The Players Championship - Trivia and Preview

The 40th edition of The Players Championship gets underway this Thursday at the TPC at Sawgrass course in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

Here is a bit of background on the tournament widely regarded as the "unofficial fifth major" because of its quality of field and the highest prize purse in golf (the winner picks up  just over 1.7 million US dollars).

• It has not always been played at Sawgrass. The fist three editions were played at three different courses: Atlanta Country Club in 1974; Colonial Country Club in 1975 and Inverrary Country Club in 1976. From 1977-1981 it was hosted at Sawgrass' Oceanside Course, before settling at the Stadium Course at the Tournament Players Club (TPC) at Sawgrass.
• Jack Nicklaus won the inaugural event and remains the only player to have won The Players three times. Four players have won it twice - Fred Couples, Steve Eklington, Hal Sutton and Davis Love III.
• Australian Greg Norman holds the record winning score at -24, a feat he achieved in 1994.
• Americans have dominated the event historically. Australia is in second place in terms of number of different winners (four).
• American Matt Kuchar is the defending champion and, if he wins this year, will become the first person to defend the title.

The daunting 17th hole (Source)

Even the smallest of golf fans should be familiar with the 17th hole - nicknamed the "island green". Although not technically an island, the green is almost completely surrounded by water and has destroyed the hopes of hundreds of golfers over the years. Did you know...

• In 2007, a record 93 balls ended up in the water. That is, 21 percent of all attempts.
• Australian Robert Allenby has the longest active streak of avoiding the water - 36 rounds - but don't tell him that!

Enough of the trivia - who are the contenders, favorites and dark-horses? Current Fed Ex Cup and world rankings in brackets.

Horschel with his first PGA Tour trophy (Source)

Billy Horschel (3-49) - Arguably the biggest talking point on the PGA Tour at present. Horschel won his first tournament just under two weeks ago - the Zurich Classic of New Orleans - and has the longest active streak of consecutive cuts made at 23. Five top 10s in 12 tournaments so far this year.

Luke Donald (44-5) - Has not been in his best form lately with only two top-10s in six starts in 2013, but he has finished in the top 10 at The Players the last two years.

Jason Day (15-25) - Almost pulled off a victory at the Masters last month. Four top-10s in nine events. Would be great to see him follow in Adam Scott's footsteps and pick up a significant victory.

Lee Westwood (38-12) - Four top-10s in nine starts, including three out of his last three. Westwood has improved his short game in recent years, and now ranks highly in sand save and all-round scrambling percentages.

Mickelson won The Players in 2007 (Source)

Justin Rose (23-4) - Ranked 2nd in scoring average, 1st in sand saves, 2nd in total driving and 3rd in ball striking. Rose has one of the more consistent games in golf at present and should be right up there come Sunday.

Phil Mickelson (6-10) - Mickelson had a late stumble at Wells Fargo last week but was his usual self - amazing the crowds with a vintage display of accurate putting from within 15 feet. First in birdie averages and par 3 birdie averages will certainly help at TPC Sawgrass. Has already won this year at the Waste Management Phoenix Open back in February - where he just missed a putt to shoot a 59.



What about the world's two best players? Tiger Woods is currently first in the FedEx Cup and has won three times this year, but has not won The Players since 2001. You would expect the world number to be in the mix come the business end of the tournament. Rory McIlroy, on the other hand, has had a disappointing season so far, but has regained some form lately with three top-25s in his last three tournaments, including a 10th place finish at Wells Fargo. However, in three attempts, he has never made the cut at The Players.