Why We're Glad the Players Moved to May

Kathy Bissell

When The Players moved to May from March, some people loved it, and some people just don’t like change.  But there are a lot of reasons to like this slot in the calendar for the biggest tournament on the PGA Tour.

1.  The weather.  The weather in March in northeast Florida can occasionally be in the 80s and sunny, but more frequently for The Players it was in the 60s and soggy.  March was a tough time to play it.  The wind was wild, which made a difficult golf course impossible on some occasions.  In May, you need your sunscreen, not a jacket.

Despite what some who do not live in the area have written, May is typically one of the nicest months in northeast Florida along with April, October and November.  It’s usually before the humidity of summer creeps in, and before the typical summer rains start (although last year it was more like a summer in the desert).   

In May, flowers are blooming on their own. Skies are sunny.  The sea breeze comes along almost every afternoon to add a little challenge to the water holes.  This year, 2012, was a typical May and beautiful.

2.  In May The Players is separated from The Masters.  Each year when the tournament was held in March, the PGA Tour would suffer the indignity of having every other question asked in press conferences be about The Masters, not about the PGA Tour’s most prestigious event. Annoying, but gone. The Players gets May, its own month.    

3.  It has Kleenex moment written all over it.  The Players now ends on Mother’s Day.  There may be a few PGA Tour players who were driven to junior golf lessons and tournaments by Dad, but most often it was mom or a grandmother who saw that they got where they needed to go.  And there is just nothing like the mom-son relationship. Finally Mom gets her due and her own golf tournament “holiday.”  Dads get the US Open.  Moms get The Players.   Brunch and golf.  What could be better?

4. The 17^th can still be tough.  The Players moved to May in 2007, and in that year, there were 93 balls in the water on the 17^th, 50 in the first round.  In 2008, 64;  in 2009, 30;  in 2010, 29; in 2011, 40.  Most recently, 40.  The problem is that those balls in the water sometimes come in playoffs.  Just ask Paul Goydos.  

This year’s poster child for the naughty 17^th was Angel Cabrera. Cabrera hit his tee shot into the drink, then came up short twice more from the drop zone.  His seventh shot found the green, and he two-putted for a 9.  He promptly withdrew after he finished the round, citing personal reasons.  Yeah, he took the 9 personally. 

This year Aaron Baddeley tied the “worst” record for career balls in the water at 17 with nine.  He now shares that distinction with Bob Tway.

5.  The golf course plays better in May.  In 1994, one of the wettest Players tournaments on record, Greg Norman hit pin seeking missiles to waterlogged greens where they stuck like they were grabbed by Velcro.  He tied the course record that year with a 63, which he shares with Fred Couples. Then he went on to post the most astonishing four-round, record total ever at an unforgiving golf course: 24-under par.  That score won’t be bettered. 

Now with Sub Air installed, the greens are firmer.  It takes a controlled shot to stop the ball near the hole.  It takes real courage to attack and overcome the visual terror that Pete Dye throws at golfers.  There’s no reliance on wet conditions to go low.  Golfers have to go low on their own skill.      

6.  It’s a tougher test in May. Now that the Bermuda is “fully growed,” it has its permanent teeth.  Bermuda can do in three inches of turf what bluegrass does with twice the length.  It wraps the hosel.  It twists the face of the club. It destroys the golfer’s shot. It magnifies misses.  And it’s unpredictable to hit out of.  That rewards the golfer who can stay in the fairway, the better player.  It also makes one of the most treacherous tests in the world harder.  

7.  Having The Players in May spreads the biggest golf tournaments from April to October when most golfers are focused on golf.  One a month. Masters in April.  Players in May. US Open in June. British Open in July.  PGA in August.  And finally, FedEx Playoffs and Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup in September. What’s not to like about that?