It’s an important tournament, and when the Players Championship wraps up over the weekend, the champions will have some notable results.
However, as CEO Brian Rolapp confirmed in a press conference Wednesday morning, this is not a major tournament.
Honestly, you don’t need to. Because golfers heading out to conquer TPC Sawgrass this week find a lot of value in the event even without a specific prestigious designation, and fans agree.
“I know there’s a lot of talk about it being a ‘fifth major,’ and I don’t know if it should be another major, but it definitely feels that way to me,” said Sahith Theegala.
Theegala acknowledges the controversy that emerges every year at the start of the tournament. It begins Thursday in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
But what makes the major special is that there are so few of them. Of course, adding signature events tends to push TPC into its own category, above signature tournaments but below majors.
And that’s okay. But let’s not call it a major.
This is scheduled to begin with the Masters in April, by which time the sporting calendar has largely been cleared to focus on that tournament.
Regardless, there will be a lot of buzz about this week’s tournament, and there should be.
World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler will take his turn as he seeks his third tournament victory in four years.
“You have to hit it well,” Scheffler said. “When you hit the ball in the right spot around the golf course, you can end up with a low score.”
Scheffler said the course requires special attention. The way golfers lofted shots over the green at last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational will be different at TPC Sawgrass. He said golfers “get used to it as the weeks go by.”
TPC demands attention because of the quality of its champions and the ranks of its competitors. This year, 46 of the top 50 players in the world rankings advanced.
Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy is the defending champion and has won twice in the last six tournaments (there were no events in 2020 due to the pandemic).
Since Tiger Woods won his second title in 2013, the list of champions has included Rickie Fowler, Australia’s Jason Day, Webb Simpson and Justin Thomas.
McIlroy withdrew from the weekend rounds of the Arnold Palmer Invitational due to back pain, so his status likely won’t be fully clear until the first round begins Thursday afternoon.
Given TPC’s stature, it seems likely that McIlroy will make every effort to participate. He and Scheffler are each bidding to become the first three-time champions of the event since Jack Nicklaus (1974, 1976, 1978), although only the last of those champions competed at TPC Sawgrass.
Whoever wins this week will receive a special achievement in a tournament that doesn’t necessarily compare to the majors.
