2016 Players Championship Explained

2016 Players Championship
Dates:	May 12–15, 2016
Location:	Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
Course:	TPC Sawgrass, Stadium Course
Tour:	PGA Tour
Par:	72
Field:	144 players, 76 after cut
Cut:	142 (−2)
Purse:	$10.5 million
Winners Share:	$1.89 million
Score:	273 (−15)
Map:	USA#USA Florida
Map Relief:	yes
Map Label:	TPC Sawgrass
Coordinates:	30.198°N -81.394°W
Previous:	2015
Next:	2017

The 2016 Players Championship was a golf tournament in Florida on the PGA Tour, held at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, southeast of Jacksonville. It was the 43rd Players Championship.

Jason Day, number one in the world rankings and reigning PGA Champion, led wire-to-wire to win his first Players, four strokes ahead of runner-up Kevin Chappell.^{[1] [2]} With favorable scoring conditions early, Day was at 129 (−15) after 36 holes and then shot even par on the weekend.

Defending champion Rickie Fowler missed the 36-hole cut by a stroke.

Venue

See main article: article and TPC at Sawgrass. This was the 35th Players Championship held at the TPC at Sawgrass Stadium Course and it remained at .

Course layout

Field

The field consisted of 144 players meeting the following criteria:^[3]

1. Winners of PGA Tour events since last PlayersSteven Bowditch (2), Jason Day (2,4,7,8,9,13), Jason Dufner (2,4), Tony Finau (2), Rickie Fowler (2,5,9), Fabián Gómez (2), Branden Grace (9), Emiliano Grillo (9), James Hahn (2), J. J. Henry (2), Jim Herman (2), Charley Hoffman (2,9), Zach Johnson (2,4,9), Smylie Kaufman (9), Chris Kirk (2), Kevin Kisner (2,9,13), Russell Knox (2,7,9,13), Danny Lee (2,9), David Lingmerth (2,8,9), Davis Love III (2), Shane Lowry (7,9), Peter Malnati, Hideki Matsuyama (2,9), Graeme McDowell, Rory McIlroy (2,4,7,9), Troy Merritt (2), Scott Piercy (2), Adam Scott (2,4,7,9,13), Brandt Snedeker (2,9,13), Jordan Spieth (2,4,6,9,13), Brian Stuard, Vaughn Taylor, Justin Thomas (2,9,13), Bubba Watson (2,4,7,9,13), Danny Willett (4,9)

• Charl Schwartzel (2,9) did not play.

2. Top 125 from previous season's FedEx Cup points listDaniel Berger (9), Zac Blair, Jonas Blixt, Jason Bohn, Keegan Bradley (4), Scott Brown, Chad Campbell, Paul Casey (9), Alex Čejka, Kevin Chappell, Chad Collins, Erik Compton, Jon Curran, Brendon de Jonge, Graham DeLaet, Luke Donald, Ken Duke, Harris English, Matt Every (8), Jim Furyk (9), Sergio García (9), Andres Gonzales, Retief Goosen, Jason Gore, Bill Haas (9), Chesson Hadley, Adam Hadwin, Brian Harman, Pádraig Harrington, David Hearn, Russell Henley, Morgan Hoffmann, J. B. Holmes (9), Billy Horschel (6,9), Charles Howell III, John Huh, Dustin Johnson (7,9), Matt Jones, Jerry Kelly, Colt Knost, Brooks Koepka (9), Jason Kokrak, Matt Kuchar (5,9), Martin Laird, Marc Leishman (9), Spencer Levin, Hunter Mahan, Ben Martin, William McGirt, George McNeill, Phil Mickelson (4,9), Bryce Molder, Francesco Molinari, Ryan Moore (9), Kevin Na (9,13), Sean O'Hair, Louis Oosthuizen (9), Carlos Ortiz, Jeff Overton, Greg Owen, Ryan Palmer, Carl Pettersson, Scott Pinckney, Ian Poulter, Patrick Reed (7,9,13), Kyle Reifers, Justin Rose (4,9), John Senden, Vijay Singh, Brendan Steele, Shawn Stefani, Henrik Stenson (6,9), Robert Streb, Kevin Streelman, Chris Stroud, Daniel Summerhays, Hudson Swafford, Nick Taylor, Brendon Todd, Cameron Tringale, Camilo Villegas, Johnson Wagner, Jimmy Walker (9), Boo Weekley, Steve Wheatcroft, Will Wilcox, Mark Wilson, Gary Woodland

• Bae Sang-moon, Stewart Cink, Tim Clark, Ryo Ishikawa, Pat Perez, John Peterson, Rory Sabbatini, Webb Simpson (4), Nick Watney, and Lee Westwood (9) did not play.

3. Top 125 (medical)Freddie Jacobson

4. Major champions from the past five yearsErnie Els, Martin Kaymer (5)

• Darren Clarke did not play.

5. Players Championship winners from the past five yearsK. J. Choi

• Tiger Woods (7) did not play.

6. The Tour Championship winners from the past three years

7. World Golf Championship winners from the past three years

8. Memorial Tournament and Arnold Palmer Invitational winners since 2015

9. Top 50 from the Official World Golf RankingAn Byeong-hun, Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Rafa Cabrera-Bello, Matt Fitzpatrick, Søren Kjeldsen, Andy Sullivan, Bernd Wiesberger

• Thongchai Jaidee and Kim Kyung-tae did not play.

10. Senior Players champion from prior yearBernhard Langer

11. Web.com Tour money leader from prior seasonPatton Kizzire

12. Money leader during the Web.com Tour FinalsChez Reavie

13. Top 10 current year FedEx Cup points leaders

14. Remaining positions and alternates filled through current year FedEx Cup standingsRicky Barnes, Kim Si-woo, Jamie Lovemark, Patrick Rodgers, Harold Varner III, Jhonattan Vegas

• These players were all in the first 73 places in the standings, as of May 2.^[4]
• Aaron Baddeley – replaced Webb Simpson^[5]

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, May 12, 2016

Place	Player	Score	To par
1		63	−9
T2		65	−7
	Shane Lowry
	Justin Rose
	Brendan Steele
	Cameron Tringale
T7		66	−6
	Ernie Els
	Brooks Koepka
	Francesco Molinari
	Hudson Swafford
	Boo Weekley

Second round

Friday, May 13, 2016
Saturday, May 14, 2016

A two-hour weather delay on Friday afternoon caused several players to suspend their rounds due to darkness. Among these was Day, who completed the final four holes of his second round on Saturday morning; play resumed at 9:15 a.m. EDT.

Place	Player	Score	To par
1		63-66=129	−15
2		65-68=133	−11
T3		67-67=134	−10
		67-67=134
		65-69=134
T6		67-68=135	−9
		72-63=135
		68-67=135
		66-69=135
		66-69=135
		67-68=135

Third round

Saturday, May 14, 2016

With the second round completed on Saturday morning, the third round was played in groupings of three from split tees. Scores were significantly higher than the first two rounds, as the course conditions toughened. Ken Duke shot 65 (−7) for the best round of the day and Hideki Matsuyama carded a 67; both joined Alex Čejka in a tie for second, four strokes behind Day, who recorded a one-over 73.

Place	Player	Score	To par
1		63-66-73=202	−14
T2		67-67-72=206	−10
		74-67-65=206
		68-71-67=206
5		66-69-72=207	−9
T6		71-67-70=208	−8
		70-68-70=208
T8		67-67-75=209	−7
		72-63-74=209
		65-69-75=209

Final round

Sunday, May 15, 2016

Champion
(c) = past champion

Place	Player	Score	To par	Money ($)
1	Jason Day	63-66-73-71=273	−15	1,890,000
2		71-67-70-69=277	−11	1,134,000
T3		74-67-65-72=278	−10	504,000
	72-63-74-69=278
Matt Kuchar (c)	71-67-72-68=278
	70-68-75-65=278
T7		68-71-67-73=279	−9	338,625
	66-69-72-72=279
T9		66-72-73-69=280	−8	283,500
	67-67-72-74=280
	72-70-69-69=280

Leaderboard below the top 10
Place	Player	Score	To par	Money ($)
T12		70-68-70-73=281	−7	212,625
	72-64-75-70=281
	70-68-72-71=281
Adam Scott (c)	73-65-75-68=281
T16		65-68-78-71=282	−6	168,000
	65-69-75-73=282
	66-69-78-69=282
T19		67-67-75-74=283	−5	131,775
	67-68-77-71=283
	68-67-80-68=283
	65-74-78-66=283
T23		68-72-76-68=284	−4	93,450
	68-70-72-74=284
	67-70-75-72=284
	70-68-75-71=284
	69-71-71-73=284
T28		71-71-72-71=285	−3	68,325
	70-69-74-72=285
	68-70-75-72=285
	70-70-77-68=285
	72-67-74-72=285
	70-70-73-72=285
	67-68-76-74=285
T35		72-67-76-71=286	−2	52,893
	71-70-75-70=286
	66-70-77-73=286
	67-71-72-76=286
T39		68-71-78-70=287	−1	44,100
	70-71-79-67=287
	70-70-74-73=287
Martin Kaymer (c)	68-72-76-71=287
T43	K. J. Choi (c)	73-68-73-74=288	E	33,670
	65-73-77-73=288
	67-73-79-69=288
	72-70-74-72=288
	72-65-76-75=288
	69-71-74-74=288
T49		71-70-73-75=289	+1	25,914
	70-66-80-73=289
	69-73-75-72=289
	70-69-78-72=289
	71-67-78-73=289
T54	Sergio García (c)	72-66-77-75=290	+2	24,150
	69-70-77-74=290
	67-69-80-74=290
T57		71-67-76-77=291	+3	23,100
	72-70-78-71=291
	69-68-79-75=291
	65-76-74-76=291
	66-73-77-75=291
	73-66-78-74=291
	67-71-79-74=291
T64		66-73-78-75=292	+4	21,735
	70-72-75-75=292
	71-71-79-71=292
	70-67-76-79=292
	71-70-76-75=292
	70-71-77-74=292
70		71-71-78-73=293	+5	21,000
71		68-74-79-73=294	+6	20,790
T72		74-68-80-73=295	+7	20,475
	68-71-82-74=295
T74		73-69-79-75=296	+8	20,055
	72-70-80-74=296
76		71-70-82-77=300	+12	19,740
CUT		75-68=143	−1
	72-71=143
	69-74=143
Rickie Fowler (c)	72-71=143
	73-70=143
	70-73=143
	71-72=143
Davis Love III (c)	71-72=143
	70-73=143
Phil Mickelson (c)	70-73=143
	73-70=143
	68-75=143
	71-72=143
	72-71=143
	71-72=143
	70-73=143
	75-69=144	E
	69-75=144
	70-74=144
	71-73=144
	72-72=144
	69-75=144
	73-71=144
	75-69=144
	71-73=144
	73-72=145	+1
	75-70=145
	75-70=145
	74-71=145
	70-75=145
	71-74=145
	73-72=145
	74-71=145
	72-74=146	+2
	71-75=146
	72-74=146
	77-69=146
	73-73=146
	67-79=146
	70-77=147	+3
	72-75=147
	72-75=147
	74-73=147
	72-75=147
	72-75=147
	76-71=147
	73-74=147
	74-73=147
	73-74=147
	71-76=147
	75-73=148	+4
	77-71=148
	78-70=148
	77-72=149	+5
Henrik Stenson (c)	77-73=150	+6
	77-73=150
	74-77=151	+7
	73-78=151
	75-76=151
	77-74=151
	78-74=152	+8
	75-77=152
	80-73=153	+9
	77-76=153
	71-82=153
WD		73	+1
	73
	75	+3

^[6]

Scorecard

Final round

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
Par	4	5	3	4	4	4	4	3	5	4	5	4	3	4	4	5	3	4
Day	−14	−14	−14	−14	−14	−13	−13	−13	−12	−13	−13	−14	−14	−14	−14	−15	−15	−15
Chappell	−9	−9	−8	−7	−7	−7	−6	−6	−7	−7	−9	−9	−9	−9	−9	−10	−11	−11
Duke	−9	−10	−10	−10	−11	−11	−11	−10	−10	−9	−10	−10	−10	−10	−9	−10	−10	−10
Knost	−7	−8	−8	−8	−6	−6	−7	−8	−9	−9	−9	−10	−9	−10	−10	−10	−10	−10
Kuchar	−6	−7	−7	−7	−6	−7	−7	−7	−8	−8	−8	−9	−9	−9	−9	−10	−10	−10
Thomas	−4	−5	−5	−5	−5	−6	−6	−7	−7	−7	−8	−8	−7	−8	−8	−9	−9	−10
Matsuyama	−9	−9	−7	−7	−7	−8	−8	−8	−8	−8	−8	−8	−9	−8	−8	−9	−9	−9
Molinari	−9	−10	−9	−9	−9	−8	−8	−8	−9	−9	−9	−10	−10	−8	−8	−9	−9	−9

Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par

Eagle

Birdie

Bogey

Double bogey

Triple bogey+ -->

Source:^[7]

Notes and References

1. News: Jason Day extends his hot streak by easing to Players Championship . Ewan . Murray . May 15, 2016 . The Guardian . May 16, 2016.
2. News: Jason Day wins Players Championship as Australian enters Tiger Woods territory . May 16, 2016 . Daily Telegraph . James . Corrigan . May 16, 2016.
3. Web site: Inside the Field: The Players Championship . PGA Tour . May 10, 2016.
4. Web site: FedEx Cup Season Points . PGA Tour . May 2, 2016.
5. News: U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson withdraws from Players after birth of fourth child . . Jacksonville, Florida . Garry . Smits . May 10, 2016.
6. Web site: Past Results 1974 – present . PGA Tour . March 1, 2020 . September 1, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200901175049/https://www.theplayers.com/past-results.html . dead .
7. News: The Players Championship . ESPN . (Golf: PGA Tour) . May 15, 2016 . May 1, 2017.