Sports Network - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

PGA Tour

PGA - THE PLAYERS Championship Preview

From The Sports Network

DATES: Thursday, May 7th through Sunday, May 10th

SITE: TPC Sawgrass (Stadium Course), Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida

COURSE ARCHITECT: Pete Dye (1979, redesign/renovation, 2006-07)

PAR: 72

YARDAGE: 7,215

Hole-By-Hole:	1 - Par 4 423 Yds	10 - Par 4 424 Yds
	2 - Par 5 532 Yds	11 - Par 5 558 Yds
	3 - Par 3 177 Yds	12 - Par 4 358 Yds
	4 - Par 4 384 Yds	13 - Par 3 181 Yds
	5 - Par 4 471 Yds	14 - Par 4 481 Yds
	6 - Par 4 393 Yds	15 - Par 4 449 Yds
	7 - Par 4 442 Yds	16 - Par 5 523 Yds
	8 - Par 3 237 Yds	17 - Par 3 137 Yds
	9 - Par 5 583 Yds	18 - Par 4 462 Yds
	-------------	-------------
	36 3,642 Yds	36 3,573 Yds

Annual:	36th
Television:	Golf Channel - Thursday/Friday -- 1-7 p.m. (et),
	Thursday/Friday -- 9 p.m.-12 a.m. (et) - replay,
	NBC - Saturday/Sunday -- 2-7 p.m. (et)
Defending Champion:	Sergio Garcia
Runner-Up:	Paul Goydos
Tournament Record:	264 (Greg Norman, 1994)
54-Hole Record:	197 (Greg Norman, 1994)
36-Hole Record:	130 (Greg Norman, 1994)
Course Record:	63 (Fred Couples, 1992; Greg Norman, 1994)
Total Purse:	$9,500,000
Shares:	1st Place - $1,710,000; 2nd Place - $1,026,000; 3rd Place - $646,000

2008 Finish
Player	Score	Player	Score
Sergio Garcia *	283	Ben Crane	289
Paul Goydos	283	Ernie Els	289
Jeff Quinney	284	Tom Lehman	289
Briny Baird	287	Brett Quigley	289
Stephen Ames	288	Five players at	290

* - Won in Playoff

Past THE PLAYERS Championship Winners
Year	Winner (Score) -- Runners-Up
2008	*Sergio Garcia (283) -- Paul Goydos
2007	Phil Mickelson (277) -- Sergio Garcia
2006	Stephen Ames (274) -- Retief Goosen
2005	Fred Funk (279) -- Tom Lehman, Luke Donald, Scott Verplank
2004	Adam Scott (276) -- Padraig Harrington
2003	Davis Love III (271) -- Jay Haas, Padraig Harrington
2002	Craig Perks (280) -- Stephen Ames
2001	Tiger Woods (274) -- Vijay Singh
2000	Hal Sutton (278) -- Tiger Woods
1999	David Duval (285) -- Scott Gump
1998	Justin Leonard (278) -- Tom Lehman, Glen Day
1997	Steve Elkington (272) -- Scott Hoch
1996	Fred Couples (270) -- Colin Montgomerie, Tommy Tolles
1995	Lee Janzen (283) -- Bernhard Langer
1994	Greg Norman (264) -- Fuzzy Zoeller
1993	Nick Price (270) -- Bernhard Langer
1992	Davis Love III (273) -- Ian Baker-Finch, Phil Blackmar, Nick Faldo,
	Tom Watson
1991	Steve Elkington (276) -- Fuzzy Zoeller
1990	Jodie Mudd (278) -- Mark Calcavecchia
1989	Tom Kite (279) -- Chip Beck
1988	Mark McCumber (273) -- Mike Reid
1987	*Sandy Lyle (274) -- Jeff Sluman
1986	John Mahaffey (275) -- Larry Mize
1985	Calvin Peete (274) -- D.A. Weibring
1984	Fred Couples (277) -- Lee Trevino
1983	Hal Sutton (283) -- Bob Eastwood
1982	Jerry Pate (280) -- Brad Bryant, Scott Simpson
1981	*Ray Floyd (285) -- Barry Jaeckel, Curtis Strange
1980	Lee Trevino (278) -- Ben Crenshaw
1979	Lanny Wadkins (283) -- Tom Watson
1978	Jack Nicklaus (289) -- Lou Graham
1977	Mark Hayes (289) -- Mike McCullough
1976	Jack Nicklaus (269) -- J.C. Snead
1975	Al Geiberger (270) -- Dave Stockton
1974	Jack Nicklaus (272) -- J.C. Snead

* - Won in Playoff

Note:Formerly called Tournament Players Championship (1974-87).

Top Contenders in the Field
Player	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
Sergio Garcia	---	mc	T-50	T-4	mc	T-53	T-32	T-14	2nd	Won
Paul Goydos	T-38	mc	T-68	---	---	---	---	---	mc	2nd
Jeff Quinney	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	T-6	3rd
Briny Baird	---	---	---	T-49	T-11	T-33	T-56	---	mc	4th
Stephen Ames	---	T-42	mc	2nd	T-17	T-13	mc	Won	mc	5th
Ernie Els	T-17	T-20	mc	T-44	---	T-26	T-17	T-8	T-37	T-6
J.B. Holmes	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	T-38	T-16	T-10
Henrik Stenson	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	T-3	T-23	T-10
Chad Campbell	---	---	---	---	T-6	T-42	mc	T-70	mc	T-10
Stuart Appleby	mc	T-22	T-33	T-28	T-21	mc	mc	mc	T-16	T-15
Kenny Perry	wd	T-27	T-18	T-60	T-32	T-3	mc	---	T-58	T-15
Phil Mickelson	T-32	mc	T-33	T-28	---	T-3	T-40	T-14	Won	T-21
Stewart Cink	mc	T-33	mc	mc	T-39	T-22	T-32	mc	T-3	T-21
Ian Poulter	---	---	---	---	---	T-33	mc	T-27	T-28	T-21
Boo Weekley	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	T-44	T-21
Woody Austin	---	T-61	mc	mc	---	T-16	mc	73rd	mc	T-21
Luke Donald	---	---	---	---	mc	mc	T-2	mc	T-16	T-27
Jim Furyk	T-17	T-61	T-21	T-14	T-4	---	mc	T-3	T-28	T-27
Rory Sabbatini	---	mc	mc	mc	mc	T-42	mc	mc	T-44	T-27
Steve Elkington	T-38	---	---	T-63	mc	T-26	T-6	---	T-12	T-32
Jerry Kelly	mc	T-42	4th	T-11	mc	T-6	mc	mc	T-28	T-32
Mike Weir	---	mc	T-44	T-19	T-27	mc	T-17	T-22	T-37	T-32
Aaron Baddeley	---	---	---	---	---	mc	78th	mc	T-37	T-32
David Toms	T-20	T-38	T-12	T-19	mc	mc	T-68	mc	T-64	T-32
Robert Allenby	---	T-53	T-21	T-11	T-4	T-33	mc	T-38	mc	T-42
Ben Curtis	---	---	---	---	---	mc	mc	mc	mc	T-42
Anthony Kim	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	mc	T-42
Retief Goosen	---	mc	mc	T-14	mc	mc	T-12	2nd	T-28	T-51
Adam Scott	---	---	---	mc	T-17	Won	T-8	T-53	T-6	T-54
Davis Love III	T-10	T-48	mc	mc	Won	T-33	T-8	mc	T-75	T-54
Camilo Villegas	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	T-3	mc	T-66
Sean O'Hair	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	T-58	11th	mc
Zach Johnson	---	---	---	---	---	---	T-8	T-58	T-16	mc
K.J. Choi	---	---	---	T-28	mc	T-42	mc	T-16	T-23	mc
Geoff Ogilvy	---	---	---	mc	T-21	T-16	mc	mc	T-37	mc
Vijay Singh	T-20	T-33	2nd	mc	mc	T-13	T-12	T-8	T-44	mc
Scott Verplank	T-32	T-20	T-44	T-28	T-8	T-26	T-2	mc	T-44	mc
Padraig Harrington	---	---	T-33	T-22	T-2	2nd	T-63	mc	T-52	mc
Steve Stricker	T-6	mc	mc	T-19	mc	mc	---	---	T-52	mc
Tim Clark	---	---	---	---	T-21	mc	mc	mc	T-68	mc
Fred Funk	T-38	T-13	T-33	mc	T-45	T-10	Won	T-16	mc	mc
Justin Leonard	T-23	T-22	mc	T-44	T-21	T-42	mc	mc	mc	mc
Lucas Glover	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	mc	mc	mc
Paul Casey	---	---	---	---	---	T-10	mc	---	mc	mc
Bubba Watson	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	mc	mc
Justin Rose	---	---	---	---	T-39	T-58	mc	mc	---	mc
Angel Cabrera	---	---	T-26	T-36	mc	---	mc	mc	---	mc
Andres Romero	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	mc
Tiger Woods	T-10	2nd	Won	T-14	T-11	T-16	T-53	T-22	T-37	---
Trevor Immelman	---	---	---	---	mc	wd	---	---	mc	---

Sports Network Selections

Pick to Win - Tiger Woods
Darkhorse - Steve Stricker

Last Week's Pick to Win (Tiger Woods) - Finished 4th
Last Week's Darkhorse (Rory Sabbatini) - Missed the cut

NOTES:

The PGA Tour moves back to the state of Florida this week, as the finest field of the 2009 season takes shape with the 36th edition of THE PLAYERS Championship. The top-59 players and 96 of the top-100 on the current PGA Tour money list are competing this week for the chance to win the unofficial fifth major.

This is the third straight year that THE PLAYERS is being held in May. The 2007 event marked the first time that the tournament had been moved from March since the first three years of the event. THE PLAYERS was held in September in 1974, August in 1975 and February in 1976 before moving to March.

World No. 3 and defending champion Sergio Garcia will attempt to do something no one has ever done, capture back-to-back PLAYERS Championship titles. In recent years, the closest anyone has come was Hal Sutton, when he captured the 2000 title and tied for fifth in 2001.

Last year, Garcia parred the first playoff hole, the famous island green at 17, to defeat Paul Goydos and win THE PLAYERS Championship. The win was Garcia's seventh on the PGA Tour, but first since the 2005 Booz Allen Classic. The victory was his biggest to date since this is called by some, "the fifth major."

Garcia led after an opening-round 66 but trailed Goydos by three heading into the final round. Garcia posted a sensational, one-under 71 on the final day at the Stadium Course at the TPC at Sawgrass. Under windy conditions, Goydos only managed a two-over 74 and the pair tied in regulation at five-under 283. They headed to the 17th tee to begin the extra session. Goydos went first and hit a wedge short into the water. Garcia stepped up and hit his wedge tee ball left of the hole. With the contour of the green and the wind gusts, Garcia's ball rolled down to just inside five feet. Goydos played his third from the drop area and hit a great shot to 14 feet. He missed the bogey putt, allowing Garcia to three-putt from four feet, five inches for the win. Garcia did miss his birdie putt, but was doing no more than cozying it down to the hole. He tapped in for the victory.

An international player has either won or finished second the last eight years (four wins). Since 1991, An international player has won this event eight times, with seven seconds and two thirds.

In 2007, Mickelson opened with a first-round 67 and carded weekend rounds of 69 to win his first PLAYERS Championship. He finished at 11-under-par 277, which was good for a two-shot victory. Garcia birdied four of his last five holes in the final round to shoot a six-under 66 and take second place at minus-nine. Third-round leader Sean O'Hair was two behind Mickelson throughout the back nine, but put two balls in the water at 17 and fell down the leaderboard. He ended up with a final-round, four-over 76. A bogey at the last dropped him to a solo 11th at minus-five.

Mickelson bogeyed the final hole in 2007 and became the eighth player in the history of the event to bogey the last and still win. Mickelson joined Adam Scott (2004), Woods (2001), Justin Leonard (1998), Jodie Mudd (1990), Mark McCumber (1988), Fred Couples (1984) and Sutton (1983) on that list.

In 2006, Stephen Ames fired the lowest round of the day on Sunday, a five- under 67, to cruise to victory at THE PLAYERS Championship. He finished at 14- under-par 274 and won by six strokes over two-time U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen. The six-shot win was the second largest margin of victory in tournament history - Steve Elkington won by seven in 1997. The Stadium Course at the TPC at Sawgrass played difficult in the final round in 2006. There were eight scores in the 80s, as opposed to just three in the 60s. That just made Ames' spectacular round and margin of victory all the more impressive. Ames became the fifth player over the age of 40 to win THE PLAYERS Championship, joining Fred Funk (2005), Sutton (2000), Calvin Peete (1985) and Lee Trevino (1980).

There were four holes-in-one in 2006 at THE PLAYERS, all on the 13th hole. Justin Leonard aced the hole at 192 yards with a five-iron in the second round. Jesper Parnevik also aced the 13th hole in the second round with a seven-iron. Henrik Stenson aced the hole in the third round, measuring at 175 yards, with a seven-iron. Couples aced the 13th hole in the final round, when it played at 159 yards. The four holes-in-one were the most in tournament history, breaking the previous mark of three set in 1999 and 2000. It was the first time since the 2002 Buick Classic that four aces were recorded in the same tournament.

Tom Kite holds the record for the most cuts made with 23 at this event. Tom Watson ranks second with 21 cuts made. Watson and Nick Price are tied with the most career top-10 finishes with nine. In 2005, Jay Haas made his 28th start at THE PLAYERS Championship, tying him with Kite and Ben Crenshaw. Haas had six top-10s, including four at the TPC Sawgrass (1986, 1996, 2003-04).

In 2005, Funk became the oldest winner ever at THE PLAYERS when he came from four shots back in the final round to defeat Tom Lehman, Luke Donald and Scott Verplank by one shot. Funk -- 48 years, nine months and 18 days old when he won -- closed with a final round, one-under 71 to finish the event at nine- under- par 279. Sutton (41 years, 10 months, 28 days) had been the oldest PLAYERS Champion, winning in 2000.

During the third round in 2005, Bob Tway recorded a 12 on the 17th hole, the highest score in tournament history on the island green. Tway knocked four balls into the water, unseating Robert Gamez who posted an 11 in 1990. The scoring average of 3.780 on the par-three 17th hole during the final round of the 2005 PLAYERS Championship was the second-highest in tournament history. During the first round of the 1984 tournament, the hole averaged 3.853 for the round. The scoring average of 4.823 on the par-four 18th hole during the final round at THE PLAYERS Championship in 2005 was also the second-highest in tournament history. During the fourth round of the 1983 tournament, the hole averaged 4.848 for the round. The scoring average of 76.512 for the final round in 2005 was the highest-scoring single round ever at THE PLAYERS Championship. The previous high of 76.194 came in the opening round in 2000.

In 2004, Adam Scott became the youngest winner in the history of THE PLAYERS at 23 years, eight months and 12 days. Couples had been the youngest champion when he won in 1984 at 24 years, five months and 28 days. Couples will make his 26th start this week, putting him in third place on the all-time start list. In his previous appearances, Couples has made the cut 17 times.

Davis Love III joined a very select group when he captured the 2003 event. With his wins in 1992 and 2003, Love's name was added to the list of multiple winners, joining Steve Elkington, Couples, Jack Nicklaus and Sutton. Nicklaus is a three-time champion, winning in 1974, '76 and '78; Sutton won in 1983 and 2000; Couples in 1984 and '96, and Elkington in 1991 and '97. Elkington is the only player to birdie the final hole for victory when he captured the event in 1991. Mark Hayes and Nicklaus own the highest winning score in tournament history (289), Hayes in 1977 and Nicklaus in 1978.

When Craig Perks captured the 2002 title, he joined Sutton (1983) and Nicklaus (1974) as the only players to win in their first appearance at this event. Perks also became the first player to make this event his first PGA Tour title.

Only three PLAYERS Championships have been decided in playoffs. In 1981, Raymond Floyd defeated Barry Jaeckel and Curtis Strange on the first extra hole; in 1987, Sandy Lyle parred the third playoff hole to defeat Jeff Sluman and Garcia parred the first playoff hole in 2008 to defeat Goydos.

The TPC Sawgrass, designed by Pete Dye, has hosted this event 27 consecutive years. The tournament was first held in 1974 at Atlanta Country Club, followed by Colonial Country Club and Inverray Golf and Country Club prior to its move to the Jacksonville area. Sawgrass Country Club hosted the tournament from 1977-81.

THE PLAYERS Stadium course was refurbished to create faster conditions prior to the 2007 championship. The fairways were stripped and layers of sand were added to help with drainage. The greens were rebuilt with sub-air systems underneath to assist with hydration and water removal in wet conditions. The original clubhouse was torn down and a larger building was constructed, as well as a new practice facility. In addition, the course was lengthened 117 yards.

Age certainly has its advantages at THE PLAYERS, as competitors in their 20s and 30s have captured 30 of the 35 tournaments. The average age of a winner is 33, as 16 players in their 30s have captured the coveted event.

The PGA Tour travels to the Lone Star State next week, as San Antonio, Texas will host the Valero Texas Open, where Zach Johnson won last year.

05/05 14:23:41 ET

As of May 5, 2009, at 02:24 PM ET