Winning Arnold Palmer’s tournament in March seemed like a rite of spring during Tiger Woods’ PGA Tour heyday. An 8-time champion, Tiger tied Sam Snead for the most wins at any tournament in Tour history. Snead won in Greensboro eight times as well.

But even with that kind of success and familiarity, Tiger spend part of the late morning surveying the Bay Hill course by golf cart before spending some time on the putting green gauging the speed of the greens on Tuesday.

“It should be a fun week,” Woods said anticipating good weather for the tournament starting Thursday. “I used to live here (he moved to Jupiter Island), my kids were born here in Orlando, I know a lot of people here and I’ve won here.”

In Tampa, Tiger’s appearance and surge up the leaderboard through the weekend drove the Valspar Championship to record levels in attendance and television ratings. With Tiger in the field and in contention there were four times the number of people in the gallery and watching on NBC as compared to last year.

Known as the “Tiger effect,” just Woods’ presence creates a buzz around any tournament he plays. Bay Hill is already electric. Masters tickets are a hot item. And although it’s not until May, The Players is anticipating a jump in attendance with Tiger in the field.

“A sellout is tough because we have so much space here,” said The Players Executive Director Jared Rice this week. “But this being the fifth anniversary of Tiger’s last win here and what he’s done for golf and the kind player he is, you can’t help but be excited at the possibility he’ll be back.”

On the PGA Tour players don’t have to commit to a tournament until the Friday before, and that’s typically been Tiger’s routine. But if he’s healthy, he’ll be at The Players.

“Hanging around on the range just isn’t possible anymore,” Woods said of his practice routine. “I get my work done and get out of there. Lingering for three or four hours I just don’t do. Some of that is just being an older athlete.”

Part of the misconception of his injury was that he couldn’t swing a club. Woods said that wasn’t it at all. It was more about bending over to hold the putter or a wedge that caused his back the most pain.

“I’ve finally at a point where I can let my hands tell me what to do. My back is healthy enough to trust it and let my hands play,” Tiger explained. “I’ve gone back to a lot of the things I did with my Dad.”

Finishing one shot back last week in Tampa, Woods said he could tell he’s getting sharper in competition, able to hit shots he sees in his mind. A fade or a draw, his “stinger” or a bombing driver, Tiger knows he’ll need all of those shots to win on the Tour with today’s level of competition.

“Paul (Casey, the winner) just laid it to us,” Tiger said of being in the mix on Sunday. “I knew I’d have to play well because these young guys can play. They’ve done well and it’s no surprise.”

You could tell that playing at Bay Hill, Arnold’s tournament is special to Tiger and he’ll miss seeing him on the golf course. He talked about the times he’d played here with Palmer as a kid and as a professional in “The Shootout” 9 (the daily noon game at Bay Hill) and the times they shared on the green when he won and in the locker room afterwards.

“I can’t make that thing he did with hitching his pants on the side look cool,” Woods said when asked if he’s tried to emulate Palmer in any way.

In a bit of a surprise, Woods was named the American captain of the 2019 Presidents Cup team. He’s been an assistant on both the Presidents Cup and the Ryder Cup but still only 42 years old; Woods expects to be a “playing captain” and not having to use one of his at-large picks to put himself on the team.

“Have you thought about being a ‘playing captain?” was the first question of the presser.

“I have,” Woods said immediately with a smile to raucous laughter among the media.

Without the old burden of achieving status as the “Fifth Major” you knew it was only a matter of time before The Players moved back to March. Tuesday the PGA of America will announce that the PGA Championship will be moving to May with the PGA Tour moving the Players back to it’s March timeframe. Moving the PGA Championship is not unprecedented and although there’s a concern that the early date on the golf calendar might eliminate some traditional northern courses as venues, May opens the door for courses in the Southeast, Florida, Texas and even Southern California.

Moving The Players has been a topic since the tournament was started in the ’70’s. It started in Atlanta on Labor Day in 1974, moved to Ft. Worth the next year in August and then to Ft. Lauderdale the following February. When it moved to Ponte Vedra and Sawgrass Country Club it was played in mid-March before settling on the last week of March in 1983.

Three factors worked against The Players in March in the Tour’s quest to make it the 5th Major. Weather could always be a factor, but as anybody who lives in North Florida knows, we’re as likely to have a week of perfect weather as anything else and much of the memories of the Players in March include perfect weather. There were a couple of Monday finishes, but for the most part, delays in the competition were minor. In it’s quest for a spot on the overall sports calendar as a significant sporting event, the tournament switched from CBS to NBC once CBS made a commitment to the NCAA Basketball Tournament. Nobody’s going to forget about March Madness because the Players is happening, and at times that was a sticking point for the decision-makers at the Tour. And finally, the last week of March also happens to be two weeks before the first full week of April and that’s always The Masters.

When contested in March, there wasn’t a tournament that went by without many of the storylines focused on the contestants preparing for Augusta. The Players creator, then-Commissioner Deane Beman, didn’t like any talk about the Masters, wanting his tournament to gain “Major” status as a true “players championship.” Despite his protests, Beman had one eye on what they were doing at Augusta National as he developed the players. His competitive nature would allow otherwise.

“This is our championship,” he was fond of saying. Deane had a prickly nature about him when it came to competing with Augusta and the Masters and didn’t like it when the basketball tournament was on television in the hospitality suites, the clubhouse and the media center. When he could control what people were watching, he did. (We couldn’t watch the basketball in the media center more than once.)

When he took over as the PGA Tour Commissioner in 1994, Tim Finchem had many of the same thoughts about The Players and even more about it’s relationship with Jacksonville. Under Finchem, the Tour tried to separate the tournament once known as the “GJO” from the city entirely, stressing to the assembled media, “the dateline is Ponte Vedra.” There was no reference to it being one of the beaches associated with Jacksonville in any of the promotional material regarding the tournament nor on the national telecast. The dis-association with the city was strongest when Finchem and the Tour decided that The Players should be an international destination for fans and that the local flavor and support of the tournament was holding it back from it’s rightful place in the pantheon of professional golf competition.

They came to their senses a few years ago when Matt Rapp took over as the Executive Director and they refocused on the local community, it’s support, fan base, and the tournament’s reputation as a “must attend” event (and party) in North Florida.

I’ve always said that most of the locals who attend The Players think every PGA Tour event is like that. Of course the Players is like nothing else out there, taking the best from every PGA Tour stop all year and incorporating it into the Stadium Course. It’s not only the best run PGA Tour event, it might be the best run sporting event anywhere as well. It’s a sought after hospitality opportunity for corporations all over the world as well as businesses in Jacksonville and North Florida. It’s a nice blend of both.

Which brings us to the current Commissioner Jay Monahan and the move back to March. Monahan said during this year’s Players that they were “considering all options” and they didn’t have any plans to move the tournament “at this time.” Jay doesn’t have a problem with the proximity to the Masters nor the concurrent time frame of the NCAA Tournament. It doesn’t need it’s own month on the calendar or separation from the majors to draw attention. He sees the Players as a stand-alone sporting event and now, in 2017, he’s right. The tournament has it’s own following, it’s own stature and maybe most importantly, it’s a very big deal to the modern day PGA Tour player. Adam Scott was the first champion to say, “This is the tournament I’ve dreamed of winning.” And that was in 2004.

Gone are the days that “Deane’s tournament” was vying for significant status ahead of “Arnold’s tournament” or “Jack’s tournament” on the PGA Tour. Beman’s drive to put the Tour in the club and course building business rankled more than a few of his contemporaries, so they weren’t all fired up about supporting the TPC, as it was originally called.

From a nuts and bolts standpoint, a move to March will bring the golf course condition and the wind direction back to where the Stadium Course was originally intended by designer Pete Dye. They can make the course as hard and fast as they want.

And it’ll put the Players back in the “Florida Swing” on the golf schedule where it belongs. While much of the country looks to the Masters as the start of spring and the beginning of the golf season, those of us in North Florida know, our games are already rounding into shape during some good weather days in February and March.

It’s the right call and a good fit. Nothing ever wrong with being 1st on the schedule.

If you made it out to The Players this year, you saw a lot of changes to the golf course and even the traffic flow for the tournament. It was a big undertaking from almost every perspective. Fans were getting a new experience and the players needed to adjust to a revamped golf course.

“A renovation and a change to the infrastructure of this magnitude hasn’t been done since the course was originally constructed,” The Players Executive Director Jared Rice said this week. “So, to see how fans behaved and moved around the golf course was really helpful to see what adjustments we need to make, primarily infrastructure, getting in and out easier, moving around the golf course easy, making sure that we have amenities like food and beverage placed in the right places.”

As a golf tournament, The Players remains somewhere between the four majors and the week-to-week competition on the PGA Tour. But as a sporting event, it nearly has no peer. From the traffic flow to the food and drink available, The Players is organized, efficient and fun. While the bulk of the spectators are locals, the Tour has tried to market the event nationally and internationally, making it a destination event. It’s not a Major; it might never be a Major. But it’s a combination of every best thing offered at PGA Tour events every week. It’s not like a regular tour stop.

“Think about 28 million viewers nationally watched this telecast,” Rice explained. “When fans and viewers see a really active and engaged and energized community, that delivers a feeling of ‘what a great property, I want to go to that tournament’ and really presents our community in a really positive light.”

Although the competitors in the field said the new 12th hole needed to be “tweaked” at the least, Rice said his feedback was that the fans liked the “drivable par four” aspect of the hole and the gathering places around the new design.

“I think 12 was really, really appreciated by our fans,” he said. “From the local restaurants we have around the golf course, Taco Lu being right there on 12, the shaded bleachers delivered a great vantage point of the 12th hole and the 13th green. It was as good as advertised and it will only get better in the future.”

From a sheer numbers standpoint, the 2017 tournament produced some eye-popping statistics. More than 35,000 complimentary military tickets were issued. The Patriots Outpost had 19,000 military visitors and their dependents over the week. There were nineteen regional restaurants featured on the course. Over 100,000 bottles of water were sold during the six days of the tournament. The hot dogs sold laid end to end would stretch out two miles long.

A total of 943 media credentials were issued for the tournament to 202 media outlets representing 17 countries. The Players was broadcast in 24 different languages to a potential audience of a billion viewers.

Would any of that change if they moved The Players back to March? There’s an argument to be made for both sides. The current May date gives it a “vacation” feel for fans and a summer tournament feel for the competitors. March signals the start of spring here in North Florida and it seemed a little higher control of your game “through your bag” was necessary to come away with a victory.

Either way, the tournament will continue to grow in size and stature as the current crop of competitors put an emphasis on winning at the Stadium Course.

“When you look at the national nature of who may come into our community and host or vacation in a March date, when you may have a lot of snow in the rest of the country, it is a very positive thing.,” Rice said about a potential change. “And then May, the weather has been fantastic, almost idyllic the past couple of years. There’s a lot of positives to May too, so it is a nice problem to have and one thing we know is whenever it is played, it will be the best fan experience in golf.”

When you start looking at the leaderboard after the second round of The Players, there are a lot of familiar names but none jump out as current superstars in the game. Get down around even par and you find the top players in the world: Number one Dustin Johnson at even par, #2 Rory McIlroy also at even, #3 Jason Day at -2 and #4 Hideki Matsuyama at one under. I’ve always thought that The Players should adopt the rule to allow anybody who is within 10 shots of the lead to make the cut. The golf course lends itself to being able to make up 10 shots over two rounds. In 2017 players within eleven shots of the leader will play on the weekend. The cut was at two over par.

“I thought that the course was a little more gettable than that,” world number two McIlroy said after posting a one under 71 in the second round. “But it just shows, it’s Sawgrass, it’s tricky, you got to hit some really quality shots to get the ball close and give yourself opportunities for birdies. I shot under par at the end of the day and I’m in for the weekend, which was the main objective going out this morning.”

Playing with the number one player in the world and former champ Matt Kuchar, Rory found it interesting that after 36 holes, all three of them posted even par.

“You wouldn’t have thought looking at the three of us today and yesterday that we’d all finish on even par. We all sort of did it in a different way.. I thought the course was — it felt gettable, but looking at the scores, no one went super low. I wish I could have been closer to the lead, but the guys haven’t went that low, so tomorrow morning maybe shoot us a low one and get myself back in the tournament.”

After a second round one-over par 73, Johnson didn’t like anything about his game but was still playing on the weekend.

“Yeah, I can’t blame anything on anyone but myself,” he said. “The golf course, it wasn’t — it’s playing difficult, but if you hit good shots you can shoot a good score. Good scores are out there, I just didn’t play well enough to shoot a good score.”

Last week in Wilmington, Johnson made the cut on the number and was in contention to win on Sunday after a low Saturday round. He hopes the same think happens this weekend. “I’ll probably be teeing off pretty early and go out and post a good number and get myself back in the golf tournament,” he explained. “If the lead’s around 6- or 7-under,(it’s 9 under) that’s still within reach, absolutely.”

As the defending champ, Day also tied the course record last year at 63 so he’s not afraid to shoot a low number. He’s at -2, seven behind the leader but believes a low number on Saturday would put him in contention.

“Yeah, you don’t really need too much around here.. It’s difficult to try and close around here, but I need a good one tomorrow.

I asked Jason if they can set the golf course up so somebody could go out there and shoot a low number tomorrow.

“I hope so,” he deadpanned to much laughter by the assembled media.

“That would be nice,” he continued. “It’s just that some of the changes — you take 15 for instance, that’s, they lengthened that by 20 yards and usually I would be hitting a 2-iron there with a wedge. Now I’m hitting driver and 9-irons in there. So they definitely made the golf course a lot tougher. I think there’s opportunity over the next two days to really kind of catch up to hopefully to the lead.”

Also at two under par, Phil Mickelson thinks a low number will be shot on Saturday morning.

“I think the guy that is going to be leading tomorrow is going to be somebody that’s at like even, 1-under par right now that goes out early and has a chance to shoot a low round,” he said. “Because as the day wears on, the course firms up, dries out and it gets a lot more difficult.”

Any round in the 60’s would be fine for him tomorrow said the 2007 champ. So he thinks a good round puts him in the thick of it.

“Yeah, I think anybody that made the cut has a really good shot,” he explained. “But especially if you’re even, 1-under, I think those guys go out a little early and I think they could shoot 6-, 7-under par and get right back in it. I know there was probably a couple of those today, but I don’t see many of those out there.”

After a stellar 2016, 2004 champ Adam Scott has struggled since the first of the year. But despite back-to-back double bogeys yesterday on 17 and 18, he’s still within striking distance at two under par. He said he hit a couple of loose shots and that always costs you at the Stadium Course.

“But you know, I’m going to have to sharpen that up for the weekend,” he said after his round. “The rhythm of the swing wasn’t quite there today like it was yesterday, so if I can just go out and find that for tomorrow, I like where I’m at.

Scott agreed that the golf course doesn’t appear to be as difficult as it’s playing. And the scores reflect that.

“I’m not quite sure why the scoring isn’t better. It just must be tricky out there. You know, everyone trying to come to terms with a few little changes here and there. The greens certainly aren’t fast. They’re firm, and maybe it was a tough set of pins today. I don’t know, it was just tough to get it close. You know, this course you have to ball strike it to death to kind of limit the mistakes, and if you hit one off line, it’s hard work getting it back on track.”

Without much focus, Masters Champion Sergio Garcia kept himself in the tournament with an ace on 17 yesterday and got to even par with a 71 on Friday including a birdie on eighteen. He admits it’s been tough to come back after his win at Augusta and compete in the Players as his first time back.

“Definitely, I’m not going to lie, it has been difficult. But even like that, I felt like I fought hard the last two days after a terrible start, and it’s a shame because today without playing amazing, I felt like I could have shot 3-, 4-under par and that would have been really, really good. Unfortunately, I let a couple slip away there towards the end, but I played well the last two holes with the pressure of making sure that I didn’t do anything stupid so I could be here on the weekend, and hopefully I can free up a little bit on the weekend and have a solid two days.”

As a pure ball striker, it’s no surprise Garcia has the best record here among players who have been in the tournament since he won in 2008. But his mental state, as he admits, has been off since he teed it up yesterday.

“It has been overwhelming, I’m not going to lie. I haven’t won a Major and I haven’t won the Masters before, so I didn’t know exactly what to expect and what to feel. I’ve hit some really good shots but I hit some shots that I wasn’t hitting lately, so I need to kind of tighten that up a little bit.”

If they wanted to, they could make it impossible. The Stadium Course in 2017 is going to be firm and fast, thanks to a lack of rain in Ponte Vedra in the last month.

“We’ve been able to control it this year,” said Jeff Plotts, the Stadium Course’s Director of Agronomy. “We haven’t had rain here in a while so we’ve been able to make it just right.”

It’s quirky, that’s for sure. Locals say often “you’ve been TPC’d” when a shot is a foot or two off line and trundles into an impossible spot.

“You can’t fake it around here,” Rickie Fowler said this week. “If you’re not on, it’ll expose you.”

So with the lack of rain, the firm greens, the quirkiness and the ability to hide the flagstick in obscure and tight places, they could make it impossible. But they won’t because it’s The Players Championship and the players want to make birdies and that’s what fans want to see.

With benig weather expected, the best players in the world will figure out to shoot a low score. But how the golf course is set up will determine how low the winner can go.

It seemed everybody at the PGA Tour was upset when Greg Norman shot -24 in 1994 and vowed it wouldn’t happen again. They failed to mention that only Fuzzy Zoeller and Jeff Maggert that year approached Norman’s record score with the rest of the field near single digits. Since then, Davis Love in 2003 (-17) and Tim Clarke in 2010 (-16) have gone low.

But something in double-digits under par usually wins The Players. In four straight years, 2011-2014, the winning score was -13. Rickie Fowler shot -12 (So did Kevin Kisner and Sergio Garcia that year to get into a playoff). Last year Jason Day won at -15.

Since the tournament moved to May in 2007, Garcia’s -5 in 2008 (also in a playoff with Paul Goydos) is the highest winning score. In March, David Duval’s victory came at -3.

So what wins this year?

The way the golf course is set up, somebody will play great and post a low number in one round. But over 72 holes, the Stadium Course will offer enough resistance to keep only the best and most patient players of the week at the top of the leaderboard.

It’s why I like Sergio, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy this week. The first to -10 wins.

As administrations have changed at the PGA Tour over the last 40 years, the focus of The Players has changed as well. The tournament founder and then-Commissioner Deane Beman wanted it to be the first significant tournament of the year. And in truth, wanted it to become the fifth major. Beman was visionary when it came to what The Players could be, but in some cases was a lone voice, albeit an important voice for what he always called “Our Championship.” Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus both had tournaments in Florida and Ohio and also wanted their tournaments to be something more than just another tour spot. Nicklaus had visions of Augusta at Murifield Village outside of Columbus. Both he and Palmer considered Beman a rival when it came to building golf courses, they didn’t think the PGA Tour should be in that business, so neither were big proponents of The Players in the early years.

Nobody at the Tour was ever happy when a lot of the talk during this week was about The Masters. Falling just two weeks before the first “major” many players of the era talked about using The Players as a run-up to Augusta.

So over time, and a new commissioner in Tim Finchem, the Tour did everything they could to make The Players the best on every level they could: Biggest prize money, best practice facility, magnificent clubhouse and on and on. But even as the tournament grew in stature and became a tournament that players wanted to win, (Adam Scott in 2004 was the first to say “I grew up dreaming of winning this tournament”) it still lived in the shadow of The Masters.

In 2007, after years of studying the weather and agronomy, The Players moved to May, four weeks after the Masters and a month before the US Open. While the tournament stands alone and is now a significant international sporting event. There is a sentiment among the PGA Tour staff, under new commissioner Jay Monahan and among current PGA Tour players that the tournament should move back to March. Former champion David Duval is a big proponent of the move, saying “the golf course plays in March the way it was designed.” Johnny Miller echoed his thought noting that, “in March, you occasionally get a north wind which makes 17 and 18 play very differently. In May, it’s just a flip wedge for these guys.”

Current players say it’s big enough to stand on it’s own, not as a run up to Augusta. The golf course would be more predictable, as in hard, and it would do two things to the schedule: reinstate the ‘Florida Swing” with three tournaments in the state leading up to The Players and if as the PGA of America has talked about, the PGA Championship moves to May, it would have five big tournaments, one a month, starting in March. Plus the FedEx playoffs (they signed a new 10-year sponsorship extension today) would end around Labor Day, keeping the “Championship” from competing with college football and the NFL.

Predictably, Monahan had a very political answer to the question of moving the tournament when asked on Tuesday.

“Well, it’s in May, and right now we don’t have any plans on moving it back to March,” he said flatly. “That’s certainly been part of the consideration set. But until we make a decision or at the point in time we make a decision to make any change, I would be happy to answer that question and answer that question directly, but right now we’re focused on making THE PLAYERS the best it can possibly be in May.”

Stars in the golf world don’t seem to feel strongly one way or another. Former world #1 Rory McIlroy understands the argument but thinks it’s a long way off.

“I can definitely see why it would move back to March,” he said. “I can definitely see the reasons for it. And, yeah, if it did go that way, it would obviously take a few different courses off the PGA rota, the places up north that wouldn’t quite be ready. But I can definitely see why it would happen, but I think there’s a lot of things to cover until we get to that point.”

As the defending champion, World #3 and former #1 Jason Day considers the playability of the golf course and how it would change how it’s played.

“Yeah. Firstly, there’s a lot of history behind this golf course with regards to the champions that have played here,” he explained. “I think it’s very, very difficult golf course. Once again, we do have a little bit of weather here every now and then, but for the most part it’s a very difficult golf course at this time, especially with the Bermudagrass and with the current position of them actually thinking about changing the date, that will change the way the grass plays and everything else, so that may change the way that I view the golf course.”

Perhaps the new commissioner gave us some clues into what he’s thinking and whether the tournament is just fine where it is.

“it’s our showcase of excellence,” he explained. “We continue to do everything we can to enhance every facet of this event. And we do that so that you all and our fans can talk about its significance. All we can do is control everything that we have here on property, and we’re very proud of how this event evolves.”

As far as where The Players is in the pantheon of “significant tournaments and whether it’ll ever be considered a “Major,” Monahan admitted that’s not up to him.

“I think this championship’s in a great place,” he added. “And I think if that’s where — if that’s how it’s described and it is being described as that by some today, whether it’s the media or players, that’s something we’re very comfortable with because we think that description is befitting of the work that’s been done over 40 plus years to build this championship.”

“And it’s the PLAYERS Championship,” he continued. “They come here, it’s their tournament and it’s unique and different and they’re obviously playing the same course year in and year out. This course is phenomenal in terms of the way it’s democratic and it really defines the best playing, the best player at that point in time, and hence the great list of champions we have.”

It would be easy to describe Davis Love III as a local guy who made good. But he’s so much more than that. A golf pedigree that included his father as a former professional and one of the top teachers in the world and a low-handicap mom put “DL3” at the top of prodigies expected to ascend to the top of the game. With prodigious length (for the time) coming out of high school at Glynn Academy in Brunswick, Davis went to the University of North Carolina before turning pro and joining the PGA Tour.

“When you start this journey you don’t think of the Hall of Fame. At 20-years old I just wanted a to have a job, wanted to play golf and hoped to win one golf tournament,” Davis told me at the World Golf Hall of Fame on Tuesday. Love was at the Hall with three other members of the 2017 Hall of Fame class (Meg Mallon, Ian Woosnam, and Lorena Ochoa) to preview their induction in September and hold a panel discussion for media and fans. (The late Henry Longhurst fills out the class).

His resume is much longer than just winning a tournament. Winning 21 times including a major championship (the 1998 PGA Championship), two Players, four Heritages and a PGA Tour win when he was 51 years old in 2015 are only a sprinkling of his victories. Add in two appearances as the Ryder Cup captain and it adds up to a Hall of Fame career.

“To go in with such icons of the game, I say it’s humbling,” Love explained during our discussion. “To just be mentioned, and to go in with this class. Friends of mine, friends I’ve competed with. I’m honored to be a part of it. I didn’t see myself as a leader in the game, it’s an amazing class.”

Being able to take skills as a golfer and use them as a touring professional takes some adjustment. There are plenty of great players who couldn’t adjust to the lifestyle and what it takes to grind it out week after week. Love says that’s one of the first things he learned when he joined the Tour.

“You have to learn it’s so much more than playing golf. Dealing with the travel, family, different conditions, the celebrity status. Some guys can handle it, some can’t”

Based on the era that he played, Jack Nicklaus was the first professional athlete and golfer who was celebrated for his ability and willingness to balance his “job”and his family life.

“He was a great example,” Davis said of Nicklaus’ ability to be the best player in the world and still be a part of his children’s lives. Love and his wife Robin looked to Jack and Barbara Nicklaus as a guidepost. “This is how you live a life on the Tour. You have to balance. I wanted to be at my daughter’s horse shows, my son’s golf tournaments. I wanted to go skiing and snowboarding. I think my kids would say we accomplished that.”

Coming off a broken collarbone, Love has known his share of injuries away from the golf course but says he’ll be fresh when he returns to playing, soon.

“I’m going to play a lot on the regular tour this year, I’m exempt lifetime (for having 20 PGA Tour wins) but I don’t want to take up a spot. I’ll go play with my friends on the Senior Tour. I’ve missed three months here and there in the past couple of years so I’ll be fresh when I do come out.”

Talking with Davis, his competitive desire is still obvious and during both of his stints as Davis Cup captain he was hoping to play his way onto his own team. “But then reality set in,” he said with a laugh. “But there’s that competitiveness. You want to make an impact as a player or as the captain and be a part of the team.”

In the upcoming Presidents Cup in New Jersey (the week of the Hall of Fame induction), Love will be an assistant captain to Steve Stricker. He’ll also serve as an assistant to Jim Furyk in Paris in 2018 for the Ryder Cup.

“It’s different,” he noted, playing the Ryder Cup in Europe. That’s why Jim is perfect for Paris; He can handle the extra attention, the extra travel and the fact that it’s an away game. Playing in Europe is that much tougher, especially since we were able to win one last year,” Davis added with a smile.

So he’ll be wearing headsets and talking to players, and maybe even do some TV (Don’t be surprised if he shows up on NBC during the Players in May.) But it’s with clubs in his hand that he’s hoping to still feel the pressure of being on the leaderboard.

“Golf is the one sport, maybe auto racing, you can last a long time if you stay fit and stay confident. We saw Greg Norman and Tom Watson almost win majors. Raymond Floyd won in his 50’s; Sam Snead won a bunch as he got older. I love playing and I don’t want to give it up.”

You know people won’t live forever but with Arnold Palmer you thought that might be possible. He lived life with such passion and spirit yet with a humility and grace that never wavered. Palmer battled several illnesses over the past two years and died today at age 87 of heart complications.

Usually tucked in the back pages of sports, Palmer brought the game to the forefront with his charisma and style. His game shoved him into the limelight when the son of a golf pro and greens keeper won the US Amateur. Arnold was no country club type. He was a worker and looked the part. His arms jutting out under his short-sleeved shirt, Palmer hit it hard and had a “go for it” mentality that was appealing to the casual golf fan. His game was “made for TV” and his ascension to the top of the sport coincided with the explosion of television in America in the late ’50’s and 60’s.

With seven major wins including four Masters, Palmer validated his fame and popularity by winning. He finished his career with 62 wins and 10 more on the senior tour. In fact, Arnold basically invented both tours with his own personality and style. “Every professional golfer should give Arnold Palmer 50 cents of every dollar they make,” one of his competitors once said. And he was right. As good as Jack Nicklaus was and Hogan and Snead, Nelson and the rest, nobody captured the imagination and catapulted the game forward like Arnold Palmer.

For about 25 years, since his design company was based here in Ponte Vedra, I spent a lot of time with Arnold professionally and socially. I’m often asked if there are highlights to my career. My answer for a while has been “I’ve had breakfast with Muhammad Ali, beers with Arnold Palmer and flown with the Blue Angels.” The answer I usually get back is, “Doesn’t get any better than that.” And that’s true. It really doesn’t.

Despite being one of the most recognizable sports figures in the world, Arnold never lost the common touch or the ability to give you his undivided attention. A conversation with Palmer was a real talk, not some canned speech he spouted as he moved on.

When Arnold Palmer Course Design opened the Mill Cove Golf Club in Arlington, Palmer was there to play in the opening round. I was in the foursome behind him and brought my dad, a non-golfer along for the fun. After nine holes, my dad went to the clubhouse to get something to drink and wait for us to finish the back nine. Arnold finished about 15 minutes in front of me but when I came to the final hole we were playing that day, Palmer and my dad were standing on the balcony as a makeshift gallery. I waved and they both waved back, clearly enjoying each other’s company. I don’t know how Arnold and my dad were introduced but they’re about the same age and both served in the Coast Guard so they had a common bond. And of course, Arnold had a common bond with everybody. I had hit 6-iron in to about 20 feet and was eyeing the putt from several angles when Arnold said, “Hey Sam, while we’re young!” with a big laugh. Luckily I made the putt, and had Arnold sign my Wilson 8802 putter, the one he used for years, when I got to the clubhouse. My dad still tells that story and more of it, with Arnold ordering shrimp, because my dad liked shrimp, even though none was on the menu. The chef brought shrimp.

Everybody who ever came in contact with Palmer has a story. All are about his grace and kindness with humility and humor mixed in. If you met Arnold once, you thought you had a connection for life. He shook your hand and looked you in the eye. He was polite and kind. He was truly someone to look up to.

Which is how we should honor Arnold. Look at the verve he had in his life and follow it. Look at his kindness and charity and emulate it. Remember his polite manner, his commitment to doing his best no matter the situation and put that into your own actions.

Even though he’s gone I won’t use “was” to describe Arnold Palmer.

He is one of a kind.

During his time on the PGA Tour, Hale Irwin had a reputation as a fierce competitor. It helped him to three U.S. Open titles but it also meant he was respected and sometimes feared by his peers.

Irwin shot a final round 69 at the Regions Tradition in Birmingham on Sunday, just a few days short of his 71st birthday. He then made the short trip to St. Augustine and the World Golf Hall of Fame to to see the collection of golf memorabilia and artifacts found in the Museum. The current record holder for Champions Tour victories with 45 had not been to World Golf Village in nearly 20 years.

I reminded him he’s been a member of the Hall of Fame for nearly 25 years and 2017 will mark the 50th anniversary of his win in the NCAA Championship.

“You want to hear those numbers I guess,” he joked. “It’s better than the alternative.”

But you can tell now closer to the end of his career than the beginning, the 20-time winner on the PGA TOUR is appreciative but humbled by the Hall.

“Being a part of the greatest who’ve every played this game is pretty humbling,” he said reverently.

And the World Golf Village has transformed itself in Irwin’s eyes into a “must see” attraction for sports fans.

“It’s interactive, the displays are just fantastic. What people have put in here from their own collections! It’s amazing to see how these people have touched the game of golf or maybe more importantly how the game of golf has touched them.”

I snuck a peek at Irwin’s locker in the Hall where he has one of the first sets of clubs he ever played with as a kid when he was 4 years old.

“Those are very simple. They’re old. Archaic. It’s an old, old bag with cut off clubs I used as a little boy,” he said with a laugh. “But l think you have to get grounded every now and again and it takes me back to my parents, my dad, the little town I grew up in in southeast Kansas and how I got started.”

Those clubs are a far cry from the composite heads and solid golf balls that have changed the game dramatically. But Irwin says the top players of any era could compete across the board.

“Are the players at the top of the game now better than players before? No, they’re just playing in different eras. They have the heart of a champion. There’s more depth in the game but you look at Snead, Hogan, Sarazen, Palmer, Nicklaus, Player. They’d have been able to compete.”

Although Hale did admit when watching a PGA TOUR event these days it’s obvious the players themselves have changed.

“They’re all 6’2″, thin and look young!” he said with a chuckle.

In Irwin’s era on the TOUR players came in all shapes and sizes. But he stayed fit, thinking it was part of playing the game.

“”I’ve been in a lot of sports and I was a college football player and I thought that being in shape was the thing to do. It helped me. I think people now are understanding that when they see golfers they’re not just some guy who jumped up from the bar and went to play. They’re athletes. Most of them are good at something else too.”

On one hand technology has changed how the game is played but Irwin believes the idea hasn’t changed.

“The game is still played with the same idea, it’s just how you go about it. Everything is made to go high and fly far. We watched Jason Day hit that 2-iron (at THE PLAYERS) 308 yards. How is that possible?”

And while the top players are taking advantage of the technology boost in golf, Irwin agreed that the equipment allowing better play for the average player is also good for the game.

“People who are playing the game now might see some more immediate positive results with today’s equipment. That’s what people want to see in today’s society and that’s what you’re going to see.”

While he won three U.S. Opens, none were at Oakmont where this year’s Championship will be contested. Irwin is familiar with the layout and says it’ll take some guile, and brawn to win. I said with all the top players playing well it could be an exciting tournament to watch.

“It will be,” he said emphatically. “I’m going to go out on a branch here and say it’s going to be a veteran who wins this year. You can’t just go out there and bang it willy-nilly at Oakmont. It takes some knowledge of where you can hit it. Not that some of those young guys can’t do it. But I think somebody’s going to step out of the shadows of those young lions to put some heat on them.”

It was a blistering pace that he couldn’t possibly keep up but it was clear Rory McIlroy brought his ‘A’ game for the second round of THE PLAYERS. Starting on the back nine where he’s had tremendous success, Mcilroy birdied the first four holes and went birdie-eagle at 15 and 16 to shoot 29 on his opening nine holes. That tied the record set just yesterday by Shane Lowry.

“I knew that the course was going to play much easier than it did yesterday afternoon,” he explained in the “flash” interview right after his round. “This course really does play so much differently from morning to afternoon.”

Over the past three years, McIlroy has played the back in 44 under par but is 13 over par on the front. While he didn’t scorch the front, birdies at 2 and 7 put him on the verge of tying or setting the course record. But his lone bogey of the round came at the par five ninth. Rory said he’s carrying at 2-iron this week instead of a 5-wood and that influenced his decision to lay up instead of going for the green in two.

“So I sort of talked myself out of it on the fairway,” he said. “And I laid up and thought, I’ll take my chances from inside a hundred yards from the fairway. I might have left myself a little bit too close. I was trying to get really sort of cute with it, I guess, and I just hit it too easy.”

Coming down the stretch, McIlroy said he was aware he had a chance at the course record and was looking to make a closing birdie to shoot 62. Despite moving back into contention, he admitted his round couldn’t have been lower.

“I’m disappointed, but there’s still two more days to go. But that’s the nice thing; I’m in a good position heading into the weekend. The course will play a little bit tougher this afternoon, but hopefully I’m still not too far behind going into the weekend.”

Starting on the front, Colt Knost moved to the top of the leaderboard with a course record tying 63 in his second round.

“The fairways are running, which kind of makes this place challenging,” he said, “But at the same time it makes it play so short. I’m having so many wedges into greens, obviously I’m one of the shorter hitters out here, but you give us wedges into these greens, you’re going to be able to get aggressive.

Knost shot 31-32 with five consecutive birdies from 5-8 on the front and followed that with four birdies on the back. He came to 18 at ten under but a bogey on the finishing hole cost him the course record. And he knew it.

“Yeah, for sure I knew it. I watch a lot of golf, to be honest,” he explained. “When I birdied 15 to get to 9, I kind of thought, I’m going to have a really good chance at this thing, especially going into 16, and honestly got pretty unlucky on 16 where my second shot ended up, but hit two great shots on 17, and then I knew where I stood on 18, and I also knew I snap-hooked it in the water there yesterday, so that went through the head.”

A driver and a 7-iron left Knost two putts from the record but he couldn’t complete that task.

“It seems like every time you try to two-putt, you leave yourself something a little more than you want. I was nervous over the last putt just because — you know, so many great players have played this golf course and all that, and to be the first one and only one to shoot 10-under would have been really cool.”

Perhaps some familiarity with the course is a bonus as Jax Beach resident Jonas Blixt carded his second straight 67 to finish the first two rounds at -10. Blixt’s 67 included 3 bogeys to go along with eight birdies. It’s not surprising to see Alex Cejka’s name near the top of the leaderboard. Having been the 54-hole leader a few years ago, Cejka is accustomed to going low at the stadium course, backing up his opening 67 with another to finish 54 holes at -10. Bo Weekley continued his solid play following his opening round 66 with a 69 and is at 9 under.

There’s not a hard and fast rule on when to stop play because of weather on the PGA TOUR but they do have parameters. Tournament officials who are on the road each week at the various TOUR stops work with the on-site meteorologist to decided when to stop play.

“It depends on the speed of the storm and the lightning involved,” one TOUR official said when play was suspended at THE PLAYERS at 4:08 EDT on Friday.

“We’re looking at how long it would get the number of fans off the golf course safely as the weather comes in,” he explained.

The TOUR has an evacuation plan in place for the players on course with vans put in place in what they call “Phase Two” of the preparations. They preposition the vans in case the weather does come in quickly so they can get the players off the course quickly and safely.

They’ll play in rain but lightning “in the general area” causes the TOUR to suspend play immediately.

Today was no different as the PGA TOUR posted weather-warning signs throughout the Stadium Course alerting fans that a weather delay was imminent and to take appropriate action.

Once the single horn sounded, players were allowed to mark their ball on the course and were hustled off to the locker room.

Jason Day is -3 today through eight holes and -12 for the tournament. He has a two shot lead over Jonas Blixt, Alex Cejka and Cameron Tringale.

On a day full of low scores perhaps it’s no surprise that the world’s number one player Jason Day grabbed the first round lead at THE PLAYERS, tying the course record at nine-under 63.

“The temperature was hot, so the ball was going a long way, and when the ball goes a long way, you’re coming in with shorter clubs if you hit the fairways,” he explained right after his round.

Day was so dominant in the opening round that he had a birdie putt on every hole and didn’t have a par putt longer than two feet. (By the way if you play golf, read that sentence again.)

“I can’t really recall the way that I hit the ball as well as I did today and then also putting as well as I did,” he said matter-of-factly.

In the run-up to this year’s tournament a lot of players thought the golf course was softer than in the past and would be receptive to low scores. Day agreed that he believed something significantly under par would lead after the first round.

“We thought the greens were sticking and a lot of guys could attack the pins that we had out there,” he added. “But shooting 63 was great today and there’s a lot of guys at 7-under par right now and a lot of guys that are going off the afternoon tee time that can definitely shoot that score as well.”

That might be the case, but birdies popped up for Day at some critical times, including on 17. The island green hole was playing 124 yards and Day said he was trying to hit it 130 but hit it “a little bit less.”

“And you still get nervous over that shot. Doesn’t matter if you’re hitting a pitching wedge or you’re hitting a sand wedge or lob wedge, it’s still tough to try and hit that shot.”

Although he played the back nine first, the reigning PGA Champion said it’s still exciting, coming to the finishing holes at the Stadium Course

“Especially when you’re coming, playing that back side,” he added. “You come into 16, you start to walk to 16 and you start hearing the crowd, you start getting a little bit nervous on trying to hit that tee shot. But good to get a birdie there.”

Starting his round on the 10th hole, Day birdieing the first three and number seven to make the turn at -4. He birdied one and two, number four and seven to get within one of the course record held by four other players with two holes to play.

His second shot on the par-5 ninth found a greenside bunker but out of the sand Day hit it to 18 inches for a tap-in and a 63. Pretty good for a guy who shot 81 in the second round of THE PLAYERS last year, his last round on the Stadium Course.

“I was really displeased with how I played last year, considering I was coming into that week feeling pretty good about my game and I just didn’t really play great in the second round.” With his current mindset and the confidence he has, the first round leader could put Greg Norman’s tournament record of 24-under in jeopardy.

“I’ve shot scores lower, but I think from tee to green and then on the green and then being patient and everything kind of just clicked today and I shot a good score.”

In succession the number one player in the world, last week’s winner on the PGA Tour and the 2016 Masters Champion all stepped up the podium to address this year’s Players Championship.

“This is the toughest field we have all year, It’s a big even and it’s getting bigger and bigger,” said world number one Jason Day.

“To me it’s similar to Augusta, every hole is special. Every hole you can make 10 or make 2,” said last week’s winner in Charlotte James Hahn.

“One,” Masters Champion Danny Willett said when asked how many times he’s played golf since winning at Augusta.

Just ask a question to any of these players, currently among the most recognizable on the PGA Tour, and you’ll get different answers about the course, their state of play and life in general.

Hahn revealed that the five hour drive from Charlotte to Jacksonville was accompanied by a crying baby in the car only to be overshadowed by the number of times he and his wife said, “Two-Time PGA Tour Champion.”

When asked if he’s changed more “nappies” (diapers) or signed more Masters pin flags in the last month, Willett chuckled “I’ve changed a few nappies, but there’s been a lot of signing that’s had to be done.”

And Day explained that his world ranking at number one gives him more confidence than ever being here.

“Yeah, I think it definitely feels different,” Day explained. “Obviously I haven’t had the greatest finishes here at THE PLAYERS Championship, but with that said, I feel a lot more prepared this year than I ever have in my career coming into this event. So I’m hoping that is a little bit of a different result this year.”

And as the top ranked player, Day says getting a Players win is on his list.

“It’s a golf tournament that you really do want to win and have it on your resume at the end of your career because it’s such a huge event. This is one of those tournaments where, if you’re on the border of getting into the Hall of Fame, this could kick it over and get you into the Hall of Fame.”

Wow. THE PLAYERS making the difference of getting into the Hall of Fame or not. That’s a first.

And Hahn says looking at the future and not the past, visualizing success and making it happen helped him overcome eight straight missed cuts and win last week in Charlotte. Even making a 10 on #16 at TPC can be a positive thought. Because the golf course can get in your head.

“I play every hole with a different mindset. I think it’s one of the toughest golf courses that we play all year. There’s not one hole where you can take for granted and say this is an easy par hole or an easy birdie hole. There is trouble everywhere. Hole 16 is very special to me. I had made, I think, a 10 on it last year and it was the best 10 I have ever made. I could have been a lot worse.” Whatever it takes!

Forced out of action last September with a wrist injury, Ponte Vedra’s Jim Furyk thought he’d be back on the course before the first of the year. But on February 1st, still struggling to get healthy, Furyk announced he’d miss another three months because of surgery on his wrist. “This has been frustrating for me to this point,” he said announcing the surgery, “But I am focusing on an aggressive rehabilitation program.”

Today it was a bit surprising to see him at the Stadium Course after starting his year last week at the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte.

“I feel alright,” Jim said this afternoon. “I wish I would have played better last week. I knew I’d be rusty, I’m not quite 100% but the only way to get stronger is to play.”

Although he lives a driver and 5 iron from the TPC at Sawgrass, Furyk’s time on the road doesn’t allow him to be that familiar with the Stadium Course.

“It’s not a place I’ve had a lot of success in the past, I probably enjoyed starting in Charlotte a little better since I’ve won there,” he explained.

But the fact that one of the most significant tournaments of the year is played in his backyard isn’t lost on the 17-time PGA Tour winner. “It’s nice to be at home this week. I’m in familiar surroundings, in my own bed. I’ll practice at my normal facilities the way I normally do.”

At 45 years old, Furyk has a routine he follows each week, so being at the event site on a Monday was quite a bit different for him. “I’m rarely here on Monday,” he said as he headed to the range. “In a perfect world I’d have made the cut in Charlotte, played four rounds and had today as a day off. But having a weekend off I wanted to hit some balls, stay loose and see how the golf course is playing. How are the greens? I haven’t seen the golf course in months so I’m anxious to see how it’s playing.”

Each year in the run up to the first full week of April, in hushed tones we hear an announcer say, “A tradition like no other, the Masters.” It’s a catchy phrase but it’s actually true. The Masters has a tradition like no other sporting event. Other events have traditions, they drink milk in Victory Lane at the Indy 500 and the winners at Wimbledon get a chance to meet royalty. But at the Masters the traditions start early and continue through the sunset Green Jacket ceremony on Sunday.

I’ve been in Augusta for the Masters each year since 1979. As a young reporter in Charleston, S.C. I was excited to get my first invitation to cover golf’s first Major of the year. I was a little surprised when I arrived at Augusta National and it was tucked into a corner on Washington Road amid fast-food restaurants and discount stores. Just a small sign amongst the trees showed the way to Magnolia Lane. Back then, the media was allowed to come in the main gate, and then directed to the side where one of the practice area was a large expanse of green in front of the clubhouse. A gravel-covered parking lot had a single post near the middle that said “media” with volunteers showing the way. A short walk to the right of the clubhouse was the “media center” a Quonset hut down two wooden stairs with a manual scoreboard in the front and the clatter of portable, manual typewriters filling the air. Tom Place, the PGA Tour’s on-site media coordinator, saw me at the back door, no doubt looking bewildered, and shepherded me through the credentialing process. Not much past my 23rd birthday, I’m sure I was the youngest “reporter” in the building. I met Furman Bisher from Atlanta and Edwin Pope from Miami. Other icons of writing at the time like Herbert Warren Wind (he named “Amen Corner”) were scattered around the “room.” Pre-internet, pre-computers, pre-cell phones, it was a place full of activity. Everything was done manually. The scoring, the announcements, everything.

Being a city kid form Baltimore, I didn’t know much about golf before I went to college and stepping onto the golf course at Augusta National was like being dropped into a dream. From the golf shop the course unfolds in front of you as an expanse of green like I’d never seen. A former nursery, Augusta National had trees and flowers of every variety that were breathtaking.

You often hear the Masters described as “this special week.” Yes the tournament provides the backdrop for that, but the “specialness” comes in the people you see every year under the oak tree at the clubhouse, returning to experience the first elements of spring and renewing old friendships. As a sports fan, there’s no place like the veranda at Augusta National. I’ve seen just about every major sports figure at one time or another, relaxed and enjoying the atmosphere. The members provide part of that, a genteel-ness that can be attributed to the Masters home in Georgia but also to the gentlemanly nature of the game of golf and the traditions the game itself holds.

I’ve smoked a cigar with Sonny Jurgensen sitting on the porch of “The National” and had breakfast with Arnold Palmer in the upstairs dining room that once had a “Gentlemen Only” sign posted at the bottom of the stairs.

At my first Masters, the television station I was working for couldn’t afford a photographer so I enlisted my Dad to point the camera when I was conducting interviews. After Fuzzy Zoeller made the winning putt on 11 in sudden death, a member brought Zoeller back toward the clubhouse in a golf cart, stopping in front of me so I could ask the newest Masters champion a few questions. As he walked toward me I could hear my Dad behind me saying, “I don’t see him, I don’t see him.” A glance over my shoulder showed the viewfinder disconnected from the camera, easily fixed with one turn of the wrist behind my back. “There he is,” my Dad said as I shook hands with Fuzzy. The story line that week was Zoeller playing so well as a rookie at Augusta National and the fact that his wife was back in Indiana about to give birth to their first child. “Are you a dad yet?” I blurted out, putting the microphone under Fuzzy’s chin. “I don’t know,” he said with a laugh, “but after that she’s probably on her way to the hospital!” As I went to ask a second question, out of the dark about twenty microphones identifying media outlets from all over the world were pointed at me as I pulled my own mic back. That’s when I first realized: this is a big deal.

It’s at Augusta National where I’ve played 18 holes with Brent Musberger and caddied for David Duval in the par three contest. It’s where I got to know Pat Summerall and Hall of Famer Frank Chirkinian, the legendary golf producer. It’s there on the patio at lunch with the then-President of CBS Sports Peter Lund where I heard him say, “You know Sam, I got it down to you and Jim (Nantz) and for the life of me I can remember why I picked Jim.” (Yes, crushing) It’s where I encouraged my friend Todd to propose to his girlfriend, saying, “Really? Amen Corner would be the perfect spot.” And it’s where Chirkinian invited me to play one Monday after the Masters and I brought my friend former NFL quarterback Matt Robinson. “What is this the Chirkinian invitational,” the pro said with a laugh followed by, “You guys go over to the 10th tee and start on the back.” A dream come true for any golfer at any level.

It’s a worldwide event that happens close to home as evidenced by the number of languages you hear spoken on the golf course among the patrons and in and around the clubhouse. Two years ago a man making the “strike a match” motion approached me under the oak tree. Once I realized he spoke no English and he recognized that my Spanish was not good, we had a laugh and I gave him a matchbook and an extra cigar I was carrying. He was part of the Argentine Golf Federation, one of dozens invited to Augusta each year to represent the game in their country. The next afternoon while headed inside, my new Argentine friend tracked me down and insisted we share some time, and one of his cigars, under the oak. That doesn’t happen anywhere else.

Over the years I’ve covered every aspect of the tournament allowed from the practice rounds (which used to be open to anyone for a $15 admission) to the Thursday tradition of the ceremonial starters to the final putt dropping on Sunday. Sometimes our news management has sent me there for a week, sometimes for a day, and sometimes, not at all. On those occasions I’ve thought it was important enough to get there on my own and carry on my own tradition of being at The Masters. Because as I found out early on: it’s a big deal.

This year’s Military Appreciation Day at The Players will have a new venue, added attractions and a superstar headliner performing. Again, Military Appreciate Day will be on Tuesday of The Players, May 10th, the first day the tournament is welcoming fans. The ceremony will begin at 6, with Toby Keith performing in concert at 6:30. Instead of the traditional location on the back of the clubhouse, this year the ceremony and the concert will be on the TPC at Sawgrass Stadium course famed 17th hole.

“I’m extremely excited to honor the men and women who serve our county by performing at THE PLAYERS Championship,” said Keith, who has performed more than 200 USO shows and entertained more than 250,000 men and women in uniform and their families. In April 2014, Toby Keith was honored with the Spirit of the USO Award. “I have always been a proud supporter of the U.S. Military and can’t wait to rock the stage for our troops and their fans.”

In June 2015, Keith was inducted in to the Songwriters Hall Of Fame in New York City, and he has been honored by the Nashville Songwriters Association International with its Songwriter/Artist of the Decade distinction. He is a three-time BMI Country Songwriter/Artist of the Year and was named the American Country Awards’ Artist of the Decade. His albums have sold more than 40 million copies, ranking him among the top-selling all-genre artists on Billboard’s Top 200 Artists of the Decade. Keith is also Billboard’s No. 1 Country Artist of the Decade and No. 1 Country Songwriter of the Decade.

“We’re thrilled to have Toby Keith kick off tournament week at the most famous hole in golf,” said Michele McManamon, THE PLAYERS 2016 Volunteer Chairman and co-founder of Tuesday’s Charity of the Day, Operation New Uniform. “The Military Appreciation Day Concert is always a fan favorite, and the new location for 2016 allows us to entertain an even bigger crowd in the incredible, wrap-around atmosphere of 16 and 17. Fans will also have access to the great amenities available in that area – including the Food Court and upgraded restrooms – ensuring a true concert-like experience. With a superstar like Toby Keith on stage, we know the Stadium is going to be rocking.”

Prior to tournament week, THE PLAYERS will welcome active duty, Reserve, retired military, veterans, and military spouses to TPC Sawgrass on Saturday, May 7, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Birdies for the Brave® Patriots’ Outpost, to participate in its fourth-annual Military Job Fair, in partnership with the Jacksonville Military Veterans Coalition. The Military Job Fair is free and open to military personnel, veterans and military spouses who are seeking employment. There will be approximately 40 companies on hand, all with open hiring opportunities. Free career counseling and resume-writing assistance will be provided, as well as, information on local educational institutions with veterans’ programs.

Previous PLAYERS Military Veterans Job Fairs have seen attendance of more than 500 military job seekers and 40 companies participating. On Sunday, May 8, THE PLAYERS and Birdies for the Brave® will again partner with Operation Shower to host a group baby shower for 40 military moms-to-be whose spouses are deployed members of the U.S. Navy. Scheduled to be held from 12-2 p.m. in the Patriots’ Outpost, the event will be hosted by Jim and Tabitha Furyk and will feature Operation Shower’s signature Shower-In-A-Box, gifts of high-quality products for the moms and babies that have been provided by sponsors and donors.

“There’s a fine line between the artistry of golf and the advancements in technology,” Sea Island Golf Performance Center Manger Craig Allan said this week. “We walk very carefully along that fence.”

As the age of technology has made it’s way into golf, spin rates and launch angles are as much of the conversation regarding being a better player as are keeping your head down and finishing your swing.

“I can push a player toward game improvement technology in clubs but the player has to like the club they’re looking at on good days and bad,” Allan explained.

Over the course of about three hours, Allan worked with former NFL quarterback Matt Robinson working through his irons, his wedges and his driver. A variety of iron lengths, shaft flexes and different manufacturers were tried until the combination of statistics and feel were matched up. Using TRACKMAN technology, a Dutch company that has dominated the swing analysis market, Allan was able to measure the launch angle of every shot, the spin rate of the ball, the distance and the height of every swing.

Allan said he works with all levels of students and tries not to rely just on the equipment to make better players. A little instruction goes along with the stats but it’s easy to see the “why” a ball is reacting a certain way by just looking at the different measurements taken with each swing.

“TRACKMAN uses radar to measure all of the different components of distance and accuracy and allows us to change the club to fit a players swing. To a certain point,” he said with a smile.

“It’s amazing to see what your doing wrong, and right, right there on the screen,” Robinson said with amazement. “The numbers don’t lie and it can be a little intimidating. But once you relax and dig into what you’re looking at, it can really help.”

Whether it’s the swing plane, whether a player is swinging inside out, over the top, too steep or shallow, all of it shows up on the computer screen to allow a Master Club Fitter like Allan to dissect the swing and pick the right equipment.

“We have five different TRACKMAN systems so it’s our job to help as many players as we can to be as good as they want to be. This is one of the tools that can really help.”

At about $35,000 per unit, Sea Island, and many clubs and teaching centers have made a very big commitment to the technological side of instruction. A full club fitting costs $375 for the sand wedge through driver session that takes about three hours. Just wedges, or irons or driver is about $125 an hour. Pretty reasonable when it comes to being a better player.

“Some great players have gotten away from the artistry of the game and relying on technology” Allan said about the blend he tries to use in his work. “But it’ll always remain a game that relies on feel and athleticism. We’re just trying to enhance that.”

It took a finish of historic proportions to crown a winner at the 2015 Players Championship. To start, Rickie Fowler played the last four holes in 5 under par, lower than any player in the history of the tournament at the Stadium Course to finish at -12. There were still plenty of players on the golf course who could tie or beat him with birdies down the stretch. Fowler bogeyed the 10th hole to fall to -6 and probably figured he was out of it. But starting at 13, Rickie played the next six holes in -6 going birdie, par, birdie, eagle, birdie, birdie to take the lead in the clubhouse. He signed his scorecard and headed to the back range to stay loose.

Birdieing the 17th hole for the 5th time in the 6 tries this week, Fowler won the Players on the 4th playoff hole, beating Sergio Garcia and Kevin Kisner by making a 5-footer for the title.

“I had a perfect yardage on 17 today, a choke down gap wedge so it was just a matter of hitting it.”

When I mentioned that he had made 5 birdies in 6 tries this week Fowler grinned and said, “Yeah, like I said, I played 17 pretty good this week.”

Meanwhile, Garcia had played the front side in 33 strokes and had the outright lead until a bogey on 14 left him two back. He then birdied 16 and rolled in a monster putt on 17 to go to -12. He had a chance on 18 but settled for par and a spot in the playoff. And Kisner was two back before birdies on 16 and 17 and a miss on 18 earned him the third spot in 3-hole playoff. It’s the first three-man playoff at the Players since it was across the street at Sawgrass Country Club. In the final year there, 1981, Raymond Floyd parred the first playoff hole, 15, to beat Curtis Strange and Barry Jaeckel for the title.

Garcia parred all three holes in the playoff but was eliminated when Fowler and Kisner birdied 17. “It was another great week at the Players. It’s been a little bit of a funny year for me. I saw a lot of positive things here and I hope to take those with me for the rest of the season.”

Kisner played well and thought he had won it on the 72nd hole. “I thought I made it the first time on 18. But I’ll have my chances. Nobody’s going to give it to you. These guys are great players. I was in one a few weeks ago,(at Hilton Head) so I’ll have my chances.”

There were some low scores earlier in the day in the final round, but the golf course changed as the afternoon wore on, got more difficult and bunched the field. Rory Sabbatini shot 69 to finish at -9 and said it felt like a big time tournament on Sunday afternoon. “I think this is what you expect here. This is what we’re accustomed to, seeing this course really show its teeth.

World Number one Rory McIlroy posted another 70 and admitted he was frustrated again. “It’s just that sort of course. No one is going low. I’m three behind the leader (at the time) and that’s coming off feeling like I’ve left between five and 10 shots out there this week.”

Local resident Billy Horschel said a camera click in his back swing threw him off his game on the second nine. Horschel said it was an older lady and he spoke to her but he couldn’t recover, bogeying 10 and 11. “I took the club back and I was always afraid there was going to be a camera click.” Horschel finished at -7 with birdies on 16 and 17.

Although he never contended this week, Tiger Woods said his game is coming around as he preps for the US Open in June. After an even par 72 in the final round that included 5 birdies and a triple bogey on 14, he says he’s getting better with each round. “Look where I was at on the West Coast and where I’m at now. So let’s just keep progressing, keep putting the pieces together, keep chipping away at it.”

Last week Tiger Woods’ golf swing was almost unrecognizable. He working with a new “swing consultant” on some different positions and swing thoughts but whatever it is, it doesn’t look like the Tiger Woods I know. And to compound his problems, Woods’ back tightened up during a weather delay in San Diego and because his “glutes wouldn’t engage” he withdrew from the tournament.

While he says it’s not related to his back surgery, Tiger also announced on Wednesday that he’s taking a leave of absence from the game until he can play at the level he thinks is suitable. “I want to play at Honda,” Tiger explained via his website, “It’s in my hometown but unless I can compete to win it’s not fair to anybody. I won’t be there unless my game is ‘Tournament Ready.'” Woods didn’t give a timetable for his return but rather said he was just going to “play at Medalist (his club in Hobe Sound) and work on my game.”

Woods recently said he’s looking at some video of his swing from his early days and back all the way to his time as a junior player. Tiger played here as a junior, winning the US Amateur at the Stadium Course in 1994 as a student at Stanford. He was a tall, lanky, supple young player who played more by feel than anything else. He had prodigious power, but his short game and feel for his irons were far superior as a whole to anybody in the field. So going back 20 years to look at his swing could help, unless the equipment changes in the last two decades have been so dramatic that it would take a different swing to get the same results. Consider this: The driver Tiger uses now has a head twice the size but half as light as the one he used in 1995 (A King Cobra). It is also two inches longer and has a graphite shaft. Club technology has made a lot of good players and perhaps has eliminated the possibility of great ones.

This week I talked to World Golf Hall of Fame selectee Mark O’Meara about Tiger’s struggles. O’Meara was famously Tiger’s tutor about things on the PGA Tour, taking him under his wing as they both lived and played at Isleworth in Orlando.

“I know him,” Mark said with a smile, “And he’ll work hard to get back. Some people have said he can’t, which will just fuel him to prove them wrong.”

Admittedly, Woods is a phenomenal athlete but perhaps his commitment to fitness is one of the reasons his body is breaking down so often. The violence in his swing and the torque created is putting a strain on his both that apparently can’t take it at 39 the way it could at 19.

Nick Faldo has pointed that out in the last few weeks, saying that all athletes lose some of those things as they get older. “It’s just a fact of time. He’s going to have to change his swing, back off a bit I think, in order to compete regularly out here and stay healthy.”

As you watch Tiger in person and on television, even without an untrained eye you can see things are “out of sync.” He looks like he’s unfolding at different intervals, trying to find the right timing. O’Meara believes in swing coaches and help, but also said it could be a bit of “over-analysis.”

“You’re an athlete: just hit it!” Mark said at the end of the conversation. “Stop thinking about where the bottom is and what the swing plane might be and hit it.”

I do believe Tiger will be back and will be competitive again. He’s too good of an athlete and has just enough athletic arrogance to make that happen. But I also believe it’ll take a combination of all of the above for him to be successful. He’ll have to take Faldo’s advice and back off a bit. He’ll have to listen to O’Meara and go back to some feel instead of analysis. And I think he’ll have to modify his game for the modern equipment.

Does that lead to wins and possibly Majors? One thing his now going up against is a deep field of players who have no fear, particularly of him, and equipment that has brought a lot of “contenders” into the picture.

He’ll have to be better than ever.

As predicted, low scores were the rule of the day among the morning players in the first round of The Players. Russell Henley shot 65, seven under par while, eight players, including Lee Westwood, Gary Woodland, Jordan Spieth, Justin Rose and Sergio Garcia are at -5.

“It’s playing a little softer,” Woodland said after his round. “The key out here is to, keep the momentum going, and avoid the big number.” Woodland also changed a bit of his strategy this week as well. “I only hit 4 drivers today. Callaway strengthened my 3-wood and that seems to be working.”

There are a lot of different experiences to be had at the Stadium Course during the tournament. Henley had nine birdies today, but double bogeyed the 7th. No bogies on his card. Lee Westwood didn’t play any holes over par today, making five birdies enroute to his 67. Ernie Els shot 68 with three bogies, an eagle (on 4) and three birdies, the best a chip in on 14.”

“I’m never comfortable here,” Else explained immediately after his round. “I tried to come in on Thursday morning but I had an early tee time,” he joked, adding that he didn’t arrive until Wednesday afternoon. “The tee boxes here all point you to the right. I have to pick my spot. Pete Dye is a genius but he is a sinister man.”

Jordan Spieth’s 67 in the morning included five birdies for his first time seeing the Stadium Course for this tournament. He’s played here before in junior golf and leaned on some of that experience. “I’ve played enough PGA Tour courses to change my thinking to pick my lines and be a little safer,” he said after his round. “It’s the same here. You just have to commit to the shot.”

Scott Stallings was a mid-morning starter and said he “thought” his way to a 67. “You have to pick your shots here the take a big number out of play,” he explained right behind the 18th green. “Every hole is a birdie opportunity but every one is also a double waiting to happen. You try and eliminate that.”

Justin Rose played the par 5’s in one-over today, leading him to think there could be a lower score than his 67 waiting tomorrow. “I’ve been working on a lot of things, hitting it great on the range for a while. I’m hoping it’s all coming together.”

Among the afternoon players, Bill Haas (-4 through 8) John Huh (-3 through 8) and former champion Tim Clark (-3 through 9) are moving up the leaderboard.

Phil Mickelson shot 75 today, Rory McIlroy 70 and Adam Scott is one under through 7.