THE PLAYERS Championship

The Tour Championship © Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images

After Sunday's final round at Bay Hill last week, Mike and I flew up to Augusta National to get in a practice round on Monday to prepare for the upcoming Masters.  It is always a great thrill to drive down Magnolia Lane and to be out on the magical course.  Mike and I obviously have fond memories of Augusta from his win in 2003.  It's hard to believe we are coming up to 2 years since Mike won the Masters.  Time flies!  I was lucky enough to play Augusta with Mike and a good friend of ours, however I shot an 81.  I had 9 bogeys - definitly not by best game of golf but considering I haven't played very much over the last two months I wasn't too disappointed.  

We flew into Jacksonville, Florida on Monday night for The Players Championship, what many consider to be the fifth major of golf.  It is one of the best fields of the year with 23 of the top 25 in the Official World Golf Ranking in the field.  It is also the biggest purse of the year - with $1.44 million going to the winner!
 
The host course of this week's tournament is the TPC at Sawgrass.  There have been no changes to the course since last year, however the 7093 yard par 72 course is playing very soft.  Actually almost all of the courses this year have played this way, as it has been a very rainy start on the PGA TOUR season both on the West Coast swing and now even in Florida.  Although Sawgrass is made to play firm, the course is currently very wet and there is even more rain in the forecast for this week.  Typically the greens are very fast, but they will be much slower this week and the players will have to adapt to the course conditions.  The rough is playing at an average length right now, but as the week goes on it will become very penalizing.  But overall, the course is in fantastic shape.

Holes number 16, 17, and 18 are the holes that make Sawgrass what it is, providing one of the best viewing finishes in golf for spectators.  Hole 16 is a short par 5 at 507 yards that is reachable in 2 for most players, offering an opportunity to make a birdie coming down the stretch.  The 17th 'island hole' is the signature hole at Sawgrass and a fantastic viewing hole.  Surrounded by a lake,  the short par 3 is a wide green that narrows to the right.  Club selection is critical on this hole as the wind can play a factor.  The tournament can be won or lost on this hole alone!  And last but not least the 18th has become one of the best finishing holes in golf.  The par 4 is a dogleg left with water guarding the entire left side of the fairway.  With this tournament it is  guaranteed to be an exciting finish down the stretch, so be sure to tune in this Easter Sunday!

There are a few more things I should mention about this week.  Wednesday of the TPC has become a tradition for the caddy's to take a shot on #17.  All the players chip in a few dollars and each caddy gets one shot on the island hole.  At the end of the day, the caddy who is the closest to the pin wins all of the money - and most importantly bragging rights!  It is always a fun event to watch as most of the caddy's drop it right into the water.  Wish me luck and I'll let you know how I did the next time I write. 

The other thing to watch for this weekend is the new camera angle on Hole 17.  They've installed a camera with wires running overhead from tee to green.  It is the same technology that is used with the NFL where the overhead is able to travel with the ball.  I watched them setting it up and I bet it will be cool to watch on TV.