TPC Sawgrass (THE PLAYERS Stadium Course) will once again play host to the most prominent field on the PGA TOUR, as the world’s best look to add an iconic title to their trophy case.
FIELD NOTES: Forty-nine of the top 50 players on the current FedExCup Playoffs and Eligibility Points List will compete, as well as 43 of the top 50 on the Official World Golf Ranking … Eight PLAYERS winners and six FedExCup champions will tee it up, led by 2019 PLAYERS champion and reigning FedExCup titleholder Rory McIlroy … All 14 players who have won on TOUR this season will be at TPC Sawgrass … At least 30 players will compete in their first PLAYERS, including Min Woo Lee, who earned a spot via the top 50 on the world ranking after The Honda Classic. The brother of Minjee Lee (No. 3 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings) is looking to acquire PGA TOUR status via the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai Rankings at year’s end. The top 10 players on the Race to Dubai, not already exempt, will earn PGA TOUR cards for the following season … Justin Suh earned a start at TPC Sawgrass after finishing atop the Korn Ferry Tour’s 2022 season-long standings. If not otherwise exempt, the winners of this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard and Puerto Rico Open will round out the field.
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA – MARCH 3: Views of the 16th and 17th holes at TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course, prior to THE PLAYERS Championship, on March 3, 2023 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. (Photo by Rankin White/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)
Highest-Rated Players in the Field
FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 600 FedExCup points.
COURSE: TPC Sawgrass (Stadium), 7,275 yards, par 72. Built in 1980, THE PLAYERS Stadium Course has long been considered one of the best and trickiest layouts on TOUR. Pete Dye’s masterpiece underwent a renovation in 2016, and the par-4 12th was made drivable the following year.
Effective this year, a new back tee on the par-5 ninth could make for the first 600-yard hole in PLAYERS Championship history.
STORYLINES: The evolving battle for the world’s No. 1 ranking will continue at TPC Sawgrass with McIlroy looking to capture his second PLAYERS while Scottie Scheffler and current No. 1 Jon Rahm chase their first Tiffany & Co. trophy … There has never been a repeat winner of THE PLAYERS … This is the season’s first event to offer 600 FedExCup points to the winner, while the top TOUR pros will compete for a record $4.5…
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