The Players notebook: ‘You’re killing, me Smalls’ and sights and sounds from a memorable 50th event

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – The Players Championship is in the books and the golden anniversary edition delivered a classic, with Scottie Scheffler holding off the challengers to become the first repeat champion in tournament history. Here are some notables, sights and sounds from the 50th Players.

High marks from new leader

Lee Smith was hired after last year’s Players to replace outgoing executive director Jared Rice. The first tournament he oversaw here happened to be the 50th anniversary of the event, and it played out about as well as it could have.

Among the numerous aspects of the tournament to juggle were admission and parking. The Players sold out parking on Friday and Saturday and sold out its stadium admission tickets on Saturday.

Smith said the interest for this year’s event was due to a number of factors but touched on ways The Players has tried to make it more fan-friendly.

More local restaurants on site. More vantage points for fans. Upgraded chalets. And one very important and perhaps overlooked aspect of The Players… the flexibility of how to actually get to and get home from TPC Sawgrass. The Players began stressing the rideshare option, biking, and golf cart options several years ago. It was at its peak this year.

“We’ve gotten a lot of positive comments about our rideshare and the opportunity to get here. I think it was Friday we parked 580 bicycles and 280 golf carts. Every year that’s been a point of focus for us to try to take cars for safety, security, and timeliness off of the road,” Smith said. “I think our fans listened and we’ll continue to try to grow that. Part of that experience arrival and departure is a main part of that experience and we focus on it year in and year out.”

Sellout a first

Parking typically sells out those days but selling out admission tickets isn’t a common sight. When The Players announced that all third-round tickets had been sold, it marked truly a first. The Players said it was the first sellout of a round in recent history.

The Players last sold out (completely) in 2021, but that was when attendance was still capped by pandemic restrictions and limited to 20% of capacity. So, that year may have been technically a sellout but it was with an asterisk. The Players hasn’t released actual attendance numbers since 2013 when it said 173,946 fans attended at least one day at the Stadium Course.

Only one ace

Ryan Fox made history in Thursday’s first round. He had an eagle on the par-3 16th hole and then dropped in a perfect gap wedge on the iconic 17th to ace the hole. It was the 14th hole-in-one in Players history … and the only one this year.

Fox became the first golfer to have back-to-back eagles at The Players. Last year, Hayden Buckley, Aaron Rai and Alex Smalley all aced 17, the most in a single tournament.

Fox’s historic round didn’t lead to a memorable event. He missed the cut. Golfers have aced the 17th three years in a row now, the longest streak in Players’ history. The biggest gap between aces on 17 was 14 years (2002-2016).

‘You’re killing me, Smalls’

Among some of the big names taking in the golf at TPC Sawgrass this week were Jaguars players Evan Engram, Trevor Lawrence, Christian Kirk and new addition Gabe Davis. Former Bartram Trail quarterback Nathan Peterman, who signed a free-agent deal with the Saints last week, was also spotted. Presumptive No. 1 NFL draft pick Caleb Williams followed Rory McIlroy in Friday’s second round. Actors Asher Grodman, a huge Jaguars fan, was out on Friday at TPC Sawgrass, as well as Patrick Renna who played Ham Porter in the “Sandlot”. Don’t remember Renna? He’s the actor who gave us the unforgettable line, “You’re killing me, Smalls.” Renna jokingly asked Justin Thomas at the end of his press conference on Wednesday if he could swap golf lessons for baseball lessons.

“My dad’s the coach, by the way, so anything bad that happens, that’s on him,” Thomas said.