Last year, Scottie Scheffler did something that neither Jack Nicklaus nor Tiger Woods nor any other golfer who has won THE PLAYERS was able to do: win the tournament in back-to-back years. Only a few have had multiple victories in the event, which is basically the Championship of the PGA Tour. When you think of it like that, no wonder it’s hard to win.
Although Nicklaus won THE PLAYERS three times, in 1974, its inaugural year, and again in 1976 and 1978, his victories were each two years apart. Woods won THE PLAYERS in 2001, in his Tiger Slam year, and then not for 12 more years, in 2013.
In 2024, Scheffler did what had been impossible for the best in the world. He repeated. Nobody really knows why it’s so hard to defend this tournament, but some past champions have their own thoughts on it.
The Past Champions’ Theories
“It's a golf course that doesn't necessarily fit any one style of player,” past champion Rickie Fowler explained some time after he won. “I saw something that was posted not long ago of kind of the recent past champions here and what guys did well from whether it was driving the ball, approach, putting, scrambling, and there was nothing really that stood out as one thing between all players.”
He’s right about that. We’ve had long hitters Davis Love III and Fred Couples winning twice each, and we’ve had Tim Clarke and the late Calvin Peete, two short hitters, find the victory circle. We’ve had surprise winners, like Craig Perks who chipped, blasted and otherwise short-gamed the course to death. There have been tough guy champs, like Raymond Floyd and Lanny Wadkins who would just about kill the competition for a stroke. Europeans have won, starting with Sandy Lyle and going through to Rory McIlroy. There have been champs from all ends of the globe, like Si-Woo Kim and Nick Price.
One interesting thing is the number of trophies that have gone to Australia with Jason Day and Adam Scott and Steve Elkington at the top of the list and some others who we won’t mention now for reasons of diplomacy.
But as fabulous as all of them are and were at the time, none of them won the tournament two times in succession.
“This golf course isn't necessarily long, so it doesn't necessarily benefit a bomber,” Fowler added. “To me, at the end of the day, it's whoever has the most control and kind of keeps it simple, fairways and greens.”
Some hit more irons off the tee, he said, some hit drivers instead. Some winners putted well, but there was no constant thing that the past champs did that would translate to a “type” of golfer.
McIlroy had a slightly different view.
“I think this golf course can play so differently day-to-day, depending on wind direction, conditions,” he said. “It is such a cliché here, but it really doesn't suit any one style of play or any one type of player.”
He said he would have loved the chance to be the first one to repeat. But of course, Scheffler beat him to it.
Justin Thomas had a bigger picture view on why it’s been nearly impossible to defend.
“I'd say because it's one of the deepest fields in golf, and it's really hard to win golf tournaments,” he explained. “It's really hard to win a golf tournament once, and it's really hard to win it again.”
It IS the deepest field, factually. The PGA Championship, which likes to say it has the deepest field and points to the top 100, has 20 club professionals in the tournament. That means it’s not the deepest field. They hope no one will notice that.
THE PLAYERS may have some who don’t want to try to play it, but most years, it has had the top 141 players in the world. Those who are stretches to that statement would be the winner of the Kaulig Senior Players, the money leader from the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour, and the money leader from the Korn Ferry Finals. All three get to play.
The other exceptions now, like Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau, have gone to the “dark side” of golf. So maybe THE PLAYERS is top 138 or so. But if a guy is good, he’s likely to be in the field. He will want the trophy, the money, the status and the five years of PGA Tour event exemptions.
Thomas also pointed to the pressure and expectations that come with defending any tournament but ended up going back to the depth of the field as the main reason. When there are 144 of the best in the world, particularly the top 100, it really is a dogfight to get your hands on any trophy, never mind THE PLAYERS “Goldman.”
