This article is part of our PGA Tour Stats Review series.
This week is the crown jewel of the PGA Tour, THE PLAYERS -- or The Players, depending on which style guide you like -- from TPC Sawgrass. Here's our stats preview.
History Lesson
The defending champion is Martin Kaymer. The 2013 edition was won by Tiger Woods, while Matt Kuchar won in 2012.
Who is NOT Playing
With almost all the big names playing (including Woods and Phil Mickelson, who didn't play last week), it's more notable to name who is not here than who is. With help from Players' expert Garry Smits of the Florida Times Union, Victor Dubuisson, Tim Clark, Stuart Appleby, Kevin Stadler and Justin Hicks will not participate. Dubuisson chose not to, the others have injury issues.
Match Play Carryover
Two points on the effects of the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Match Play last week. First, some golfers, like champion Rory McIlroy and semifinalist Jim Furyk, played a ton of holes. Obviously their games are on form, but is it too much golf in a short span of time? We say no for McIlroy -- who looked invigorated in his last three matches and closed by playing some of his best golf for the week against Gary Woodland. Aided by last week, he's now ranked 19th in both strokes gained-tee to green and strokes gained-total.
Furyk, while older at nearly 45, would seem to be the guy who should falter this week ... and maybe he will ... but he does live nearby and practices at
This week is the crown jewel of the PGA Tour, THE PLAYERS -- or The Players, depending on which style guide you like -- from TPC Sawgrass. Here's our stats preview.
History Lesson
The defending champion is Martin Kaymer. The 2013 edition was won by Tiger Woods, while Matt Kuchar won in 2012.
Who is NOT Playing
With almost all the big names playing (including Woods and Phil Mickelson, who didn't play last week), it's more notable to name who is not here than who is. With help from Players' expert Garry Smits of the Florida Times Union, Victor Dubuisson, Tim Clark, Stuart Appleby, Kevin Stadler and Justin Hicks will not participate. Dubuisson chose not to, the others have injury issues.
Match Play Carryover
Two points on the effects of the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Match Play last week. First, some golfers, like champion Rory McIlroy and semifinalist Jim Furyk, played a ton of holes. Obviously their games are on form, but is it too much golf in a short span of time? We say no for McIlroy -- who looked invigorated in his last three matches and closed by playing some of his best golf for the week against Gary Woodland. Aided by last week, he's now ranked 19th in both strokes gained-tee to green and strokes gained-total.
Furyk, while older at nearly 45, would seem to be the guy who should falter this week ... and maybe he will ... but he does live nearby and practices at TPC Sawgrass. If you are going to go with one or the other, we recommend McIlroy. Furyk, the RBC Heritage champion, is now up to fourth in driving accuracy and third in strokes gained-tee to green this year on the PGA Tour. Oh, and who finished second here last year? Furyk.
Meanwhile, three guys, Jordan Spieth (-16 through group play), Rickie Fowler (one bad swing at the wrong time Saturday morning) and Hunter Mahan (who was running through his first several matches in group play) would have contended for a title if it was stroke play but didn't because of the vagaries (love that word this time of year) of match play.
Of those golfers -- Spieth has to be a pick almost every time he tees it up, right? -- we really like Fowler this week. He almost won The Players the week after his Wells Fargo Championship win in 2012 and had a match last week against Graeme McDowel where he had eight birdies in 14 holes. Really good stuff.
That said, Spieth and Mahan are certainly strong choices as well.
Two Late Entries
Due to withdrawals, Justin Thomas -- he who almost won two events on the west coast -- and Daniel Berger -- he who lost the Honda Classic playoff to Padraig Harrington -- both got into the field. What do they have in common? The two Reshuffle List players already have clinched PGA Tour cards for the 2015-2016 season, which means they're playing with house money and have absolutely nothing to lose. Yes, they lack experience, but that also can make them good players this week, where sometimes not being scared of holes 16-18 is better than being scared of it.
Berger is 24th in strokes gained-tee to green and 27th in strokes gained-total. Thomas, meanwhile, is 12th in birdie average and 28th in scoring average.
Fantasy Golf Meets ShotLink
This is going to be really cool. This week the PGA Tour debuts a new fantasy game that incorporates ShotLink. As explained here by GolfDigest.com's Alex Myers, this fantasy league isn't just based on performance, but also incorporates factors like how far drives are hit, if it's in the fairway or not, green or fringe, putting and penalties. And because of player limits and season segments, it makes you think.
So if you like stats, this league could be for you.
