Featured holes: Round 1 of The Players

There will be one extra player on the 17th tee at this year’s The PLAYERS. He’s actually a resident of TPC Sawgrass, but he’s never taken a full swing. THE PLAYERS’ Tiffany & Co. trophy – a three-dimensional depiction of the tournament’s gold swinging man logo — will hop off his stand and come to life on the broadcast this week. The PGA TOUR, working closely with NBC and creative agency The Famous Group, will become the first golf organization to incorporate mixed reality into its broadcast, as the trophy will digitally appear on the 17th hole. Mixed reality is the merging of real and virtual worlds, making physical and digital objects co-exist in real time. For THE PLAYERS, the technology will be used to show the trophy taking aim at TPC Sawgrass’ famed Island Green. His shots will be illustrated with a golden trail. Honoring the 40th anniversary of the first PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass, the trophy’s swing is an amalgamation of the action from past PLAYERS champions. Two interstitial moments will be used as part of the transition process between shots on the 17th hole. Another two animations will spotlight iconic moments in The PLAYERS Championship history. On Saturday, the trophy will reimagine Tiger Woods’ “Better than most” putt from his 2001 title (complete with Tiger’s fist pump). On Sunday, the trophy will reenact Rickie Fowler’s 2015 tee shot from his playoff win. Along with the trophy’s mannerisms, broadcast audio overlay will narrate the trophy’s depiction of each moment. “I think as we head into The PLAYERS every year, we’re always looking for the new way we can push technology. It’s usually a point in our schedule where we try to stretch the limits,” says Anne Detlefsen, Senior Director, Digital Content, PGA TOUR. “We thought about a way we could not just do it for the sake of throwing mixed reality into our broadcast, but really add some extra layers of storytelling to it.” Fans may recognize The Famous Group’s work from other instances of mixed reality. The Famous Group incorporated digital slime into the NFL’s Nickelodeon Wild Card Game and commemorated famous Los Angeles venues during the Super Bowl pregame show in February. Last September, the company formulated a mixed-reality panther for the Carolina Panthers’ home opener against the New York Jets. While the panther did not harm any season ticket holders, he did rip down a Jets flag and his presence on social media went viral. The partnership generated more earned media for the Panthers than any other activation in the last decade. Part of what makes mixed reality so impressive is the ability to animate while not changing weather conditions. Whether TPC Sawgrass is sunny and warm or if it is cold and rainy, the trophy will take his swing in the present setting. While the animation is prerecorded, its merging with the outside world is not. The PLAYERS Championship TV broadcast will use two cameras to capture multiple angles of this sequence in real-time. Details down to the reflection of the trophy’s gold exterior matching the existing position of the sun will be evident as this mixed reality comes to life. The current real-life The PLAYERS Championship trophy debuted in 2019, glistening with both sterling silver and 24k gold vermeil. Like the mixed reality 3D animation, the real-life trophy’s swing and form is combination of past PLAYERS champions, going back to Jack Nicklaus’ win in the first PLAYERS in 1974. Fans can expect to see mixed reality shots throughout the week on both NBC/Golf Channel and PGA TOUR LIVE broadcasts. Sure, you’ve watched the highlight of Woods’ “Better than most” putt over and over again, but have you seen it physically happen at No. 17 in the 21 years since? No. But you will see it in mixed reality form this week.

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JACKSON, Miss.  — Ryan Armour and Tyrone Van Aswegen are threatening to break up the young men’s monopoly at the Sanderson Farms Championship. The 41-year-old Armour shot a 4-under 68 in Friday’s second round to take a one-shot lead over Van Aswegen at the Country Club of Jackson. Armour has never won on the PGA TOUR and has only four top 10s in 104 career events. He made four straight birdies on the back nine and finished just before a wave of thunderstorms swept over the Country Club of Jackson and suspended play for the day. There were 30 players still on the course when play ended. They’ll finish their second rounds on Saturday in what’s expected to be much colder weather. Armour, who grew up in Ohio, said he’s used to playing in less than ideal conditions. He’s at 10-under 134. “No matter if it’s cold or hot, if the scores are going crazy, just give yourself as many opportunities as you can to be successful,” Armour said. Armour or Van Aswegen, 35, would be the oldest winner at Sanderson Farms since Woody Austin in 2013. Cody Gribble, Peter Malnati and Nick Taylor were all in their 20s when they won over the past three years. So were Scott Stallings, who won in 2012, and Chris Kirk in 2011. Armour has been on the PGA TOUR off and on since 2007, but never had consistent success, bouncing between the Web.com and PGA TOUR. He didn’t play in any PGA TOUR events from 2011 and 2014 and didn’t even qualify for the Web.com Tour in 2013. He spent much of that time around his home course in Florida, catching up with family and making adjustments to his game. “I knew if I was going to get back going, it had to happen then,” Armour said. He got his Web.com card back in 2014 and eventually made it back to the PGA TOUR last season. He had to go to the Web.com Tour Finals to get his card back for this season and finished second in the first Finals event last month. Now he’s brought that form to Mississippi. Van Aswegen, winless in four years on the PGA TOUR, shot the low round of the day, a 7-under 65. He tied for ninth at the Safeway Open earlier this month in Napa, California. The South African started on the back nine and was 3 under before a double bogey on No. 16. He rebounded with seven birdies over his final 10 holes. “I had to just make a decision to keep going,” Van Aswegen said. “If you don’t do that, your round is toast. I was pretty happy to rebound after that. I had some luck along the way, too, so that was nice.” Vaughn Taylor shot 66 and was two shots back, along with Seamus Power, who had two holes left to play in the second round on Saturday. Dru Love, the son of Davis Love III who is playing on a sponsor’s exemption, shot 67 and was four shots back. His father shot 72 and was likely to miss the cut.

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NAPA, Calif. — Brandt Snedeker birdied the final three holes Saturday to take a three-stroke lead into the final round of the PGA TOUR’s season-opening Safeway Open. Snedeker finished with a 3-under 69 in windy conditions to get to 16-under 200 on the North Course at Silverado Resort and Spa. “I’m really proud of the way I stepped up there and hit some quality shots when I needed to,” Sneaker said. “I made some birdies and gave me a little bit of cushion for tomorrow, which will be really important because tomorrow’s supposed to be tougher than today, so every shot is really important coming down the stretch.” He won the Wyndham Championship in August, opening with a 59 en route to his ninth PGA TOUR title. “It was a tough day, the wind kicked up the last 12 or 13 holes,” Snedeker said. “I just did a great job of staying patient knowing the last three holes were birdies holes.” Kevin Tway was second after a 68. “It was a tough day, the wind picked up,” said Tway, who had a bogey-free round with four birdies. “I kept the ball in play nicely. I made a nice save on 14 and that was my only real bad shot.” Sungjae Im (69) was 12 under, and Bill Haas (67) followed at 11 under. “I hit some nice quality shots coming down the stretch with the two par 5s,” Haas said. “I saw it (the wind) is to supposed to blow, and be even more difficult than today. But I am very pleased with mike back nine; I hit some nice shots.” Phil Mickelson, tied for second entering the round, had a 74 to drop into a tie for 15th at 8 under. Fred Couples also was 8 under after a 70 in his final regular PGA TOUR start. The 59-year-old Hall of Famer played the first two rounds with Snedeker, shooting a 65 on Friday. “I played pretty well,” said Couples, who eagled the ninth hole. “On the front, there were a couple of birdie opportunities, but when I made the turn, the wind started to pick up and I hit a couple of good shots on 10 and 11.”  

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