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The Players Championship is a prestigious annual golf
tournament for professional male golfers which used to take
place every March on the PGA Tour. The inaugural event
in 1974 was played at Atlanta Country Club in Marietta, Georgia
before moving to Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas
in 1975 and Inverrary Country Club in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
in 1976.
Beginning in 1977, the event relocated to Ponte Vedra Beach,
Florida, first being played at Sawgrass Country Club's Oceanside
Course. Since 1982 it has been played on the Stadium
Course at the Tournament Players Club at Sawgrass.
Since its start in 1974, with Jack Nicklaus' victory over
J.C. Snead, THE PLAYERS Championship has been one of the PGA
TOUR's most coveted titles. In 1982 it was moved to its permanent
home at The TPC
Sawgrass and it never looked back. From Jerry Pate's tossing
Pete Dye into the lake at hole 18 to Tiger's 2001 break-through
victory... the event has set the stage for PGA TOUR drama.
Nearly 30 years after its conception, the PGA TOUR's flagship
TPC Sawgrass marked the final stages of an eight-month, multi-million
dollar golf course renovation program with the reopening of
THE PLAYERS Stadium
Course, where the 2007 Players Championship will be held.
The Players Championship is best known for featuring what
may be the single most famous hole in professional golf, the
Stadium Course's Par 3, 137-yard #17, instantly recognizable
to golf fans worldwide as "the Island Green" and
what has become TPC Sawgrass' signature hole.
The Players Championship will be moved to May 2007.
This means that the PGA Tour will have a marquee event in
five consecutive months (The Masters
in April, the U.S.
Open in June, The Open
Championship in July and the PGA
Championship in August
FedExCup Points: 27,500
Purse: $8 million
Winning Share: $1.44 million
Yards: 7,093
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Hole #1
From the start, the golf course demands accuracy off the
tee. On this slight dogleg right, a drive to the right
side of the narrow landing area will give the player a
good angle to approach the long and narrow green. If you
challenge the trouble off the tees, you will be rewarded
with less severe approach shots. If you play it safe,
the resulting approach shots will test your patience and
stamina. |
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Hole #2
On this relatively short par 5, the player's success once
again begins on the tee. A long and accurate drive will
enable the majority to attempt to reach the green in two
shots. Dense trees on both sides and a lateral water hazard
to the right, protect the sloped landing area of the drive.
A small pond and a large fairway bunker on the right guard
the fairway and green from 175 yards out. |
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Hole #3
A shot requiring a middle to short iron is needed to reach
the two-tiered green which slopes from back to front.
A bunker in the front of the green and grass bunkers to
the right protect what is left unguarded by a large bunker
to the left and rear left portion of the green. There
probably will be more birdies scored here than on the
other par-3 holes. |
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Hole #4
This short par 4 requires accuracy on every shot. The
drive must avoid a lateral water hazard and a deep meandering
fairway bunker on the right. Very large and severely sloped
mounds protect the left side of this narrow landing area.
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Hole #5
This dogleg right offers a generous landing area for the
drive off the tee, as it is the longest par 4 on the golf
course. Long to middle irons are used on the second shot
to a deep, narrow and rolling green. The green is protected
by grass bunkers, sand traps, a waste area and palm trees.
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Hole #6
The drive must avoid dense palm and pine trees on the
right and two fairway bunkers and a lateral water hazard
on the left. The specific landing area on this hole offers
players a level lie for their approach to the two-tiered
green, which slopes down from right to left and back to
front. |
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Hole #7
The driving area is very large and the preferred side
is dictated by the pin placement. The green is protected
by maintained bunkers in the front and to the left,
and severe slope off the back. The wind direction on
this hole can make it very difficult to score well.
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Hole #8
The longest par 3 on the course requires a long iron or
fairway wood to carry a myriad of obstacles. The deep,
narrow and sloping green is protected by numerous sand
bunkers and grass bunkers. This is another hole that puts
pressure on the players' short games. Par again will be
very welcome on this demanding par 3. |
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Hole #9
A large lake and bunker to the right of the fairway collect
stray drives. As for the crucial second shot, it will
be a long iron or fairway wood directed to the right side
of the fairway. To the left, a wandering fairway bunker
and large oak trees crowd the small second-shot landing
area. The green is very thin and severely sloped from
the front to the back right. |
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Hole #10
Most players will select a fairway wood from the tee to
set up a middle or short iron approach to the green, which
is protected by two maintained bunkers in the front right.
Grass bunkers crowd the entire left side of this deceiving
green. From the landing area the green appears to be very
large; actually, it is narrow and fades away from the
players. |
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Hole #11
This hole is a middle-length par 5 of strategic design
which contains a variety of possibilities and potential
disasters. Players attempting to reach this green in two
need a long and accurate drive down the right side.
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Hole #12
A premium exists on accuracy from the tee at No. 12. A
long iron or fairway wood will enable players to position
their drives for a short iron or pitch shot to this small
and heavily guarded green. Woods and a huge fairway bunker
line the right side of the driving area, and huge mounds
with very deep grass bunkers tower over the left side. |
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Hole #13
A water hazard protects this picturesque par 3 all the
way down the left side. Players must clear or maneuver
around the water hazard when the pin placements are to
the left. The green has three separate tiers. The green
also is protected by two small and deep bunkers. Short
to middle irons will be the choice of the majority of
players. |
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Hole #14
Between the driving area and the green is a vast bunker.
The green is very large with severe undulations and long
slopes. A bunker protects the front left side of the green
and a few others hide among very large grass bunkers to
the right and the rear of the green. A driver from the
tee and a long to middle iron are the club selections
on this treacherous hole. |
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Hole #15
This dogleg right begins with a drive through a chute
of trees and over water. The fairway bunker extends down
the right side of the fairway to a paved path, then resumes
to the left of the path and extends almost to the green.
A large sand bunker to the left and a small one to the
right protect the green. There are grass bunkers to the
right and rear of the green. |
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Hole #16
This short par 5 will give many players an opportunity
to reach the green in two shots. A fairway wood or long
iron will be required for the second shot, which must
carry a large lateral water hazard, a maintained bunker
and a bulkhead. |
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Hole #17
In its brief history, the island hole has become one of
the most renowned of its kind in the world. The signature
hole is a short par 3 with a wide green that narrows to
the right side. The right side of the green is protected
by a small bunker, which sometimes will be a relief to
players who come up short of the green. |
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Hole #18
A fantastic dogleg left awaits the players as they prepare
to finish their rounds. Constant accuracy is of the utmost
importance on this hole. Water guards the full length
of the hole to the left, while large spectator mounds
and trees line the right side. A collection of grass bunkers
is situated in the front-right section of the green, while
a lone sand bunker stops shots hit left and long. This
18th has become one of the premier finishing holes in
golf. There is a new spectator mound behind the green. |
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