The secret to Sawgrass for The Players Championship: Play well and stay out of trouble

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The 25 newcomers to The Players Championship probably won't take much solace in hearing that only one player — Craig Perks in 2002 — has conquered the diabolical Stadium Course at the TPC Sawgrass in his debut over the last four decades. Just as curious is the case of Scottie Scheffler. Last year he became the first player in the history of this championship to win in consecutive years. Tiger Woods for all his greatness won it only twice. Phil Mickelson won in 2007 and some eight years later after missing the cut said, "I can't believe I've actually won here." The PGA Tour's premier event — it has been referred to as the "fifth major" — begins Thursday with the same level of intrigue. There are great players. There are players in great form. But anything goes over the next four days. The secret to Sawgrass? "Playing good," said Scheffler, who last year had to make up a five-shot deficit with a sore neck by holing out for eagle on the fourth hole on his way to a 64. "You can't fake it around this place," Scheffler said. "I think there's a lot of genius in the way the golf course is designed. There is some volatility in terms of the hazard. That provides a lot of volatility for how the golf course can play, especially in high wind. "It doesn't suit one type of player," he said. "It's not a horses-for-courses-type place. It's just the guys that are playing the best are going to be on the leaderboard on Sunday." That sounds simple enough, thought that requires a view of Perks in 2002. He played great that week — turns out it was his only PGA Tour victory — but had to chip in for eagle from the edge of the 16th green, hole a long birdie putt on the 17th and then chip in for par on the 18th. Simple. If the island green at the par-3 17th, or water in play on all but a handful of holes isn't enough, the PGA Tour restored the tree that hung sideways over the tee box on No. 6 that frames the shot and gives players one more thing to think about. "I certainly have to hit it a little lower than my preferred launch window," Rory McIlroy said. McIlroy won in 2019 and he has three other top-10 finishes. He also has missed the cut seven times, keeping in form of other past champions. "You just have to be so on your game here," McIlroy said. "I think that's the main key. It's such a course on execution, and if you're not executing like 100 percent, you leave yourself in spots where it's really tough to get up-and-down. You have to hit the ball where you're looking, and if you can do that, you can do well here. "It's one of the best tests of the year, for sure." Among the newcomers this year is Laurie Canter of England, who got plenty of attention Wednesday during the first-timer interviews because he spent parts of three years cashing in at Saudi-backed LIV Golf. Canter was an alternate who was never in trouble with the European tour because he had limited status. And then he played beautifully enough to work his way into the top 50 in the world, the final push a runner-up finish in the South African Open. Six others have won for the first time in the last year, three of them in 2025 — Brian Campbell (Mexico), Joe Highsmith (PGA National) and Karl Vilips (Puerto Rico). Scheffler has a chance to join Jack Nicklaus as the only three-time winners of The Players Championship. Nicklaus won his three before it moved to the TPC Sawgrass in 1982. The Masters champion is still waiting to hit his stride after sitting out all of January with a hand injury from trying to cut ravioli with a wine glass. But he has been on an amazing run, capped off by his nine-win season in 2025, winning back-to-back at The Players and building such a big lead at No. 1 in the world that he is assured of being atop the ranking for two straight years. No one except Woods has done that. "Scottie is the closest thing to Tiger I think any of us have seen," Wyndham Clark said. "He not only is the No. 1 player in the world, he embraces it, and he shows up every week and almost wins or is in contention or does win. It's very impressive. "I think he's kind of the mark we're all trying to get to, and I have nothing but respect for everything that Scottie is doing, and I love that it doesn't affect him," Clark said. "It hasn't gone to his head. He just continues to be Scottie and goes about his way."