PGA First Look: The PLAYERS Championship

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2018-05-10 12:17:25

The PGA First Look is complete with a course preview, odds, salaries, Official World Golf Rankings, and course history.

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Event Preview

The year’s fifth major is upon us and with it comes the strongest field that we will see all year. All 50 of the top golfers in the world are in the field. Thanks to FanDuel, I had the pleasure (if you can call it that) of playing one of the most iconic courses in the world — the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass. Pete Dye designs tend to magnify a golfer’s weakness and that was certainly the case for myself, Stephen Young, and Dan Back. We sprayed the ball off the tee, we found the hazards all too often, and had a difficult time around these elevated greens. The course was incredibly tough, but at the very least, I didn’t take as many shots to hit the 17th green as Russell Knox did a few years ago. I tried to find the video on Twitter, but it seems to have disappeared.

We’ll start with the renovations that the course went through after the 2016 tournament. All of the green complexes were rebuilt and replanted with TifEagle Bermudagrass and the bunkers were rebuilt as well. The 6th, 7th, and 12th holes were all reconfigured. The spectator mound between the 6th and 7th holes was removed and turned into another hazard. The 12th hole had the biggest renovation, as it was changed from a 358-yard par four to a driveable, 302-yard par four. Many golfers chose to lay up off the tee last year, but a good drive on the hole turned into an easy up and down for birdie. It sounds like the hole will play a little differently this season, so I expect more golfers to go for the green (which was the intent in the first place).

After the renovations, the course now measures 7,189 yards. It’s significantly short than most Par 72 courses that we see on tour, but it has plenty of bite. It ranked as the fifth hardest course on tour last season. Pete Dye designs tend to favor the all-around golfer, which is why we’ve seen so many different types of golfers compete here. There may be no better example of that then the fact that 16 different golfers have won this event over the last 16 years. Tiger Woods is the only golfers since the year 2000 to win this event twice. Speaking of Tiger, his three best finishes this season were all on difficult Florida golf courses (12th at the Honda Classic, second at the Valspar Championship, and fifth at the Arnold Palmer Invitational).

This course is the ultimate test of golf. It requires patience, but you have to be aggressive as well. With so many water hazards (25 in total with water in play on 14 of the holes), there aren’t many bailout areas. You have to be accurate off the tee and precise with your irons. If and when the wind picks up (this is Florida golf after all), you have to be able to scramble to save par. I compare this event to the Honda Classic, where there are plenty of big numbers on the scorecard. Get ready for some serious ejections this week, even by some of the best golfers in the world. If you make a lineup that gets all six golfers through the cut, you’ll be sitting pretty heading into the weekend. Last year, it was absolute carnage when it came to getting six golfers through the cut.

Cut Rule:Top 70 and ties will move on after the first two rounds. The MDF rule is in effect if more than 78 golfers make the initial cut.

Recent Winners of this Event:Si Woo Kim (2017), Jason Day (2016), Rickie Fowler (2015), Martin Kaymer (2014), Tiger Woods (2013)

Key Statistics (In Order of Importance)

1) Strokes Gained Approach
2) Good Drives Gained
3) Par 4 Scoring
4) Par 5 Scoring
5) Birdie or Better %

Hole by Hole Breakdown

Salaries, Odds, and Course History (2013-2017)

Golfer	DK Salary	FD Salary	FDRFT Salary	OWGR	Odds	DK Odds	FD Odds	FDRFT Odds	Cuts	2017	2016	2015	2014	2013
Rory McIlroy	$11,600	$12,000	$16,900	8	15	-200%	25%	-200%	5/5	35	12	8	6	8
Jason Day	$11,400	$12,100	$16,800	7	14	50%	67%	50%	3/4	60	1	126	500	19
Jordan Spieth	$11,100	$12,300	$16,700	4	16	-67%	-400%	-67%	1/4	97	77	103	4	500
Justin Thomas	$10,800	$11,900	$16,700	2	15	50%	60%	33%	3/3	75	3	24	500	500
Dustin Johnson	$10,300	$12,200	$16,400	1	15	20%	-100%	20%	4/4	12	28	69	59	500
Rickie Fowler	$9,600	$11,500	$15,800	6	20	0%	33%	0%	3/5	60	77	1	77	78
Jon Rahm	$9,300	$11,800	$15,700	3	24	0%	-17%	0%	1/1	72	500	500	500	500
Justin Rose	$9,100	$11,700	$15,600	5	27	0%	-14%	0%	3/5	65	19	76	4	89
Sergio Garcia	$9,000	$11,300	$15,200	13	38	-44%	-18%	-8%	5/5	30	54	2	3	8
Paul Casey	$8,900	$11,000	$15,300	12	34	0%	29%	9%	2/2	22	23	500	500	500
Henrik Stenson	$8,800	$11,600	$15,500	15	28	18%	-13%	0%	4/5	16	131	17	34	5
Patrick Reed	$8,700	$11,400	$15,400	10	34	8%	-10%	-10%	2/4	22	77	24	137	500
Tiger Woods	$8,600	$10,900	$15,000	92	39	-15%	0%	-7%	2/2	500	500	69	500	1
Hideki Matsuyama	$8,500	$10,500	$14,800	9	37	14%	33%	20%	4/4	22	7	17	23	500
Phil Mickelson	$8,400	$11,200	$15,100	19	38	7%	-17%	-8%	1/5	41	77	119	83	78
Bryson DeChambeau	$8,300	$9,600	$14,300	42	54	-6%	47%	0%	0/0	500	500	500	500	500
Tommy Fleetwood	$8,200	$10,300	$14,500	14	55	-12%	5%	-19%	1/1	41	500	500	500	500
Francesco Molinari	$8,100	$9,500	$14,200	30	54	0%	49%	0%	3/4	6	7	500	6	89
Kevin Kisner	$8,000	$8,900	$13,900	24	72	-63%	38%	-24%	2/3	56	102	2	500	500
Alexander Noren	$7,900	$9,800	$14,100	18	61	-15%	18%	-15%	1/1	10	500	500	500	500
Bubba Watson	$7,900	$10,700	$14,200	17	61	-5%	-31%	-17%	4/5	123	43	42	48	37
Matt Kuchar	$7,800	$11,100	$14,100	21	65	-18%	-100%	-30%	4/5	82	3	76	17	48
Ian Poulter	$7,800	$9,500	$14,000	26	77	-50%	6%	-43%	4/5	2	57	30	65	89
Marc Leishman	$7,700	$10,200	$14,100	16	63	0%	-14%	-20%	4/5	97	64	24	23	8
Brooks Koepka	$7,700	$10,400	$14,000	11	61	8%	-16%	4%	2/3	16	35	76	500	500
Louis Oosthuizen	$7,700	$9,400	$13,900	33	72	-25%	19%	-20%	4/5	2	28	69	135	19
Cameron Smith	$7,600	$9,200	$13,800	39	71	-7%	31%	-7%	0/1	97	500	500	500	500
Daniel Berger	$7,600	$9,900	$13,300	37	96	-63%	-69%	-22%	2/3	65	9	76	500	500
Billy Horschel	$7,600	$8,700	$13,400	78	64	7%	57%	24%	3/5	123	28	13	26	98
Zach Johnson	$7,500	$10,100	$13,600	53	67	7%	-22%	10%	5/5	48	54	13	26	19
Patrick Cantlay	$7,500	$9,800	$13,800	34	53	47%	43%	41%	1/1	22	500	500	500	500
Tony Finau	$7,500	$10,600	$13,700	31	59	33%	-18%	31%	0/2	83	116	500	500	500
Emiliano Grillo	$7,500	$9,200	$13,700	65	66	10%	36%	7%	1/2	11	110	500	500	500
Brian Harman	$7,500	$9,300	$13,500	23	94	-33%	0%	-25%	3/5	53	54	8	94	135
Luke List	$7,400	$9,400	$13,400	50	79	3%	8%	-3%	0/1	83	500	500	500	500
Rafael Cabrera-Bello	$7,400	$10,200	$13,300	25	95	-20%	-100%	-17%	1/2	4	77	500	500	500
Kevin Chappell	$7,400	$9,700	$13,100	47	94	-17%	-37%	-3%	4/5	35	2	119	26	68
Branden Grace	$7,400	$9,900	$13,200	35	74	9%	-23%	16%	4/4	48	57	42	500	48
Chesson Hadley	$7,400	$8,800	$12,900	69	101	-37%	11%	-14%	1/3	500	127	24	83	500
Adam Scott	$7,400	$9,600	$13,000	71	83	-3%	-13%	12%	5/5	6	12	38	38	19
Tyrrell Hatton	$7,400	$8,900	$13,200	20	82	0%	30%	8%	1/1	41	500	500	500	500
Brandt Snedeker	$7,400	$10,000	$12,700	81	97	-29%	-80%	-2%	2/4	500	116	103	48	8
Webb Simpson	$7,300	$10,100	$13,400	41	84	14%	-61%	-12%	3/4	16	500	66	112	15
Ryan Moore	$7,300	$9,100	$12,700	67	98	-7%	-2%	-5%	2/5	53	102	76	26	115
Adam Hadwin	$7,300	$9,700	$12,500	44	103	-14%	-63%	9%	2/3	30	39	119	500	500
Pat Perez	$7,300	$9,400	$12,600	22	115	-37%	-59%	-23%	3/4	22	500	17	48	115
Byeong-Hun An	$7,300	$8,600	$12,500	88	115	-35%	6%	-7%	0/1	500	77	500	500	500
Nick Watney	$7,300	$8,400	$12,400	101	108	-26%	23%	4%	0/3	500	500	119	128	89
Xander Schauffele	$7,300	$8,600	$12,600	29	108	-23%	15%	-10%	0/0	500	500	500	500	500
Charl Schwartzel	$7,300	$8,400	$12,700	62	89	12%	46%	14%	3/4	114	500	51	48	55
Brendan Steele	$7,200	$9,300	$12,600	49	105	-2%	-30%	-8%	3/5	6	57	76	26	78
Russell Henley	$7,200	$9,000	$12,700	51	104	2%	-6%	-14%	3/5	35	116	24	17	78
Charley Hoffman	$7,200	$9,600	$12,600	28	105	0%	-59%	-6%	4/5	30	77	30	38	37
Chris Kirk	$7,200	$8,300	$12,300	137	122	-22%	17%	-9%	4/4	12	500	13	13	55
Kyle Stanley	$7,200	$8,700	$12,600	48	90	24%	33%	19%	3/3	4	500	500	71	33
Si Woo Kim	$7,200	$9,100	$12,800	40	95	16%	4%	0%	2/2	1	23	500	500	500
Jimmy Walker	$7,200	$9,200	$12,600	83	101	8%	-12%	2%	3/5	56	139	90	6	15
Kevin Na	$7,200	$7,900	$12,200	76	121	-18%	29%	2%	2/3	500	77	6	38	500
Gary Woodland	$7,200	$8,400	$12,100	36	133	-27%	7%	-2%	3/4	75	28	134	11	500
Jason Dufner	$7,200	$8,900	$12,300	57	112	-8%	-10%	4%	4/5	60	49	90	48	62
Matthew Fitzpatrick	$7,200	$8,900	$12,300	38	122	-22%	-24%	-9%	0/2	104	77	500	500	500
Martin Laird	$7,100	$9,000	$12,300	102	112	11%	-17%	4%	1/4	83	93	500	94	5
Kevin Streelman	$7,100	$8,100	$12,100	110	113	8%	30%	11%	3/5	72	74	119	112	2
Charles Howell	$7,100	$9,000	$11,900	61	139	-10%	-45%	1%	2/4	500	116	56	83	66
Ollie Schniederjans	$7,100	$8,400	$12,200	87	121	3%	14%	2%	0/0	500	500	500	500	500
Beau Hossler	$7,100	$8,500	$12,200	84	126	-3%	4%	-5%	0/0	500	500	500	500	500
Russell Knox	$7,100	$8,400	$11,800	119	144	-13%	0%	0%	3/4	97	19	17	34	500
Lucas Glover	$7,100	$7,500	$11,800	97	149	-15%	28%	-1%	1/3	6	500	500	83	115
Kiradech Aphibarnrat	$7,100	$8,800	$12,100	32	134	-8%	-24%	-5%	0/1	500	93	500	500	500
J.B. Holmes	$7,100	$8,200	$12,000	108	139	-10%	13%	-1%	2/4	41	77	51	121	500
Ross Fisher	$7,100	$8,000	$11,700	43	178	-31%	2%	-7%	0/1	104	500	500	500	500
Satoshi Kodaira	$7,100	$8,700	$11,800	27	163	-23%	-31%	-9%	0/0	500	500	500	500	500
Steve Stricker	$7,000	$8,700	$11,600	142	163	-4%	-31%	4%	4/4	41	500	38	13	37
Jamie Lovemark	$7,000	$8,600	$11,700	95	163	-4%	-23%	0%	2/2	75	64	500	500	500
Scott Piercy	$7,000	$8,800	$11,800	143	157	-1%	-37%	-6%	1/4	143	23	103	500	98
Grayson Murray	$7,000	$7,800	$11,600	106	181	-12%	7%	-4%	1/1	79	500	500	500	500
James Hahn	$7,000	$7,700	$11,000	70	224	-25%	1%	4%	3/5	83	43	30	94	62
Sean O’Hair	$7,000	$8,000	$11,800	85	154	1%	13%	-3%	2/4	130	64	132	500	43
Bud Cauley	$7,000	$8,100	$11,600	127	165	-8%	2%	0%	0/1	500	500	500	500	125
Bill Haas	$7,000	$8,800	$11,500	80	172	-10%	-48%	2%	3/5	104	43	4	26	108
Shane Lowry	$7,000	$8,200	$12,000	82	134	10%	15%	1%	1/3	114	16	103	500	500
Alexander Levy	$7,000	$8,600	$11,500	46	185	-14%	-34%	-1%	0/0	500	500	500	500	500
Hao-Tong Li	$7,000	$8,300	$11,500	45	190	-15%	-12%	-2%	0/0	500	500	500	500	500
Trey Mullinax	$6,900	$7,400	$11,300	177	213	-5%	13%	-1%	0/0	500	500	500	500	500
Keegan Bradley	$6,900	$8,500	$11,700	76	162	11%	-12%	1%	2/5	60	35	76	83	98
Jason Kokrak	$6,900	$7,700	$11,100	121	239	-11%	-1%	0%	0/4	83	500	76	128	78
Austin Cook	$6,900	$8,300	$11,200	103	190	0%	-12%	6%	0/0	500	500	500	500	500
Harris English	$6,900	$7,800	$11,400	212	222	-7%	-2%	-6%	1/5	142	102	90	112	33
Martin Kaymer	$6,900	$8,200	$11,800	107	155	13%	6%	-4%	5/5	69	39	56	1	43
Ryan Palmer	$6,900	$8,600	$11,300	123	217	-6%	-44%	-2%	3/5	97	23	119	59	5
Ben Martin	$6,900	$7,400	$10,800	231	257	-14%	5%	2%	2/3	30	137	4	500	500
William McGirt	$6,900	$7,900	$11,200	139	228	-10%	-8%	-3%	3/5	22	43	113	137	43
Brice Garnett	$6,900	$7,300	$10,700	124	294	-19%	3%	0%	0/1	500	500	129	500	500
Jhonattan Vegas	$6,900	$7,900	$10,900	59	264	-17%	-15%	-1%	2/3	83	57	42	500	500
David Lingmerth	$6,900	$7,200	$11,000	205	258	-15%	13%	-2%	2/4	72	77	500	112	2
Chez Reavie	$6,800	$8,500	$11,400	52	196	10%	-28%	-1%	1/2	56	93	500	500	500
Patton Kizzire	$6,800	$7,800	$11,200	58	239	3%	-6%	-4%	1/2	138	76	500	500	500
John Huh	$6,800	$7,800	$10,800	207	278	-3%	-13%	-1%	2/5	83	139	103	72	68
Scott Stallings	$6,800	$7,500	$10,400	138	328	-9%	-7%	2%	2/3	500	500	75	65	115
Cheng-Tsung Pan	$6,800	$7,100	$10,400	190	336	-11%	9%	0%	0/0	500	500	500	500	500
Kelly Kraft	$6,800	$7,200	$10,600	164	299	-6%	8%	-1%	0/0	500	500	500	500	500
Ryan Armour	$6,800	$7,300	$10,300	165	378	-19%	-11%	-4%	0/0	500	500	500	500	500
Kevin Tway	$6,800	$7,200	$10,300	227	369	-17%	-1%	-2%	0/0	500	500	500	500	500
Anirban Lahiri	$6,800	$7,300	$10,600	100	297	-5%	2%	0%	0/2	114	500	113	500	500
Scott Brown	$6,800	$7,000	$10,500	159	358	-14%	13%	-5%	2/5	83	102	30	62	108
Danny Lee	$6,800	$7,100	$10,600	186	308	-7%	13%	-2%	1/3	139	35	90	500	500
Rory Sabbatini	$6,700	$7,700	$11,200	166	210	19%	5%	2%	3/3	500	500	6	38	71
Patrick Rodgers	$6,700	$7,600	$11,100	134	244	11%	0%	-2%	0/2	104	116	500	500	500
Stewart Cink	$6,700	$7,600	$10,400	153	333	1%	-12%	1%	1/3	500	500	113	38	115
Tom Hoge	$6,700	$7,100	$10,500	189	317	3%	12%	0%	0/0	500	500	500	500	500
Ted Potter	$6,700	$7,200	$10,500	79	341	-1%	3%	-4%	0/2	500	500	500	83	125
Michael Thompson	$6,700	$7,300	$10,200	283	419	-12%	-17%	-2%	1/3	500	500	103	107	55
Hudson Swafford	$6,700	$7,200	$10,200	132	400	-8%	-5%	2%	1/2	83	57	500	500	500
Chad Campbell	$6,700	$7,100	$10,200	292	419	-12%	-2%	-2%	2/3	104	39	500	500	43
Harold Varner	$6,700	$7,000	$10,200	199	428	-14%	2%	-3%	2/2	35	57	500	500	500
Mac Hughes	$6,700	$7,000	$10,100	215	495	-26%	-8%	0%	1/1	16	500	500	500	500
Whee Kim	$6,700	$7,000	$10,200	152	474	-21%	-3%	-9%	0/0	500	500	500	500	500
J.J. Spaun	$6,600	$7,300	$10,300	150	367	6%	-8%	-1%	0/0	500	500	500	500	500
Brian Gay	$6,600	$7,300	$10,300	144	400	2%	-13%	-5%	0/3	114	500	500	121	98
Dominic Bozzelli	$6,600	$7,100	$10,100	253	531	-15%	-15%	-1%	0/0	500	500	500	500	500
Wesley Bryan	$6,600	$7,600	$10,300	105	386	3%	-21%	-5%	0/1	97	500	500	500	500
Ryan Blaum	$6,600	$7,000	$10,100	352	583	-18%	-11%	-3%	0/0	500	500	500	500	500
Richy Werenski	$6,600	$7,100	$10,200	319	489	-12%	-12%	-12%	0/0	500	500	500	500	500
Rod Pampling	$6,600	$7,100	$10,100	337	544	-17%	-17%	-2%	1/1	48	500	500	500	500
Martin Flores	$6,600	$7,000	$10,200	295	472	-8%	-2%	-8%	2/3	500	500	38	48	108
Chris Stroud	$6,600	$7,000	$10,300	187	414	-1%	5%	-8%	3/3	500	500	42	80	33
Michael Kim	$6,600	$7,000	$10,200	406	453	-6%	0%	-6%	1/1	60	500	500	500	500
Geoff Ogilvy	$6,600	$7,000	$10,300	402	372	4%	10%	-3%	2/3	500	500	24	69	115
Derek Fathauer	$6,600	$7,000	$10,200	290	489	-12%	-6%	-12%	1/2	130	500	17	500	500
Brandon Harkins	$6,500	$7,200	$10,200	217	409	9%	-6%	0%	0/0	500	500	500	500	500
Blayne Barber	$6,500	$7,000	$10,200	401	436	5%	1%	-5%	1/1	16	500	500	500	500
Vaughn Taylor	$6,500	$7,500	$10,200	241	431	5%	-26%	-4%	0/2	130	77	500	500	500
Robert Garrigus	$6,500	$7,200	$10,200	229	481	0%	-17%	-10%	0/4	139	500	134	94	78
Sung Kang	$6,500	$7,000	$10,300	116	358	16%	13%	1%	1/1	30	500	500	500	500
Tyrone Van Aswegen	$6,500	$7,300	$10,200	308	467	3%	-22%	-7%	0/1	137	500	500	500	500
J.J. Henry	$6,500	$7,000	$10,100	448	533	-5%	-10%	-1%	2/3	500	28	500	48	89
Nick Taylor	$6,500	$7,000	$10,200	230	472	2%	-2%	-8%	1/2	500	110	73	500	500
Scott McCarron	$6,500	$7,000	$10,100		753	-9%	-14%	-5%	0/0	500	500	500	500	500
Robert Streb	$6,500	$7,000	$10,200	224	494	-3%	-7%	-14%	1/3	114	102	30	500	500
Danny Willett	$6,500	$7,300	$10,200	400	483	-1%	-27%	-11%	0/2	500	77	90	500	500
Cody Gribble	$6,500	$7,000	$10,100	399	669	-8%	-12%	-4%	1/1	48	500	500	500	500
D.A. Points	$6,500	$7,000	$10,100	369	744	-8%	-13%	-4%	1/3	130	500	500	131	48

Color Coding
Course history in BLUE indicates a top ten finish.
Course history in GREEN indicates a top 25 finish.
Course history in YELLOW indicates a made cut with a finish outside of the top 25.
Course history in RED indicates a missed cut.

Legend