After two weeks off I am looking forward to getting back into action again this week at THE PLAYERS Championship. It will be the start of a busy run of events in the US and in Europe on some great courses, all of them leading up to the US Open in June.
The past week was spent putting in some good, solid sessions in the gym and on the range, which we did. I also played some nice rounds at the Bear’s Club and although it is never easy to replicate the feel of playing tournament golf, it does help keep my game sharp. Now this week it’s all about trying to convert that into match form in THE PLAYERS Championship at its traditional home, TPC Sawgrass at Ponte Vedra Beach in Florida.
It’s fair to say that TPC Sawgrass’ Stadium Course is one of the game’s most famous golf courses, located on a plot of wooded wetlands purchased for the princely sum of $1 by Deane Beman, who was commissioner of the PGA TOUR back in the day. The legendary architect Pete Dye then took care of the rest.
And he did a wonderful job. The 17th hole (pictured above) with its island green gets a lot of attention, which is understandable since an average of 45 balls a year find a watery grave on this hole every time we’re here, but ask any player and they’ll attest that Pete Dye’s masterpiece is a balanced test of golf. In fact, this golf course tests every department of your game perhaps more than almost any other that we play on the PGA TOUR, aside from the Majors. If you’re not on your game, this place WILL find you out.
This is my 22nd appearance in this tournament, yet still you can’t help but notice a bit of an extra buzz here with most of the top-50 players teeing it up. This is one you definitely don’t want to miss out on. My record in this tournament, with four top-10s in 21 appearances going back to 1993 when I opened my account with a 69, doesn’t sit too well with me. But, as always, I am teeing it up this week to win and I know that the game is in good shape. Patience – and often par – are your friends here. Let’s see how we go. As I said, I’m looking forward to it.
So, as the golf season really swings into action for those in the Northern Hemisphere, and especially the US and Canada, I want to just remind you that the 2015 Els for Autism Golf Challenge gets underway next Monday, May 11th, at Trump National Doral. You can play on the Blue Monster course, home of the WGC – Cadillac Championship only a few weeks ago. On the same day next week we also have an event in Canada, at the beautiful Morgan Creek in British Columbia, plus another event later in the week at Troon North in Scottsdale so all in all it’s a busy week for the Els for Autism team.
For more information on how you can enter a team at any one of the 25 regional events on the 2015 Golf Challenge, or take part in the fundraising activities, please click here. For golfers and non-golfers alike there are places to be earned at the spectacular Grand Finale in Vegas later this year. Trust me it’s an amazing event.
Remember you can follow me on Twitter @TheBig_Easy.
