Players Championship Notes 2014

• 1 Tiger Woods 67-67-71-70—275/-13
• T2 Kevin Streelman 69-70-71-67—277/-11
• T2 David Lingmerth 68-68-69-72—277/-11
• T2 Jeff Maggert 70-71-66-70—277/-11
• T5 Martin Laird 71-67-73-67—278/-10
• T5 Ryan Palmer 67-69-70-72—278/-10
• T5 Henrik Stenson 68-67-71-72—278/-10

Tiger Woods survived a double bogey on the back nine to win THE PLAYERS Championship for the second time.

Woods, shooting a 2-under 70, finished at 13-under-par 275 for the week, two strokes ahead of David Lingmerth, Jeff Maggert and Kevin Streelman.

Woods’ previous PLAYERS win came in 2001. Since then, he had posted just one top-10 finish in 10 starts at TPC Sawgrass until winning in 2013.

He became the fifth player to win twice at TPC Sawgrass, joining Steve Elkington, Hal Sutton, Fred Couples and Davis Love III. Love was the last player to achieve the feat, winning for the second time in 2003 (Jack Nicklaus is a three-time PLAYERS Champion before the event moved to TPC
Sawgrass in 1982).

Woods will not be in the field at this year’s PLAYERS Championship due to a back injury. Woods becomes the third champion in tournament history unable to return due to injury, joining Jerry Pate (1983) and Steve Elkington (1998).

A look at the field

• 93 USA
• 10 AUSTRALIA
• 6 SOUTH AFRICA
• 5 SWEDEN, ENGLAND
• 4 SOUTH KOREA
• 3 SCOTLAND, NORTHERN IRELAND
• 2 ARGENTINA, CANADA, SPAIN
• 1 COLOMBIA, DENMARK, GERMANY, ITALY, JAPAN, NETHERLANDS, THAILAND, WALES,
  ZIMBABWE

New faces at the top of the FedExCup standings

Established stars looking to jump-start seasons at THE PLAYERS

First-time participants at THE PLAYERS

• Other than Jack Nicklaus, who won THE PLAYERS in its inaugural year in 1974,
  only Hal Sutton (1983) and Craig Perks (2002) have won the event in their first appearance.

• Spieth nearly became the youngest winner in the history of the Masters, finishing second to Bubba Watson last month. In addition to his runner-up at Augusta, his sophomore season on the PGA TOUR has included three other top five finishes, including a runner-up to Zach Johnson at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions.
• Spieth has experience at TPC Sawgrass, having finished second the Junior PLAYERS Championship in 2010.
• Spieth, 20, who started the 2013 PGA TOUR Season with no PGA TOUR status after turning professional last fall, made history at the John Deere Classic when he became the youngest player (19 years, 11 months and 18 days) to win on the PGA TOUR since Ralph Guldahl (19 years, 8 months, 3 days) at the 1931 Santa Monica Open.
• In 23 starts, Spieth is tied Brandt Snedeker and Bill Haas for most top-10 finishes on TOUR with nine, including runner-up finishes at the Puerto Rico Open by seepuertorico.com, Wyndham Championship and the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola.
• He finished seventh in the FedExCup and became the youngest player in TOUR Championship history at 20 years, 1 month and 26 days.

Other first-time participants include the aforementioned Patrick Reed, Chesson Hadley, Justin Hicks, Morgan Hoffman, D.H. Lee (Korea), Steven Bowditch (Australia), Hideki Matsuyama (Japan), Shawn Stefani, Jamie Donaldson (Wales), Stephen Gallacher (Scotland), Joost Luiten (Netherlands), John Peterson, Michael Putnam and Russell Knox (Scotland).

• Hadley won the 2013 Web.Com Tour Championship held at Dye’s Valley Course at TPC Sawgrass last fall and earned his way into THE PLAYERS with his maiden PGA TOUR title at the Puerto Rico Open presented by seepuertorico.com in March. He is the lone rookie to win on TOUR in 2013-14 through the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and the lone rookie in THE PLAYERS field.
• Bowditch, who has publicly spoken about his battle with depression, won the Valero Texas Open in March.
• Peterson, a former NCAA champion at LSU, captured the Web.com Tour Finals money title in 2013 to earn his card.
• Putnam, in the midst of his third stint on the PGA TOUR, captured the 2013 Web.com Tour Regular Season money title thanks to two victories.
• Donaldson joined the TOUR earlier this year as a Special Temporary Member after a tie for second at the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship.
• Knox lives in Jacksonville and played collegiately at Jacksonville University.
• Former Oklahoma State All-America Hoffman won the first-ever Junior PLAYERS Championship in 2007, one of the premier events on the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) schedule.