Good luck trying to pick a winner on TPC Sawgrass at the Players Championship

PGA Tour Players Championship tee times https://www.theplayers.com/tee-times.html

Average golf fans remember TPC Sawgrass and the Players Championship for one hole. The 17th, par 3 island green with it's slightly over served crowd behind the tee provides great theatre and has been pivotal in the tournaments outcome too many times to list here.

My pal and long-time colleague on our Fairways golf show, Bob Weeks is in Ponte Verde this week for TSN and has been pumping out tweets from the press tent like this one today. " Since 2003 the best record of hitting the 17th green belongs to Graham DeLaet 18/18 and Adam Hadwin who is 14/14."

Graham is still rehabbing from back surgery, and Adam is one of three Canucks (Nick Taylor and Corey Connors the others) in the field and Weeksy best find a port a loo to hide in if Adam falls to the announcers curse and puts one in the pond this week.

As I mentioned yesterday the 50 top ranked players are here chasing a 1st prize of $2.25m. While the top six, DJ, Justin Rose, Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas and Bryson DeChambeau are all in good recent form, none have won or come second  here, in fact only Rosey played here in March previously when Canada'a Stephen Ames got in the zone in 2006, and shot -5 67 which included a double bogey to win by six shots.

Trying to pick a winner anywhere is always a crap shoot, particularly here. TPC Sawgrass leads to extremes, guys going well, controlling their ball flight can go very low, guys who aren't can shoot 80 in a heartbeat. There is water everywhere, the course has been left to grow and is very green so will play long and the winds at this time of year are from the north turning the closing holes from driver wedge, putt,  into driver 4 iron, long lag putt.

Webb Simpson returned from relative obscurity to win last year, In 2017 the winner was a 21 year old South Korean Si Wo Kim, KJ Choi topped his career with a win in 2011, little South African Tim Clark won in 2010, I mentioned Stephen Ames got hot and won by 6 in 2006, Fred Funk in 2005, Greg Perks edged Ames in 2002, Jody Mudd, (1990) Sandy Lyle (1987), Calvin Peete (1985) were all non betting favorites to change their career forever with a win.

This week Tiger returns so all eyes will be on him, he has two wins here (2001,2013) and has been playing well recently. Frankie Molinari has the exact precision game to win here right after last weekend's heroics.

There are 144 different and compelling stories to unfold, and two things I do know. Picking the winner is near impossible, but the winner like Stephen Ames in 2006, will get in the zone come this Sunday.

Bryan Angus