Players Championship 2015: Tee Times, Pairings and Predictions for Thursday
Fresh off of an impressive win in the WGC-Cadillac Match Play, world No. 1 Rory McIlroy headlines the Players Championship.
The Northern Irishman has never won the tournament widely heralded as the year's unofficial fifth major, and despite his great run of form, he'll have it tough once again in 2015.
This year's field includes every golfer residing within the top 50 of the world golf rankings, making for an absolutely star-studded cast. Adding to the drama is the dangerous TPC Sawgrass. A ball-striker's course, it contains narrow fairways, thick rough, sharp doglegs and ice-slick greens—not to mention its infamous island green on the par-three 17th hole.
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The short 137-yard par three is always a major factor in the tournament's outcome, as an average of 45.9 golf balls find the water surrounding the green each year. Here's a look back at some of the hole's most memorable moments:
Now that you're hyped up for a thrilling 72 holes at TPC Sawgrass, let's take a look at Thursday's notable tee times and predictions for the Players Championship.
Notable Thursday Tee Times
| Jimmy Walker | 8:07 a.m. |
| Brooks Koepka | 8:18 a.m. |
| Patrick Reed | 8:18 a.m. |
| Rickie Fowler | 8:18 a.m. |
| Bubba Watson | 8:28 a.m. |
| Billy Horschel | 8:28 a.m. |
| Matt Kuchar | 8:28 a.m. |
| Rory McIlroy | 8:39 a.m. |
| Jordan Spieth | 8:39 a.m. |
| Jason Day | 8:39 a.m. |
| Justin Rose | 1:17 p.m. |
| Dustin Johnson | 1:17 p.m. |
| Jim Furyk | 1:28 p.m. |
| Henrik Stenson | 1:28 p.m. |
| Phil Mickelson | 1:38 p.m. |
| Sergio Garcia | 1:38 p.m. |
| Martin Kaymer | 1:49 p.m. |
| Adam Scott | 1:49 p.m. |
| Tiger Woods | 1:49 p.m. |
All tee times and pairings can be viewed at PGATour.com.
Thursday Predictions
Spieth and McIlroy Start Fast
McIlroy and world No. 2 Jordan Spieth will be grouped together for the first two rounds of the Players Championship, forging a pairing that will garner massive attention. Both players have the ability to step up their games on the biggest of stages, and we should expect them to push each other through the tournament's first 36 holes.
While McIlroy may be dealing with some fatigue following seven rounds during his WGC-Cadillac Match Play win, the world No. 1 isn't concerned, as he's been in a similar situation before. Here's what he had to say during an interview with Ewan Murray of the Guardian:
"I got to the final of the match play a couple of years ago in Tucson and then went the next week and won at Honda. I don't feel like there will be any sort of fatigue or tiredness after this week.
I'll take Monday off. I might practise a little bit on Tuesday. I'm going to get up to Jacksonville on Wednesday morning and prepare like I normally do there and be ready to go on Thursday.
"
Spieth won the 2015 Masters in stellar fashion, leading for the duration of the tournament following his opening round of 64. He's no stranger to putting up low numbers this year, as he enters this week leading the PGA Tour with a scoring average of 69.252; McIlroy ranks seventh in the same category.
Expect these two to start quickly, finding themselves near the top of the leaderboard entering Round 2.
Stenson Leads After Day 1
With McIlroy and Spieth in the field, world No. 3 Henrik Stenson has been flying under the radar. Well, that will come to an end following the first round at TPC Sawgrass.
Stenson hasn't been overly consistent this year. He did earn a runner-up finish in the Arnold Palmer Invitational, but he had a disappointing Masters, finishing tied for 19th, and he most recently exited the WGC-Cadillac Match Play following the opening round-robin format.
Still, there's plenty of reason to like Stenson in the Players Championship. We know TPC Sawgrass is a ball-striker's course, and that happens to be the Swede's forte.
Stenson ranks second on tour in scoring average behind Spieth due to his tremendous play from tee to green. He enters the tournament ranked third in greens-in-regulation percentage, first in strokes gained tee-to-green, first in total strokes gained and first in putting strokes gained. Now, that's impressive.
Take all of that information into consideration, factor in Stenson's familiarity and confidence at TPC Sawgrass due to his victory there in 2009, and you get more than enough reason to believe he'll score well out of the gate.
Woods Struggles Early
Everyone is waiting with bated breath to see if Tiger Woods can continue his comeback bid following his tie for 17th in the Masters. Woods is always a major wild card due to his constant swing tinkering, but this week, his life off the course could be an even greater factor.
The former world No. 1 will be playing with a heavy heart at TPC Sawgrass, as this week marks the anniversary of the death of his father, Earl. That already appears to be weighing heavily on his mind, as Woods struggled during his practice round this week. During a press conference, via Karen Crouse of The New York Times, Woods admitted to fatigue due to lack of sleep.
He also stated, "This time of year is really, really hard on me."
Adding to the difficulty of this time of year is Woods' recent split with girlfriend Lindsey Vonn. Apparently that breakup is also causing him to lose sleep, according to a press conference, via Hank Gola of the New York Daily News. Here's what Woods had to say:
"Obviously it does affect me. It is tough. There's no doubt. I'm not going to lie about that. It is tough. And on top of that, this time of year is really, really hard on me. This three-day window is really hard. I haven't slept. These three days, May 3rd and through the 5th, today, is just brutal on me, and then with obviously what happened on Sunday, it just adds to it.
"
We know golf is a very mental game. If a player isn't completely sharp, costly mistakes can be made—especially on such a difficult course like TPC Sawgrass. Due to everything going on in Woods' life right now, don't expect a stellar showing at the Players Championship.
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