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This week’s Players Championship marks the 50th edition of the tournament and perhaps one its most interesting. The week begins with notable names in attendance — like Scottie Scheffler, last week’s winner and defending Players champion — and also plenty of notables not in the field (see: Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau).
The Players may not hold the “major championship” designation, but it’s nevertheless a huge event on the annual golf calendar. In fact, the PGA Tour’s flagship event offers a $25 million purse with $4.5 million going to the winner. And there are plenty of golfers beyond Scheffler playing excellent golf of late, so competition should get quite contentious late in the week.
There is much to discuss this week, including not only what will happen at TPC Sawgrass but what’s ahead for the game itself. The man whose job it will be to discuss the future of the PGA Tour will hold court on that topic Tuesday morning.
For now, let’s take a look at some of the top storylines going into this 50th Players Championship in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
2024 Players Championship storylines
Scottie, back
Technically, he never left … just his putter. Scheffler destroyed worlds last week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational where he putted his face off and ended the festivities early on Sunday at Bay Hill. He did much of the same last year at TPC Sawgrass. Both ended with five-stroke victories. This is what happens when he putts well. Heck, even when he doesn’t — like at last year’s Players — he can still win by five.
Data Golf
Nobody would be surprised if Scheffler won this week as a 5-1 favorite or at the Masters in a month.
“His ball striking is, honestly, on another level compared to everyone else right now,” said No. 2 player in the world, Rory McIlroy, after Scheffler beat him by 14 strokes last week. “We knew if he started to hole putts, then this sort of stuff would happen.”
Absentees noticable
This PGA Tour season has lacked juice, and The Players seems to be experiencing a similar issue. No Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton, Dustin Johnson, Joaquin Niemann, Brooks Koepka, Cam Smith and Bryson DeChambeau will do that. That the PGA Tour is still calling it the best field in golf is a bit laughable.
This was probably true a year ago, but Rahm’s absence is so notable that it has become emblematic of everyone else’s absence. So say what you want about LIV Golf (and I know people will!), but it’s undoubtedly had a not-insignificant effect on the PGA Tour’s crown jewel event, making it something less than it used to be. That doesn’t mean there’s will be asterisk on the victory, but it’s not wrong to feel bummed about what the event has become comparatively.
The CEO speaks
Speaking of … PGA Tour commissioner and PGA Tour Enterprises CEO Jay Monahan will hold court for the first time this year. Buddy, there will be questions. I’m not sure Monahan will have answers outside of pointing to the $3 billion investment the Tour just received from the Strategic Sports Group, but between the seemingly stalled out talks with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, all the chatter about a 100-player league and a lackluster start to 2024 for the PGA Tour, Monahan will be peppered from every side with queries he won’t necessary want to address. It should be interesting.
Tiger Woods likely out until Masters
It came as a bit of a surprise when Woods did not commit to the last Players Championship for which he is eligible, especially after he said he wants to play once a month in 2024. Now, he is slated to have just 1.5 competitive rounds under his belt going into the Masters.
Will Rory get it together?
It’s one round, but watching Sunday at Bay Hill did not lead anyone to believe think that McIlroy is close to playing at Scheffler’s level. The good news for Rory is that Sunday at Bay Hill made it look like no one is close to Scottie’s level. McIlroy has been the best driver in the world this season by a decent clip, and his short game has been pretty good, too. His problem? The approach play has stunk, but it’s not like he lacks awareness about that.
“Another great week off the tee,” McIlroy said about his run at Bay Hill. “I feel like I found a good feeling with the putting as well. I putted well the last three days. Just the iron play’s let me down. It’s sort of been the same story the last few weeks, sort of struggling with a left miss with the irons, and it’s hard because the longer clubs, the woods, feel so good and then the irons don’t really feel that good. So, I feel like I’m having to put like two different swings on the woods and the irons at the minute, which is a struggle. But everything else feels pretty good, so if I can get the irons tightened up, I feel like I’ll be in a good spot.”
He’s right about that. McIlroy seeks to join an elite group of multi-time winners at TPC Sawgrass this weekend.
Quiet J.T.
It feels like Justin Thomas is sneaking around right now.
- Arnold Palmer Invitational: T12
- Genesis Invitational: MC
- Phoenix Open: T12
- Pebble Beach: T6
- American Express: T3
Thomas has not been showing his best stuff, but other than the missed cut at Riviera, he’s been solid. He’s also won at TPC Sawgrass previously and often showed off a mind-bending assortment of golf shots at this course. As Scheffler pointed out, you need a lot of shots around that golf course. There is a theory that J.T.’s problem is not that he doesn’t have the shots (this is obvious) but rather that he has so many to choose from that he doesn’t always pick the right one at the right time (see No. 13 at Augusta National over the last few years). It will be something interesting to watch this week at TPC Sawgrass.
Look for him to play well this week.
A should-be favorite?
Should Will Zalatoris actually have the second-shortest odds for the Masters behind Scheffler? This became a consideration over the weekend Bay Hill, and he seems to be an immense value given he’s presently sixth on the oddsboard. Zalatoris playing some special golf with T4 and T2 finishes at Bay Hill and Riviera, respectively. Throw in the fact that he’s gained strokes putting in four straight events, and he’s absolutely cooking right now. Zalatoris’ Players record is up and down (whose isn’t?), and he’s looking for his first top 10 at TPC Sawgrass, but with another good showing this week, he should absolutely be 10-1 to win the Masters (currently 18-1).
Even crazier, he’s 25-1 to win the Players this week. You could argue he’s been the second best golfer in the world so far in 2024!
Another multi-time winner?
In the previous 49 editions of this tournament, only the following players have won multiple times.
- Jack Nicklaus (3)
- Fred Couples (2)
- Steve Elkington (2)
- Hal Sutton (2)
- Davis Love III (2)
- Tiger Woods (2)
Nobody has ever gone back to back like Scheffler will try to do this week.
“I just thought it was really hard,” Scheffler told the PGA Tour of his first impressions of TPC Sawgrass.
“I mean, you just have to hit it so good around this place to play well, and I think that’s why you don’t see the same winners every year is because it doesn’t really suit one type of player. … It’s very interesting how the course works like that, and so that’s why … one guy just hasn’t figured this place out.”