Story By: Sol Tucker
Photos By: Sol Tucker and Edward Kerns II
Ponte Vedra, FL–
Coming into this week at Sawgrass 2019 Players Champion Rory McIlroy seemed super confident about his chances to repeat at TPC Sawgrass and today commented that he liked his chances this week and that there are few players like Jon Rahm that he expects to challenge him to the finish on Sunday.
There will certainly be quite a few things to follow over the weekend and without Tiger Woods in the field this tournament doors is open to almost anyone.
Some unique stuff is on tap for the weekend as well that has not ever been a part of the PGA Tour, live streaming every player.
Every shot by all 144 players in the field will be streamed in real time to subscribers of NBC Sports Gold. This will give you a chance to see every player in real time. This could be a game changer when it comes to how people watch the game or perhaps even too many eyes on the player.
Last year at Augusta National, nearly every shot of every player was shown on the Masters app or on Masters.com within a few minutes of it happening. The difference at this year’s Players is significant because it’s live.
One of the larger scale things heard around the course was how the PGA and its players are combatting the Coronavirus. Even Rory mentioned that it was going to be up to the CDC to let the PGA know was is in the best interest of their players.
We did observe most of the players signing autographs after some practice rounds using only their own Sharpies and not accepting some items from fans.
The PGA Tour put 30 hand sanitizer stations throughout the course to make sure everyone feels safe and comfortable. There are 120 dispensers in all and announced that fans are welcome to bring their own.
The day was capped off with an amazing performance by the Chainsmokers and their tribute to all of the men and women who serve for our country.
