The Players Championship Key Fantasy Stats

The Players Championship

March 14th – 17th, 2024

TPC Sawgrass

Ponte Vedra Beach, FL

Par: 72 / Yardage: 7,275

Purse: $25 million

with $4,500,000 to the winner

Defending Champion:
Scottie Scheffler

by Sal Johnson

Founder, Chief Data Officer, GOLFstats

E-mail me at:
sal@golfstats.com

This is based on the most important stats for TPC Sawgrass, data from last year’s Players Championship, and data from all the field players with stats from 2024. What we do is take their rank for each stat and then add up the four categories.
In 2019, the Players Championship returned to its March date, thinking the course would have more bite with March winds. When it was played in May, the course played differently due to the heat, but mainly because of the lack of winds. Between 2013 and 2018, the course only played tough once; in 2017, all four days saw the wind blowing 20 mph, with gusts up to 25 mph over the weekend. The course played to a 73.29 average and was the 5th hardest course on the PGA Tour. The following year, in 2018, a combination of low winds, thunderstorms, and rain helped make the course play to a 71.41 scoring average, the easiest it has ever played. So it was essential to change dates, and even though they did change dates in 2019 and saw winds in the 8 to 20 mph area each day, the scoring was still low, with the average being 71.51, which ranked T-23rd.
Still, the weather and wind are two of the things that make TPC Sawgrass unique. It’s about a mile from the Atlantic, and if the wind blows, it plays tough. When course architect Pete Dye was still alive, he said many times over the last 40 years of his life that he kept in the back of his mind in designing the holes was the March winds. Each hole is challenging with water on everyone, but water becomes a hazard on 12 holes, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9,11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, and 18. Bunkering is also challenging, along with chipping, as most of the greens are raised, so a shot missing a green is an adventure getting it up and down.
Between the first year, it was played at TPC Sawgrass in 1982, and its last year was in March 2006. It was played in March when conditions were different due to higher winds and cooler weather. When the dates changed from 2007 to May, winds decreased and were much warmer. The change of dates made the event play easier because of the lack of wind. So when the tournament returned in March 2019, we had already seen drastically different conditions. In looking at the long-range forecast for this week, we know that weather will be a factor this year. Thunderstorms are forecast for Saturday and Sunday, with winds of 13 mph. Thursday and Friday will be mostly cloudy, with winds in the 9 to 12 mph range. It’s not what tournament officials want; they would prefer dry and firm conditions on the course, which won’t happen this year.

So look for a lot of what happened at the Palmer. It was in-between conditions on a challenging course but a course that will not be firm.

Last year, the Players Championship field’s scoring average was 72.45, and it was the 13th hardest course on the PGA Tour out of the 58 courses charted in 2023.

Here is a look at the scoring average at TPC Sawgrass for the last few years:
*2022 – Average was 72.62, was the 12th hardest of the 50 courses that year
*2021 – Average was 72.42, it was the 16th hardest of the 51 courses that year
*2020 – The event wasn’t played due to Covid
*2019 – Average was 71.51, was T-23rd hardest of 49 courses that year

Still, how much did the change of date affect the course’s play? The winners have been consistent, as hitting greens has been important for most years.
Between 1997 and 2006, seven of the ten winners were in the top ten in greens hit, with four leading that stat.
Since the change to May, six of the 12 winners have been in the top ten, with only one, Sergio Garcia, leading in greens hit. In 2018, Webb Simpson was T-5th, but most of the time, on the May dates, it wasn’t that important.
With the change to March in 2019, Rory McIlroy was T-3rd, hitting 58 of 72 greens.
In 2021, Justin Thomas was T-17th, hitting 52 of 72 greens.
In 2022, Cameron Smith had a tough time, only hitting 45 of 72 greens and ranking T-52nd.
Last year, Scottie Scheffler was 1st hitting 54 of the 72 greens.

After playing at TPC Sawgrass 41 times, there have been a lot of changes and refinements to the course. Most players agree that the course is one of the best, most challenging, and fairest courses played on Tour. In talking about those who have won at the Players, it’s interesting to note that the new breed of winners, those at the top of the world rankings, struggle at the Players. Of the top ten, only Scottie Scheffler and #2 Rory McIlroy have won at TPC Sawgrass. Here is what has happened to all ten in the World Rankings:

To win, you have to be a great ball striker and also be able to putt.

In looking at our four categories, we have seen Strokes Gained Tee-to-Green as being very important. The stat considers distance and accuracy off the tee and greens hit. Driving and greens hit are essential in looking at the stats for TPC Sawgrass over the last couple of years. Every year, greens hit, and driving accuracy is critical and key to playing the course well. The course ranked 8th in driving distance on all holes; in driving accuracy, the course was 31st; and in greens hit, it ranked 9th last year. So, the combination of hitting fairways and greens is essential.
Last year, tournament winner Scottie Scheffler ranked 5th in driving distance, averaging 293.2 yards per drive on all holes. He was T-18th in Driving Accuracy hit, and 1st in greens hit. In strokes gained Tee-to-Green, Scheffler was 1st, and in Strokes Gained Off-the-Tee, he was 5th.

Here is a look at Strokes Gained Tee-to-Green for the Players Championship by looking at the driving distance, accuracy, and greens hit for the winners in the last few years:
2022 – The course ranked 4th in driving distance with an average drive of 277.6 yards (out of 50 courses), 21st in driving accuracy, and 22nd in Greens in Regulation.
Winner Cameron Smith was 21st in driving distance all holes, averaging 298.1 yards per drive, 70th in Driving accuracy, hitting 24 of 54 fairways, and T-52nd in Greens in Regulation, hitting 45 of 72 greens. Between the three stats, he ranked 68th in Strokes Gained Tee-to-Green. (Terrible stats for the winner, but he made up with supreme putting stats)
2021 – The course ranked 10th in driving distance with an average drive of 283.8 yards (out of 50 courses), 24th in driving accuracy, and 27th in Greens in Regulation.
Winner Justin Thomas was 3rd in driving distance all holes, averaging 295.9 yards per drive, T-32nd in Driving accuracy, hitting 44 of 54 fairways, and T-17th in Greens in Regulation, hitting 52 of 72 greens. Between the three stats, he ranked 1st in Strokes Gained Tee-to-Green.
2020 – No event due to Covid.
2019 – The course ranked T-15th in driving distance with an average drive of 284.3 yards (out of 50 courses), 25th in driving accuracy, and 35th in Greens in Regulation.
Winner Rory McIlroy was T-4th in driving distance all holes, averaging 295.8 yards per drive, T-49th in Driving accuracy, hitting 33 of 54 fairways, and T-3rd in Greens in Regulation, hitting 58 of 72 greens. Between the three stats, he ranked 1st in Strokes Gained Tee-to-Green.
Going further, in 2018, Webb Simpson was 16th in Strokes Gained Tee-to-Green.
In 2017, Si Woo Kim was 2nd in Strokes Gained Tee-to-Green in his win.
In 2016, Jason Day was 3rd in Strokes Gained Tee-to-Green.
In 2015, Rickie Fowler ranked 5th in Strokes Gained Tee-to-Green.
In 2014, winner Martin Kaymer was 2nd in Strokes Gained Tee-to-Green
While 2013 champion Tiger Woods was 1st in Strokes Gained Tee-to-Green.
So you can see that Strokes Gained Tee-to-Green is very important in winning at the Players, as proven by the fact that eight of the last ten winners, other than Smith and Simpson, finished no higher than 5th, with Scheffler in 2023, Thomas in 2021, McIlroy in 2019, and Woods in 2013 all ranking 1st.

The second important stat is Proximity to hole.
In our ranking, hitting greens is one of the essential stats. Last year, the course ranked 9th in greens in regulation, again reflecting how hard-hitting greens at TPC Sawgrass are. Still, for the previous 19 years, 13 of the winners have been in the top 15 in greens hit; taking it a step further, those same champions, eleven of them finished in the top five with nine in the top 3, so you can see the importance of hitting greens in winning this championship.
Last year’s winner, Scottie Scheffler, hit 54 of 72 greens and ranked 1st in his five-shot victory. But for our second category, we will take it a step further with Proximity to the hole, which is the distance to the hole from shots hit from the fairway. Last year, the course ranked 10th as the field averaged 40 feet from the hole. Last year’s winner, Scheffler, ranked T-17th and averaged 36 feet, nine inches from the hole.

Here is a look at greens hit along with Proximity to hole for the The Players Championship, winners the last few years:
2022 – The course ranked 22nd in Greens in Regulation (out of 50 courses) and T-9th Proximity to hole, averaging 39 feet and no inches.
Winner Cameron Smith was T-54th in Greens in Regulation and T-11th in Proximity to hole, averaging 24 feet and seven inches.
2021 – The course ranked 27th in Greens in Regulation (out of 51 courses) and T-9th in Proximity to hole, averaging 39 feet and no inches.
Winner Justin Thomas was T-17th in Greens in Regulation and T-8th in Proximity to hole, averaging 35 feet and seven inches.
2020 – No event due to Covid.
2019 – The course ranked 24th in Greens in Regulation (out of 49 courses) and T-6th in Proximity to hole, averaging 38 feet and 11 inches.
Winner Rory McIlroy was T-3rd in Greens in Regulation and 11th in Proximity to hole, averaging 35 feet and three inches. So we can see how tough it is on TPC Sawgrass.

Our third important stat is scrambling since the course is a shot-maker delight. You can see that if you miss a lot of greens, you had better get it up and down to play well. Last year, TPC Sawgrass ranked 13th in scrambling out of 58 courses, getting it up and down 55.99% of the time. Winner Scheffler was ranked 4th, getting it up and down in 13 of the 18 greens he missed.

Here is a look at the scrambling of The Players Championship, winners the last few years:
2022 – TPC Sawgrass finished 12th in scrambling, getting it up and down 53.92% of the time
Winner Cameron Smith was ranked T-22nd, getting it up and down in 17 of the 27 greens he missed.
2021 – TPC Sawgrass finished 6th in scrambling, getting it up and down 52.19% of the time
Winner Justin Thomas was ranked 14th, getting it up and down in 13 of the 20 greens he missed.
2020 – No event due to Covid.
2019 – TPC Sawgrass finished 8th in scrambling, getting it up and down 55.08% of the time
Winner Rory McIlroy was ranked T-40th, getting it up and down in 8 of the 14 greens he missed.
So, the winner must do a great job getting it up and down on the greens he missed.

Our final stat is vital, Strokes Gained Putting.
We picked this stat because most past Players’ winners are notoriously good putters. Last year, TPC Sawgrass ranked 45th in Putting average, 51st in One-Putt Percentage, 28th in three-putt Avoidance, and T-28th in Putting Inside ten feet, as 86.34% of the putts in this range were made.
Last year’s winner, Scottie Scheffler, ranked 34th in Putting Average, T-70th in One-Putt Percentage, T-1st in 3-putt Avoidance, and 60th in Putting Inside ten feet, making 61 out of 70 of the putts in this range. With all of these stats, he was 48th in Strokes Gained Putting, gaining .107 shots.

Here is a look at the putting stats of the TPC Sawgrass and The Players Championship winners in the last few years:
2022 – TPC Sawgrass ranked 11th in Putting Average, 14th in One-Putt Percentage, 5th in 3-Putt Avoidance, and 13th in Putting Inside ten feet, as 87.68% of the putts in this range were made.
Winner Cameron Smith, who is one of the best putters in golf, ranked first in Putting average, first in One-Putt Percentage, T-5th in three-putt Avoidance, and 12th in Putting Inside ten feet, as he made 60 out of 65 of the putts in this range. With all of these stats, it’s no big surprise that he was first in Strokes Gained Putting, gaining a whopping 11.521 shots.
2021 – TPC Sawgrass ranked 10th in Putting Average, 7th in One-Putt Percentage, 9th in 3-Putt Avoidance, and 12th in Putting Inside ten feet, as 87.26% of the putts in this range were made.
Winner Justin Thomas ranked T-14th in Putting average, T-7th in One-Putt Percentage, T-25th in 3-putt Avoidance, and 21st in Putting Inside ten feet as he made 66 out of 73 of the putts in this range. With all these stats, he was 42nd in Strokes Gained Putting, gaining 1.632 shots Gained.
2020 – No event due to Covid.
2019 – TPC Sawgrass ranked T-23rd in Putting Average, 18th in One-Putt Percentage, 14th in 3-Putt Avoidance, and 7th in Putting Inside ten feet, as 86.75% of the putts in this range were made.
Winner Rory McIlroy ranked 9th in Putting average, T-42nd in One-Putt Percentage, T-1st in 3-putt Avoidance, and T-61st in Putting Inside ten feet, as he made 65 out of 76 of the putts in this range. With all of these stats, he was 45th in Strokes Gained Putting, gaining 1.632 shots.

*Strokes Gained tee-to-green: You need to hit it long and straight, along with hitting lots of greens. So this is important to find a player who will do this

*Proximity to hole: Hitting greens is important, last year TPC Sawgrass ranked 22nd, but in proximity to hole, which tells how close players get to the hole, Sawgrass ranked T-9th as the players averaged hitting it 26 feet, 0 inches away from the hole.

*Scrambling: The percent of the time a player misses the green in regulation but still makes par or better.

*Strokes Gained Putting: The greens average 5,500 square feet at TPC Sawgrass, so if you hit the green you won’t have a long putt. So, with shots ending up on the green, it puts a premium on putting, so players that gain strokes putting have an advantage. Overall, putting stats ranked TPC Sawgrass the 26th hardest in putts made in 2023 with the field making an average of 74 feet, six inches of putts makes. In looking at one putting, it ranked 8th easiest to one putt as 43.95 one putts were made. In 3-Putt Avoidance the course was in the middle as it ranked 28th as the course had 222 three putts last year.

Here are the 139 of 144 players from this year’s field with stats from 2024:

Click any column title in the table header to sort columns.