perfect first round, the entire second round was lost because of rain, and play was interrupted on Saturday and Sunday as well.
Most of the third round and all of the fourth round was finished on Monday, and came close to having to finish on Tuesday.
Monahan said the Tour has “too much to accomplish to be consistently distracted by rumors of other golf leagues.”
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan reiterated his stance against the Saudi Arabia-backed Super Golf League during his annual state of the PGA Tour press conference: We’re moving on.
It was a message he first relayed to the players during the Tour’s mandatory player meeting two weeks ago at the Honda Classic.
“The PGA Tour is moving on. We have too much momentum and too much to accomplish to be consistently distracted by rumors of other golf leagues and their attempts to disrupt our players, our partners, and most importantly our fans from enjoying the Tour and the game we all love so much,” he said. “There is no better place than at the home of the PGA Tour to reiterate our focus and promise to our fans and our players. Let’s move on.”
Monahan included one line in his opening remarks that seemed directed at Phil Mickelson, who in comments to the Fire Pit Collective’s Alan Shipnuck, accused Monahan of running “a dictatorship,” and said, “As nice a guy as [PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan] comes across as, unless you have leverage, he won’t do what’s right.”
Monahan noted that, “We are and we always will be focused on legacy, not leverage.”
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Later, when asked if he was confident in his ability to ban any player that jumped to a rival league, Monahan added: “Our PGA Tour rules and regulations were written by the players, for the players. They’ve been in existence for over 50 years. I’m confident in our rules and regulations, my ability to administer them, and that’s my position on the matter. I can’t speak — say it any more clearly, that that is — we’re confident in our position, and we’re going to keep moving forward as a PGA Tour and focus on the things that we control.”
“It’s a first-year program. To me we’ve got to look at it over the long-term, and I look at those 10 players and you’ve got 231 PGA Tour wins, 39 major championships, 7 of the last 15 FedEx Cups. So when you talk about having a positive impact on the game and you talk about legacy, we’re rewarding the players that have had the most positive impact and have sustained that over a career and are contributing to the business in that year,” he said. “Is it a perfect system? It’s the system that we’re going to go with through the end of 2022. We’ll reevaluate it at the end of the year. We think it’s working, but we’ll be open to taking a hard look and making adjustments that we think will further the program.”
In highlighting the Tour’s many successes, Monahan cited the following figures to support that the current business model for the Tour is far from broken and the future appears promising.
In 2021 and 2022, the Tour has 13 title sponsors that are entering new title sponsor agreements.
Tour reserves total $225 million down from a high watermark of about $300 million prior to COVID
The Tour raised $161 million for charity in 2021, and hope to return to pre-COVID levels of $200 million this year.
“What’s most important is if you look at the PGA Tour today, and you’ve heard me say this before, we’re going to grow faster over the next 10 years than we have at any other point in our history. Our players have spoken. They are 100 percent behind the PGA Tour. They have expressed their loyalty and commitment in their own unique ways.
“We’ve never been better positioned, and this is real,” he concluded.
Asked if he still feels threatened by the potential for a rival league and whether he still finds himself looking over his shoulder, Monahan answered bluntly.
“I wake up every day assuming someone is trying to take my lunch. That’s the way I operate. That’s the way we operate as a team,” he said. “So long as we focus on the things that we control, which is what I’ve always tried to do and what we’ve always tried to do as a team, I think we’re going to win, we’re going to grow, and I’m not looking over my shoulder, I’m looking forward.”
“We don’t comment on disciplinary matters, potential matters or actual matters,” Monahan said.
That wasn’t long after responding to a question about the Tour’s transparency by saying, “we have nothing to hide, and we’re proud of what this organization represents, the values it conveys, the way that we run our business. We’re happy to share and answer any question any player has, and for that matter any question that you all have today.”
Monahan confirmed that he has not spoken to Mickelson since excerpts of an upcoming book by Alan Shipnuck were published on The Fire Pit Collective and made clear that Mickelson was in cahoots with the renegade lead, admitting that he had help draft the SGL’s operating agreement.
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Shortly thereafter, Mickelson posted an apology of sorts that never mentioned Monahan or the PGA Tour. It ended by saying he would be taking time away from the game to “work on being the man I want to be.” Mickelson isn’t in the field this week at the Players Championship, a tournament he won in 2007.
“The ball is in his court,” Monahan said. “He has said that he’s stepping away and he wants time for reflection. That’s something that I and we are going to respect and honor. When he’s ready to come back to the PGA Tour, we’re going to have that conversation. That’s a conversation I look forward to.”
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During an earlier press conference, Rory McIlroy noted that if there’s any area where Monahan has room for improvement, it would be greater transparency.
“I’ve always felt that a few of the bans or suspensions, I think that should all be announced,” he said. “I think that should be more transparent. I’ve always said that.”
It didn’t happen during his annual State of the Tour press conference – in one of the few light-hearted moments of the press conference, Monahan joked that “effective immediately, Rory McIlroy is suspended.”
Monahan was peppered with a series of questions in hopes of learning whether Mickelson is currently suspended or not or will face disciplinary action in the future. The most telling response may have been the following:
“Every player is accountable for their actions out here,” Monahan said.
Monahan said he hasn’t attempted to call Mickelson, and repeated that the ball would be in Mickelson’s court.
“I would welcome a phone call from him,” Monahan said. “But it’s hard for me to talk about the different scenarios that could play out. Listen, he’s a player that’s won 45 times on the PGA Tour. He’s had a Hall of Fame career. He’s won here at the Players Championship. He’s inspired a lot of people and helped grow this Tour, his Tour.”
“So as difficult as it is to read some of the things that were said, ultimately a conversation will be had when he’s ready to have it, and I will be ready to have it, as well.”
“I feel a lot better about things at this time this year than last year,” said Thomas ahead of his title defense.
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Alabama head football coach Nick Saban knows a thing or two about defending a title, having won seven national championships.
So when he spoke recently about making a successful defense, Justin Thomas listened. What Thomas heard may come as a surprise to many, but the world No. 8 and devoted member of the Roll Tide family loved the message.
Saban said you don’t defend a title, so go out, have fun and just try to win again.
“It’s so true,” Thomas said Tuesday at TPC Sawgrass as he began preparations to defend his 2021 Players Championship title. “I don’t have to defend anything. The PGA Tour isn’t going to come to my living room and take my Players Championship trophy from 2021 from me after this week. That’s mine forever.
“I’m just going to go try to win it again. Have fun. That’s all I’m going to try to do. I am very glad that he said that because it definitely resonated well with me.”
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Heading into last year’s Players, Thomas wasn’t having much fun.
He was caught up in a vortex of turmoil after he uttered a homophobic slur in the third round of the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January, immediately apologized and did so on many occasions, but lost one sponsor and had another publicly scold him.
Then his grandfather passed.
Then Tiger Woods, a friend and mentor, was in a serous car accident.
“It’s been a crappy two months,” Thomas said last year. “It took a lot out of me mentally. It tested me mentally, physically, emotionally, and I’m very proud of myself for getting it done.”
What Thomas did to get it done was stay patient through two so-so rounds and shoot 64-68 on the weekend to topple the best field in golf by one shot. While he hasn’t won since, he’s feeling much better than last year at this time as he comes into this week off a sixth-place finish in the Genesis Invitational, a tie for eighth in the WM Phoenix Open, a tie for 20th in the Farmers Insurance Open and a tie for fifth in the Sentry Tournament of Champions.
“My game is in a lot better place. I’m a lot more confident. I’m in a better place mentally. I just feel a lot better about everything,” Thomas said. “It doesn’t necessarily mean anything great is going to happen, but that’s the fun and miserable thing about this game that I’ve decided to play.
“I feel a lot better about things at this time this year than last year.”
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That feeling extends outside the gallery ropes. The 2017 FedEx Cup champion and winner of 14 PGA Tour titles, including the 2017 PGA, announced Monday his new relationship as an ambassador for Greyson Clothiers. Ralph Lauren ended its relationship with Thomas in January 2021.
And Thomas is engaged to longtime girlfriend, Jillian Wisniewski.
He also has a new locker in the clubhouse. Thomas joked that he now has the muscle memory to make sure he takes a left to the Champions Locker Room instead of going right to the regular locker room.
“A nice adjustment that I’ll be able to make going forward,” he said.
Thomas knows he has his hands full this week. Only four of the top-50 players in the world aren’t in the tournament. And the Players hasn’t had a back-to-back winner heading into their 40th anniversary on the Stadium Course this year.
“I’ve been playing really well. I’ve been working really hard and feel like some really good things are coming but just need to stay patient,” he said. “I just kind of haven’t gone on any of those runs the last three tournaments that I feel like I usually do in tournaments, and I think that was the difference of honestly not winning the tournaments and finishing where I did.
“Just got to keep staying patient, keep working hard and letting good things happen.”
Everything you need to know for the first round from TPC Sawgrass.
The PGA Tour’s Florida Swing continues this week with the flagship event on the schedule.
A loaded field of the world’s best players – 46 of the top 50 after Bryson DeChambeau withdrew on Sunday and Kevin Na followed suit on Monday – are at the Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass for the 2022 Players Championship in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Justin Thomas returns to defend his 2021 title and will tee it up alongside 2019 champion Rory McIlroy and reigning Champion Golfer of the Year Collin Morikawa.
From tee times to TV and streaming info, here’s everything you need to know for the first round of the 2022 Players Championship. All times Eastern.
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How long is the famed No. 17 at TPC Sawgrass? See that and all the rest of the holes for the Players Championship.
The Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, site of this week’s Players Championship on the PGA Tour, was designed by Pete Dye – with help from his wife, Alice, most noticeably on the famed island-green, par-3 17th. It opened in 1980 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, and has been home to the Tour’s flagship tournament since 1982.
The course will play to 7,256 yards with a par of 72 for the Players Championship.
Thanks to yardage books provided by StrackaLine – the maker of detailed yardage books for thousands of courses around the world – we can see exactly the challenges the pros face this week. Check out the maps of each hole below.
Check out how the prize money payouts have increased over the years at the PGA Tour’s flagship event, the Players Championship.
Over the last year the PGA Tour has combatted a potential rival golf league by increasing the money players can earn through elevated purses, bonus pools and new initiatives.
While the FedEx Cup and Player Impact Program each increased in value, so too did a small handful of tournaments, including this week’s Players Championship. The PGA Tour’s flagship event – held annually at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, since 1982 – remains the richest stop on the Tour schedule with a whopping $20 million purse, up from $15 at last year’s event. Justin Thomas took home $2.7 million in 2021, and this year’s champion will pocket a cool $3.6 million.
Over the last 10 years alone the Players purse has doubled in size, and in the event’s 48-year history, the purse has been increased 28 times.
From JT’s big payday in 2021 to the inaugural event in 1974 where Jack Nicklaus earned $50,000 for his two-shot win over J.C. Snead, check out the prize money payouts over the years at the Players Championship.
