Stadium Course dominates world's best at The Players

Top-ranked golfers struggle to score

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla – You could make the argument that the winner of the 2017 Players Championship was the course.

Whether it was a former champion, or a winner of multiple majors or a golfer ranked in the top 10 in the world, one by one, they succumbed to the Stadium Course. Nobody was able to get any kind of substantial run going. Instead of shooting for birdies, most settled for par, when they could.

"You can get three or four good holes going, but then the pin will be tucked and the wind is not favorable and you have to decide you just play safe to 40 feet away and work hard to 2-putt," said 2004 Players Champion Adam Scott. "It's just the way this course is now with this kind of grass and also the wind being a big factor the last couple days. Mid 60s in these conditions is an unbelievable score. I don't think, unless it's calm, you're not going to see those really low, low rounds around here."

THE WINNER: Si Woo Kim becomes youngest Players Champion

The course played a stroke and a half over par this week, and over the weekend, with the players who were striking it the best still in the field it played to nearly two strokes over par,  The last three winners of the tournament, Jason Day, Ricky Fowler and Martin Kaymer all finished in the bottom 10 of the tournament. Why was the stadium course so punishing? For one, blame the wind.

"That's what this golf course can do to you. You can get ahead a few shots and the way the weather was today, the way it was so windy, it's tough to make bogeys at the end there," said former British Open winner Louis Oosthuizen. "If it's perfect weather like yesterday afternoon, yes, you can go, 2, 3-under the last three, four holes, but it was tough today."

The wind was certainly a factor. As Scott pointed out, it was the kind of wind that golfers might expect to see at the TPC Sawgrass in March, which may be where the tournament will return in coming years.