Diaz
The Players' Best
Jaime Diaz ranks the best players in the history of the Players Championship
May 11, 2011
The Players Championship is a bit like the U.S. Open. Because of the difficulty and quirkiness of the course, it's usually feast or famine. Especially since it permanently moved to TPC Sawgrass in 1982, no player has been able to notch consistently high finishes, with Nick Price's nine top 10s including a victory in 1993 being the best cumulative record. But the measure of success is winning, and the five players below are the only multiple winners in the tournaments 38-year history.
1. Jack Nicklaus
Nicklaus is the only three-time winner of the event, with all the victories coming on different courses. In the inaugural tournament he won at Inverrary, closing with a 67 to beat J.C. Snead by two. In 1976, he beat Snead again, this time by three at the Atlanta CC. But when he edged Lou Graham by one shot in 1978 at Sawgrass CC, it was the tournament at its hardest. Only one round in the 60s was posted all week, and Nicklaus' final-round 75 was without a birdie. His final total was one-over par 289, the highest winning score in tournament history. Nicklaus went on to post only one other top ten in the event, and never finished better than 17th once the tournament moved to the TPC Sawgrass.
More on GolfDigest.com
Where to play
The 20 Best Golf Resorts
Our ranking of the top destinations in North America has a new No. 1.
News & Tours
Golf's All-Time Biggest Breakups
We revisit the highest-profile splits in golf throughout the years.
- Keywords:
- golf,
- PGA Tour,
- Players Championship,
- players,
- Jack Nicklaus,
- Davis Love III,
- Fred Couples,
- Hal Sutton,
- Steve Elkington,
- My Five,
- Jaime Diaz
The latest on golf digest
Where To Play
America's 100 Greatest
Augusta National leads the way in the game's oldest ranking of courses.
News & Tours
Costliest Rules Mistakes
Morgan Pressel's slow-play penalty just the latest mental error.
Features
Show Us What You've Got
Your favorite Instagram golf photos can now be featured on GolfDigest.com.
