mper field including nine Australians will tee off overnight on Friday at The PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Florida.
Outside of the majors, the Players Championship at Sawgrass remains one of the elite events of world golf.
Adam Scott, John Senden, Marc Leishman, Geoff Ogilvy, Aaron Baddeley, Greg Chalmers, Matt Jones, Stuart Appleby and Steve Bowditch will lead the Aussies – the largest international contingent outside of the American players.
With an increased total purse of $10m and a first prize of $1.8m – the biggest of the year – it's no wonder that only injury or illness keep the star names away.
This year defending champion and world No 1 Tiger Woods is on the injured list along with Jason Day (6th), so it's Rory McIlroy and 2004 Players champ Adam Scott who head the betting.
The Florida event moved from March to May in 2007 and, of course, features one of the most recognisable holes in golf – the 17th.
In theory it's just a short par three but the fact that it's an island hole surrounded by water and exposed to wind makes it a severe mental test, especially on the weekend when the stakes rise.
Over the last 10 years, the number of balls finding water there tallied: 30, 68, 57, 93, 64, 32, 29, 40, 39 and 44 (last year). It's easy to tell which the windy years were and, in fact, an amazing 50 balls ended up wet on day one in 2007 when the gusts were particularly strong.
Outside of the majors, the Players Championship at Sawgrass remains one of the elite events of world golf.
With a total purse of $10m and a first prize of $1.8m – the biggest of the year – it's no wonder that only injury or illness keep the star names away.
This year defending champion and world No 1 Tiger Woods is on the injured list along with Jason Day (6th), so it's Rory McIlroy and 2004 Players champ Adam Scott who head the betting.
The Florida event moved from March to May in 2007 and, of course, features one of the most recognisable holes in golf – the 17th.
In theory it's just a short par three but the fact that it's an island hole surrounded by water and exposed to wind makes it a severe mental test, especially on the weekend when the stakes rise.
Over the last 10 years, the number of balls finding water there tallied: 30, 68, 57, 93, 64, 32, 29, 40, 39 and 44 (last year). It's easy to tell which the windy years were and, in fact, an amazing 50 balls ended up wet on day one in 2007 when the gusts were particularly strong.
Outside of the majors, the Players Championship at Sawgrass remains one of the elite events of world golf.
With a total purse of $10m and a first prize of $1.8m – the biggest of the year – it's no wonder that only injury or illness keep the star names away.
This year defending champion and world No 1 Tiger Woods is on the injured list along with Jason Day (6th), so it's Rory McIlroy and 2004 Players champ Adam Scott who head the betting.
The Florida event moved from March to May in 2007 and, of course, features one of the most recognisable holes in golf – the 17th.
In theory it's just a short par three but the fact that it's an island hole surrounded by water and exposed to wind makes it a severe mental test, especially on the weekend when the stakes rise.
Over the last 10 years, the number of balls finding water there tallied: 30, 68, 57, 93, 64, 32, 29, 40, 39 and 44 (last year). It's easy to tell which the windy years were and, in fact, an amazing 50 balls ended up wet on day one in 2007 when the gusts were particularly strong.