The Players Championship: History

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FL - MAY 13: Phil Mickelson hits his second shot on the par 4 18th hole during the final round of THE PLAYERS on the Stadium Course at the TPC Sawgrass on May 13, 2007 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) The Players Championship has been contested annually since 1974, and the importance of the event cannot be emphasised enough.

Although it does not quite make it to Major status – it is not considered an official event of the European Tour – it is in a category of its own. It is the wealthiest tournament of the PGA Tour, offering prize money in excess of US $9 million, and apart from the large purse, the winners are rewarded with added benefits, some of which are:

A five-year exemption on the PGA Tour
An open invitation to the Masters, valid for three consecutive years
A three-year exemption for the British Open
Exemptions to both the US Open and the PGA Championships for the year

Added to these bonuses is the fact that the Players Championship offers the winner an inordinately high number of points which count towards the year-end Official World Golf Ranking. The winners of the four Grand Slam events of golf pick up 50 points each, and the victorious player at Ponte Vedra is allocated 40 points for the win.

In comparison, the elite World Golf Championships - the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, the WGC-Championship and the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational - offer between 35 and 39 points, and these three tournaments are official money events of the PGA Tour, the European Tour and the Japan Golf Tour!

The Players Championship history has seen the tournament contested at several venues over the years.

The inaugural event in 1974 was contested at the Atlanta Country Club in Marietta, Georgia
In 1975 it moved to the Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas
Inverrary Country Club in Fort Lauderdale in Florida hosted the event in 1976
In 1977 it moved to its current location, Ponte Vedra Beach in Florida, but was played at the Sawgrass Country Club abutting the Atlantic Ocean
In 1982 it moved to The Stadium Course at the TPC at Sawgrass

Historically the tournament has always been held in March, but due to the restructuring of the PGA Tour to accommodate the exciting new FedEx Cup competition, the Players Championship has been moved to the month of May each year. The 2008 event will be held from 5 to 11 May.

Watch the Players Championship history unfold in 2008 – and make the action all the more exciting by placing a wager on the outcome!

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