Story By: Sol Tucker
File Photos By: Benjamin Rogers Jr.
Ponte Vedra, FL–
It’s shaping up to be a big weekend at the Players Championship. All of the pieces of the puzzle are in place including the big names and of course the big challenges of the stadium course.
Nearly all of the top-50 in the rankings will be at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach this week competing for a share of a record-high $12.5 million prize pool.
Unlike some of the other stops so far on the tour, with the players on the tee list this week, its hard to look for a clear favorite. With Tiger Woods taking last week off because of a neck strain, he could post a solid score in the first day of play, but expect him to play in the middle of the field through the weekend.
The pairing that intrigues us to pay close tabs on this week comes at 1:48pm today with Francesco Molinari, Jason Day, Tony Finau all paired together.
Molinari who is playing some of the best golf on tour at the current definitely has his work cut out playing with two other solid players in Day and Finau.
Finau, has struggled with tough shots on tour, which has cost him some top finishes, but Day has always talked about his love for the courses in Florida.
Below are the Times for Round 1 Hole 1
7:40 a.m. | Charl Schwartzel, Tyrrell Hatton, Thorbjørn Olesen |
7:50 a.m. | Lucas Glover, Louis Oosthuizen, Talor Gooch |
8:01 a.m. | Chris Kirk, Brian Gay, Matt Wallace |
8:11 a.m. | Charles Howell III, Aaron Wise, Scott Piercy |
8:22 a.m. | Adam Long, Danny Willett, Vijay Singh |
8:32 a.m. | Cameron Champ, Michael Kim, Cameron Smith |
8:43 a.m. | Marc Leishman, Ian Poulter, Adam Hadwin |
8:53 a.m. | Kevin Tway, Grayson Murray, Brian Harman |
9:04 a.m. | Brice Garnett, Patrick Cantlay, Ryan Armour |
9:14 a.m. | Ollie Schniederjans, Abraham Ancer, Seamus Power |
9:25 a.m. | Kevin Streelman, Harris English, Peter Uihlein |
9:35 a.m. | Nick Watney, Bronson Burgoon, Eddie Pepperell |
12:35 p.m. | Brian Stuard, Chez Reavie, Patrick Rodgers |
12:45 p.m. | Danny Lee, Jason Kokrak, Scott Langley |
12:56 p.m. | Aaron Baddeley, Branden Grace, John Huh |
1:06 p.m. | J.B. Holmes, Jason Dufner, Jason Dufner |
1:17 p.m. | Brandt Snedeker, Troy Merritt, Jimmy Walker |
1:27 p.m. | Tiger Woods, Webb Simpson, Patrick Reed |
1:38 p.m. | Henrik Stenson, Adam Scott, Martin Kaymer |
1:48 p.m. | Francesco Molinari, Jason Day, Tony Finau |
1:59 p.m. | Rickie Fowler, Brooks Koepka, Jordan Spieth |
2:09 p.m. | Bud Cauley, Sam Saunders, Matthew Fitzpatrick |
2:20 p.m. | Rafa Cabrera-Bello, Sung Kang, Tyler Duncan |
2:30 p.m. | Anirban Lahiri, Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Ryan Blaum |
Below are the Round 1 Pairings 10th Hole
7:40 a.m. | Chesson Hadley, Michael Thompson, Corey Conners |
7:50 a.m. | Scott Brown, Byeong Hun An, Beau Hossler |
8:01 a.m. | Ryan Palmer, Trey Mullinax, Sungjae Im |
8:11 a.m. | Ted Potter, Jr., Patton Kizzire, Brendan Steele |
8:22 a.m. | Keith Mitchell, Austin Cook, Tommy Fleetwood |
8:32 a.m. | Justin Rose, Xander Schauffele, Justin Thomas |
8:43 a.m. | Bryson DeChambeau, Bubba Watson, Billy Horschel |
8:53 a.m. | Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm, Sergio Garcia |
9:04 a.m. | Phil Mickelson, Matt Kuchar, Rory McIlroy |
9:14 a.m. | Harold Varner III, Sam Ryder, HaoTong Li |
9:25 a.m. | Alex Cejka, Tom Hoge, Brandon Harkins |
9:35 a.m. | Scott Stallings, Rory Sabbatini, Joel Dahmen |
12:35 p.m. | Charley Hoffman, Luke List, Kelly Kraft |
12:45 p.m. | Vaughn Taylor, Nick Taylor, J.T. Poston |
12:56 p.m. | Alex Noren, Richy Werenski, Dominic Bozzelli |
1:06 p.m. | Andrew Putnam, Gary Woodland, Russell Knox |
1:17 p.m. | Keegan Bradley, Andrew Landry, Si Woo Kim |
1:27 p.m. | Kyle Stanley, Daniel Berger, Kevin Kisner |
1:38 p.m. | Hideki Matsuyama, Zach Johnson, Stewart Cink |
1:48 p.m. | Satoshi Kodaira, Paul Casey, Jim Furyk |
1:59 p.m. | Martin Trainer, Kevin Na, Jhonattan Vegas |
2:09 p.m. | Emiliano Grillo, Shane Lowry, Martin Laird |
2:20 p.m. | Ryan Moore, J.J. Spaun, C.T. Pan |
2:30 p.m. | Denny McCarthy, Wyndham Clark, Lucas Bjerregaard |