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Everyone's Course

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 8, 2008

PONTE VEDRA BEACH - Intriguing about the Players Championship and TPC Sawgrass is that all varieties of golf games have been successful.

Big bombers like defending champ Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods have won. So has Fred Funk, one of the tour's shortest hitters.

"I think this is one of the best tournaments, if not the best tournament course we play all year," 2004 winner Adam Scott said. "From setup to the actual design of the course, I think they did a great job."

Where Are The Euros?

Getting a lot of attention so far this week is the fact no European golfer has won the Players Championship since Sandy Lyle in 1987.

Theories are multiple, ranging from the style of the golf course to the number of Europeans entered - 21 this year.

Personally, Ireland's Padraig Harrington doesn't care.

"From my own sense, I don't hold the burden that no European has won since Sandy Lyle," he said. "I'm an individual going out there trying to compete against the other 155 guys.

"If there's a reason why Europeans haven't won, I don't know."

Creative Thinking

Newly crowned Masters champion Trevor Immelman offered an interesting suggestion for the island green 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass.

"Could you imagine if this hole was surrounded by sand, how much easier it would be?" he said. "Every second guy would probably make a birdie."

Instead, the 137-yard par-3 ranked among the top 50 most difficult holes on tour last year. Forty-two birdies were made, but so were 59 bogeys, 50 doubles and 16 triples or worse.

"It's a fantastic hole because of the theater there," Immelman said. "You can get a lot of people around it and a lot of atmosphere going."

Love Hurts

Davis Love III's already challenging season has gotten more difficult.

After shredding ligaments in his left ankle by stepping in a grass-covered hole while jogging in September, Love was late returning to play this year.

For the first time since playing his first Masters in 1991 he did not qualify for Augusta National, and now he's ailing for this week's tourney.

Love said he noticed a small splinter near the tip of the finger Sunday night and "flicked it out." Monday morning he couldn't bend the finger. He visited a local doctor, who cut open the finger to probe for any remnants of the splinter, and, as Love described it, "let out all the gunk."

He was able to practice only sparingly Wednesday, but will press on.

"Today, I can almost bend it all the way," he said. "It hurts. The doctor said it's going to hurt, but I don't care about that. I just want to be able to bend it and hold the club."

Not So Slow

Just like the weather, everybody talks about slow play on the PGA Tour but never does anything about it.

Phil Mickelson, however, does not understand the fuss.

"I don't see it as a problem," he said. "When we present the tour on the weekend and we present television, we're hitting our time slots almost every time."

Mick Elliott

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