What Almost Didn't Happen at The 2023 Players Championship
The 2023 Players Championship saw impressive performances from new, break-out stars at TPC Sawgrass. Under the PGA TOUR’s updated eligibility requirements for designated events, however, next year’s tournament might look different.
When Jay Monahan announced the plan for the makeup of the PGA Tour and its events starting in 2024, it confirmed what many in the golf world had suspected for weeks:
Beginning next season, the PGA Tour will essentially be split into 2 groups.
The stars will play in all the significant events for big prize money with many of the events being limited-field, no cut, guaranteed paydays. The rest of the Tour (the “rank-and-file” if you will) will be left with the scraps, filling out the rest of the weeks on the calendar playing in what will now be the old Tour schedule with the hopes of stringing a few good weeks together in order to get a seat at the new elevated event table.
The timing for the announcement was ironic considering the PLAYERS Championship is supposed to be the tournament of, well, the players that make up the membership on the PGA Tour. It was also ironic considering how the week played out.
Sure, one of the stars won this week in Scottie Scheffler, and big names graced the leaderboard throughout the 4 days of the tournament, but some of the more exciting things that happened at TPC Sawgrass this week involved guys that, under the new rules, likely would have never had the chance to tee it up this week in the first place.
Let’s take a look at some examples:
Hayden Buckley
On Thursday morning, Hayden Buckley did one of the hardest things in golf: he made a hole-in-one on the par 3 island green at TPC Sawgrass. With that ace at 17, he became only the 11th golfer to make a hole-in-one at the famed hole (two more golfers would ace 17 before the week was done).
Buckley currently ranks 110th in the OWGR. Under the current PGA Tour system he finished his 2021-2022 Tour season 104th in the FedEx Cup. Under the new rules, Buckley would have likely needed to have either won a non-elevated event or put together a string of top-10 finishes to have even had the opportunity to swing that pitching wedge at 17 on Thursday morning.
Tom Hoge
Tom Hoge was all but ready to head home Friday afternoon. He had even gone so far as to book a flight on American Airlines from Jacksonville to Dallas. A weather delay Friday afternoon and the cut line moving when the 2nd round finished Saturday morning resulted in Hoge having to cancel that flight because he was playing the weekend.
With a new outlook, Hoge went out on Saturday morning and shot a 62, a new course record at TPC Sawgrass.
But, under the new “rules” of the Tour, would he have even been playing the event in the first place.
While Hoge is currently ranked in the top 30 in the OWGR and finished 10th in the FedEx Cup standings last season, he did it largely on the back of playing in 32 Tour events in 2022, winning the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. However, with the Pro-Am becoming one of the new elevated events, you have to wonder that had these rules been in place last season, if Hoge’s name and “star power” on the Tour would have warranted an invite into the event in the first place.
Additionally, with many of those 32 events he played now becoming closed-off events, you also have to wonder what his schedule would have looked like and how that would have impacted his final FedEx Cup points standings.
Min Woo Lee
While he struggled on Sunday, shooting a 76 and finishing in a tie for 6th, there is no question that Min Woo Lee was the talk of the weekend. His 66 on Saturday shot him up to the top of the leaderboard as he was making TPC Sawgrass his personal playground.
There’s only one problem. Min Woo Lee is not a member of the PGA Tour. The 24-year-old Australian currently holds ranks on the European Tour where he is 3rd in the current Race to Dubai standings. He also sits in the top 50 in the OWGR, which is what earned him his spot on the tee sheet at TPC Sawgrass this week.
Despite his placement in the top 50 in the OWGR, as a non-Tour member, had the new rules been in place this year, Lee likely would have been on the outside looking in.
This week produced everything Jay Monahan and the PGA Tour could have asked for at their signature event. A star holding the trophy, 4 days of exciting golf, and impressive play from golfers young and old that may not necessarily be household names yet. It’s a shame that starting next year, we won’t get to see a lot of it.
The Gold Man Origin Story, by chatGPT
The Players used new emerging mixed reality technology to introduce Gold Man to the world. So I decided to take it upon myself to use another form of new and exciting technology to unveil Gold Man’s origin story. I asked chatGPT to write a fictional story about a figurine on a golf trophy who comes to life and gets to compete in the golf tournament for which he is the very trophy they win. This is that story.
Cameron Smith may have won The Players Championship in 2022, but the winner of our hearts that weekend was the mixed-reality trophy topper known as Gold Man, or Gold Boy to Golf Twitter.
For those of you who don’t remember, NBC and the PGA Tour partnered with a virtual event production company called The Famous Group to give life to the famous Gold Man trophy that The Players Championship has become known for. They even had Gold Man recreate popular shots from moments in Players Championship history, including the “Better Than Most” moment made famous by Tiger Woods in 2001.
The Players used new emerging mixed reality technology to introduce Gold Man to the world. So I decided to take it upon myself to use another form of new and exciting technology to unveil more of Gold Man’s story. I asked chatGPT to write and give a title to a fictional story about a figurine on a golf trophy who comes to life and gets to compete in the golf tournament for which he is the very trophy they win.
So without further adieu, here is the Gold Man origin story - unedited - written by chatGPT:
Putting Dreams into Motion
On a bright summer day, a group of golfers gathered at the Green Hills Golf Club for the annual tournament. The event was highly prestigious, and the winner would receive a stunning golden trophy in the shape of a golfer figurine. The trophy had been passed down from generation to generation, and every year, the winner's name was inscribed on it.
However, what none of the golfers knew was that the figurine on the trophy had a secret. For years, it had been watching as golfers came and went, and it had always dreamed of taking part in the tournament. One day, when everyone had left, the figurine wished upon a shooting star, hoping that its dream would come true.
The next morning, as the golfers arrived at the course, they were astonished to find that the figurine on the trophy had come to life. The little golfer hopped off the trophy and introduced itself as Tommy. The golfers were surprised but delighted to see the figurine come to life.
Tommy was thrilled at the prospect of competing in the tournament, and the golfers were happy to include him in their group. But they soon discovered that Tommy was no ordinary golfer. He had a natural talent for the game, and his small size gave him an advantage in maneuvering around the obstacles on the course.
As the tournament progressed, Tommy quickly rose to the top of the leaderboard. The other golfers were amazed at his skills, and they soon realized that he was a serious contender for the trophy. However, Tommy had a secret that nobody knew - he was determined to win the tournament and keep the trophy for himself, so that he could continue to live as a real golfer.
As the final round approached, Tommy was tied for the lead with the best golfer in the tournament. The tension was high as they approached the last hole, where Tommy had to make a crucial shot to win the game. The other golfers watched in amazement as Tommy hit a perfect shot, landing the ball right in the hole.
The crowd erupted in applause as Tommy was declared the winner of the tournament. The other golfers congratulated him on his victory, but Tommy was already thinking about his future. He knew that he could not stay in his current form forever, and he needed to find a way to become a real golfer permanently.
In the end, Tommy decided to donate the trophy to the Green Hills Golf Club, hoping that it would inspire other young golfers to follow their dreams. As he returned to his figurine form, he knew that he had achieved something extraordinary and that he would always be remembered as the little golfer who won the tournament.
As years went by, the story of Tommy the figurine became a legend at the Green Hills Golf Club. Children would gather around the trophy and gaze in wonder at the tiny golfer, imagining the amazing adventures he must have had on the course. And every year, as the new winner's name was inscribed on the trophy, they would say a silent thank you to Tommy, the little figurine who had come to life and won the tournament.
Fantasy Golf Picks: 2013 The Players Championship
Some may call it the "fifth major", but I call it "watch a bunch of good players hit balls into the water", otherwise known as the 2013 Players Championship. This tournament is traditionally one of the most fun to watch thanks to the infamous 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass. Matt Kuchar is your defending champion, however the likes of Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Adam Scott and a slew of other top-ranked players will be in attendance.
Here are my fantasy golf picks for the 2013 Players Championship.
Fantasy Golf Picks: 2012 The Players Championship
The PGA TOUR returns to TPC Sawgrass this week for The Players Championship, often called the season's "fifth major". Friendly note for fellow fantasy golfers: Tiger Woods hates this course. Use that to your advantage. Or don't.
