10 years since Stephen Ames won the Players Championship

PGA Tour Players Championship leaderboard http://www.pgatour.com/competition/2016/the-players-championship/leaderboard.html

With 4 days of great weather in the forecast for Jacksonville Florida, the Players Championship gets under way this morning at the TPC Sawgrass Stadium course, yes the one with the famous 17th island green.

You'll have heard all the blether so far about how Jordan Spieth will play after his well documented collapse at the Masters, and that speculation my friends is what my granny used to call ' a whole load of blethering".

Jordan Spieth seemed to be the only guy in the press tent yesterday who isn't concerned. He will be just fine, alright. Remember when Rory blew up for an 80 to lose 2011 Masters ??  I think he managed to come back and win a few majors didn't he?

It's a shot makers course which doesn't favour any particular style, stats say the guy who has the best GIR (greens in regulation) will be the winner. It's a fun course to watch, typical of Florida it has water everywhere, all the way down the 18th and of course all around the 17th, where Rickie Fowler essentially won with his birdie barrage last year and it has a stronger field than any of the majors.

It was ten years ago, albeit when it was played in March, that Stephen Ames had his Sunday, shooting 67 in tough conditions winning by 6 shots for by far the biggest win of  his career.

Many feel Stephen never achieved the success his smooth swing and great touch promised, still with 2 wins, he has over $20m in earnings and is getting on with life on the PGA Tour Champions where he has been playing well of late.

He split from his wife Jodi last spring, sold their home in Calgary and moved with his two teenage sons to a condo in Vancouver and is planning to buy a home and settle in Hawaii.

This year Graham DeLaet, David Hearn, Nick Taylor, and Adam Hadwin are the Canadian contingent in the field. Mike Weir who was T4 going into that Sunday 10 years ago does not qualify.

It  will be fun, but would be great, if one of the above could emulate the week that Stephen had, now 10 years ago !

Bryan Angus