- Rory McIlroy, Northern Ireland — Hoping to ride the momentum from his closing 4-under-par 66 in the Wells Fargo Championship, which left him in a tie for fourth, McIlroy aims to win the Players Championship for the first time and claim his first victory since the DP World Tour Championship-Dubai in November. It is not that he is playing badly, as he has four top-10 finishes in his last five outings on the PGA Tour and six on both major tours this season. McIlroy will be making his seventh start at TPC Sawgrass. After missing the cut in the first three, he tied for eighth in 2014, tied for sixth the following year and tied for eighth again last year, playing the Stadium Course in 24 under par in those 12 rounds.
- Jordan Spieth, United States — Returning to the PGA Tour for the first time since his final-round meltdown in the Masters, where he squandered a four-stroke lead early on the back nine and tied for second, Spieth claims he has no mental scars. Although he has six top-10 finishes this season, he has not played his best golf since winning the Hyundai Tournament of Champions by eight strokes in January. Despite being 22, he might have worn himself down by flying off to play in Abu Dhabi, where he tied for fifth, and to Singapore, where he finished second. Spieth is making his third appearance in the Players, and after tying for fourth in 2014, when he lost the lead with a closing 74, he shot 75-72–147 to miss the cut by three strokes last year.
- Rickie Fowler, United States — Trying to become the first golfer to successfully defend his title in the Players Championship, Fowler will try to forget his final-round 74 last week in the Wells Fargo Championship, which dropped him from the 54-hole lead to a tie for fourth. Despite that hiccup, he has played very well this year, with seven results in the top 10, including his sixth career victory in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship. Fowler will tee it up for the seventh time at TPC Sawgrass. Last year, he authored the greatest finish in tournament history, playing the last four holes of regulation in birdie-eagle-birdie-birdie to get into a playoff with Kevin Kisner and Sergio Garcia. Fowler added two more birdies, the last one making him a winner on the fourth extra hole.
- Jason Day, Australia — The top player in the World Golf Rankings leads the PGA Tour with eight victories since 2014, including five last year and two this season, but he has yet to completely figure out the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass. Day is making his sixth start in the Players Championship, and he has missed the cut three times, including last year, when he followed a 69 with an 81 — the second highest score of his career. His best result in the so-called “Fifth Major” was a tie for sixth in 2011, when he closed with a 4-under-par 68 that is his best score in the tournament. After his tie for fifth in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans two weeks ago, Day has finished outside the top 10 only once in his last five events, a stretch that includes two victories.
- Sergio Garcia, Spain — The Spaniard will tee it up in the Players Championship for the 17th consecutive year, and he has a stellar record at TPC Sawgrass, with six top-10 finishes that include a victory in 2008. Garcia, who has finished in the top 10 each of the last three years on the Stadium Course, closed with a 71 in difficult conditions eight years ago to get into a playoff with Paul Goydos. After Goydos hit his tee shot on the first extra hole into the water at the infamous 17th hole en route to a double-bogey 5, Garcia drilled his tee shot to within 4 feet and two-putted for a winning par. Last year, he lost in a playoff to Rickie Fowler. Garcia has three top-10 finishes this year, but the only one on the PGA Tour was second in the Honda Classic.
- Phil Mickelson, United States — Even though he has not won since the 2013 Open Championship, Mickelson is playing well this season, with four finishes in the top five. He finished with a 6-under-par 66 last week to tie for fourth in the Wells Fargo Championship, and he hopes that form will carry over to his 19th start in the Players Championship. Mickelson has missed the cut the last three years at TPC Sawgrass, and he has only three top-10 finishes on the Stadium Course, but he won the tournament in 2007 by two strokes over Sergio Garcia. That year, he took a three-stroke lead to the final hole of regulation and could afford to make his only bogey of the week. Mickelson had another chance to win in 2004, but he tied for third, four shots behind winner Adam Scott of Australia.
- Danny Willett, England — The Masters champion is playing for the first time since taking advantage of Jordan Spieth’s collapse to claim the Green Jacket with a 5-under-par 67 that gave him a three-stroke victory. While Willett’s victory came as a surprise to many in the United States, it was his fourth title in the last two seasons, the others coming on the European Tour. He also tied for third in both the WGC-HSBC Champions and the WGC-Cadillac Championship this season, showing he has what it takes in big events against strong fields. Willett will be playing in his first event as a full-fledged PGA Tour member this week at the Players Championship, where he shot 72-74–146 and missed the cut by two shots in his first appearance last year.
- Adam Scott, Australia — Scott won the Honda Classic and the WGC-Cadillac Championship at the start of the Florida swing two months ago, and he returns to the Sunshine State hoping to find that game because he hasn’t played as well since — although he had a promising tie for 17th last week in the Wells Fargo Championship. The Aussie will tee it up in the Players Championship for the 15th consecutive year, and he won the tournament in 2004, leading much of the way after opening with a 7-under-par 65. Scott came to the last hole with a two-stroke lead over Padraig Harrington of Ireland, but he dumped his approach shot into the water. However, he took his drop and hit a solid approach before sinking a 10-foot putt to save a winning bogey. Scott tied for eighth as defending champion and tied for sixth in 2007.
- Justin Rose, England — It has been a solid season thus far for the 10th-ranked player in the world, who has five finishes in the top 10, including a tie for 10th in the Masters last month and solo third last week in the Wells Fargo Championship. The Englishman has victories in each of the last three years on the PGA Tour, but TPC Sawgrass wouldn’t seem to be the place for him to continue that streak. Rose is making his 13th start in the Players Championship, and he has missed the cut on the Stadium Course six times, including last year by one stroke at 71-74–145. His only top-10 result in the “Fifth Major” was a tie for fourth two years ago, when he wound up three shots behind winner Martin Kaymer of Germany.
- Henrik Stenson, Sweden — The big Swede’s game seemed to be coming on strong when he followed three top-10 finishes on the European Tour early this season with a tie for third in the Arnold Palmer Invitational and solo second in the Shell Houston Open. After a so-so tie for 24th in the Masters, he missed the cut last week in the Wells Fargo Championship, so he comes to the Players Championship searching a bit. This is Stenson’s 11th consecutive start at TPC Sawgrass, and he won on the Stadium Course in 2009, closing with a 6-under-par 66 to beat Ian Poulter of England by four strokes. He also tied for third in his first appearance in 2006, tied for fifth in 2013 and tied for 10th in 2008. Stenson hasn’t won since 2014, when he was No. 2 in the World Golf Rankings.
–Courtesy of The Sports Xchange, TSX Golf Editor Tom LaMarre
