A Major Setup at the Players Championship

By now, you’re likely exhausted by the entirely unnecessary “Is the Players Championship a major?” discourse that will inevitably increase as the tournament gets underway. Players are tired of it, too.

The upside, however, is that the PGA Tour’s efforts to force the major label appear to coincide with a concerted effort to increase the challenge of the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass. By Monday, the greens carried a noticeable tinge of brow, more than multiple players could ever recall seeing this early in the week. “They’re definitely a little bit firmer than they have been the last couple years,” two-time Players champion Scottie Scheffler said Tuesday. During a Monday afternoon practice round, Brooks Koepka remarked that the course was already at a Thursday firmness.

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Approach shots are bouncing above knee height — the way Pete Dye designed the golf course to be played — placing a significant premium on ball-striking. Weather permitting, more balls should find the water on holes like No. 17 than in previous editions of the tournament, and there is potential for flustered, angry golfers, the number-one indicator of a true major championship.

Beyond the firmness, the rough is longer than in recent years, currently measuring at least four inches, with the potential to surpass six by the weekend. I watched a player lose his ball in the left rough on No. 4 during his Tuesday practice round. Though lost balls are unlikely once the tournament begins when more eyes are on each shot, inaccurate tee shots will face a steep penalty.  

Around the greens, the combination of ultra-thick rough and uneven lies around the moguls makes getting up and down nearly impossible from out of position. You can never really fake it around Sawgrass, but assuming the golf course doesn’t take too much water over the next few days — light rain is currently anticipated on Thursday afternoon — that will be especially true this year.  If you’re missing fairways and greens, it’ll be a short week.

After walking the course the past couple of days, it’s hard to believe the firmer setup and the major championship marketing campaign are purely coincidental. They’re setting the golf course up like a major. For reference, here are the average winning scores over the past five years of each major championship and the Players:

Players Championship: -15.2
Open Championship: -14.8
Masters Tournament: -10.8
PGA Championship: -10.4
U.S. Open: -5.8

None of this is to suggest that a firmer, tougher TPC Sawgrass should strengthen the Tour’s case for wishcasting the Players Championship into major status, nor that score relative to par is the appropriate barometer of a course’s major championship worthiness. But if a tournament host was intent on presenting a major-level test that both identifies a worthy champion and those uncomfortable with their swings, this is what the golf course would look like in the lead-up.

Should the forecasted rain steer clear on Thursday, the Tour will have the opportunity to push the golf course as far as they want. Whether or not they have the risk tolerance to test its limits will be the question.