World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is aiming to do something unprecedented this week – retain The Players Championship title.
The American claimed the crown in 2023 and will defend it against a field of the world’s best players in the PGA Tour’s flagship event that is widely considered to be one of the sport’s most prestigious tournaments – hence why it’s often referred to as golf’s ‘fifth major.’
‘The Players’ is undoubtedly one of the main attractions of the Tour calendar, but why has it acquired ‘unofficial major’ status?
What is The Players Championship?
The Players Championship is an annual event on the PGA Tour. It began in 1974 and has been held at The Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida since 1982. It takes place in mid-March every year amidst a run of other events held in the Sunshine State.
The 2024 edition of the tournament tees off on Thursday March 14 and holds extra significance, as it marks the 50th anniversary of the event.
Jack Nicklaus was the competition’s inaugural winner while Scheffler is the most recent champion after his five-shot victory last year.
What are the four majors and why are they different to The Players?
Men’s golf has four major tournaments – The Masters, the PGA Championship, the U.S. Open and the Open Championship, which are are held in April, May, June and July respectively this year.
Those four majors are considerably older than The Players – The Open is the world’s oldest golf tournament and was founded in 1860.
As well as their history, the majors offer significant prize money. They also have more world ranking points on offer for the winner (100) than any other competition.
Each tournament is operated and organized by independent organizations that are separate from the PGA Tour but are still recognized as part of the Tour calendar, in a similar way to tennis’ four grand slams. Conversely, The Players is a PGA Tour tournament and is marketed as its showpiece event.
Why is The Players Championship so important?
Despite not being an official major, The Players attracts an elite field and offers the largest purse of any regular-season PGA Tour tournament – including last year’s majors – at $25 million, with the champion claiming a $4.5 million share.
Eighty ranking points are also on offer for the winner, the most of any non-major tournament. The luxuries don’t stop there, with the victor receiving a three-year invitation to The Masters and three-year exemptions – meaning that they do not have to qualify for these tournaments or earn a PGA Tour card – to the other three majors.
“I think The Players is an event every player wants to win,” 2004 champion Adam Scott wrote for Sky Sports. “Certainly when you’re talking about the greats of the game and major champions, you want The Players to complement all those other great wins.
“The players feel a real ownership of the event and a real pride in the event. I think the venue has held up over the years too despite all the developments in the game.
It’s a great test and a great venue.”
The Players is also famous for its signature 137-yard, par-three 17th hole. The iconic ‘island green’ is surrounded by water and draws in the most spectators of any hole on the course. At such a high-risk hole, the 17th can change the outlook of the tournament.
The field is made up of 144 participants, with the 2024 edition featuring the likes of Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas.
Players that are signed to the Saudi-backed rival LIV Golf League are prohibited from competing at The Players and all other PGA Tour events. This policy caused controversy last year as the 2022 champion, Australian Cameron Smith, was unable to defend his title after signing with LIV Golf.
