Former Vol David Skinns’ second-round results at THE PLAYERS Championship.
THE PLAYERS Championship is taking place Thursday-Sunday at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
Former Vol David Skinns is part of the field. He did not make the cut (E) after the second-round. Wyndham Clark (-14) is leading entering Saturday’s third-round. One-under par is the cut line.
Skinns played for the Vols from 2001-05, appearing in 46 tournaments. He came to Tennessee from Lincoln, England.
The former Vol has appeared in 33 PGA TOUR events during his career. He has made 14-of-33 cuts on the PGA TOUR. Skinns has appeared in 151 events, including three wins, on the Korn Ferry Tour during his career.
This bettor nearly won as much as Scottie Scheffler did at THE PLAYERS
Scottie Scheffler cruised to a first place finish at The Players Championship on Sunday, winning by five strokes over Tyrrell Hatton at 17-under par on the infamous TPC Sawgrass course.
Scheffler barely broke a sweat while carding a fourth round 69 to close out his tournament. Not only did that reclaim the title of No. 1 golfer in the world for Scheffler โ dethroning Jon Rahm โit earned him a cool $4.5 million and a shiny trophy as the richest event on the PGA Tour came to a close.
Which means that one savvy bettor barely saw their blood pressure rise despite $300,000 riding on Scheffler to win outright at +1000. And that also means the bettor walked away with $3.3 million after Scheffler finished his round on Sunday.
The $25 million purse at The Players makes it the largest of any event this year. This bettor earned more than every single player in the field besides Scheffler.
Hatton earned $2.725 million in second. Tom Hoge and Viktor Hovland each won $1.475 million for a T3 finish. Hideki Matsuyama earned $1.025 million for coming in fifth.
Maybe next time those guys will want to put a little side action on Scheffler, too. It’s proving to be an immensely profitable strategy this season.
The No. 1 golfer in the world will miss the remainder of the tournament.
Jon Rahm has officially withdrawn from The Players Championship ahead of his second round tee time, the PGA announced on Friday.
The No. 1 player in the world will miss the remainder of play due to illness.
It’s a stunning and unfortunate turn of events for one of the most popular and successful golfers on Tour this year made even more heartbreaking by what’s up for grabs at the event.
The $25 million purse at The Players is the largest of any tournament and Rahm was considered likely to claim the $4.5 million winner’s share. He’s still seeking his first victory at TPC Sawgrass with his best finish coming via T9 in 2021.
After shooting a first round 71 on Thursday, Rahm certainly had work to do to get back in contention, but the Spaniard has been known to go on runs later in the weekend and rocket up the leaderboard. Now he won’t get the chance.
Rahm’s absence will now open up a wide open field even further and take away one of the betting favorites on the weekend. At DraftKings, 16 percent of all bets had Rahm (+750) winning the event, which also accounted for 16 percent of the money wagered.
Here’s hoping for a speedy recovery and a return to play in the near future for the sport’s No. 1 player.
Those who left the PGA Tour may have had reason to pause.
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. โ Patrick Cantlay’s name was one of the hottest when it came to PGA Tour pros considering a jump to LIV Golf last offseason.
Cantlay, ranked No. 4 in the world, several times had to put an end to those reports, finally declaring at Kapalua in January: “I have no plans to do that as of now, which has been my stance for, you know, basically since the whole time.”
LIV came up again Wednesday after Cantlay’s practice round in preparation for Thursday’s start of the 2023 Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass. He was asked if changes on the PGA Tour โ designated events with no cuts and money similar to what the Saudi-financed league is throwing around โ might cause some players who made the jump to LIV to think about asking for reinstatement to the Tour.
“I’m not sure these changes really have much (to do with) making them want to come back,” said Cantlay.
Then he threw out an even more interesting question.
“I’m curious how many would have liked to have left if these changes happened earlier,” he said. “Probably the same number of guys or a similar number of guys, just with the guaranteed money that they were throwing around. But it’s a good question. I’m not sure.”
It is a great question.
If, a year ago, the PGA Tour had announced eight designated events with $20 million purses โ which does not include the majors, the playoff and a $25 million purse for this week’s Players โ would LIV even exist? And if so, what would the field look like?
The money is exactly what LIV Golf pays out to individual golfers, with an additional $5 million for the team event, at each of its 14 events.
Those who left the Tour may have had reason to pause, especially if they realized LIV was going to grow to where most of the 48 golfers now on LIV will play about as much as they would be playing on the PGA Tour.
While stars were playing in the $25 million tournament, Golfweek confirmed Smith was playing nearby at a 9-hole course.
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. โ When play began in the first round of the Players Championship Thursday morning, defending champion Cameron Smith was on the tee inside the sprawling TPC Sawgrass property.
Just not on the famed Stadium Course.
Smith played with friends and posed for pictures with fans at The Yards, a nine-hole course that sits one mile down the driveway from the course where the worldโs best players are competing.
โHe looked great. You can tell in his eyes heโs a quality young man,โ said one golfer who spoke with Smith during his visit Thursday morning. โExtremely cordial and personable.โ Staff at The Yards confirmed that Smith played on Thursday morning, but declined further comment.
The 29-year-old Australian won the 2022 Players Championship and went on to victory in the 150th Open at St. Andrews. One month after his Open win, Smith joined LIV Golf, the Saudi-financed rival league. That move earned Smith an immediate suspension from the PGA Tour. He last competed at the Tour Championship in August.
โItโs awkward,โ commissioner Jay Monahan admitted earlier this week when asked about Smithโs absence. โBut you know, ultimately thatโs a decision he made.โ
Smith lives in Ponte Vedra Beach, his home located just a few miles from TPC Sawgrass and PGA Tour headquarters. Earlier this week he was quoted as saying he might show up to the event as a spectator, but would at least be watching at home.
But while stars like Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy were playing in the $25 million tournament, Smith was enjoying a round with friends nearby.
Reports have suggested that Smith has had difficulty joining a golf club in town since his move to LIV. He lost privileges at TPC Sawgrass and reportedly couldnโt get in to Pablo Creek, a high-end club where Monahan and former Tour commissioner Tim Finchem are members. The Yards is a public facility with members that opened in 2020. It features nine holes with a separate six-hole par-3 course and practice range.
Get an early look at what players like Jon Rahm, Max Homa and Jordan Spieth will be wearing at TPC Sawgrass.
The Players Championship is one of the most anticipated events of the season, and many of your favorite golfers will be wearing the latest and greatest options from their sponsors.
Some player’s clothing is easy enough to remember – we get it, Tiger, you like red on Sundays – but if you’ve ever wondered about the best way to dress like the pros, we’ve got a few new examples in mind.
Check out the list below to get an early glimpse at what Tour favorites like Jon Rahm, Max Homa, Jordan Spieth, Justin Rose and more are scheduled to wear at the 2023 Players Championship.
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Tiger Woods isn’t at The Players but golf fans might not have to wait much longer before he tees it up again
The 2023 Players Championship is one of golf’s biggest events each year.
Known unofficially around the sport as the “fifth major” tournament, the marquee stop on the PGA’s Florida swing carries the biggest purse of the year at an eye-popping $25 million. The winner will net $4.5 million alone.
Which is why it’s no surprise all of the big names on the PGA Tour flock to TPC Sawgrass to take on one of golf’s toughest tests. Except the biggest name in the sport won’t be playing this year.
Tiger Woods is once again skipping the event despite having won it twice (2001, 2013) after making his season debut at The Genesis Invitational. Though not without good reason.
Woods is still working through a number of injuries stemming from a 2021 car accident. That means skipping even the more elevated events on Tour. After Woods completed play at the Genesis โan event he hosts โ he described what his likely schedule for the summer:
“Here’s the deal: Like I told you guys last year, I’m not going to play any more than probably the majors and maybe a couple more. That’s it, that’s all my body will allow me to do,” Woods said. “My back the way it is, all the surgeries I had on my back, my leg the way it is, I just can’t. That’s just going to be my future.”
That means the next time we may see Woods tee it up is the first week of April when Augusta National opens its doors for The 2023 Masters. As of early March, he’s still considered a bit of a long-shot to win his sixth green jacket.
It’s an unfortunate reality for the 47-year-old but one he seems ready to face with pragmatism. Even if it means missing some of the biggest events each year.
Get ready for the fifth major with gear and apparel from The Players Championship
The unofficial fifth major is upon us.
The Players Championship is likely the most coveted championship on the PGA Tour outside of majors, and with its rescheduling from May to March, The Players is a wonderful primer for fans as we head into major season.
As we all sit back and envy the swing of the Gold Man, check out some of our favorite Players Championship items to rep the fifth major wherever you go.
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Golf’s biggest purse of the year is back up for grabs
Nearly all of the biggest names on the PGA Tour are gearing up for the 2023 Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass and the competition should be some of the best we see all season.
Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas, Jordan Speith and Rory McIlroy highlight just some of elite golfers teeing it up this week. Tiger Woods, however, is skipping the event he’s won twice as he continues to prepare for The Masters in April.
After defending Players champion Cam Smith defected to LIV Golf, the title is assured to find a new home this year. So who’s taking home the trophy (and $4.5 million payday)?
Charles Curtis and Blake Schuster have some thoughts.
Homa has grown into his role as one of the leaders of the recent top-heavy PGA Tour movement.
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. โ Just two weeks after capturing top honors at the Farmers Insurance Open, his sixth victory on the PGA Tour, Max Homa had the ear of commissioner Jay Monahan.
Homa had heard that one of the Tour’s events suffered from low TV ratings and, with changes to the schedule coming yet again, he asked the commish if he was concerned about the numbers.
The response was enlightening.
“(Monahan) said, first and foremost, that just straight-up TV ratings isn’t the way the world works anymore,” Homa recalled on Tuesday during his news conference before the Players Championship. “If you think about the Waste Management, as he put it, there’s so much fanfare. … and this is corny, but all the celebrities and people who aren’t in the game of golf intimately that are out there and sharing it via social media or with their friends is boosting not only the PGA Tour but golf in general, which I think is great. So that was quite interesting.
“Then, of course, a day or two later he sent me the final ratings of it and it was I think the highest event. I can’t remember what day, Saturday or Sunday, but it was the highest-viewed event since the Players the year prior. So I thought that was a really good sign.”
Homa, who has grown into his role as one of the leaders of the recent top-heavy PGA Tour movement, missed the players meeting that took place early Tuesday but added that he’s been to more meetings in the last year than he had in any previous one. He also noted that he’s been picking the brain of Monahan, trying to better understand the Tour’s strategy.
“I think it’s easy for us to, as players, to look at these events and say, man, this is working great, like look at the last few designated events and the finishes and the players battling against each other and the leaderboards and just all of it, and it just seems so great,” Homa said. “I would assume that that would mean great ratings and great attention, but we don’t know that.
“So I kind of lean on, since I’ve had this conversation with Jay, where he can kind of continue to show me, not just explain, but show me that it is doing a great job, and again, I know I’m probably sounding like I just keep reiterating myself, but the reason I love this product model is because I’m a fan of golf. I love watching golf and I’ve loved watching golf since I was a little kid. That’s why I play it.”
Max Homa walks from the green of the 15th hole during the final round of the 2023 WM Phoenix Open. (Photo: Allan Henry/USA TODAY Sports)
Despite new parental responsibilities โ he and his wife, Lacey, welcomed their first child, Cam, on Oct. 30, 2022 โ and a never-ending golf news cycle, Homa has maintained his focus on the course, posting a pair of victories and five top-4 finishes in the young season.
But he’s still squarely invested in the Tour’s future, as is evidenced by his inquisitive time with Monahan.
“My attention is of course on my performances and being the best me I can be, but it’s also on making sure that golf is thriving, and as I’m on the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour’s thriving and that people are watching it, because I love this game and I want other people to get involved and love this game and watch it,” Homa said. “I don’t want to put up or be a part of a product that people find to be boring and stale.
“So I am very much about what we’re doing and these meetings and pushing the envelope and making changes that benefit the golf fan, because again, I am a golf fan.”
And after spending time with Monahan, Homa seems firmly convinced that the again-revamped schedule, this time with small-field, no-cut elevated events, will help players at the top, but also those looking up into the game’s upper echelon.
“I’ve really racked my brain on this quite a bit and I don’t see how this isn’t better for every member of this Tour,” Homa said. “I think it makes it more competitive at the top. It has a bigger pot of gold at the end of the competitive rainbow for the guys at the maybe just outside the designated event area going into next year.”
