Golf Central

Fair play to The PGA Tour, it's good at getting its message across. There's no chance were going to get confused about the importance of The Players Championship, no question whatsoever that we're likely to think it's any old tournament week. Here's your indispensable guide to the so-called fifth Major.

1. You couldn't make it up.
Course architect Pete Dye designed the Stadium Course at Sawgrass, making it short, but chellenging. After millions on tons of earth was shifted by its construction, his wife Alice suggested solving the problem of what to do with the left-overs. Dump it in the lake and build a challenging par-three hole. Mr Dye obliged and the famous 17th was created.

2. Jack rules, OK?
It's fitting that Jack Nicklaus should be the only golfer to have won three Players Championships. He took the very first in 1974 and then, just to remind everyone else who’s the boss, he did it again in ’76 and ’78. This week he receives the honour of a Lifetime Achievement award from The PGA Tour.

3. There has only ever been one British winner.
What we will always remember, and thank Sandy Lyle for, after this triumph here in 1987 was his answer to the question: ‘What’s the difference between winning the Open Championship and winning the TPC?’. He casually stuck it to the Yanks with the reply: ‘Oh, about 100 years.’

4. It's a big stage for big-time golfers.
In the history of the Players Championship, 26 of 33 winners have been Major winners, which suggests there aren’t too many giant-killing stories. But the biggest upset of all came here when Perks chipped in for eagle on the 16th hole, holed a 30-foot birdie putt on 17 and chipped in for par on the last to win The Players in 2002. He has never been heard of since.

5. There's money in that there lake.
Around120,000 balls are hit in the water during the course of a year. That’s an average of three balls for every player who tees it up there. Four times a year, divers from The Best Balls company enter the pond to extract lost balls selling them back to the pro-shop at an average of seven cents each.

6. It was lucky 14 for Mickelson in 2007.
Only Tom Kite (1989) and Fred Funk (2005) had more starts at The Players Championship (15 each) before winning the event.

7. Some people are just morbid.
The ashes of popular PGA Tour caddie Brad 'The Russian' Krosnoff, are spread over the water at the 17th hole.

8.This year's total prize fund is a tidy $9.5million.
The winner will receive $1.71million, with a paltry $1.26million for the runner-up, which is still bigger than the winner's cheque for 22 of the 47 PGA Tour events this season.

9. The 17th has claimed many victims.
 In June 1985 Pennsylvania grocer Angelo Spagnolo, played at Sawgrass in the Golf Digest-sponsored ‘America's Worst Avid Golfer’ contest. When he reached the 17th, Spagnolo hit 27 balls in the water from the tee box and drop area. Finally, Tour rules officials directed him to putt down the cart path on the left and up the narrow path that leads to the green from the back left. Spagnolo shot 66 that day – on 17th alone – while his final total of 257 for the round also made him the runaway winner.

10. No, we just can't resist one final 17th story...
In 1999, Fred Couples hit his tee shot into the water at the 17th. When he reloaded, he flew a 9-iron shot straight into the hole. It is the only ace to par ever made in the tournament’s history.

For more entertaining stuff on The Players Championship, read our quite excellent 2008 eZine here.