Players Championship Preview

By Fred Altvater on Tuesday, May 7th 2013
Players Championship Preview

The 39th Players Championship will be held this week on the Stadium Course at the TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra, Florida.

Former PGA Tour Commissioner Deane Beman engaged Pete Dye to design TPC Sawgrass to be spectator friendly especially for this tournament.

With $9.5 million in prize money, it offers the largest purse in golf. Defending champion Matt Kuchar earned $1.7 million for his win last year.

TPC Sawgrass offers difficulties at every turn and does not seem to favor a particular type of golfer. Short hitting ball-strikers have finished well here as have longer bomb and gouge players.

Fred Funk, Tim Clark, Stephen Ames, K.J. Choi and Justin Leonard all have won on this golf course. So too have bombers like, Greg Norman, Tiger Woods, Davis Love and Phil Mickelson.

Heavy rains visited the Jacksonville area late last week and longer hitters may have an advantage early in the week. The weather forecast is very favorable for firmer and faster conditions by the weekend.

When players tee off at the first hole the short par-3 No. 17 is always on their mind. A ball in the water on No. 17 at the end of the round can quickly wreck a scorecard. It is always a factor in deciding the winner on Sunday afternoon.

The Players Championship is owned and run by the PGA Tour. It annually draws the best field of golfers in the world. It is not considered a major championship, but the winner of the Players Championship earns ultimate respect from his peers and golf media alike.

The Players Championship winner receives 80 world ranking points. Major championship winners receive 100 points. The winners of the World Golf Championship events receive between 70-78 world ranking points.

The Players Champion receives a five-year PGA Tour exemption, a three-year invitation to the Masters, the U.S. Open and the Open Championship.

The Players Championship will be aired on the Golf Channel on Thursday, May 9, and Friday, May 10, 1:00-7:00 PM EDT.

NBC will pick up the coverage on the weekend from 2:00-7:00 PM EDT on both Saturday, May 11 and Sunday, May 12.

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