The First Look: THE PLAYERS Championship

FedExCup titleholder Justin Thomas and Masters champion Patrick Reed headline an always power-packed field ready to converge on TPC Sawgrass, seeking to wrest one of the game’s most revered titles away from Si Woo Kim. World No.1 Dustin Johnson returns after a three-week break, with TPC Sawgrass set to welcome each of the top 50 players in the latest rankings. Tiger Woods, meantime, ends a two-year absence from the event, hoping to add a third victory to the ones he captured in 2001 and ’13. FIELD NOTES: Japan’s Satoshi Kodaira makes his first PGA TOUR start since taking up membership after his playoff win at the RBC Heritage. Kodaira was back on the Japanese circuit last week, finishing in a share of 32nd. … Phil Mickelson is set for his 25th start at TPC Sawgrass, moving into a tie for No. 9 on the all-time list. Jay Haas holds the record for most starts with 29. … The lineup features a pair of PGA TOUR Champions members – Steve Stricker and Constellation Senior Players Championship winner Scott McCarron. … One additional berth is available for the winner of this week’s Wells Fargo Championship, if he hasn’t already qualified. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 600 points. STORYLINES: Thomas, third behind Jason Day two years ago, seeks not only his first title at THE PLAYERS but a possible No. 1 ranking – if the takeover hasn’t already happened by then. A top-12 finish at the Wells Fargo Championship would vault Thomas past Johnson. … Reed could use a change of fortune at TPC Sawgrass, where last year’s tie for 22nd was his best finish. He’s broken 70 on the layout just once in 12 rounds. … Kim takes the torch seeking to become the first back-to-back winner at THE PLAYERS in its 45-year existence. … Just two of the past 11 winners have lifted the trophy after setting the 54-hole pace, though both have come in the past four editions – Martin Kaymer (2014) and Jason Day (2016). … A total of 69 balls found water last year at No. 17, the second-highest total since the PGA TOUR began keeping count 15 years ago. The record is 93, when the event first moved to May in 2007. … Paul Azinger (1987) is the only man to birdie No. 17 in all four regulation rounds. Rickie Fowler birdied it three times in a day, during the final round and playoff of his 2015 triumph. … This week marks THE PLAYERS’ farewell to May, returning to a March date in 2019. COURSE: TPC Sawgrass (Stadium), 7,189 yards, par 72. Carved out from 415 acres of wooded wetlands bought for $1 by then-commissioner Deane Beman, the Stadium Course has flourished into a thorough test that plays no favorites. Architect Pete Dye took pains to ensure no two consecutive holes play in the same direction, doglegs were created in both directions and both short and long holes are offered at every par. A recent tweak is a drivable par-4 at No.12, where both fairway and green slope toward a water hazard on the left. Nothing, though, is likely to ever match the drama at the iconic 17th – a nerve-wracking 137 yards over water to a green connected only by narrow rear pathway. 72-HOLE RECORD: 264, Greg Norman (1994). 18-HOLE RECORD: 63, Fred Couples (3rd round, 1992), Greg Norman (1st round, 1994), Roberto Castro (1st round, 2013), Martin Kaymer (1st round, 2014); Jason Day (1st round, 2016); Colt Knost (2nd round, 2016). LAST YEAR: Kim proved unflappable beyond his 21 years, becoming the youngest winner of THE PLAYERS with a bogey-free finale on the way to a three-shot triumph over Ian Poulter. Kim chased down faltering leaders Kyle Stanley and J.B. Holmes on the front nine, then staved off Poulter’s pursuit on the back nine. Though Kim hit only eight greens in regulation, he went six straight holes with no par putt longer than 2 feet on the way to a 3-under-par 69. Poulter closed with a 71, taking full advantage of regaining full TOUR status when a clerical oversight was discovered. Louis Oosthuizen shared runner-up honors after a 73, one shot ahead of Stanley (75) and Rafa Cabrera Bello (70). Holmes endured a nightmare, carding 84 to fall the way to 41st. It was the worst round by a 54-hole leader in tournament history – by five strokes. HOW TO FOLLOW TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 1-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 2-7 p.m. (NBC). (Golf Channel / NBC Sports LiveExtra simulcast stream) PGA TOUR LIVE: Wednesday, noon-2 p.m. (preview show). Thursday-Friday, 7:30 a.m.-1 p.m. (featured groups), 9 a.m.-7 p.m. (17th hole), 1-7 p.m. (featured holes). Saturday-Sunday, 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m. (featured groups), noon-7 p.m. (17th hole), 2-7 p.m. (featured holes). RADIO: Thursday-Friday, noon-7 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 1-7 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com).

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