2020 Players Championship

The 2020 Players Championship was the 47th edition of The Players Championship, scheduled for March 12–15 at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. It was canceled by the PGA Tour prior to the second round in response to the COVID-19 pandemic; the tour had earlier announced that the tournament would proceed behind closed doors for the remaining three days.

2020 Players Championship
Tournament information
DatesMarch 12–15, 2020
LocationPonte Vedra Beach, Florida
30°11′53″N 81°23′38″W / 30.198°N 81.394°W / 30.198; -81.394
Course(s)TPC Sawgrass,
Stadium Course
Tour(s)PGA Tour
Statistics
Par72
Length7,189 yards (6,574 m)
Field144 players
Prize fund$15 million
Winner's share$2.7 million
Champion
No winner
Location map
TPC Sawgrass is located in the United States
TPC Sawgrass
TPC Sawgrass
Location in the United States
TPC Sawgrass is located in Florida
TPC Sawgrass
TPC Sawgrass
Location in Florida
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Hideki Matsuyama held a two stroke lead after the first round having equaled the course record of 63, nine under par.[1] Defending champion Rory McIlroy was at even par (72), tied for 83rd place.[2] Half of the $15 million purse was split equally among the 144 competing players, at $52,000 each.

The event was not included in the revised schedule announced in early April 2020.[3]

Venue

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Course layout

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The 2020 Players Championship
Tee Rating/Slope 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Out 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 In Total
Yards 76.4 / 155 423 532 177 384 471 393 451 237 583 3,651 424 558 302 181 481 470 523 137 462 3,538 7,189
Par 4 5 3 4 4 4 4 3 5 36 4 5 4 3 4 4 5 3 4 36 72

Field

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The field consists of 144 players meeting the following criteria:[4]

1. Winners of PGA Tour events since last Players

2. Top 125 from previous season's FedEx Cup points list

3. Top 125 (medical)

4. Major champions from the past five years

5. Players Championship winners from the past five years

6. The Tour Championship winners from 2017 and 2018; FedEx Cup champion for 2018–19 season

7. World Golf Championship winners from the past three years

8. Memorial Tournament and Arnold Palmer Invitational winners from the past three years

9. Top 50 from the Official World Golf Ranking

10. Senior Players champion from prior year

11. Korn Ferry Tour points leader from prior season

12. Points leader during the Korn Ferry Tour Finals

13. Top 10 current year FedEx Cup points leaders

14. Remaining positions and alternates filled through current year FedEx Cup standings

Round summaries

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"As the situation continued to escalate, and there seemed to be more unknowns, it ultimately became a matter of when, not if, we would need to call it a day."

Jay Monahan, PGA Tour commissioner[6]

First round

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Thursday, March 12, 2020

Hideki Matsuyama tied the course record with a score of 63 (−9).[7] Following the round, the PGA Tour canceled the remainder of the event due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Place Player Score To par
1   Hideki Matsuyama 63 −9
T2   Christiaan Bezuidenhout 65 −7
  Harris English
  Kim Si-woo
T5   Patrick Cantlay 67 −5
  Marc Leishman
T7   Daniel Berger 68 −4
  Rafa Cabrera-Bello
  Cameron Champ
  Corey Conners
  Jason Dufner
  Jim Herman
  Viktor Hovland
  Nate Lashley
  Graeme McDowell
  Keith Mitchell
  Collin Morikawa
  Rory Sabbatini
  Scottie Scheffler
  Webb Simpson
  Michael Thompson
  • Note: Four players only completed 17 holes, with the lowest scorer on 1 under par when play was cancelled.
Source:[2]

Scorecard of Hideki Matsuyama

Hole 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18  1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9 
Par 4 5 4 3 4 4 5 3 4 4 5 3 4 4 4 4 3 5
  Matsuyama −1 −2 −3 −4 −4 −4 −3 −3 −3 −3 −4 −4 −4 −5 −6 −7 −7 −9
Eagle Birdie Bogey Double bogey
Source:[2]

References

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  1. ^ Wacker, Brian (March 12, 2020). "Players 2020: PGA Tour cancels Players Championship, next three tournament". Golf World. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c "Leaderboard: The Players". Golf Channel. March 12, 2020. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  3. ^ Smits, Garry (April 10, 2020). "Majors rescheduled: Why not The Players Championship?". Golfweek. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  4. ^ 2019–2020 Player Handbook & Tournament Regulations (PDF). PGA Tour. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
  5. ^ "Woods says he will miss The Players Championship". PGA Tour. March 6, 2020. Archived from the original on September 13, 2020. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  6. ^ "Statement from PGA Tour commissioner". twitter. March 18, 2020.
  7. ^ Ferguson, Doug (March 12, 2020). "Coronavirus dominates talk as Hideki Matsuyama ties course record to lead". Golf.com. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
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