CRAFTED FOR CHAMPIONS

THE PLAYERS Championship upholds its status as a tournament of champions.

- JIM MCCABE

Against a backdrop of weekly golf competitions which share labels of similar fare – they are Tournaments or Championships or Invitationals or Classics or Opens – only one stands out with distinction because of the first words in its title.

THE PLAYERS.

All caps, all respect.

“It’s our championship,” said Jordan Spieth.

“To me, THE PLAYERS is THE PLAYERS. Everyone knows it is such a huge event; everybody knows it’s a major,” said Justin Thomas. “Every person in this field would be very, very content with holding the trophy at the end of the week.”

Added Jason Day: “It has that feel and it’s got a lot of history behind it.”

Were you to focus on “that feel” with THE PLAYERS, it would revolve around a trio of elements. One, it is played on the same stage each March, THE PLAYERS Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach.

Two, it features the best field in golf. And three, the uniqueness of the Pete Dye-designed golf course – “It’s a very simple formula here,” said Tiger Woods. “Hit it good.” – doesn’t favour big hitters over medium hitters, nor does it take the driver of your hand, though errant shots are seriously penalized.

As for the “history” behind THE PLAYERS, consider this nugget: After a string of players who adhered to the fairways-and-green mantra – Tim Clark, K.J. Choi, and Matt Kuchar in 2010-11-12, respectively – seven of the last 11 winners of THE PLAYERS Championships have at one time or another sat atop the Official World Golf Ranking.

We’re talking Tiger Woods, Martin Kaymer, Day, Rory Mcllroy, Justin Thomas, and Scottie Scheffler (back-to-back the last two seasons), each of them in possession a set of golf skills that enabled them to not only stand clear of every other competitor at THE PLAYERS but also across 12 months.