This week, The Players Championship occurs at the famed TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, and has been host course since 1977. This year marks the 50th year of arguably the greatest championship in golf that is not a major.
There have been a COUNTLESS number of iconic moments all over the course with many great holes, but none more so than over the final three holes: the par five 16th which is risk-reward for the entire field. If you go for the green in two, beware of the water that guards the right hand side of the hole. You could make anything from an eagle three to a double bogey seven.
The 18th is a challenging and demanding par four that has water down the entire left side. Then of course, smacked right in the middle of those two holes is perhaps the scariest hole in golf: a little island green that has nothing but water surrounding it, the iconic par three 17th.
You can say that this closing stretch in ANY PGA Tour event is… better than most. Without further ado, here are the five greatest moments in the history of The Players Championship.
5. Craig Perks Captures Players in Stunning Fashion
My number five moment in Players Championship history is vastly underrated in my opinion but like I stated earlier, anything can happen the final three holes. That was the case in 2002.
Perks was one shot back of leader Stephen Ames with three holes to play. What occurred over the final stretch was nothing short of storybook with ONE putt and two chip-ins over the final three holes.
At the 16th, Perks chipped in for eagle to take a one shot lead and move to seven under par. An instant shock wave went through Sawgrass. However, the magic was just beginning.
17th Hole Conquered
At 17 facing a 30 foot putt for birdie, Perks stepped up and drained it to take a two shot lead to the 18th. Check it out here. The lead was two as he stepped to the 18th tee.
Finish In Style
After driving his tee shot into the trees and airmailing his third shot over the green, it could’ve brought a double bogey in play. Keep in mind, Perks was two shots in front so a bogey five was good enough to win. He did one better.
He chipped in for par to shut the door and win by two shots. His closing stretch of eagle-birdie-par with a total of one putt over the final three holes is certainly a top five moment in this championship’s storied history.
4. Duval Wins Players Championship in his Hometown
The 1999 edition of The Players was a special victory for one of the PGA Tour’s best in his day: David Duval. He had won two previous tournaments in January before playing at TPC Sawgrass: The Mercedes Championship (now Tournament of Champions) anbd the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic (now the American Express Championship).
Duval is from Ponte Vedra Beach and was the favorite coming into the tournament. Conditions were awfully difficult during that entire week as his winning score ended up being the highest winning score recorded by a Players champion over 72 holes (-3). What made this win so special and unique is that his father Bob won an event on the Champions Tour the same day. Like father, like son.
3. Fowler’s Fabulous Finish at Players Championship
I must admit, I went back and forth trying to decide where this would rank among my greatest moments in Players Championship history. I settled for putting it third. To put it simply, it is the best finish I have ever seen from a player at this tournament: six under par over the final six holes to force a three hole playoff with Sergio Garcia and Kevin Kisner.
The playoff was dramatic as can be. Garcia was eliminated after the first playoff hole but Kisner and Fowler kept going. They ended up tied after the final two holes, so that resulted in sudden death at the famed 17th. Check out his tournament clinching tee shot here.
2. “Be The Right Club Today!!!” (Hal Sutton)
One of the best sound bites in golf history. Locked in a duel with the number one golfer in the world, Tiger Woods, Sutton knew he had to bring his A game all week to win. He did just that.
Woods had a furious charge during the final round climbing to within one shot of Sutton after an eagle three at 16. After exchanging pars at 17, Sutton knew he still had work to do. He and Woods both found the fairway. Tiger went over the green with his second shot.
Sutton hit what he called the best approach shot of his career. Check it out here and listen to the soundbite. It’s one of the best moments in this championship’s history. But there’s one that is… better than most.
1. Tiger Woods: Better than Most
From the way the gallery sounded, you would’ve thought this was on the 71st hole in the final round of The Players Championship. Nope. This was just another average Saturday third round, otherwise known as moving day on the PGA Tour. There was a Tiger on the prowl.
Tiger Woods incredible third round charge had TPC Sawgrass in a frenzy that day. He vaulted from outside the top 20 after two rounds into a tie for second with a six under par round of 66. But the moment that defined the whole tournament was on 17.
Trailing by three shots behind leader Jerry Kelly, Woods stepped to the famous island green looking to keep his round going. After hitting a short iron nearly into the water, he was left with a near impossible putt to make for birdie. Or so we thought.
Gary Koch’s Call
As amazing as the putt was, the call from NBC golf commentator Gary Koch was even better. He had been covering the action at the 17th all day and he had a vivid description of what had taken place before Tiger got there. Check out what he had to say here.
When the putt dropped, perhaps the three most famous words in golf commentary were spoken: better than most. To this day, I still get chills up my spine whenever I watch it. Only Tiger could pull off a moment like that. The tournament would have to postpone the final round for a Monday due to weather. Oh and by the way: Woods would end up winning the championship after a final round 67 to win by two shots over Vijay Singh.
The win would be the catalyst for Tiger to complete the “Tiger Slam” at the Masters in April, meaning he had become the first and only golfer in history to hold all four major championship titles at one time. He had won the three previous majors in 2000: the US Open, the British Open and the PGA Championship. Safe to say he was indeed… better than most.