The single-most anticipated event on the PGA Tour schedule is upon us, as The Players Championship is set to get underway.
All of the best players on the PGA Tour are ready to tee it up at TPC Sawgrass, one of the most iconic and beloved golf courses on the entire planet, hoping to lift the coveted trophy after four gruelling days of action.
Sawgrass is one of the toughest tests PGA Tour players face over the course of the season. It’s a golf course that requires players to make every type of shot all the way down the bag, with punishing hazards and rough, emphasising the need to consistently hit fairways and greens.
This course is a favourite among players and fans, but Max Homa revealed that it’s playing differently this year than he’s ever seen before.
Max Homa reveals what’s different about TPC Sawgrass at this year’s Players Championship
Homa was speaking to Kay Adams on Up and Adams before The Players, and when asked about the state of his game, revealed what’s different about TPC Sawgrass this year.
The six-time PGA Tour winner said, “Yeah, I feel quite good. My game has been in a really good spot. I had a really good week and a half of prep. I played really well at the Cognizant. My game feels good.
“I think everybody out here, they love this golf course, and it’s in the best shape I’ve ever seen it, personally.
“I was here in December, and it was softer than soft. Soft at times, you understand that you’re going to get weather, but you typically get pretty good weather this week. So it’s kind of lame when it’s super soft because it takes away how difficult the shot may be.
When you see Scottie hit the shot close, you’re like man, that is so hard. And you get to see it all day because I messed it up, and so-and-so messed it up. You get to see the difference between the best and the not.
“It’s firm this year, and I think it’ll demand more of you, and I think it’s more fun to watch. I haven’t seen it like this before, so it’s cool.”
That’s a great sign for this week, as all of the tour’s best players are going to be tested to the max!
Why Tiger Woods thought TPC Sawgrass was intimidating
Even the very best players to have played the sport respect the challenge that TPC Sawgrass represents.
Tiger Woods once spoke about how the course is able to intimidate players: “It’s a very simple formula here: Hit it good. The golf course is one that Pete has set up to intimidate you visually. You have to overcome that part of it.
“And no, you can’t really play poorly and win this event. I think we all have to accept that you’re going to hit good shots, too, as well, and going to get some weird hops, get some really, really funky lies, whether it’s off the fairway or around the greens.
“Stuff where you’re standing on your head and hitting shots, which is not normal, but on a Pete Dye course, it is.”
If even Woods, a two-time winner of The Players, can’t play poorly and win, then you know you need the very best golf you’re capable of playing in order to contend.