THE PLAYERS Championship set for biggest week yet in 50th anniversary

THE PLAYERS Championship continues to hit new heights in its 50th anniversary, PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan said Tuesday at TPC Sawgrass, with enhanced fan experiences for those on site and at home, and a pristine and demanding Stadium Course that will expect only the best from the best players in golf.

“How this event has grown in size, scope and impact over the past five decades is something we're extremely proud of,” he said, “and we continue to focus on delivering the best championship to our players, fans and partners.

“The Stadium Course is in pristine condition,” he continued, “and as always, will be one of the stars of the show this week. There is no doubt we will crown a most deserving champion on Sunday, one who faces not only the challenge of the Stadium Course, but a field whose hallmark is its strength and depth.”

With THE PLAYERS featuring a 144-man field led by world No. 1 and defending champion Scottie Scheffler, the commissioner expressed optimism for not just the week but also the TOUR itself after the recent launch of PGA TOUR Enterprises and subsequent $1.5 billion investment from the Strategic Sports Group (SSG).

Golf is booming, he pointed out, with an estimated 26.6 million Americans playing on a course in 2023, a net increase of approximately one million golfers – the biggest single-year jump since 2001, when Tiger Woods held all four major titles. Netflix just released the second season of its critically acclaimed “Full Swing” docuseries, telling the story of last season, and the show is currently ranked No. 6 in the United States.

The game is having a moment, intersecting with the culture in new ways, with richer storytelling and greater fan access to the lives of the stars.

SSG’s investment speaks to that excitement, but also the performances of the TOUR’s athletes and the strength of its business model, Monahan said. It fuels the establishment of PGA TOUR Enterprises, “which I believe will fundamentally transform the organization and the game of golf for the better,” he added.

He also addressed the question on many people’s minds: whether and when golf might reunify.

“I recently met with the governor of the PIF, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, and our negotiations are accelerating as we spend time together,” Monahan said. “While we have several key issues that we still need to work through, we have a shared vision to quiet the noise and unlock golf's worldwide potential.”

Once the TOUR made the decision to move forward with SSG in December, he added, he and SSG representatives traveled in January to Saudi Arabia to meet with Al-Rumayyan and members of the PIF.

“It's going to take time,” Monahan said, “but I reiterate what I said at the TOUR Championship in August. I see a positive outcome for the PGA TOUR and the sport as a whole.

“Most importantly, I see a positive outcome for our great fans. Despite the distractions over the last two years, fans, sponsors and communities continue to value and engage with the PGA TOUR, and I am more confident than ever in the fundamental strength of our organization.”

THE PLAYERS, first won by Jack Nicklaus at Atlanta Country Club in 1974, will be bigger than ever in its golden anniversary, with the largest build-out in tournament history. A record 17 international media partners will be producing their live telecasts to send the action to fans around the globe.

NBC, Golf Channel and Peacock will produce 22 hours of programming with limited interruptions, and PGA TOUR LIVE on ESPN+ will deliver more than 150 hours of coverage over four streams.

THE PLAYERS will showcase the TOUR’s broader, season-long commitment to showing more shots by more players, with more data and analytics, plus insight from innovations like the mic’d up segments.

Next year’s launch of PGA TOUR Studios, a sleek new building nearing the final stages of construction next to the TOUR’s Global Home, itself relatively new, will further enable the TOUR to tell the stories of its athletes in new and dynamic ways, Monahan added.

“We are becoming a younger, more inclusive sport,” he said. “You've got more women playing the game. We are truly global. The more that we can do to increase fandom, to bring our product forward in a way that is consistent with the way fans want to consume it and the more steps we can take to dimensionalize our great athletes, those are all steps that we can take to grow fandom.

“And when you grow fandom,” he added, “ultimately that drives your commercial success.”

On site this week, extensive changes will further enhance the viewing experience. Among those changes: a new fan area, Sawgrass Square, will greet fans just outside the Media Center, with lowered mounding around the 18th green so fans can surround the green and spread out.

Scheffler comes into this PLAYERS on the heels of his eye-opening victory by five shots at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. That tournament at Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge, a longtime staple of the PGA TOUR schedule, typifies how the new Signature Events are performing as anticipated, with the best players showcasing their talents.

What’s more, the Aon Swing 5 and Aon Next 10 have provided pathways for others to join them.

With 90 unique players in Signature Events, a 62% retention rate among the FedExCup top 50 from last season, and Full-Field strength of field up 18 percent, Monahan added, the TOUR’s reimagined and more compelling competitive framework is delivering on projections, Monahan added.

And its Player Equity Program, a first in professional sports, is ensuring the TOUR’s interests and those of its players will be more deeply aligned.

Barely two months into the season, the TOUR has already provided indelible moments, introducing fans to new stars like Nick Dunlap, the first amateur to win on TOUR in over three decades at The American Express; Korn Ferry Tour graduate Jake Knapp, who captured the Mexico Open at Vidanta; and Matthieu Pavon, a product of the TOUR’s continuing alliance with the DP World Tour, who birdied the 18th hole at Torrey Pines to win the Farmers Insurance Open.

“We've also witnessed the game's elite excelling on the biggest stages,” Monahan said. “Hideki Matsuyama's Sunday 62 at The Genesis Invitational, to become the most accomplished Asian-born player in PGA TOUR history; Wyndham Clark winning his second Signature Event at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am on the strength of a course record 60 at Pebble Beach; and last week, World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler pulled away from a stacked leaderboard with a master class performance at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard to take over the lead in the FedExCup standings.”

Chris Kirk, at The Sentry, and Grayson Murray, at the Sony Open in Hawaii, also inspired with their stories of triumph over adversity in the season’s opening two-week stretch.

All of which ultimately comes back to the communities in which the TOUR does business. For THE PLAYERS, that means impacting more than 300 non-profit organizations across Northeast Florida.

The TOUR is approaching $4 billion in charitable giving as an organization.

“Whether it's Ponte Vedra Beach or Fort Worth, Charlotte or Memphis or one of the many other cities we've returned to each year for decades, that formula is what has made us a bedrock institution in communities across the country,” Monahan said. “We remain committed to this mission-driven formula, and as I close, I want to speak directly to our fans, our most important constituent, and ones that maybe haven't felt their voices heard lately. All of this talk about investment and growth, I want you to know that we're focusing that energy on bringing forth the most competitive and entertaining TOUR possible for you. It's my commitment and it's our players' commitment.

“This is a transformational time for the sport we all love, and we're excited to take the lead.”