The PLAYERS Championship Preview 2019

The PLAYERS Championship Preview 2019

Dates: March 11-17, 2019
Where: Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
Course: THE PLAYERS Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass
Defending champion: Webb Simpson
Purse: $12,500,000 ($2,250,000/winner)
FedExCup: 600 points to the winner
Field size: 144 Format: 72-hole stroke play

Notes on the field

• 50 of the top 50 in the FedExCup standings
• 50 of the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking
• 51 players from 24 countries outside of the United States
• 11 past winners of THE PLAYERS: Tiger Woods (2001, 2013), Adam Scott (2004), Phil Mickelson (2007), Sergio Garcia (2008), Henrik Stenson (2009), Matt Kuchar (2012), Martin Kaymer (2014), Rickie Fowler (2015), Jason Day (2016), Si Woo Kim (2017), Webb Simpson (2018)
• 22 first-time participants: Abraham Ancer, Lucas Bjerregaard, Bronson Burgoon, Cameron Champ, Wyndham Clark, Corey Conners, Joel Dahmen, Tyler Duncan, Talor Gooch, Sungjae Im, Adam Long, Denny McCarthy, Eddie Pepperell, J.T. Poston, Seamus Power, Andrew Putnam, Sam Ryder, Sam Saunders, Martin Trainer, Peter Uihlein, Matt Wallace, Aaron Wise
• Four PGA TOUR rookies: Cameron Champ, Sungjae Im, Adam Long, Martin Trainer
• Qualified for THE PLAYERS, but not competing due to injury: Kevin Chappell, James Hahn, Jamie
• Lovemark, William McGirt, Sean O’Hair
• 10 FedExCup champions: Tiger Woods (2007, 2009), Vijay Singh (2008), Jim Furyk (2010), Brandt Snedeker (2012), Henrik Stenson (2013), Billy Horschel (2014), Jordan Spieth (2015), Rory McIlroy (2016), Justin Thomas (2017), Justin Rose (2018)

Move to March

• For the first time since 2006, THE PLAYERS will be played in March
• 24 players in the field have competed in March: Aaron Baddeley, Paul Casey, Alex Cejka, Stewart Cink, Jim Furyk, Sergio Garcia, Brian Gay, Lucas Glover, J.B. Holmes, Charles Howell III, Zach Johnson, Matt Kuchar, Phil Mickelson, Kevin Na, Ryan Palmer, Pat Perez, Ian Poulter, Justin Rose, Rory Sabbatini, Adam Scott, Vijay Singh, Henrik Stenson, Vaughn Taylor, Tiger Woods
• Tiger Woods (2001, 2013) and Adam Scott (2004) are the only players in the field who won in March

Scoring differences – March vs. May (since 1995)

	March	May
Scoring average	73.40	72.48
Under-par rounds	1610 (31%)	2119 (41%)
Rounds of 65 or better	23	41
Rounds of 63	0	6
Rounds in the 60s	262 (5%)	117 (2%)

Last 24 winners of THE PLAYERS

	March	May
Average winning score	-11.3	-12.6

Average winning margin	2.8	1.9
Largest margin of victory	7	4
Three or fewer strokes	8	9
More than three strokes	4	3
Playoffs	0	3

A look back at THE PLAYERS Championship 2018

Pos.	Player	R1	R2	R3	R4	Total
1	Webb Simpson	66	63	68	73	270/-18
T2	Charl Schwartzel	68	66	73	67	274/-14
T2	Xander Schauffele	68	68	71	67	274/-14
T2	Jimmy Walker	69	68	70	67	274/-14
T5	Jason Day	69	67	71	68	275/-13
T5	Jason Dufner	72	69	66	68	275/-13

• Tournament records set or tied by Webb Simpson in 2018
• Set largest 36-hole lead (5)
• Set largest 54-hole lead (7)
• Set low middle 36-hole score (131)
• Tied 18-hole course record (63)
• Tied low 36-hole score (129
• Tied low 54-hole score (197)
• Tied longest consecutive birdie streak (6)
• Tied high finish by a winner at TPC Sawgrass (73)
• Led the field in Driving Accuracy (82.14%) and ranked last in Driving Distance (280.5 yards)
• Final-round 1-over 73 was the highest finish by winner on TOUR in the 2017-18 season
• Looks to become the first player to win THE PLAYERS Championship in back-to-back years

THE PLAYERS Championship and the FedExCup

• THE PLAYERS is the 20^th event in the 2018-19 FedExCup season
• 11 of the 12 winners of the THE PLAYERS in the FedExCup era have advanced to the season-ending TOUR Championship: Phil Mickelson (2007), Sergio Garcia (2008), Tim Clark (2010), K.J. Choi (2011), Matt Kuchar (2012), Tiger Woods (2013), Martin Kaymer (2014), Rickie Fowler (2015), Jason Day (2016), Si Woo Kim (2017) and Webb Simpson (2018)
• No PLAYERS champion has ever gone on to win the FedExCup in the same season
• After Webb Simpson’s win in 2018, he went on to finish 11^th in the FedExCup

Wyndham Rewards Top 10 – Current top 10 in the FedExCup standings

Pos.	Player	Points	Wins
1	Xander Schauffele	1,298	2
2	Matt Kuchar	1,239	2
3	Charles Howell III	1,010	1
4	Gary Woodland	998	0
5	Marc Leishman	966	1
6	Justin Thomas	948	0
6	Rickie Fowler	948	1
8	Brooks Koepka	871	1
9	Phil Mickelson	821	1
10	Dustin Johnson	770	1

Player Notes

• Tiger Woods, making his 19^th start in the event, has wins at TPC Sawgrass both in March (2001) and May (2013); with a win in 2019, he would tie Jack Nicklaus for most victories in the history of THE PLAYERS (3)
• Rory McIlroy has top-10s in each of his last five starts after a T6 at last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard; McIlroy is looking to join Henrik Stenson and Tiger Woods as the only players to win THE PLAYERS, the FedExCup, a major and a World Golf Championships event
• Phil Mickelson will make his 26^th start at THE PLAYERS, which he won in 2007; he collected his 44th career PGA TOUR win at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February
• FedExCup leader Xander Schauffele will make just his second start at TPC Sawgrass; in his tournament debut in 2018, he finished T2 after a final-round 67
• Nine-time PGA TOUR winner Justin Thomas has less than two months remaining to join Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth and Jack Nicklaus as one of the four youngest players in PGA TOUR history to reach 10 career wins; Woods holds the record (23 years, 6 months, 4 days), while Nicklaus is the third-youngest to reach 10 wins (24 years, 3 months, 12 days); Thomas, who will be 25 years, 10 months, 18 days on Sunday could pass Rory McIlroy who was 25 years, 11 months, 29 day win he crossed the 10-win threshold
• World No. 1 Dustin Johnson will make his first TOUR start since winning the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship by five shots; his best finish in 10 starts at THE PLAYERS came in 2017 (T12)
• Brooks Koepka tied the course record in 2018 with a final-round 9-under 63, highlighted by an albatross on the par-5 16^th, en route to a T11, his best showing in four appearances.
• Vijay Singh, who played in the final pairing Sunday at The Honda Classic, is in the field via his win at the Bridgestone SENIOR PLAYERS Championship.
• Adam Scott has the most birdies on No. 17 since 2003 with 15 (Martin Kaymer and Sergio Garcia are T2 with 13)
• Aaron Baddeley has hit 13 balls in the water at No. 17, the most by a player since 2003 (Bob Tway and Phil Mickelson are T2 with nine)
• Kyle Stanley birdied No. 17 all four rounds during THE PLAYERS Championship 2017, one of only two players to do so; the other was Paul Azinger in 1987.

Balls in the water at No. 17 (since 2003)

Year	R1	R2	R3	R4	Total
2018	24	21	6	3	54
2017	19	29	10	11	69
2016	6	9	17	4	36
2015	21	16	3	5	45
2014	12	12	1	3	28
2013	15	9	7	13	44
2012	18	11	4	6	39
2011	12	14	8	6	40
2010	7	8	5	9	29
2009	16	6	4	6	32
2008	20	18	10	16	64
2007	50	21	10	12	93
2006	19	17	12	9	57
2005	7	8	25	28	68
2004	9	10	4	7	30
2003	6	10	3	10	29

Morgan Stanley Eagles for Impact Challenge

Proud Partner Morgan Stanley is returning to THE PLAYERS with year three of the Morgan Stanley Eagles for Impact Challenge. For every eagle made during the tournament, Morgan Stanley will donate to Book Trust, an early literacy non-profit that works to encourage students to become lifelong readers and learners.

Last year, Morgan Stanley donated 96,000 books to children in need thanks to the 64 eagles made at THE PLAYERS, a tournament record. Building upon the impact made in 2018, Morgan Stanley will donate 1,500 books to Book Trust for every eagle made during tournament play. Morgan Stanley Brand Ambassador Rose

Justin will also be matching Morgan Stanley’s commitment to Book Trust by donating 1,500 books for every eagle he personally makes during competition.

Track the progress and root on the players by following the hashtag #EagleUp throughout the tournament and visit MorganStanley.com/EagleUp. If you’re on-site, stop by the Morgan Stanley Eagles for Impact tent in THE PLAYERS Welcome Experience throughout the week to take a swing in a Topgolf simulator and pose for an augmented reality photo featuring Justin Rose.

The PLAYERS Championship Preview 2019 is via PGA TOUR