Written by Ewan Murray at The Guardian.com
There are 12 days of Christmas, seven dwarves and four major championships. It has always been thus and any gratuitous addition to golf’s major set doesn’t make sense.
The PGA Tour is routinely accused of attempting to latch their Players Championship on to one of their sport’s big four. The Players, for around 20 years now, has commonly been referred to in passing as “the fifth major”. The claim is unfair; in its annual media guide, the Tour states the four major championships in golf. In marketing material, there has been no attempt to latch upon any suggestion of a fifth.
What should be celebrated is this tournament’s status as the flagship on the PGA Tour. It is their major, even if that terminology is clearly problematic in itself. The prize fund – $10.5m – and strength of field endorses that, as does the annual return to a venue which provides a nerve-tingling closing stretch. The 17th hole alone stands out as one of the most iconic par three holes in golf. Poor Bob Tway will need no reminding of that; he took 12 there in the third round of 2005.
From that total purse, the $1.89m bestowed upon the winner is more than Arnold Palmer’s entire career on-course earnings. Beyond that, there is an importance linked in part to conquering the distinct challenges of Sawgrass. Patience really is a virtue, every error seems punished ten-fold.
“It’s one of the toughest courses we play all year,” says Rickie Fowler, the defending champion. “Probably the toughest field that we play all year. So, I mean, whoever is winning is taking care of business, beating the best players at the time and conquering one of the toughest courses that we play.
“You have to be pretty spot on. It’s a very fine line at this golf course. The targets and the driving areas are very small. On the greens, you don’t have much room.”
To continue reading this article, click here.
