The Players Championship….The Fifth Major

Feature Articles

By Herschel V. Caldwell

tiger-phil.jpgThe mystical character in the movie “Bagger Vance” declared the game of golf “unwinnable.” “You can never win, you can only play” the game of golf. The great players of yesteryear and today will tell you that they may come out winning an event, not because they beat the course, but because they hit the ball fewer times than their fellow competitors.

 Uninformed fans and writers should know to speak wisely and softly about any current player who finds it difficult to score on the golf course.

 Tiger Woods, the most prominent name in active golf today, is such a figure. He is finding it difficult to score, for whatever reason(s) right now. Does that speak to his ability to win again? Not at all. 14 major titles and over 80 worldwide championships in a short career span, speak volumes. The answer is that golf is a fascinating and fickle game that often lures even the most ambitious suitor into a false sense of self-assurance. Just about the time you think you have it under control and on your way to bringing the game to its knees, up pops a double bogey, a string of missed cuts or a year of no checks. You then find yourself selling insurance or used cars to make enough money to pay green fees.

 This game is consistently impossible to conquer. There are many (good) players who have achieved a high level of coming near the threshold of victory but having never reached. Tiger, Jack, Phil, Arnold, Ernie, Gary, Greg and others have and have had periods in their lives when they fall back, regroup, retool, reinvest and reengage. The great players come back. The not so greats risk oblivion.

 Those great players return to challenge unwinnable events like the Masters, the Players Championship, US Open, the Open Championship and the PGA Championship. Their scores may or may not be lower than the field at the end on Sunday afternoon, but their impact on the game will be wide-felt.  The day will come again when Phil, Ernie, Jim, Davis and Tiger hoist the championship trophy, not having defeated the game but having persevered.

 The Player Championship is truly a major test if only by the field alone. 145 of the world’s best players test their skills against each other and one of the most formable challenges on the PGA Tour: TPC Sawgrass. This course partners with the game of golf to stave off any challenge the best in the world may attempt to bring. One by one players fall away because this course has something for each of them. From the opening hole to the famous (or infamous) “Final Three”, TPC Sawgrass becomes progressively more difficult. The treacherous risk/reward temptation of the par-five 16 and the notoriously dangerous short par three island green of 17 strikes fear in the hearts of the faint and weak of heart.  Number 18 is one of the best finishing holes of all of the courses on the tour. To match par or better when all is on the table makes for a defining moment in the career and life of the player who walks off that green on Sunday as the Players Champion.

 

1 thought on “The Players Championship….The Fifth Major

  1. Mark, i just purchased my Taylormade R11 drvier on Sunday. I havent messed around with the settings too much but have a 10.5 degree, regular flex factory shaft I set it to 9.5 though and closed the ASP to neutralize the face angle at address.. I am getting better distance with it and distance even on my mishits! The problem i have with it is the spin!!! When i hit my drive the ball hits the ground and stops, no roll whatsoever! Any advice in how to tweak? to get more roll??? Thanks

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.