The Players Championship 2015: Live Leaderboard Scores, Standings from Thursday
No major label is necessary to validate The Players Championship's significance. With the PGA's top stars competing at TPC Sawgrass, it carries the same gravitas as any other top tournament.
Golf's unofficial fifth major began on Thursday, with Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Jason Day headlining the morning tee times. They are just three of several prominent participants looking to conquer an unforgiving course for part of the $10 million purse.
Keep up with the action by checking PGATour.com's live leaderboard. Plenty more golf remains throughout the next few days.
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What to Watch
McIlroy, Spieth and Day occupy the first round's most intriguing grouping, but a trio of past Players champions headline Thursday afternoon's schedule.
As always, that Tiger Woods guy is a major story heading into Ponte Vedra Beach. Two years ago, the falling star momentarily reclaimed his throne with a first-place finish, cementing his No. 1 rank. After missing last year's event, he returns way down the totem pole, as highlighted by ESPN:
Although the biggest draw, Woods is among the worst in terms of recent success. Yet he had a strong Masters showing, finishing at five-under for 17th place.
He told reporters at Tuesday's interview session, via ESPN.com's Jason Sobel, that he hopes to carry over that momentum into The Players Championship.
"I'd like to say yes. I've had some pretty good practice sessions," Woods said. "My short game still feels really good. We made a couple little swing tweaks since then to keep improving, to keep working on it, to keep getting it better, so that part is still a little bit fresh."
Still a long way off from peak Woods, or even 2013 Woods, but it's promising enough to keep him on the radar.
During Woods' year away from Sawgrass, Martin Kaymer captured the crown. The 30-year-old is now back in town ready to defend his title:
Kaymer delivered a masterful display last time, finishing 13 strokes below par with a 63 opening-day tally. After taming the notoriously difficult venue, he won the 2014 U.S. Open a month later, but he has tailed off this year.
In seven events, Kaymer has one top-10 finish to his credit. Scoring a 76 and 75 during the opening rounds, he missed the Masters' weekend cut altogether. Kaymer can reverse his poor fortune where he last played the best rounds of his life.
Meanwhile, Adam Scott's 2004 victory feels like ages ago. Back then, the fresh-faced 23-year-old was nine years away from claiming his first major at Augusta, and he hadn't yet declared his love for Leslie Knope and calzones on Parks and Recreation.
He'll feel much older after reading the 21-year-old Spieth's quote, per the PGA Tour's official Twitter page:
Now Scott is looking to break a rough patch. After missing the Valspar Championship cut, he finished tied for 38th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and 35th at the Masters, tallying a 74 during each of the final two rounds.
He hasn't placed inside the top 10 since 2007, and a poor showing would jeopardize his top-10 standing in the PGA world rankings. An Ice Town-like meltdown in Florida won't bode well for his future placement among the sport's best.
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