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PGA Tour

PGA - THE PLAYERS Championship Preview

From The Sports Network

DATES: Thursday, May 12th through Sunday, May 15th

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

COURSE ARCHITECT: Pete Dye (1980, redesign/renovation, 2006)

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:	38th
Television:	Golf Channel - Thursday/Friday -- 1-7 p.m. (et),
	NBC - Saturday/Sunday -- 2-7 p.m. (et)
Defending Champion:	Tim Clark
Runner-Up:	Robert Allenby
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

2010 Finish
Player	Score	Player	Score
Tim Clark	272	Heath Slocum	276
Robert Allenby	273	Bo Van Pelt	276
Lucas Glover	274	Lee Westwood	276
Ben Crane	276	Francesco Molinari	277
Davis Love III	276	Three players at	279

Past THE PLAYERS Championship Winners
Year	Winner (Score) -- Runners-Up
2010	Tim Clark (272) -- Robert Allenby
2009	Henrik Stenson (276) -- Ian Poulter
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	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
Tim Clark	---	---	T-21	mc	mc	mc	T-68	mc	T-9	Won
Robert Allenby	T-21	T-11	T-4	T-33	mc	T-38	mc	T-42	T-14	2nd
Lucas Glover	---	---	---	---	---	mc	mc	mc	mc	3rd
Ben Crane	---	---	mc	T-66	---	T-36	---	T-6	T-5	T-4
Davis Love III	mc	mc	Won	T-33	T-8	mc	T-75	T-54	mc	T-4
Francesco Molinari	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	9th
Matt Kuchar	---	wd	mc	T-16	---	---	---	mc	T-14	T-13
Scott Verplank	T-44	T-28	T-8	T-26	T-2	mc	T-44	mc	T-49	T-13
Phil Mickelson	T-33	T-28	---	T-3	T-40	T-14	Won	T-21	T-55	T-17
Hunter Mahan	---	---	---	---	T-40	---	mc	wd	T-71	T-17
Nick Watney	---	---	---	---	---	---	mc	T-63	mc	T-17
Kenny Perry	T-18	T-60	T-32	T-3	mc	---	T-58	T-15	T-22	T-22
Zach Johnson	---	---	---	---	T-8	T-58	T-16	mc	T-32	T-22
Sean O'Hair	---	---	---	---	---	T-58	11th	mc	mc	T-22
Luke Donald	---	---	mc	mc	T-2	mc	T-16	T-27	T-37	T-26
Graeme McDowell	---	---	---	---	T-40	---	---	---	78th	T-26
Adam Scott	---	mc	T-17	Won	T-8	T-53	T-6	T-54	mc	T-26
Martin Kaymer	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	T-55	T-34
K.J. Choi	---	T-28	mc	T-42	mc	T-16	T-23	mc	T-71	T-34
Dustin Johnson	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	mc	T-79	T-34
Y.E. Yang	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	mc	T-34
Jim Furyk	T-21	T-14	T-4	---	mc	T-3	T-28	T-27	T-5	T-47
Sergio Garcia	T-50	T-4	mc	T-53	T-32	T-14	2nd	Won	T-22	T-47
Justin Leonard	mc	T-44	T-21	T-42	mc	mc	mc	mc	T-32	T-52
Paul Goydos	T-68	---	---	---	---	---	mc	2nd	mc	T-52
Alex Cejka	---	---	---	T-33	T-12	---	---	mc	T-9	T-58
Stephen Ames	mc	2nd	T-17	T-13	mc	Won	mc	5th	T-49	T-58
Ben Curtis	---	---	---	mc	mc	mc	mc	T-42	T-22	T-66
Alvaro Quiros	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	T-66
Henrik Stenson	---	---	---	---	---	T-3	T-23	T-10	Won	mc
Ian Poulter	---	---	---	T-33	mc	T-27	T-28	T-21	2nd	mc
Paul Casey	---	---	---	T-10	mc	---	mc	mc	T-14	mc
Jonathan Byrd	---	---	mc	mc	T-32	mc	T-16	T-32	T-37	mc
Bubba Watson	---	---	---	---	---	---	mc	mc	T-37	mc
Ernie Els	mc	T-44	---	T-26	T-17	T-8	T-37	T-6	T-45	mc
Martin Laird	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	T-71	mc
Charl Schwartzel	---	---	---	---	---	---	T-58	---	---	mc
Tiger Woods	Won	T-14	T-11	T-16	T-53	T-22	T-37	---	8th	wd
Steve Stricker	mc	T-19	mc	mc	---	---	T-52	mc	T-22	---

Sports Network Selections

Pick to Win - Luke Donald
Darkhorse - K.J. Choi

Last Week's Pick to Win (Rory McIlroy) - Missed the cut
Last Week's Darkhorse (Tommy Gainey) - Missed the cut

NOTES:

The PGA Tour moves back to the state of Florida this week with the 38th edition of THE PLAYERS Championship. Eighteen of the top-20 players in the world are competing this week for the chance to win the unofficial fifth major. World No. 1 Lee Westwood and Rory McIlroy, ranked sixth, are the only top-20 players not in the field.

World No. 8 Tiger Woods is playing this week for the first time since he tied for fourth at The Masters. He missed last week due to a knee injury. Masters champion Charl Schwartzel is playing on the PGA Tour for the first time since winning the green jacket. He tied for 11th at the Maybank Malaysian Open on the European Tour in his only start since Augusta.

This is the fifth straight year that this event 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. This tournament was held in September in 1974, August in 1975 and February in 1976 before moving to March.

South African Tim Clark 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 won the 2000 title and tied for fifth in 2001.

An international player has either won or finished second the last 10 years (six wins). Since 1991, an international player has won this event 10 times, with nine seconds and three thirds.

Last year, Clark caught fire around the turn in the final round and scratched out a gutsy finish to finally capture his first PGA Tour win. The breakthrough victory came in Clark's 206th start on tour, a stretch that began when he played the 1998 Masters as an amateur. Clark, who shot a 67 on the last day, was one of only two players to break 70 during a difficult final round at the TPC Sawgrass. He made just one bogey on the weekend to overcome a seven-shot deficit after 36 holes -- the largest comeback in tournament history over the final two rounds. Clark finished at 16-under-par 272 for a one shot win over Robert Allenby. Davis Love III was the only player besides Clark to break 70 on Sunday, shooting a four-under 68 to share fourth place.

Clark joined Craig Perks (2002) as the only players to make this tournament their first PGA Tour victory. When Perks captured the 2002 title, he joined Sutton (1983) and Jack Nicklaus (1974) as the only players to win in their first appearance.

In 2009, Henrik Stenson fired a flawless, six-under 66 in the final round to become the first Swede to win. Stenson finished at 12-under 276 and won the title by four strokes over Ian Poulter. His five-stroke comeback in the final round matched Justin Leonard's record from 1998. Stenson posted the only bogey-free final round in 2009.

In 2008, Sergio Garcia parred the first playoff hole, the famous island green at 17, to defeat Paul Goydos. The win was Garcia's seventh on the PGA Tour, but first since the 2005 Booz Allen Classic.

In 2007, Phil 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.

In 2006, Stephen Ames fired the lowest round of the day on Sunday, a five- under 67, to cruise to victory. 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 very 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 here, joining Fred Funk (2005), Sutton (2000), Calvin Peete (1985) and Lee Trevino (1980).

Tom Kite holds the record for the most cuts made with 23. Tom Watson ranks second with 21 cuts made. Watson and Nick Price are tied with the most career top-10 finishes with nine. In 2010, Jay Haas made his 29th start at this event, the most in tournament history. Haas has six top-10s, including four at the TPC Sawgrass (1986, 1996, 2003-04).

In 2005, Funk became the oldest winner ever at this event 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 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.

In 2004, Adam Scott became the youngest winner in the history of this event at 23 years, eight months and 12 days. Fred Couples had been the youngest champion when he won in 1984 at 24 years, five months and 28 days.

Davis Love III joined a very select group when he captured the 2003 title. With his wins in 1992 and 2003, Love's name was added to the list of multiple winners, joining Steve Elkington, Couples, 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 won in 1991. Mark Hayes and Nicklaus own the highest winning score in tournament history (289) - Hayes in 1977 and Nicklaus in 1978.

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 29 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.

The PGA Tour travels to the Lone Star State next week, as Fort Worth, Texas will host the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, where Zach Johnson won last year.

05/10 14:26:47 ET

As of May 10, 2011, at 02:27 PM ET