Tee It Up Preview-The Players
The Players Championship
This week on Tee It Up Preview-The Players. The PGA Tour will head to Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida for The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass. This event is sometimes referred to as golfs “5th major.” Currently, the event offers the highest prize purse, $12.5 million in 2019. The event was originally founded in 1974 by PGA Tour commissioner Deane Beman. A new PGA Tour schedule means a new time slot for The Players Championship, the current slot is similar to the original schedule from 1974, mid to late March. The Players Championship is known for a different style of a playoff system since 2014 it is a 3 hole aggregate. Since 1982 only 4 playoffs have been needed to name a winner.
Field
- As of 2019 the winner will receive 18% of the total purse, $2.25 million and receive 80 points towards their world ranking. The winner will also receive a 5-year exemption on the PGA Tour, a 3-year invitation to the Masters, 3 years exemptions to the U.S. Open, The Open Championship, and the PGA Championship.
The Field contains 144 players consisting of the following criteria –
- Winners of PGA Tour event(s) since the last Players
- Top 125 from previous season’s FedEx Cup points list
- Major Champions from the past 5 years
- Players Championship winners from the past 5 years
- The Tour Championship winner(s) from the past 3 years
- World Golf championship winner(s) from the past 3 years
- Memorial Tournament winners from the past 3 years
- Arnold Palmer Invitational winners from the past 3 years
- Top 50 from the Official World Golf Rankings
- Senior Players champion from the prior year
- Web.com Tour money leader from the prior year
- Money leader during web.com tour finale
- Top 10 current year FedEx Cup
- Remaining positions and alternates filled through current year FedEx Cup standings
Notable Winners
3x Winner
- Jack Nicklaus – 1974, 1976, 1978
2x Winner
- Fred Couples – 1984, 1996
- Steve Elkington – 1991, 1997
- Hal Sutton – 1983, 2000
- Davis Love III – 1992, 2003
- Tiger Woods – 2001, 2013
1x Winners
- Webb Simpson – 2018
- Jason Day – 2016
- Rickie Fowler – 2015
TPC Sawgrass
TPC Sawgrass is located in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, southeast of Jacksonville. The club was opened in 1980 and plays host to The Players Championship. The property was designed by Pete and Alice Dye and is known for its signature 17th hole, the Island Green. The 17th is known as the Island Green but it is technically a peninsula. It only measures 137 yards from tee to green but the green has a top shelf on it that presents players with trouble when trying to putt. The design for the hole came by accident, Alice Dye suggested the idea of an island green to her husband, Pete, who was not fully on board with it originally. The whole has now become an iconic one on the PGA Tour and features 11 TV cameras during the tournament.
Round 1 Pairings
Tee Off #1
- 1:27 p.m. — Tiger Woods, Webb Simpson, Patrick Reed
- 1:38 p.m. — Henrik Stenson, Adam Scott, Martin Kaymer
- 1:48 p.m. — Francesco Molinari, Jason Day, Tony Finau
- 1:59 p.m. — Rickie Fowler, Brooks Koepka, Jordan Spieth
Tee Off #10
- 8:32 a.m. — Justin Rose, Justin Thomas, Xander Schauffele
- 8:43 a.m. — Bryson DeChambeau, Bubba Watson, Billy Horschel
- 8:53 a.m. — Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm, Sergio Garcia
- 9:04 a.m. — Phil Mickelson, Matt Kuchar, Rory McIlroy
TV Schedule
| Day | Start | Finish | Channel |
| Thursday | 1:00 PM | 7:00 PM | Golf Channel  |
| Friday | 1:00 PM | 7:00 PM | Golf Channel |
| Saturday | 2:00 PM | 7:00 PM | NBC  |
| Sunday | 1:00 PM | 6:00 PM | NBC |
Weather Forecast
| Day | High | Low | Precip | Description |
| Thursday | 74 | 62 | 10% | Partly Cloudy  |
| Friday | 77 | 61 | 10% | Mostly Cloudy |
| Saturday | 64 | 55 | 50% | AM Showers  |
| Sunday | 65 | 55 | 20% | Cloudy  |
