KUALA LUMPUR: A recent off-the-cuff comment by Johnny Miller, the former professional golfer-turned-celebrity commentator, during his farewell press conference was pure gold.
While discussing his career highlights, Miller said: “There should only be maybe five championships in golf, THE PLAYERS Championship, and then the majors and the rest of them can be tournaments.”
Indeed, Miller’s appreciation of placing THE PLAYERS Championship on the same pedestal as the four majors speaks volumes of the PGA TOUR’s flagship tournament and its gold standard for every facet of THE PLAYERS exemplifies excellence and prestige.
The 71-year-old Miller’s remarks hold water as he has seen it all – first as a fiery competitor who won 25 PGA TOUR titles including two majors before becoming the lead golf analyst for NBC where his colourful, unfiltered and no-holds-barred commentary made him peerless in the commentary booth.
For years, golfers, fans and media have often debated if THE PLAYERS should be inducted as the fifth major in the men’s game. In reality though, this championship, which undoubtedly showcases the strongest field assembled anywhere around the world and played on a course which players regard as the purest test in golf, stands alone on its own. And not to forget, it will offer a punchy US$12.5 million in prize money at this year’s championship from March 14 to 17, 2019.
“It’s our showcase of excellence,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan.
Its Roll of Honour includes the finest, from Nicklaus to Norman, Woods to Mickelson, Couples to Scott. And with a resurgent Tiger Woods, himself a two-time PLAYERS champion, continuing his quest to surpass Sam Snead’s 82 PGA TOUR win record, fans can expect more drama to unfold at THE PLAYERS Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass next week.
Woods, two wins shy of Snead’s record, clearly has a third PLAYERS victory in his sight as he also aims to emulate Jack Nicklaus’s three wins in the championship. “I take a lot of pride in playing well in the biggest events. So that being obviously the majors, THE PLAYERS, and the World Golf Championships. I think my record has been pretty good in those events,” said Woods.
This year’s PLAYERS marks a switch in tournament dates, where the TOUR has brought its showpiece forward by two months from its previous May slot. Defending champion Webb Simpson believes the move is a brilliant one.
“I think that is going to bring even more prestige to this event,” Simpson said.
“When it used to be in May, we already had a very big event on the calendar, the Masters. Now it's in March, so I think the season - every tournament is a big tournament - but this is the first really big tournament of the year, and I think that's special knowing that when the guys come here, they know the best players in the world are going to be here for the first time maybe all season competing for the trophy.”
It's a sentiment that is not lost on 2016 FedExCup champion Rory McIlroy, who owns three top-10 results at THE PLAYERS. “I really like it because you’ve got five really big golf tournaments each month starting in March all the way through to July, and then that culminates with the FedExCup Playoffs in August,” McIlroy said. “So, it’s a more condensed schedule and for fans that’s going to be good, because you’re going to see the best players in the world play in the same tournaments more often.”
To commemorate the switch in dates, this THE PLAYERS 2019 champion will hoist a new first-of-its-kind trophy custom-designed by Tiffany & Co. Made of sterling silver and 24k gold vermeil, the trophy was brought to life utilizing cutting-edge 3D technology and will help launch the PGA TOUR’s showpiece event into a new era.
Using a process called “electroforming,” Tiffany & Co. and the PGA TOUR began with the inspiration of the swinging golfer from the iconic PGA TOUR logo. Then, through sophisticated computer modelling, designers incorporated aspects of each of the previous 38 different winners of THE PLAYERS mixed in between.
Korean golf star K.J. Choi, the first Asian to win THE PLAYERS in 2011, is honoured to have part of his characteristics included in the new trophy. “The trophy looks beautiful and I understand it was a complicated process to make,” said Choi, Asia’s most successful golfer on the PGA TOUR with eight victories.
“THE PLAYERS victory was one of the most significant and dramatic moments for me. A lot of Korean fans cried and cheered for me that day and I remember it perfectly, even though it happened almost 10 years ago.”
Asia’s quest to deliver a third winner at THE PLAYERS will see the likes of Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Haotong Li of China, India’s Anirban Lahiri, C.T. Pan of Chinese Taipei, Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama and Korea’s Si Woo Kim, winner in 2017, going toe-to-toe with the world’s best. Kim, 23, stunned the golfing world with his triumph two years ago which placed him in golf’s folklore as the youngest winner of THE PLAYERS and he believes the Asians can challenge at TPC Sawgrass.
“I feel a sense of pride anytime I’m at TPC Sawgrass,”
Kim said “It’s a very special place for me. It feels like my home course since I’ve won there before.”
Note: Chuah Choo Chiang is Senior Director, Communications, PGA TOUR and is based in Kuala Lumpur.