The Players Championship 2021 – Opening Round
From 2007 to 2018, The Players Championship was staged in the month of May. The tournament has been played at Ponte Vedra Beach ever since 1977. From 2011-to-2014, the winning scorecard read (275) each year as KJ Choi (2011), Matt Kuchar (2012), Tiger Woods (2013) and Martin Kaymer(2014) all hit the winner’s circle with that magic score.
Golf Channel noted: The past five winners (and 11 of the last 13) have been in the early-late wave (Thur-Fri) to begin The Players. Some of the most intriguing guys in that group this year: Justin Thomas, Rory McIlroy, Webb Simpson, Xander Schauffele, Viktor Hovland, Patrick Cantlay, Tyrrell Hatton, Tony Finau, Lee Westwood, Matt Fitzpatrick and Scottie Scheffler.
The Top 10 Career Money Winners at The Players: (events) (money)
1. Sergio Garcia (20) – $5,466,153.43
2. Tiger Woods (19) – $4,724,366.90
3. Jim Furyk (23) – $4,081,763.72
4. Adam Scott (18) – $3,507,107.62
5. Rory McIlroy (10) – $3,333,787.50
6. Henrik Stenson (14) – $3,305,908.93
7. Matt Kuchar (15) – $3,097,894.27
8. Jason Day (9) $3,075,269.29
9. Phil Mickelson (26) $2,900,485.65
10. Stephen Ames (13) $2,781,333.34
The 2021 Players Championship marks the one-year anniversary since the COVID-19 pandemic shut down most of the USA 9and world), sports and professional golf for a solid three months. Hideki Matsuyama tied the course record with a (63) before the tournament was called-off last spring.
Rory McIlroy was nine strokes behind Matsuyama when the tournament was cancelled after the first round last year as the coronvarius pandemic gripped the world. “I think I feel a bit better about that than Hideki does,” joked McIlroy when asked on Tuesday (March 9) about not chasing nine shots to defend his title this year. McIlroy enters The Players Championship with consecutive top 10 finishes.
Last spring, Harris English, Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Si Woo Kimwere T-2 behind Matsuyama after R-1 (65s). Keegan Bradley and Tommy Fleetwood were the first round leaders in 2019.
#DriveOutHunger – Five-time PGA Tour winner, 2014 FedExCup champion and Ponte Vedra Beach resident Billy Horschel once again will host his #DriveOutHunger campaign to help feed the people of Northeast Florida. He will donate $1000 for every birdie and $5000 for every eagle that he makes during THE Players to the fund.