[rich76]

Originally Posted by -mmm-

Often considered the "5th major", this is probably my favorite tourney after the Masters. Always has one of the top fields of any tournament. Taking place on the renowned TPC Sawgrass course, with its signature 17th island hole.



Of course the dirty secret is that 18, with water all along the left side and a tough little green, is the tougher hole for a potentially lethal 1-2 combo at the finish. However there's also plenty of scoring opportunities on the course with some nice little short par 4s and a couple of par 5s that you can get eagles on, notably the 2nd hole and the 16th. The latter is eagle-able (is that a word? ) if you can avoid the water on the right and far side of the hole there.

This is the largest purse in the PGA tour with $9.5mil to be divied up, with the winner receiving $1.71mil of that. GARSE is your defending champ as he defeated Paul Goydos in a playoff. The winner also gets a 5 year exemption to be on the tour, as well as 3 year exemptions to get into the Masters and British Open.

IMO, Mark, your best post in this forum.....by far.


Your last paragraph shows precisely that anyone can win here.Paul Goydos? No disrespect to him, but he's a journeyman.(Asst Ryder Cup Capt. not withstanding) . For guys like him the 5 yr Tour card and entry into most majors is BIGGER, IMHO, than the 1.7 mil (although, as you said, the biggest )

I couldn't agree more with the first part....

The favorites....

Power Rankings: THE PLAYERS ChampionshipRankPlayer Comment
1 Phil MICKELSONIncluding his victory at THE PLAYERS in 2007, he has finished in the top 25 in four of his last five starts at this event. His short game stats have not been up to his usual standards this year, so it will be interesting to see how he handles the small greens.
2.Sergio GARCIAHe struggled in the second round last week and missed the cut, but he has played well at THE PLAYERS. Winning last year and finishing second in 2007, Garcia has finished in the top 5 three times in nine career starts.
3 Tiger WOODSThis may be the only week where he's in the field but not first in the power rankings. While he is one of only three players to have at least two top-10 finishes and no missed cuts, Woods has not finished in the top 10 in his last six starts at TPC Sawgrass.
4.Brian GAYGay has been playing at a high level all year and TPC Sawgrass fits his style of play. He's in the top 10 in driving accuracy, proximity to the hole and scrambling -- these are probably the three key areas required for winning at THE PLAYERS.
5 Henrik STENSONHe's finished in the top 25 -- twice in the top 10 -- in each of his first three starts at TPC Sawgrass. He's one of only three players with two or more top 10s and no missed cuts at this venue. He enters the week with three top 3 finishes worldwide in 2009.
6 Zach JOHNSONHe had a disappointing final round at Quail Hollow, but comes in playing well in some key areas for TPC Sawgrass. He's in the top 15 in driving accuracy, greens in regulation, distance from the edge of the fairway and scrambling from the rough.
7 Sean O'HAIRO'Hair won his third title last week and picked up his 10th top-25 finish of the year. He has also quietly put together a string of solid finishes at big events, finishing in the top 15 in the three most recent World Golf Championships and the Masters.
8 Davis LOVE IIIOf those entered in the field, Love is tied with Fred Couples for most top-10 finishes at TPC Sawgrass. Both have six top-10s -- which also includes two victories for each -- on the Stadium Course. Love has finished in the top 25 in over half of his '09 starts.
9 Stephen AMESAmes is a perfect example of the challenge that TPC Sawgrass presents. In his last eight starts at THE PLAYERS, Ames has three top-5 finishes, including a victory in 2006 and he has missed the cut three times.
10 Rocco MEDIATEHe has yet to miss the cut in '09 and notched his first top 25 of the season at Quail Hollow, where he finished 10th in driving accuracy and ninth in greens in regulation. He has six top-15 finishes at TPC Sawgrass, and hasn't missed the cut in his last six starts.

I have an ! I get some financing.....get the contract for the 17th hole...retrieve 150,000 balls per year....sell ONCE HIT PRO-V's for $15.00 per doz $5.00 S&H... . Take some of the $$$$$, buy into J$...give O the $$ he needs to take this where he wants to...and sit back and ... ... .

That my friends would be a
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IMO, this is a real tough track and I'd be surprised if they got any lower than -10. The players are saying the course is perfect but they're concerned about ultra fast green speeds.