Players Championship

THE PLAYERS Championship (the capital letters are the official spelling) is the most highly endowed event in the professional North American golf tournament series PGA Tour . Together with the Volvo World Match Play Championship , it is the tournament with the highest prize money ever. It is held annually in March - between 2007 and 2018 in May - on the Stadium Course of the famous Tournament Players Club at Sawgrass in northeast Florida.

history

The first Players Championship was held in 1974 at the Atlanta Country Club in Marietta , Georgia . The following year they moved to the Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth , Texas , and the following year to the Inverrary Country Club in Ft. Lauderdale , Florida . From 1977 the tournament was finally moved to Ponte Vedra Beach in Florida and played initially on the Sawgrass Country Club's Oceanside Course . When the stadium course of the Sawgrass Country Club was completed in 1982 , people moved across the street and have since been a permanent guest at the facility, known for short as TPC at Sawgrass . Since 2007, due to the restructuring of the PGA TOUR calendar , the tournament has been moved to May and thus part of a series of major monthly events, starting with the Masters in April, the US Open in June , the Open Championship in July and the PGA Championship in August. In addition, the TPC at Sawgrass has been thoroughly revised.

Endowment and bonuses

The Players Championship has the world's highest prize money (in 2016 a total of US $ 10.5 million, including 1.89 million for the winner) in tournament golf and is therefore also referred to by the media as the "Fifth Major ". That is why the entire world golf elite is almost completely represented at this tournament. Apart from the majors , the event brings the most points for the golf world rankings . In addition, the winner receives a five-year license to play on the PGA TOUR , three years of both an invitation to the Masters and the license to play in the Open Championship and the US Open , and a fixed starting place for the PGA Championship in the same year.

The most famous hole

The Players Championship is known for one of the most famous holes in professional golf: the 17th hole of the stadium course is a par 3 about 125 meters in length. Golf fans around the world immediately recognize it as the infamous Island Green , an island green ( i.e. completely surrounded by water), and the signature hole of the TPC at Sawgrass . In addition to some hole-in-one , e.g. B. by Fred Couples , many dramas have been played here and results of 7 hits and more are not uncommon. This is often due to sudden, unpredictable winds.

winner

2019 Rory McIlroy	Northern Ireland
2018 Webb Simpson	United States
2017 Kim Si-woo	South Korea
2016 Jason Day	Australia
2015 Rickie Fowler	United States
2014 Martin Kaymer	Germany
2013 Tiger Woods	United States
2012 Matt Kuchar	United States
2011 KJ Choi	South Korea
2010 Tim Clark	South Africa
2009 Henrik Stenson	Sweden
2008 Sergio García	Spain
2007 Phil Mickelson	United States
2006 Stephen Ames	Canada
2005 Fred Funk	United States
2004 Adam Scott	Australia
2003 Davis Love III	United States
2002 Craig Perks	New Zealand
2001 Tiger Woods	United States
2000 Hal Sutton	United States
1999 David Duval	United States
1998 Justin Leonard	United States
1997 Steve Elkington	Australia
1996 Fred Couples	United States
1995 Lee Janzen	United States
1994 Greg Norman	Australia
1993 Nick Price	Zimbabwe
1992 Davis Love III	United States
1991 Steve Elkington	Australia
1990 Jodie Mudd	United States
1989 Tom Kite	United States
1988 Mark McCumber	United States

1987 Sandy Lyle	Scotland
1986 John Mahaffey	United States
1985 Calvin Peete	United States
1984 Fred Couples	United States
1983 Hal Sutton	United States
1982 Jerry Godfather	United States
1981 Raymond Floyd	United States
1980 Lee Trevino	United States
1979 Lanny Wadkins	United States
1978 Jack Nicklaus	United States
1977 Mark Hayes	United States
1976 Jack Nicklaus	United States
1975 Al Geiberger	United States
1974 Jack Nicklaus	United States

Web links

• THE PLAYERS Championship on the PGA Tour (English)
• The venue website (English)