By TERRY LYONS
PONTE VEDRA BEACH – The 2021 FedEx Cup champion, Patrick Cantlay, has finished in the Top Five in each of his last two starts and is the only player to do so at the last two designated events (The Genesis Invitational, Arnold Palmer Invitational). That stated, Cantlay missed the cut in each of the last three PLAYERS Championships and has not finished better than T22 (2017).
World No. 6 Xander Schauffele, who won three times on TOUR during the 2021-22 season, finished T2 at the 2018 PLAYERS Championship but has missed the cut in each of his three appearances since.
Max Homa, one of two players with multiple titles on TOUR this season (along with Jon Rahm), is making his third start at THE PLAYERS and is coming off a T-13 in 2022.
The 2021 PLAYERS Championship winner, Justin Thomas, holds a scoring average of 70.48 at THE PLAYERS, the lowest of any player with a minimum of 15 rounds played on record (1983-present). With a win, Thomas would become the seventh player to win multiple titles at THE PLAYERS and first to accomplish the feat since Tiger Woods in 2013. Thomas is the only player that won on the PGA TOUR in each season from 2015-16 through 2021-22 and can extend his streak to eight seasons with a win at THE PLAYERS.
Most PLAYERS Championship wins (*not held at TPC Sawgrass)
- 3 Jack Nicklaus 1974*, 1976*, 1978*
- 2 Tiger Woods 2001, 2013
- 2 Davis Love III 1992, 2003
- 2 Hal Sutton 1983, 2000
- 2 Steve Elkington 1991, 1997
- 2 Fred Couples 1984, 1996
World No. 1
For the fourth time in the last five weeks, the No. 2 and No. 3 players are contending for the No. 1 position in the Official World Golf Ranking. Both Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, who have previously held the World No. 1 position this season, have a chance to return to No. 1.
Recent World No. 1 Timeline
- March 27, 2022 Scottie Scheffler won WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, moved to No. 1
- October 23, 2022 (30 weeks later) Rory McIlroy won THE CJ CUP, moved to No. 1
- February 12, 2023 (16 weeks later) Scottie Scheffler won the WM Phoenix Open, moved to No. 1
- February 19, 2023 (1 week later) Jon Rahm won The Genesis Invitational, moved to No. 1
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The PLAYERS | Tournament Facts
COURSE: TPC Sawgrass – THE PLAYERS Stadium Course, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL
YARDS/PAR: 7,256 yards/Par 72
ARCHITECTS: Pete Dye
PRIZE Money – Purse: $25,000,000 with Winner: $4,500,000
DEFENDING CHAMPION: Cameron Smith
PAST RESULTS: (link)
FEDEx CUP Points to Winner: 600
SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedExCup @THEPLAYERSChamp
How to Watch: In case of changes, visit: (PGATourCom)
The PLAYERS | The Basics
The Tee Times at TPC Sawgrass will run from 6:50am (ET) to 1:51pm (ET).
Weather: Today’s forecast is for mostly sunny skies and temperatures hovering around 72 degrees. There’s only a 2% chance of rain and winds will blow at 12 mph. There’s a 75% chance of rain on Friday while the weekend forecast looks good.
Tournament Web Site: (link)