The Players Championship is all set to host its 50th edition next week at Sawgrass. The upcoming PGA Tour flagship event will commence on March 14 and will have a 72-hole strokeplay format. The tournament will end after four days of rigorous golf on March 17.
Since its inception, the then commissioner Deane Beman wanted the tournament to be considered as the fifth major golf tournament. Since 2019, it has been luring players with the highest prize pool in any golf event across any tour. However, due to PGA Tour players being limited to the tournament, it has always been shy to be officially known as the fifth major.
The 50th edition of The Players Championship has sparked even more talks about it being known as the biggest golf event after all the four majors. So, here we are with the top 10 interesting facts about the PGA Tour flagship event:
1) Jack Nicklaus Has The Most Wins
Except for the legendary 18-time major champion, no other golfer has won the prestigious PGA Tour flagship event more than twice. Jack Nicklaus has won the tournament three times (1974, 1976, and 1978) in his career. He is also the inaugural winner of the tournament.
2) All Winners’ Average Age
With a total of 42 unique champions, the average age of The Players Championship winners is 32.3 years. Si Woo Kim was the youngest winner – he won the tournament at the age of 21 in 2017. Fred Funk was the oldest winner – he won the tournament in 2005 when he was 48 years old.
3) Sergio Garcia Has Fetched The Most Money
The legendary Spaniard has made 22 appearances in the PGA Tour flagship event at TPC Sawgrass. Although Sergio Garcia has won the tournament only once in 2008, he is the best earner in the tournament’s history. He has received a total of $5,948,528.43 in prize money.
4) Prize Purse Of 50th Players Champions Is 100x That Of The Inaugural Edition
The first edition of the prestigious tournament in 1974 saw a prize purse of $250,000. However, the 50th edition of the Sawgrass event will have a whopping prize purse of $25,000,000.
5) Jay Haas And Davis Love III Have The Most Appearances
Jay Haas And Davis Love III have made the most starts in the history of The Players Championship. In 49 successful editions, they have participated in 29 of them. On one side, Davis has won the tournament twice, while Haas has only finished as a runner-up once.
6) No PGA Tour Rookie Has Ever Won The Tournament
In 49 editions, no PGA Tour rookie has recorded a victory at TPC Sawgrass. While it is noteworthy that David Lingmerth recorded the best finish of T2 in 2013 for a rookie player. He lost to Tiger Woods by two strokes margin.
7) Two Players Have Won The Players Championship As Their Maiden PGA Tour Title
Craig Perks in 2002 and Tim Clark in 2010 are the only two players who won the TPC Sawgrass event as their first victory on the PGA Tour. Perks defeated Stephen Ames by two strokes, while Clark triumphed Robert Allenby by one stroke.
8) Five Wire-To-Wire Winners
Winning a tournament by topping the leaderboard in all the rounds is incredible. In the history of The Players Championship, only five players have done that. Al Geibergerin 1975, Greg Norman in 1994, Steve Elkington in 1997, Hal Sutton in 2000, and Jason Day in 2016 are the five wire-to-wire winners.
9) No Player Has Gone Bogey Free At TPC Sawgrass
In 49 editions so far, no player has ever completed their campaign without shooting a single bogey. Greg Norman in 1994 shot just one bogey in all four rounds which helped him record his first victory at the PGA Tour flagship event.
10) No One Defended The Players Championship
There are six multiple-time winners in the 49 years of history of the tournament. However, no one has yet defended their title. Scottie Scheffler is the defending champion heading into the 50th edition. It will be interesting to see if the World No. 1 can defend his title at Sawgrass.
