Damien Kayat has an in-depth look at the Players in Summation for the PGA Tour 2019.
TPC Sawgrass perhaps sits 2nd only to Augusta National in terms of iconic status on the PGA Tour. The famed island green on the 17th is emblematic of the schizophrenic swings in fortune that have made the Players Championship such a treasured jewel on the PGA calendar.
The move from May to March to accommodate the newly truncated FedEx Cup schedule was rumoured to favour the bigger hitters, and so it proved. Well, not entirely. Rory McIlroy’s monumental victory exorcised the demons of weekends past and certainly pointed towards a shift in emphasis towards the huge hitters. But that crafty elder statesman Jim Furyk proved that TPC Sawgrass is still a course that will reward ultra-fastidiousness.
Dustin Johnson’s first ever top 10 at TPC Sawgrass certainly reemphasizes the nuanced shift in this year’s event. The likes of Jon Rahm and Jhonattan Vegas benefited from the softer conditions and barely visible rough. But there are two eternal bedrocks that kept TPC Sawgrass from becoming a more standard target-golf set-up. Wind and water. Erratic gusts on Sunday presented dangers to players looking to hang irons into the air. And the Stadium Course’s famed water-hazards certainly had their say in a final day for the ages. This allowed the surgically precise Jim Furyk the chance to stake his place for the title.
What a title it would have been for the Florida resident. His side’s fairly dramatic capitulation in last year’s Ryder Cup will have no doubt left considerable scar tissue for the phlegmatic Furyk. But a recent top 10 at the Honda Classic allowed him to just sneak into this week’s event: had he won he would have become only the 2nd man to claim the Players title ranked outside the top 100. His dastardly low ball trajectories proved immensely beneficial in the face of unpredictable Floridian gusts. But it wasn’t to be as Northern Irish golfing demigod Rory McIlroy rallied from some early setbacks to capture his 15th PGA Tour title.
It was a significant title for McIlroy considering the criticism he has faced is recent weeks. He has been in a perpetual Sunday funk that left many to question his maturity in dealing with winning scenarios. It all seems rather absurd when you are talking about a four-time Major Champion. McIlroy’s victory meant he joined Tiger Woods and Henrik Stenson as the only men to have claimed the Players, a Major, a WGC event and the FedEx Cup title. The Golf Hall of Fame seems destined to have a new patron when this career is done. But perhaps the most amazing aspect of McIlroy’s victory is how much he left out there.
Rory McIlroy is one of those rare golfers who has the ability to conquer the toughest fields without his best game. He led the field from the tee in a devastating performance with the driver. But the number of errant wedges he pulled was alarming. His putting was also up-and-down, though he holed a few crucial ones on the back-nine come Sunday. Just what would he have scored if his irons had been dialled in at 100%? That’s perhaps the most pleasing aspect to Tiger Woods’ natural successor as golf’s most high profile player.
The spectre of the career Grand Slam has long since engulfed McIlroy in its vice-like grip. Perhaps this early season victory in an essentially Major-esque cauldron will give him the confidence necessary to finally triumph at Augusta National. Fellow European alumni Tommy Fleetwood and Jon Rahm will need to shake off devastatingly disappointing Sundays as they build towards golf’s first Major. But perhaps McIlroy’s greatest threat comes in the form of the American bad boy of golf: Dustin Johnson. The recent WGC Mexico champion’s weekend surge was just another indicator of his brilliant recent form. What’s certain is this: the PGA Tour is heating up prodigiously in what is shaping up to be a monumental 2019.
