It was not long after the Wells Fargo Championship that I was asked who I was picking for The Players Championship would be. The first name that came to mind? Jordan Spieth. Of the top 15 players in the world, Spieth has won least recently worldwide. He just feels due. Of course, I forgot at the time that he's missed his last three cuts here and have since reneged on that pick and even removed him from my list of candidates that I think have a real chance of winning this week.
That list, however, is rife with top 10 players like Spieth. Sawgrass is obviously a ball-striker's playground. As my pal Sean Martin noted on the Fried Egg Podcast this week, most of the last decade's worth of winners have been top 10 in strokes gained on approach shots so I'm keeping that in mind as we look at the nine guys who can win this tournament this week.
Also, a thing to keep in mind: I'm probably going to look silly here because this tournament is so much more difficult to predict than, say, a Masters or even one of the Opens.
Visit SportsLine now to see who you can bank on to win the 2018 Players Championship and which long shots will make a run. Plus, we predict Tiger Woods' exact finish. All from the model that's nailed four of the last five majors heading into the weekend.
Justin Thomas: Shot a 65 in the final round here two years ago and is currently top 10 in strokes gained on approach shots. It's so easy to envision him being crowned No. 1 in the world on Sunday evening against the second-biggest (or biggest?) win of his career as I re-heat the, "wait, J.T. isn't better than Spieth, right?" debate. They have both won eight of their first 106 tournaments so save your Twitter mentions for after Sunday.
Henrik Stenson: He's a horse for this course. Top 20 in four of his last six Players appearances, and he's No. 1 on the PGA Tour in strokes gained on approach shots. I mentioned this earlier, but to put some numbers around it: The Players' scores are about 5 percent more heavily weighted toward great approaches and 5 percent less toward putting than a normal event.
Sergio Garcia: I always associate Garcia with this course, for better or worse. He's the all-time money leader here, and despite a poor year overall (for him) he's still No. 3 in strokes gained on approach shots. Watching him work the ball both ways on this track is a glorious experience.
Rory McIlroy: He has four top 12s in his last five appearances here, but I never remember thinking, "Man, really seems like Rory is going to win The Players this week!" In that sense, it has been Augusta Lite for him. He's No. 4 of players in the field this week in historical strokes gained on this course for his career.It was not long after the Wells Fargo Championship that I was asked who I was picking for The Players Championship would be. The first name that came to mind? Jordan Spieth. Of the top 15 players in the world, Spieth has won least recently worldwide. He just feels due. Of course, I forgot at the time that he's missed his last three cuts here and have since reneged on that pick and even removed him from my list of candidates that I think have a real chance of winning this week.
That list, however, is rife with top 10 players like Spieth. Sawgrass is obviously a ball-striker's playground. As my pal Sean Martin noted on the Fried Egg Podcast this week, most of the last decade's worth of winners have been top 10 in strokes gained on approach shots so I'm keeping that in mind as we look at the nine guys who can win this tournament this week.
Also, a thing to keep in mind: I'm probably going to look silly here because this tournament is so much more difficult to predict than, say, a Masters or even one of the Opens.
Visit SportsLine now to see who you can bank on to win the 2018 Players Championship and which long shots will make a run. Plus, we predict Tiger Woods' exact finish. All from the model that's nailed four of the last five majors heading into the weekend.
Justin Thomas: Shot a 65 in the final round here two years ago and is currently top 10 in strokes gained on approach shots. It's so easy to envision him being crowned No. 1 in the world on Sunday evening against the second-biggest (or biggest?) win of his career as I re-heat the, "wait, J.T. isn't better than Spieth, right?" debate. They have both won eight of their first 106 tournaments so save your Twitter mentions for after Sunday. Henrik Stenson: He's a horse for this course. Top 20 in four of his last six Players appearances, and he's No. 1 on the PGA Tour in strokes gained on approach shots. I mentioned this earlier, but to put some numbers around it: The Players' scores are about 5 percent more heavily weighted toward great approaches and 5 percent less toward putting than a normal event. Sergio Garcia: I always associate Garcia with this course, for better or worse. He's the all-time money leader here, and despite a poor year overall (for him) he's still No. 3 in strokes gained on approach shots. Watching him work the ball both ways on this track is a glorious experience.
4. Rory McIlroy: He has four top 12s in his last five appearances here, but I never remember thinking, "Man, really seems like Rory is going to win The Players this week!" In that sense, it has been Augusta Lite for him. He's No. 4 of players in the field this week in historical strokes gained on this course for his career.PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — The list of winners of the Players Championship is as varied as it is legendary. Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Lee Trevino and Phil Mickelson have all won it. So have Craig Perks, Stephen Ames, Jodie Mudd and Si Woo Kim, the champion a year ago at TPC Sawgrass.
None of them has ever gone on to repeat as champion. No one else has, either.
There have been a handful of players to win the Players multiple times. Nicklaus won it in 1974, ’76 and ’78 (before the Stadium course began hosting the tournament in 1982). Steve Elkington won in 1991 and again six years later. Fred Couples, Hal Sutton, Davis Love III and Woods all also have two victories at TPC Sawgrass.Outside of golf's major tournaments, it doesn't get any bigger than the Players Championship.
The 2018 edition at TPC Sawgrass begins on Thursday, and all of the world's top 50 golfers are set to participate.That is an indication of just how competitive the field is in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
Throw in a resurgent Tiger Woods—back at the Players for the first time since 2015 and playing alongside Phil Mickelson—and you have a tournament that, according to Jordan Spieth, is "harder to win than a major," per Mike McAllister of the PGA Tour.World No. 4 Spieth could be one of the top contenders in Florida this week if he finds his best form.The bookies have him among the favourites, alongside Jason Day—fresh from his win at the Wells Fargo Championship—Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy.Here are the latest odds before the action gets under way, per OddsShark:The list of defending champs to miss the cut the following year is even longer: Calvin Peete, Sandy Lyle, Mudd, Elkington, Nick Price, Ames, Henrik Stenson, K.J. Choi and Rickie Fowler.
That list, however, is rife with top 10 players like Spieth. Sawgrass is obviously a ball-striker's playground. As my pal Sean Martin noted on the Fried Egg Podcast this week, most of the last decade's worth of winners have been top 10 in strokes gained on approach shots so I'm keeping that in mind as we look at the nine guys who can win this tournament this week.
Also, a thing to keep in mind: I'm probably going to look silly here because this tournament is so much more difficult to predict than, say, a Masters or even one of the Opens.
Visit SportsLine now to see who you can bank on to win the 2018 Players Championship and which long shots will make a run. Plus, we predict Tiger Woods' exact finish. All from the model that's nailed four of the last five majors heading into the weekend.
Justin Thomas: Shot a 65 in the final round here two years ago and is currently top 10 in strokes gained on approach shots. It's so easy to envision him being crowned No. 1 in the world on Sunday evening against the second-biggest (or biggest?) win of his career as I re-heat the, "wait, J.T. isn't better than Spieth, right?" debate. They have both won eight of their first 106 tournaments so save your Twitter mentions for after Sunday.
Henrik Stenson: He's a horse for this course. Top 20 in four of his last six Players appearances, and he's No. 1 on the PGA Tour in strokes gained on approach shots. I mentioned this earlier, but to put some numbers around it: The Players' scores are about 5 percent more heavily weighted toward great approaches and 5 percent less toward putting than a normal event.
Sergio Garcia: I always associate Garcia with this course, for better or worse. He's the all-time money leader here, and despite a poor year overall (for him) he's still No. 3 in strokes gained on approach shots. Watching him work the ball both ways on this track is a glorious experience.
Rory McIlroy: He has four top 12s in his last five appearances here, but I never remember thinking, "Man, really seems like Rory is going to win The Players this week!" In that sense, it has been Augusta Lite for him. He's No. 4 of players in the field this week in historical strokes gained on this course for his career.It was not long after the Wells Fargo Championship that I was asked who I was picking for The Players Championship would be. The first name that came to mind? Jordan Spieth. Of the top 15 players in the world, Spieth has won least recently worldwide. He just feels due. Of course, I forgot at the time that he's missed his last three cuts here and have since reneged on that pick and even removed him from my list of candidates that I think have a real chance of winning this week.
That list, however, is rife with top 10 players like Spieth. Sawgrass is obviously a ball-striker's playground. As my pal Sean Martin noted on the Fried Egg Podcast this week, most of the last decade's worth of winners have been top 10 in strokes gained on approach shots so I'm keeping that in mind as we look at the nine guys who can win this tournament this week.
Also, a thing to keep in mind: I'm probably going to look silly here because this tournament is so much more difficult to predict than, say, a Masters or even one of the Opens.
Visit SportsLine now to see who you can bank on to win the 2018 Players Championship and which long shots will make a run. Plus, we predict Tiger Woods' exact finish. All from the model that's nailed four of the last five majors heading into the weekend.
Justin Thomas: Shot a 65 in the final round here two years ago and is currently top 10 in strokes gained on approach shots. It's so easy to envision him being crowned No. 1 in the world on Sunday evening against the second-biggest (or biggest?) win of his career as I re-heat the, "wait, J.T. isn't better than Spieth, right?" debate. They have both won eight of their first 106 tournaments so save your Twitter mentions for after Sunday. Henrik Stenson: He's a horse for this course. Top 20 in four of his last six Players appearances, and he's No. 1 on the PGA Tour in strokes gained on approach shots. I mentioned this earlier, but to put some numbers around it: The Players' scores are about 5 percent more heavily weighted toward great approaches and 5 percent less toward putting than a normal event. Sergio Garcia: I always associate Garcia with this course, for better or worse. He's the all-time money leader here, and despite a poor year overall (for him) he's still No. 3 in strokes gained on approach shots. Watching him work the ball both ways on this track is a glorious experience.
4. Rory McIlroy: He has four top 12s in his last five appearances here, but I never remember thinking, "Man, really seems like Rory is going to win The Players this week!" In that sense, it has been Augusta Lite for him. He's No. 4 of players in the field this week in historical strokes gained on this course for his career.PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — The list of winners of the Players Championship is as varied as it is legendary. Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Lee Trevino and Phil Mickelson have all won it. So have Craig Perks, Stephen Ames, Jodie Mudd and Si Woo Kim, the champion a year ago at TPC Sawgrass.
None of them has ever gone on to repeat as champion. No one else has, either.
There have been a handful of players to win the Players multiple times. Nicklaus won it in 1974, ’76 and ’78 (before the Stadium course began hosting the tournament in 1982). Steve Elkington won in 1991 and again six years later. Fred Couples, Hal Sutton, Davis Love III and Woods all also have two victories at TPC Sawgrass.Outside of golf's major tournaments, it doesn't get any bigger than the Players Championship.
The 2018 edition at TPC Sawgrass begins on Thursday, and all of the world's top 50 golfers are set to participate.That is an indication of just how competitive the field is in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
Throw in a resurgent Tiger Woods—back at the Players for the first time since 2015 and playing alongside Phil Mickelson—and you have a tournament that, according to Jordan Spieth, is "harder to win than a major," per Mike McAllister of the PGA Tour.World No. 4 Spieth could be one of the top contenders in Florida this week if he finds his best form.The bookies have him among the favourites, alongside Jason Day—fresh from his win at the Wells Fargo Championship—Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy.Here are the latest odds before the action gets under way, per OddsShark:The list of defending champs to miss the cut the following year is even longer: Calvin Peete, Sandy Lyle, Mudd, Elkington, Nick Price, Ames, Henrik Stenson, K.J. Choi and Rickie Fowler.
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