The Players Championship 2022: Course and current form stats

The world's elite have arrived at TPC Sawgrass, home to the Players Championship since 1982.

Officially, this will be the 41st time that the tournament has taken place at PGA Tour HQ.

That said, the 2020 event failed to crown a winner because it was abandoned after just 18 holes due to the rapid spread of Covid.

Laid out just one mile from the Atlantic Ocean, the Stadium Course is one of golf's most iconic venues.

When the former PGA Tour commissioner Deane Beman purchased the land on which the course is built, he instructed Pete Dye to design a layout that would not suit any one particular type of golfer.

Course Characteristics

It's putting surfaces are smaller than the Tour average, along with narrower than normal fairways.

In 2016, the course underwent a revamp with the aim of increasing the number of times water came into play during a round.

This figure currently sits at 16 out of 18 holes, although the water hazards on the Stadium Course do vary in size considerably.

According to a PGA Tour statement: "Short grass was added around some greens to promote creativity, while several greens were expanded to add new hole locations."

Yet a bigger change was made in 2019, when the tournament switched dates for a second time.

Between 1982 and 2006, the championship was contested during March, before moving to May for 12 straight years.

But another re-vamp of the Tour calendar three years ago meant the tournament reverted, once again, to March - and one week earlier than before.

To accommodate the new date, and take into account changing weather conditions, organisers decided to overseed greens, tees, fairways and rough.

Switching back to March meant conditions favoured the bigger hitters, and Rory McIlroy truly obliged.

Suddenly there was less run on the fairways, and the ball didn't travel as far through the colder air. However, on the plus side, the softer putting surfaces became a lot more receptive to approach shots.

Many fairways subtly change direction - and some more than once - which means accuracy from tee-to-green remains paramount.

Stroke Averages

Lowest 12 At The Stadium Course (2015-21)
Average .... (Rounds)
70.35: Justin Thomas (23)
70.42: Adam Scott (24)
70.57: Tommy Fleetwood (14)
70.61: Webb Simpson (18)
70.64: Jason Day (22)
70.65: Si Woo Kim (20)
70.90: Hideki Matsuyama (20)
70.92: Dustin Johnson (24)
70.93: Jon Rahm (15)
70.96: Sergio Garcia (24)
71.06: Justin Rose (18)
71.09: Keegan Bradley (22)
71.09: Tom Hoge (11)
71.09: Patrick Reed (22)
Min. No. of Rounds = 10
Only those entered this week are included in table

Analysis of Results in 'HIGH RATING' Events

Top 12 Performers Listed
% .... (T12s/Starts)
63.16: Jon Rahm (12/19)
47.06: Daniel Berger (8/17)
46.67: Brooks Koepka (7/15)
45.00: Justin Thomas (9/20)
44.44: Scottie Scheffler (8/18)
42.11: Webb Simpson (8/19)
40.00: Dustin Johnson (8/20)
40.00: Rory McIlroy (8/20)
40.00: Will Zalatoris (4/10)
35.29: Paul Casey (6/17)
35.00: Collin Morikawa (7/20)
33.33: Louis Oosthuizen (6/18)
33.33: Patrick Reed (6/18)
Min. No. of Events = 8
Only those entered this week are included in table

The above table looks at player performances in events where the strength in depth is high. In the above example, this includes tournaments which have a 'World Rating' of 600 or higher, according to the system used to determine the World Ranking. This covers the period from 01.01.2020 to date. This will include all majors, the Players Championship, most WGC events, plus a number of other PGA Tour events with strong fields. In this example, Jon Rahm has posted 12 top-12 finishes from 19 events since January 1st, 2020, giving him a percentage of 63.16%.

Lowest 12 Stroke Averages
For 'HIGH RATING' Events (since 1.1.2020)
Average .... (Rounds)
69.19: Jon Rahm (70)
69.30: Justin Thomas (74)
69.43: Daniel Berger (60)
69.47: Scottie Scheffler (66)
69.68: Brooks Koepka (56)
69.75: Dustin Johnson (64)
69.81: Xander Schauffele (72)
69.85: Harry Higgs (34)
69.86: Viktor Hovland (63)
69.87: Collin Morikawa (70)
69.89: Tony Finau (66)
69.91: Webb Simpson (64)
Min. No. of Rounds = 30
Only those entered this week are included in table

Check out the latest betting for a top-10 finish at this week's Players Championship

Four To Watch

Talor Gooch: Perhaps an outsider in this week's mega-strong field, but enjoying the season of his career so far - even withstanding a poor final round at Bay Hill. The 30-year-old from Midwest City in Oklahoma tied-fifth at Sawgrass 12 months ago.

Shane Lowry: The Open winner from 2019 is currently enjoying a strong run of results, and narrowly missed out on victory at the Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens two weeks ago. He is a solid performer over testing courses.

Hideki Matsuyama: Winner in Hawaii during January and more than ready to add another big title to his growing CV. Has posted two top-10s at Sawgrass.

Jon Rahm: His form at TPC Sawgrass has improved year-on-year, after failing to complete 72 holes on his Players Championship debut. But he's not world No 1 for no reason and usually plays well when the tournament field is strong.

Note: Bryson DeChambeau has withdrawn from this week's tournament due to injury.

Latest betting for next month's Masters Tournament

Twitter: Golf Stats Alive

MC* - Missed Additional 54-Hole Cut

Note: List Contains Leading Reserves

Note: The 2020 instalment was not completed due to Covid.