Who can and cannot win the 2023 Players Championship

HAMILTON, Ontario – There are not many people in golf, let alone on the PGA TOUR, who could rely on past experience when they get close to shooting a 59, golf’s magic number. But Brandt Snedeker is one of those people. Snedeker, who won the RBC Canadian Open in 2013, shot a 10-under-par 60 on Friday at Hamilton Golf and Country Club and was flirting with 59, again, late in his round. The former FedExCup champion shot a 59 to open last year’s Wyndham Championship. He’d go on to win that week, his first TOUR win in two years. “When I did it at Wyndham I wasn’t feeling very good about my game at all; today I was feeling good,â€� said Snedeker of the differences between the two days. “I knew I could get something going early, make a putt early, I was rolling it really good on the putting green so I felt like I was there. “You get one those days every once in a while, and so I did the best I could taking advantage of it. I tried to make sure I made every putt today.â€� Snedeker made 136 feet of putts on Friday, his best of the season after making 112 feet of putts at the second round of the Charles Schwab Challenge. Snedeker and Carl Pettersson, who won in 2010 at St. George’s Golf and Country Club, are the only golfers to shoot 60 at the event. Greg Norman also had a round of 10-under, a 62, at Glen Abbey Golf Club in in 1986. Snedeker tied the best 36-hole score at the Canadian Open with 129 after he opened with a 1-under 69.   “I made a small adjustment in my setup this week and it kind of clicked and felt great on the range. I think I missed one fairway with my driver, and you do that around here you’re going to set yourself up for success,â€� he said. “I just kept feeding on it, feeding on it, didn’t really think about (the score) too much until… 17 is the first time kind of popped in my head. Like, ‘oh, if I finish birdie-birdie I can shoot 59 again.’â€� As the afternoon wave was just getting started Friday, Snedeker was leading by two shots. Snedeker was grouped with Brooks Koepka and Justin Thomas – another past FedExCup champion – and combined the trio shot 19-under on Friday. “It was fun to watch. It was exciting for sure. He made it look really easy,â€� said Koepka of Snedeker’s round. “I felt like I didn’t play very well playing with him,â€� echoed Thomas, with a laugh. “I mean, man that guy can putt. It was unbelievable.â€� Snedeker said the golf course sets up well for him since it’s not a layout for bombers. “You’ve got to put the ball in the fairway and give yourself plenty of opportunities. Sounds boring, but that’s the way this golf course is meant to be played,â€� he said. “That’s why I love it. I love old-school golf courses.â€� Although Snedeker has had two top-10 finishes this year, including at THE PLAYERS Championship, he classified his season to this point as “mediocre,â€� admitting he’s had trouble stringing four good rounds together. He said he usually plays well at events he’s won before – indeed, he’s won twice at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the Farmers Insurance Open, and the Wyndham Championship – and even though he’s playing the Canadian Open this week at a different course than when he won in 2013, he’s still feeling good heading into the weekend. “I hold this tournament up a little bit more just because of what it means to me being a past champion,â€� said Snedeker. “I’ve only won RBC (Canadian Open) once, so would be find of a fitting way to top this one off.â€�

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Defending champion Phil Mickelson returns to the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am where last year he won for a record-tying fifth time on the Monterey Peninsula. Past winners including Dustin Johnson, Brandt Snedeker, and Jordan Spieth join Mickelson in the field. This year’s pro-am field includes notable names from Hollywood, and the worlds of music and sports like Peyton and Eli Manning, Wayne Gretzky, Tony Romo and Aaron Rodgers.   RELATED: Inside The Field FIELD NOTES: At 48, Mickelson became the oldest winner in tournament history. He’ll return to defend, making his seventh TOUR start this season. He’s 167th in the FedExCup standings. … Mickelson is one of eight past champions in the field… Jason Day returns to action after finishing T16 at Torrey Pines. Day finished T4 at Pebble Beach a year ago and is looking for his first TOUR win since 2018… Paul Casey is back to defend his title this year. No, not the TOUR title – although he did finish T2 in 2019 – but he and Don Colleran, the president and chief executive officer of FedEx Express, topped the amateur field last year…  Sponsor exemptions include Sam Saunders, Justin Suh, Brandon Wu, and Kurt Kitayama, who won twice on the European Tour in a three-month stretch last year. Suh, Wu and Kitayama all have Northern California ties. Suh is from nearby San Jose, Kitayama was born in Chico and Wu is a Stanford alum. Wu made headlines at Pebble Beach in last year’s U.S. Open, where he finished T35 while still an amateur and received his diploma on the 18th green. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 FedExCup points COURSE: Pebble Beach Golf Links, 6,816 yards, par 72. A longtime part of the PGA TOUR schedule, the first “Clambake� was played there in 1947. Pebble Beach has been the host of six U.S. Open tournaments (including 2019, won by Gary Woodland). Spyglass Hill Golf Course (6,953/72) and Monterey Peninsula Country Club’s Shore course (6,958/71) are also played the first three days. The tournament ends at Pebble Beach on Sunday. STORYLINES: Spieth is hoping a return to the friendly confines of Pebble Beach will help him find the winner’s circle for the first time since winning The Open Championship in 2017. Pebble Beach is where Spieth earned his first check as a pro and he won here in 2017. He’ll play the pro-am with his longtime partner, country star Jake Owen… With Day’s T4 finish in 2019, the Aussie now has five top-6 finishes at Pebble Beach, but no wins… Johnson – who has five top-three finishes in 12 starts, including wins in 2009 and 2010 – returns to action on the PGA TOUR for the first time since finishing T7 at the Sentry Tournament of Champions… Two golfers who finished in the top-10 at last year’s U.S. Open will be teeing it up next week: Chesson Hadley (T9) and Chez Reavie (T3)… Only 10 times in tournament history has a player won the pro-am title and the tournament title in the same year. The last time was in 2016 when Vaughn Taylor won (by one over Phil Mickelson) and topped the team competition with businessman Gregg Ontiveros.   72-HOLE RECORD: 265, Brandt Snedeker (2015). 18-HOLE RECORD: 60, Sung Kang at Monterey Peninsula (2nd round, 2016). Pebble Beach record: 62, Tom Kite (3rd round, 1983), David Duval (3rd round, 1997). Spyglass Hill record: 62, Phil Mickelson (1st round, 2005), Luke Donald (1st round, 2006). LAST TIME: It took an extra day, but Mickelson won for the fifth time at Pebble Beach, tied with Mark O’Meara for the most victories in the tournament’s history. Mickelson fired a 7-under 65 that ran into Monday because of darkness. He shot 4-under 32 on his back nine to beat Casey by three strokes. Casey had a three-shot lead going into Sunday but shot 71 in the final round. Scott Stallings was alone in third after a final-round 66. Kevin Streelman (who won the pro-am portion of the event in 2018 with NFL star Larry Fitzgerald) matched Mickelson’s final-round 65 – the best of the day – and finished in a three-way tie for seventh.  HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 3 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-2:45 p.m. (Golf Channel). Saturday, 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (CBS). Sunday, 3 p.m.-6:30 p.m. (CBS). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday, 10:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. (Featured Groups and Featured Holes) Radio: Thursday-Saturday, 12 p.m.-6 p.m. Sunday, 1 p.m.-6:30 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio).

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Harris English … Those who survive the gut check of qualifying for the FedExCup Playoffs with timely success at the Wyndham Championship – as he did with a T11 to open the 2018 Playoffs as the 124-seed – present as intriguing storylines as soon as the next season commences. The 29-year-old has responded admirably to his latest lease on PGA TOUR playing privileges. He’s 7-for-7 in 2018-19, albeit with only one top-35 finish. It’s a stark departure from the disappointment of last season when he missed 20 of 31 cuts, and he’s in position to perform well again. He’s perfect in six appearances at Torrey Pines with three top 15s, including playoff loss in 2015. Last year’s T8 is his best finish in a non-additional event in his last 63 starts overall. He also comes having beaten par in his last 12 rounds, his longest such streak since he connected 20 in a row to bridge the holiday break of the 2013-14 season. J.J. Spaun … Can’t forget about this guy, especially in the event nearest his college stomping grounds at San Diego State University. The comfortable climes have been kind as he’s gone T9-T23 in his pair of appearances since debuting as a PGA TOUR rookie in 2017. He arrives this week having survived 12 straight cuts since August. Four went for a top-15 finish, two of which a T3. Although he scales to just five feet, nine inches, the 28-year-old holds his own off the tee while setting the standard in terms of precision tee to green. When considering a locale for his putter to catch fire, there’s no place like home. Rory Sabbatini … The 42-year-old born in South Africa made news recently for becoming a citizen of Slovakia. However, he’s made noise throughout his career at Torrey Pines. In 13 appearances since 2002, he’s rattled off two top fives among seven top 25s, including a T14 in 2017. En route to last year’s T20, he led the field in fairways hit and co-led in par-4 scoring. Ranked inside the top 25 in par-5 scoring in each of the last two completed seasons. Sam Burns … Casual fans are likely to remember him bettering Tiger Woods, 68-70, in the final round of The Honda Classic last year – going bogey-free no less – to finish T8. Heck, hardcore fans will recall that rare opportunity and execution as well, but they’ll also understand that it was anything but fluky. Although he doesn’t qualify as a rookie by definition this season, the 22-year-old is a first-time PGA TOUR member as a Web.com Tour graduate. He ranked third in the all-around on the developmental circuit in 2018 and led in putts per GIR, putting: birdies-or-better percentage and par-3 scoring. He’s fresh off a T18 at the Desert Classic where he finished T2 in fewest putts (100) and T3 in one-putt percentage. With length to give off the tee and supreme confidence with the flat stick, it’s not out of the realm of consideration that he’ll be smiling once again with Woods nearby at Torrey Pines. Adam Svensson … The PGA TOUR rookie from Canada made a wave with an opening 61 at Waialae Country Club two weeks ago. He didn’t sustain the ride to finish T43, but he regrouped for a career-best T18 at the Desert Classic. Like numerous entrants in the Farmers field every year, he has experience on the South Course at Torrey Pines via the Junior World Championships. In fact, among his numerous appearances was a victory in the boys 15-17 division in 2010. Other notables in that field included Xander Schauffele (T21), Beau Hossler (T27), Brandon Stone (T27), Gavin Green (T31), recent Mauritius Open champ Kurt Kitayama (58th) and Bryson DeChambeau (MC). Experience never hurts, but positive experience isn’t universal. While he hasn’t flashed it enough this season to prove it, Svensson profiles as an above-average putter. NOTE: Sleeper is a relative term, so Rob uses unofficial criteria to determine who qualifies. Each of the following usually is determined to be ineligible for this weekly staple: Winners of the tournament on the current host course; winners in the same season; recent major champions; top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking; recent participants of team competitions.

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