Scottie Scheffler won The Players Championship this past Sunday with a score of -17. Scottie took control of the tournament early in the final round and coasted through the back nine to a five shot victory over second place Tyrrell Hatton. With the win, Scottie once again regained the number one spot in the Official World Golf Ranking.
Although it lacked an exciting finish, The Players Championship still gave us several other memorable storylines. Tyrrell Hatton finished his final round with five birdies in a row for a 29 on the back nine. Tom Hoge shot an opening round 78 in route to barely making the cut, then stormed back with a course record 62 in the third round, ending the tournament in a tie for third.
Since its inception, The Players Championship has raised over $100 million for 300 charities in northeast Florida. Make a positive impact in your community. Volunteer at a PGA Tour event near you!
Of course, you cannot talk about The Players Championship without talking about The Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass. It was built in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida as the permanent home for the championship and has hosted it since 1982.
The course was designed by renowned golf course architect Pete Dye, who designed dozens of courses, including Whistling Straits in my home state of Wisconsin. One statement heard several times over the course of the tournament was how The Players Stadium Course does not favor one style of play over another, as any player in the field has a chance to win if they can string four good rounds together. Scottie Scheffler did just that as he was the only player with all four rounds in the sixties.
The signature hole at The Players Stadium Course is the par 3 17th, the island green, one of the most recognizable holes in all of golf. Pete Dye has credited his wife Alice with the idea of the island green, who commented “Why not just make an island green?” when he was pondering what to do with the 17th hole.
While there were several balls hit in the water on the 17th hole this year, especially during the windy finish of the final round, three players, Hayden Buckley, Aaron Rai, and Alex Smalley each scored a hole-in-one on the 17th hole during the week.
The well-known phrase “No man is an island” was written by English cleric John Donne just about 400 years ago in 1624. It is a great reminder for Christians that we are all connected to each other, all members of the church body.
The book of Ecclesiastes tells us the benefits of cooperatively working with others, building each other up instead of toiling alone.
Don’t be on an island. Find brothers and sisters to team up with, serving others in the ways of Jesus.