The Players Championship is known as The Players in short, is annual an annual golf tournament which falls under PGA Tour. Sometimes it is referred to as the ‘Fifth Major’ because of the prestige and the purse amount.
In the beginning, it was widely known as Tournament Players Championship. Initially, the top 50 world rankings golfer were invited to play.
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History of the Players Championship
The inauguration of Tournament Players Championship was taken place in 1974 at Atlanta Country Club. It was played on Labor Day weekend in September 1974. The host venue changed several times.
Next year, Colonial Country Club in Texas hosted the Tournament in August 1975. After that, it was moved to South Florida at Inverrary Country Club in 1976.
After that, in 1976 PGA Tour managed to make a multi-year deal with Sawgrass Country Club about hosting the Tournament from 1977–1981. In the meantime, a new golf course, TPC at Sawgrass, was built intending to host the Players.
Finally, Tournament Players Championship found his home at TPC since 1982.
Tournament Players Championship got its new name as The Players Championship in 1987.
Changes in Venues
- 1974- Atlanta Country Club
- 1975- Colonial Country Club
- 1976- Inverrary Country Club, East Course
- 1977–1981- Sawgrass Country Club
- 1982- till date- TPC Sawgrass, Stadium Course
Changes in Hosting Month
From 1982 to 2006, the Players was played in March several weeks before The Masters Golf tournament. In 2007 PGA tour changed its structure. As a result, as a part of the structure, the Players moved to May.
With the new dates, The Players’ final fall on Mother’s Day, which is the second Sunday of May. Since then, it was played in May until 2018.
In August 2017, PGA Tour rearranged the schedule and announced that The Players would return to March again from 2019.
Remarkable Records at Players
In 46 years of the Players history, there have been many occasions that make the championship more lucrative.
- Most Victories: Jack Nicklaus has this record in his basket. He won the very first event in 1974. After that, he grabbed two more wins in 1976 and 1978, which gave him the record of most victories.
- Wins: Only five players could win the Players for two times. Fred Couples, Steve Elkington, Hal Sutton, Davis Love III, and Tiger Woods are holding the multiple winning records.
- Oldest winner: Fred Funk won his only masters in 2005 at the age of 48 years. This win puts his name as Players oldest winner.
- Most eagles in a tournament: In 2000 Players Championship, Justin Leonard made a record after shot three eagles throughout the Tournament. Despite the record, his performance was not satisfactory rather than those three shots.
- Most birdies in a single tournament: Fuzzy Zoeller puts an impressive effort in the 1994 Players Championship. With 26 birdies, he made a record for most birdies, but unfortunately, he stood fourth at the end of the Tournament.
Past Champions
Since 1974, The Players Championship was held for 46 times. But, here we are considering the time after name changes in 1988.
| Year | Player | Country |
| 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 (2) | United States |
| 2012 | Matt Kuchar | United States |
| 2011 | K. J. 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 (2) | United States |
| 2002 | Craig Perks | New Zealand |
| 2001 | Tiger Woods | United States |
| 2000 | Hal Sutton (2) | United States |
| 1999 | David Duval | United States |
| 1998 | Justin Leonard | United States |
| 1997 | Steve Elkington (2) | Australia |
| 1996 | Fred Couples (2) | 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 |
Final Notes
Players Championship is one of the prestigious Golf tournaments in the PGA Tour. The world’s best golfers participate in this tournament as all the players have to the full fill some criteria to get qualified. Watch Players is not expensive, like other golf tournaments. The Players Tickets are reasonable so that everyone can enjoy the beauty of golf.