That’s how it went on Sunday at TPC Sawgrass: The course doing everything it could to get him sideways, Scheffler remaining steady, giving golf’s big-game hunter the 2023 Players Championship.

“I like it when things kind of get hard, and today was definitely one of those moments,” Scheffler said after a final-round 69 that was good for a five-shot win over Tyrrell Hatton. “So I just tried to stay focused and beat up on the golf course and not worry about what everybody else was doing.”

In a matter of 13 months, Scheffler has gone from “When’s he going to break through?” to “Can he be stopped?” In a way he is Brooks Koepka 2.0 — except Scheffler does not have a bad word to say about anybody while everyone says nothing but good things about him. His greatest sin is an unrelenting niceness that can be misconstrued as mundane. No, the Koepka comparison is distilled to something else: Scheffler is the guy you can bet will play his best in the moments that matter the most.

Last month in the WM Phoenix Open, Scheffler won and defended in front of the rowdiest gallery in golf. A year ago he tackled Bay Hill in conditions so brutal others in the field threatened to protest future events. He’s the reigning Match Play king, a title earned by traversing a gauntlet of seven matches in five days with fortitude, patience, creativity and a little wild cowboy. He won the 2022 Masters with a performance so emphatic that it begged where this Texan could ultimately go. He went 2-0-1 at the 2021 Ryder Cup and took down European dynamo Jon Rahm in Sunday singles.

And it’s not just the wins. Scheffler has six finishes of T-8 or better at majors, including a runner-up at last year’s US Open. Scheffler was in contention at St Andrews before an unfortunate, um, “injury” derailed his weekend. He had 11 top-10s in 25 starts last year and has somehow improved this year with six in eight. To watch him work at a premier event is to watch a rock star on stage. The venues and crowds and background singers change. The song list remains the same.

“I think I get excited for a good, hard test. I feel like that I can find a way to make pars and hang in there,” Scheffler said. “This week I think I had five bogeys for the whole week. Around this place, I would say that’s really hard to do, and that’s probably what I’m most proud of, is just playing so solid. Yeah, I think I just like the challenge of kind of harder golf courses.”

Scheffler is not flawless. He has a penchant for starting slow, like he did during last year’s final round at the Masters, although this week we may have gotten insight into why: Scheffler avoids drinking coffee on game days because he likes making it at home. “I just got an espresso machine and started learning how to use it, and it’s fun,” Scheffler said. He needed a visit to the barista en route to the course Sunday, as he parred the very birdie-able second and bogeyed the third to lose his two-shot 54-hole lead to Min Woo Lee. In that instant it appeared we had a battle brewing.

Only Lee picked the worst time to make a triple, doing so at the fourth, providing breathing room the very moment Scheffler needed to catch his breath. Scheffler traversed the next three holes without incident, then chipped in at the eighth for birdie, beginning a run of four straight birdies that stretched his lead to six. The final 90 minutes were mostly procedural, the outcome never in doubt and made official when Scheffler’s approach at the island-green 17th stayed dry. For posterity, he dropped a 20-footer for par at the 18th, his arms going up as that white sphere went down to punctuate four days of stick-and-ball genius.

“I had some times throughout week where I didn’t feel like I was swinging my best or playing at a hundred per cent, and then I would just kind of wait and pick my moments, and fortunately, I got kind of hot in spurts in each of my rounds,” Scheffler said. “I just found a way to choose my moments and get hot here and there and had four just really solid rounds.”

En route to winning the Players Championship, Scottie Scheffler hit a solid shot on the green at the nervy par-3 17th. Mike Ehrmann

On a tour not short on talent, Scheffler is among its most skillful, possessing the power and precision and touch that allows for few if any weaknesses in his game. He is also among the most even-keeled customers, belied by an imposing stature that makes him look like the dude who comes to the door to collect when rent is overdue. It’s impossible to tell how Scheffler is playing because the man runs cool, forever and always.

There have been stumbles, however, most notably at the season-ending Tour Championsip last summer. Scheffler built a seemingly insurmountable six-shot lead only to surrender the FedEx Cup and its riches to Rory McIlroy. Golf is not a sport that can be judged by non-wins, yet it was a collapse that threatened collateral damage. To his psyche, of course, but also to the air of inevitably he had cultivated over the past year. Golfers can smell blood in the water, and there are names that when plastered atop leaderboards tell those below understand the position is for the taking.

“I feel like a lot of that stuff is just what you go being a professional golfer. It’s a really hard sport,” Scheffler said. He later continued: “But all you can do is just continue to put yourself in position. It’s like volume shooting, I’m just going to try and get up there as many times as I can and see what happens. It’s a lot more fun being in that arena than it is finishing a few hours before the leaders finish. It’s more fun going down the stretch when you make a putt and people are cheering, and going out there and competing against my friends out here. It’s a lot more fun.”

Now, anyone can be the man when things are going good. What makes a bad man bad is standing firm in the storm. Scheffler got knocked down at East Lake. That runner-up at the US Open and playoff loss last year at Colonial still sting, too. Scheffler confessed at last year’s Masters that the gravity of what was on the line forced him to tears just hours before his tee time. Today at TPC Sawgrass, Scheffler said there were no morning cries, but there were doubts.

“This tournament feels like a major championship to me and this morning was tough,” Scheffler said. “I would say that East Lake at the end of last year was pretty challenging for me just to handle. It was obviously very sad and hard, and I didn’t expect things to finish that way, So this one’s a lot sweeter now.”

There will be more storms to come, and Scheffler acknowledges as much. But he survived, and prevailed, at this Players Championship by staring down his recent past and moving forward. That should serve as a warning to the rest of golf. For there is little that can withstand a man — a talented, humble, big-game hunting bad man — who can conquer himself.

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Taylor Montgomery is going to be just fine. The big-hitting PGA Tour rookie is already well on his way to a successful first campaign on tour. He’s projected to remain inside the top 20 of the FedEx Cup standings after this week, and at 56th in the Official World Golf Ranking, he still has an opportunity to play his way into the Masters over the next two weeks. He’s going places.

But man, his finish at the Players Championship on Sunday is going to sting for at least a little while.

Montgomery, 31, began the day at seven-under, well off the lead of Scottie Scheffler but in prime position to make a run at some serious coin. A top-10 finish at TPC Sawgrass this week earned players over $600,000. Top five? Over $1 million. Hell, Montgomery could have shot even par on Sunday and still made over half a million.

But the Las Vegas resident was clearly dreaming bigger in the middle portion of his round, when he began ascending up the leaderboard and increasing the size of his pay cheque with every birdie. After starting one over through five holes, Montgomery birdied Nos. 7, 9, 11 and 14 to climb to three-under on his round, 10 under for the tournament. If he simply parred in, he would have earned a share of third place with Viktor Hovland and Tom Hoge. That would have been a $1.325 million pay day, more than half of what he’s made this season already.

Even after making bogey at the par-4 15th, Montgomery could have still won over a million by parring in. With the gettable par-5 16th awaiting, that was a virtual certainty. Turns out, it was anything but. Montgomery made a double-bogey 7 at the 16th without hitting a ball in the water. At the 17th, he found the water twice. Watch if you dare:

Taylor Montgomery finds the water twice on 17. 

+7 in three holes moves Montgomery from T6 to T44. pic.twitter.com/F0qvrInG34

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 12, 2023

Welp, that’s about as gutting as it gets. Fortunately, Montgomery was able to par the 18th for a three-over 75, securing a T-44 finish. For his troubles, he made just over $75,000. That’s nothing to scoff at, as long as you ignore the fact that he spent a million-plus in three holes.

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But, boy, was it entertaining this week.

Spieth capped the 2023 Players with an even-par 72 to finish tied for 19th at six-under, a distant 11 shots behind winner and fellow Dallas resident Scottie Scheffler. Then, Spieth fired off this brilliant line.

“You get Sawgrassed sometimes,” Spieth said. The 29-year-old was talking about a bad break in the greenside bunker on the par-5 11th in the final round. But getting “Sawgrassed” speaks to his roller-coaster week.

On Friday, Spieth sat at two-over and on the cutline playing the par-5 ninth (his 18th) when he blocked his drive toward the water. It ricocheted off the knee of a US Marine and into the fairway. Spieth muscled a fairway metal up to the greenside rough and chipped in for eagle. Then, he had that Marine, 47-year-old Lt Col Matt Cutler, hang around for the weekend to watch the golf.

Spieth made the cut, shot 66 Saturday to get somewhat in the mix before a final round featuring three birdies and as many bogeys. In his seven Players starts since that impressive debut, Spieth had missed the cut five times — with a best finish of T-41 before this week.

Jordan Spieth. David Cannon

“It’s a tough track. A top-25 for me out here feels like a win anywhere else,” Spieth said. “It’s just my history. I was kind of half-kidding, but my history here isn’t great.”

But why does Spieth play poorly at TPC Sawgrass? Out of his 26 rounds, only 11 have been under par. Granted, it’s a tough course that usually ranks in the teens for demanding courses on the PGA Tour. On that question, 13-time PGA Tour winner Spieth gave the most Spieth answer.

“I just don’t play with a lot of discipline, and I didn’t today,” he said. “I thought I should have birdied 10 and 11, and so I get on 12, and instead of just bailing out right in the collection area and making birdie, I’m trying to hit a driver on the green and make the birdie easier, have a chance at eagle, and I hit one in the water. I just do that every single year here. [On] 11, I did everything right; there happened to not be any sand in the bunker, so it bounced, and I end up making par.

“You get Sawgrassed sometimes. Actually, every round everyone gets Sawgrassed to an extent … something quirky happens. But my aggressive nature and inability to accept sometimes not making birdie when I thought I was going to, makes me make too many mistakes on a course that you can’t get away with it.”

Spieth now can look ahead to Augusta National next month — where he does have a glittering record. In addition to his 2015 Masters victory, Spieth has two second-place finishes and two thirds.

“[I’m] playing well … I got a couple more weeks [on the PGA Tour] before I got ready for the Masters,” he said.

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Indeed, the top five finishers this week (Scheffler, Tyrrell Hatton, Viktor Hovland, Tom Hoge, Hideki Matsuyama) all banked seven-figure pay days, a remarkable rise when you consider how the purse in this event has evolved since its debut in 1974:

Year: Total Purse/First place
1974: $250,000/Jack Nicklaus, $50,000
1982: $500,000/Jerry Pate, $90,000
1987: $1 million/Sandy Lyle, $180,000
1993: $2.5 million/Nick Price, $450,000
2000: $6 million/Hal Sutton, $1.08 million
2007: $9 million/Phil Mickelson, $1.62 million
2014: $10 million/Martin Kaymer, $1.8 million
2018: $11 million/Webb Simpson, $1.89 million
2019: $12.5 million/Rory McIlroy, $2.25 million
2021: $15 million/Justin Thomas, $2.7 million
2022: $20 million/Cameron Smith, $3.6 million

Twenty-six players made more than $250,000 this week, the total purse from 1974. All but three of the 75 players who made the cut this week earned more than $50,000, the amount Jack Nicklaus took home for his victory that first year.

Here is the prize money payout for each golfer who made the cut this week at TPC Sawgrass:
Win: Scottie Scheffler, 271/-17, $4,500,000
2: Tyrrell Hatton, 276/-12, $2,725,000
T-3: Viktor Hovland, 278/-10, $1,475,000
T-3: Tom Hoge, 278/-10, $1,475,000
5: Hideki Matsuyama, 279/-9, $1,025,000
T-6: Max Homa, 280/-8, $736,607.12
T-6: Justin Suh, 280/-8, $736,607.12
T-6: Justin Rose, 280/-8, $736,607.12
T-6: David Lingmerth, 280/-8, $736,607.12
T-6: Sungjae Im, 280/-8, $736,607.12
T-6: Cam Davis, 280/-8, $736,607.12
T-6: Min Woo Lee, 280/-8, $736,607.12
T-13: Collin Morikawa, 281/-7, $447,916.66
T-13: Adam Svensson, 281/-7, $447,916.66
T-13: Adam Hadwin, 281/-7, $447,916.66
T-13: Rickie Fowler, 281/-7, $447,916.66
T-13: Denny McCarthy, 281/-7, $447,916.66
T-13: Christiaan Bezuidenhout, 281/-7, $447,916.66
T-19: Xander Schauffele, 282/-6, $275,000
T-19: Russell Henley, 282/-6, $275,000
T-19: Tony Finau, 282/-6, $275,000
T-19: Brandon Wu, 282/-6, $275,000
T-19: Jason Day, 282/-6, $275,000
T-19: Patrick Cantley, 282/-6, $275,000
T-19: Jordan Spieth, 282/-6, $275,000
T-19: Aaron Rai, 282/-6, $275,000
T-27: Eric Cole, 283/-5 $167,656.25
T-27: Brendon Todd, 283/-5, $167,656.25
T-27: Danny Willett, 283/-5, $167,656.25
T-27: Ryan Fox, 283/-5, $167,656.25
T-27: Wyndham Clark, 283/-5, $167,656.25
T-27: Si Woo Kim, 283/-5, $167,656.25
T-27: Chad Ramey, 283/-5, $167,656.25
T-27: Tommy Fleetwood, 283/-5, $167,656.25
T-35: Shane Lowry, 284/-4, $114,166.66
T-35: Keith Mitchell, 284/-4, $114,166.66
T-35: Austin Smotherman, 284/-4, $114,166.66
T-35: Sam Burns, 284/-4, $114,166.66
T-35: Mark Hubbard, 284/-4, $114,166.66
T-35: Byeong Hun An, 284/-4, $114,166.66
T-35: Ben Griffin, 284/-4, $114,166.66
T-35: Taylor Moore, 284/-4, $114,166.66
T-35: Dylan Wu, 284/-4, $114,166.66
T-44: Chesson Hadley, 285/-3, $75,035.71
T-44: Stephan Jaeger, 285/-3, $75,035.71
T-44: Sam Ryder, 285/-3, $75,035.71
T-44: Brian Harman, 285/-3, $75,035.71
T-44: Kramer Hickok, 285/-3, $75,035.71
T-44: Garrick Higgo, 285/-3, $75,035.71
T-44: Taylor Mongtomgery, 285/-3, $75,035.71
T-51: Tom Kim, 286/-2, $61,416.67
T-51: Lucas Glover, 286/-2, $61,416.67
T-51: Cameron Young, 286/-2, $61,416.67
T-54: Ben Martin, 287/-1, $58,000
T-54: Matthias Schwab, 287/-1, $58,000
T-54: Jerry Kelly, 287/-1, $58,000
T-54: Will Gordon, 287/-1, $58,000
T-54: Gary Woodland, 287/-1, $58,000
T-54: Tyler Duncan, 287/-1, $58,000
T-60: Justin Thomas, 288/E, $55,250
T-60: Joel Dahmen, 288/E, $55,250
T-60: Maverick McNealy, 288/E, $55,250
T-60: Nate Lashley, 288/E, $55,250
T-60: Francesco Molinari, 288/E, $55,250
T-65: Sepp Straka, 289/+1, $53,250
T-65: Patton Kizzire, 289/+1, $53,250
T-65: Alex Smalley, 289/+1, $53,250
68: Davis Thompson, 291/+3, $52,250
T-69: Scott Stallings, 292/+4, $51,500
T-69: Taylor Pendrith, 292/+4, $51,500
71: Adam Scott, 293/+5, $50,750
72: Aaron Baddeley, 295/+7, $50,250
73: Will Zalatoris, 296/+8, $49,750
74: Sahith Theegala, 298/+10, $49,250
75: Kevin Kisner, 299/+11, $48,750

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Aaron Rai was already enjoying a solid round on Saturday at the Players Championship, four-under on his day through 16 holes. Rai is now in the tournament mix thanks to his theatrics on the 17th hole. We suggest turning the volume up on your computer or smart device.

ANOTHER ACE ON 17!!!!!

Aaron Rai makes his first career ace to send the crowd into a frenzy! pic.twitter.com/48vVElNQr7

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 11, 2023

That is the look of pure joy, my friends.

Pure emotion ? pic.twitter.com/KR6KKMbvfP

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 11, 2023

It is the first time in Players Championship history that there have been two holes-in-one on the 17th in the same week. On Thursday Hayden Buckley made 1, only topping it with an all-time celebration.

Rai then made birdie on the last hole, after he hit his approach shot to four feet. He and Buckley are the only two players in the history of the Players to finish 1-3 on Nos. 17 and 18. Rai also birdied No. 16 to play the last three holes in four under, a first in the history of this championship.

“Hit it great, looked great in the air and very pleased to see it go in. That was an incredible moment,” Rai said. “And very pleased of the way that I played 18 as well on the back end of that. It can be quite tricky to compose myself after a situation like that, so to hit a great tee shot, to hit a great second shot and to make birdie was a very pleasing way to finish.”

Rai, 28, is in his second full year on the PGA Tour. He made headlines last month when he decided to follow Tiger Woods during the Wednesday pro-am at the Genesis Invitational because he was excited to be able to watch him up close and in person.

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When play was suspended at 4.27pm EDT Friday at TPC Sawgrass, McIlroy was manoeuvring his way towards the weekend off in the $25 million designated tournament. Winner of this event in 2019, the native of Northern Ireland was two-over through 10 holes and six-over for the tournament, well outside the projected cutline of one-over. Now he has to return on Saturday with 71 other players to complete his second round and faces a pitch shot of 51 feet for his third shot on the par-5 11th hole.

In other words, the World No. 3 has serious work to do to avoid missing the cut for the second time in three years and sixth time overall. The cut is lowest 65 scores and ties, and there are currently 67 players at one over or better.

Struggling with a new driver and losing 3.356 strokes on the greens, McIlroy hasn’t had much to lean on over his first 28 holes, making just three birdies. Epitomising his frustrations was his 22-foot birdie attempt on the par-5 ninth hole that was dying just as it arrived at the right edge of the cup. Instead of falling, the ball circled to the back and sat on the lip. McIlroy could only laugh as he looked toward caddie Harry Diamond.

With gusting winds strafing TPC Sawgrass, not many players were yukking it up, and several prominent names either needed to go into attack mode over their remaining holes or had to hope that a Saturday forecast that called for winds of around 15mph would push the cutline higher.

After a second consecutive one-over 73 on Friday morning, Justin Thomas, the reigning PGA champion and 2021 winner of the Players, was among 14 players tied for 68th at two-over 146. Also in that group is Presidents Cup teammate Tony Finau, though he has eight holes to complete on Saturday, and 2019 Open champion Shane Lowry, who rallied for a 69 after an opening 77.

Reigning US Open champion Matthew Fitzpatrick headlines a large group at three-over 147 after a 71, and, barring a complete collective meltdown by his peers, is done for the championship.

Chris Kirk and Kurt Kitayama failed to duplicate their recent Florida form. Kirk, who won the Honda Classic two weeks ago, carded a second-round 75 and finished at 148. Kitayama, who captured his first tour title at the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Sunday, is going home after 76-149. Meanwhile, API runner-up Harris English needs an epic heater in his final nine holes sitting at seven over par.

World No. 1 Jon Rahm withdrew before the start of his second round due to an undisclosed illness. He was under the weather before the tournament was under the weather.

First-round leader Chad Ramey found the water twice at the par-3 17th island hole and suffered a quadruple-bogey. He is four-over through 10 holes and trails clubhouse leaders Christaan Bezuidenhout and Adam Svensson by four strokes. Bezuidenhout has to complete four holes Saturday morning while Svensson, coming off birdies at his last two holes before the suspension, has seven.

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With dark clouds gathering for several hours and thunderstorms in the offing, the horn to stop play came at 4.27pm with a sizeable portion of the field still on the course at TPC Sawgrass. The good news is that the forecast for the rest of the weekend looks excellent, with little chance of storms, so it’s very likely they’ll get the tournament in by late Sunday.

Still, before play was stopped, there were some serious gusts of wind on Friday afternoon, and they may have played a part in the disaster that first-round leader Chad Ramey suffered at the island 17th hole. After starting on the 10th, Ramey arrived at his eighth hole of the day, the 17th, with a two-shot lead. But his tee shot landed in front of the pin, and with the green very firm, his ball rolled over the back and into the water. (JJ Spaun did the same thing on the very next shot.)

No. 17 can change everything in a heartbeat.

Leader Chad Ramey puts back-to-back balls in the water. pic.twitter.com/ZwI0MONcfM

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 10, 2023

Then, from 90 yards at the drop zone, Ramey again flew his shot too much, and his now-third stroke found the water. Hitting his fifth, this time Ramey put the ball to 19 feet. But he missed the putt and the quadruple-bogey 7 on his scorecard dropped him to a couple of strokes behind. Another bogey at No. 1 — Ramey’s last hole before play was suspended — put him two shots back of the clubhouse leader Ben Griffin (71), and he was four behind the eight-under marks of South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout (through 14) and Canadian Adam Svensson (through 11).

There are some big stars in danger of missing the cut, including World No. 3 Rory McIlroy, who was six-over for the tournament through 10 holes of Round 2 when play was suspended. The featured threesome already was down to he and No. 2 Scottie Scheffler because No. 1 Jon Rahm had to withdraw before the start of the round with an undisclosed illness, snapping the tour’s longest active made-cuts streak at 25. Scheffler has fared the best of the three, standing at six-under through 28 holes.

In other highlights and lowlights …

• The clubhouse leader, Griffin, was so despondent about his game that he quit to join the mortgage business, only to have some “angel” financial backers help him spur a revival that now has him contending in the PGA Tour’s flagship event.
• After several years of struggle, Jason Day continues his promising comeback — he’s T-8 after a second straight 70 — while looking forward to a likely return to the Masters after missing it last year when he dropped out of the OWGR’s Top 100.
• Two-time major winner Collin Morikawa is the highest-placed star at six-under through 11 holes, though he’s one-over in the round.
• Will Gordon made the biggest climb in Round 2, shooting up 63 places with a 67 to be T-8.
• The current cut line would have to move to two-over, but if it does, 56-year-old Jerry Kelly would be the oldest player in championship history to make the weekend.
• Max McGreevy suffered one of the wildest (bad) swings we’ll ever see from a pro — 20 shots! — when he carded 89 — with two triple bogeys and three doubles — after scoring 69 in the first round.

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Do you see meritocracy at work, that foundational virtue of the professional game that is seemingly being compromised by golf’s ongoing civil war? Do you see a list of players, many of which are unknown to the casual fan, and see it as revenge for the rank-and-file, making their voice heard after being dismissed by their more popular peers? Do you see what’s happening and think James Hahn is smiling, cigar in hand as he righteously basks in the glow of validation?

Do you see Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Adam Svensson, Ben Griffin, Min Woo Lee, Taylor Pendrith and Will Gordon and think: “This is why we need full-field events with cuts!” because the only thing that decides who wins and who doesn’t in this beautifully cruel game is the score next to the name?

Or … do you think the opposite?

As play wrapped up on Friday at TPC Sawgrass, the second round cut short due to thunderstorms, most of the tour’s flagship competitors are nowhere to be found at the tour’s flagship event, as the Players Championship has been commandeered by the very membership that feels it is no longer wanted. The tournament has become a Rorschach test — for how you feel about this snapshot in time is how you feel about what’s to come.

The reception to the tour’s announcement last week that it will restructure — and restrict — its designated events to only 70-ish players has been, to put it generously, mixed. The stars like it, which makes sense, given the financial windfall and job security headed their way. Those who annually have to fight for their card, for their careers and for their passions, not so much. For a tour that’s doing its best to present a united front against the existential threat of LIV Golf, there is a palpable divide in the locker room.

But that is for them to work out. The question is posed to us, the consumers. Because while this tour is a membership-driven entity, its success and failure ultimately lies with the fan. Through two days at TPC Sawgrass, we’re seeing a glimpse of its positives and negatives, depending on your perspective.

For the romantics and old-schoolers, the idea that every shot matters and spots aren’t given and you only make what you earn is part of the tour’s ethos. It was arguably one of the organisation’s biggest selling points against LIV Golf, featuring guaranteed paydays and no cuts. To this class of fan, the designated events’ limited-field, no-cut element opens the PGA Tour up to the very ridicule that was directed at the opponent.

So they have to be delighted at what is taking place, yes? Bezuidenhout, Svensson, Griffin, Lee, Pendrith, Gordon are getting a shot this week not because of their popularity or past results but by the content of their scorecard. That is a horde of men with stones in their pocket and slingshot in tow, more than ready to play the role of David.

One problem. Unlike other sports, golf loves Goliaths. And boy, does it despise Davids.

Canadian Adam Svensson could represent the players from the PGA Tour’s rank-and-file who will have to battle to reach the echelon of huge money and no-cut events. Mike Ehrmann

This is March, a month that runs off of upsets, but our game lives in fear of them. This galaxy is powered by and revolves around its stars. If there’s not an uplifting backstory or endearing personality involved, golf wants its biggest events to be awarded to its biggest attractions. With all due respect to the names in the above paragraph, they, as of this moment, are not attractions.

As for those full fields and cuts, there’s a flip side to that coin. This galaxy gets awfully dark when the lights go out, and it’s getting gloomy fast in Ponte Vedra. Rory McIlroy is headed for an exit. Justin Thomas is currently on the wrong side of the cut. Jordan Spieth and Max Homa are miles back. Jon Rahm withdrew on Friday due to illness. Collin Morikawa is in the mix, same with Scottie Scheffler, but for an event that boasts the best field in golf, many of the best players won’t be a factor. That, in the parlance of these times, is not a great “product.”

On the other side of the spectrum are those who welcome the changes, and the appeal of limited fields is clear: fewer players, the better the chance of a heavyweight fight. The argument can be made that for too long the tour had catered to its middle class, and a universal refrain from observers during the LIV battle is that the tour had to do whatever it took to protect its remaining talent. These fans may not like the idea of no cuts, but the cut still exists in some form; the players can work their way into designated events through the full-field tournaments while poor play when it matters most leads to the door. Meritocracy will be maintained.

Except the top changes pretty quickly in golf. Five years ago Webb Simpson won the Players in emphatic fashion. This week he entered outside the world’s top 150. That year’s Open champ, Francesco Molinari, continues to search for the form he displayed that summer. Eight of those on the 2018 United States Ryder Cup team will likely not be brought back for this year’s match in Rome. Spieth was one of the game’s best then, went into the wilderness for years and has re-emerged on the other side. The only permanence in this game is that it has none.

The designated events will have field turnover, but will it have enough? The framework could stunt the growth of younger guys like Griffin or Gordon, keeping them on the outside for too long. Put another way, the funnel might have been too tight for the likes of young Cameron Young and Sahith Theegala to be given shots last year … and in that scenario, does an offer from LIV become more attractive? And is it a good thing to keep the marquee attractions closer to the fire, giving them opportunity after opportunity to get warm when they’ve gone cold? Maybe Spieth’s sabbatical never happens in such a scenario.

So, like we asked, what do you see when you look at this Players leaderboard? No rush. Only the fate of the sport is on the line.

The post The Players leaderboard is a Rorschach test for golf’s future appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

And yet, not only did Day attempt an impossible escape, he pulled it off, punching a low hook through a tiny window between two trees and getting his ball to chase its way toward the green. It was a 15-out-of-10 on the scale.

Then, in the most excruciating way possible, it became a 0-out-of-10. Truly sick stuff:

Manque de réussite totale pour Jason Day

TOUR 1

THE PLAYERS Championship @THEPLAYERSChamp pic.twitter.com/srfeSdalZ7

— GOLF+ (@GolfCanalPlus) March 9, 2023

To pull off a shot like that and not get rewarded for it is as brutal as it gets. Day went from thinking he just pulled off some serious magic that might lead to a birdie to just trying to avoid double. How that thick collar of rough didn’t stop that ball from finding the drink is beyond comprehension.

Fortunately Day was able to save bogey, then went par-par to get in the house at two under. Considering he went off in the more difficult afternoon wave, that’s still a quality round. But it could have been a special one if that ball just hung on for dear life.

The post Players 2023: This Jason Day punch out is agony to watch appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Veteran Nick Watney knows this, but he did it anyway on the par-3 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass during the first round of the Players Championship on Thursday afternoon on the way to one of the sloppiest efforts you’ll see on the famed island green.

Watney, who has had little success in the Players — just one top-10 finish in 12 appearances — walked off Pete Dye’s signature creation with a quadruple-bogey seven that featured zero quality strokes.

His troubles began when he flew his tee shot from 125 yards well past the front pin and watched his ball bounce hard and then motor over the green, becoming the 13th player on the day to find the water. From the drop area, the 41-year-old Las Vegas resident pitched from 82 yards, and that was also too strong, leaving a tricky downhiller of 29 feet. His first putt was not better than most, veering four feet beyond the cup.

Ranked 160th in the FedEx Cup standings and coming off six missed cuts in his last seven starts, Watney pushed his putt for double-bogey, and it went eight inches by the cup. Then came the one-hander, which actually broke left and never touched the hole. Regripping with two hands, he finally tapped in to end the agony.

As he was casually making that one-handed stroke, NBC broadcaster Mike Tirico interjects: “Stop. Stop! Well, when you’re running hot …”

There are no gimmes on the PGA TOUR.

Nick Watney cards a quadruple bogey at 17th hole. pic.twitter.com/3omjPExJHY

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 9, 2023

Watney, who began his round with a triple-bogey seven at No. 10, failed to gather himself sufficiently on the difficult 18th hole. He found the water again when he pulled his tee shot to the left and ended up with a bogey to complete an outward 43, and left the course on Thursday evening with three closing holes still to negotiate after bad light stopped play.

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