The PGA Tour leaves North Carolina this week and heads South to Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida for The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass.

This Tournament draws a World Class field and is considered by most to be the 5th Major. It was established in 1974 when the inaugural winner was Jack Nicklaus. He was also successful in 1976 and 1978.

In 2008 the Purse was raised to US$9,500,00 with the Winner now taking home US$1,710,000. It is the highest Winning Share of any Tournament on the PGA Tour including the 4 Majors.

TPC Sawgrass has been the home of The Players Championship since 1982. The Stadium course was designed by Peter Dye in 1979, then went through a redesign in 2006. It is a Par 72, 7,215 yard course with 93 sand bunkers and 24 water hazards. There are also four Par 5’s. It has the reputation of being one of the toughest courses on the Tour.  The Greens are Bermuda Grass and they are tough and fast.

The Par 3, 17th hole is one of the most recognised holes in World Golf. It is commonly known as the ‘Island Green’ and is the signature hole of the Stadium course. Even although it only measures 120 metres from tee to green it has caused many headaches to even the most experienced players over the years. There are many factors that come in to play. Firstly there is the visual factor of the green being surrounded by water, then you have the undulating green factor of knowing where to land your ball, and lastly there is the weather factor which makes club selection all that more difficult when there is some wind around the course. In 2007 there were 50 balls that ended up in the water, and that was in one round!

After you get over the fear of the 17th you then have to contend with the Par 4, 18th which has water all along the left side of the fairway. You need to make sure your drive off the tee is accurate other wise your ball could be in danger of landing in the drink again.

To play well here you need to hit a lot of fairways and a lot of greens. If you cant do this then you are in for a tough 2 days as you probably wont make the cut. This course has a habit of biting you hard if you get into trouble. It also helps to be a good scrambler incase you do find yourself in trouble.

All the past winners have ranked highly in GIR stats as well as scrambling so look for someone that hits it straight and hits thier fair share of greens. It should also point out that players who have played here several times in the past are more successful than those that are new to the place. Experience here counts for everything.

Looking at the field this week we have 28 of the Worlds Top 30 players taking part and as such the odds on offer are very inviting.

The Top 10 in the Market are:- Rory McIlroy 10/1 fav, Luke Donald 15/1, Lee Westwood 15/1, Phil Mickelson 20/1, Tiger Woods 20/1, Hunter Mahan 30/1, Jason Dufner 33/1, Jason Day 40/1, Rickie Fowler 40/1, Sergio Garcia 40/1.

The Past 5 Winners of The Players Championship are:- 2011 K.J.Choi 2010 Tim Clarke 2009 Henrik Stenson 2008 Sergio Garcia 2007 Phil Mickelson

So who will be the Winner in 2012?

I have three players who I believe fit the bill and should be up there challenging on Sunday afternoon.

Hunter Mahan 30/1

What more is there to say about Hunter? He is in career best form with 2 Wins to his name already this season with victory in the WGC Match Play and Shell Houston Open. From 9 starts he has made all 9 cuts with 7 Top 25 finishes and 3 Top 10’s.

He played well at the Masters finishing for a T12th and early in the season he had a T6th Farmers Insurance and T15th AT&T Pebble Beach.

Looking at his past results at Sawgrass he hasnt set the world on fire however he has made the cut in his last 4 appearances and this season he is playing at a different level altogether.

Stats wise he is primed to play well as he is 8th in Driving Accuracy, %th in Greens in regualtion, 5th in Ball Striking and 18th in Scoring average. It is also interesting to note that from all the players in the past 5 years who have played here, he is ranked 10th in scoring average at 71.46.

It would not be a suprise to see him claim his 3rd victory for 2012 this week.

Ben Crane 60/1

There are 4 members of the ‘Golf Boys’ who are a youtube sensation with their song “Oh Oh Oh Oh” which was done for charity. The four members are Ben Crane, Bubba Watson, Hunter Mahan and Rickie Fowler.

Three of them have won on tour this year already.

Watson in the Masters, Mahan in the WGC and Houston Open and Fowler won his maiden career victory last week at Quall Hallow. It is now time for the 4th member to stand up and claim his moment in the spot light!

Ben has had 12 starts on tour this season and made 9 cuts. He is playing good consistant golf with 5 Top 25’s and 3 Top 10’s already to his name. His 2 Top 10’s were T8th Humana Championship, T9th Hyundai Tournament of Champions and 2nd Phoenix Open.

All that sets up for a good showing this week. Looking at his course form you know he loves playing here.

Last year he was T45th, in 2010 he was T4th, 2008 was T5th and 2007 was T6th.  That’s pretty good course form in any ones book! Stats wise he is 57th in Driving Accuracy, 57th in Greens in Regulation, 10th in Strokes gained putting, 13th in Birdies and 7th in Par 5 Performnce. He is also ranked 2nd for stroke average in the last 5 years at Sawgrass at 70.81.

Perhaps the ‘Golf Boys’ will be singing a group victory song in the bar if Ben is successful this week.

Zach Johnson 60/1

With a World Golf Ranking of 32 and 7 PGA Tour victories to his name, Zach certainly knows how to win.

His golf this season is very consistant and he has not missed a cut to date.

From 11 events played he has 5 Top 25’s and 2 Top 10’s. Highlights have been T8th Humana Challenge, T17th Northern Trust, T17th WGC Cadillac Championship, T11th Arnold Palmer Invitational and 2nd RBC Heritage.

He has had 8 visits to Sawgrass and recorded 4 finishes in the Top 25. Last year he was T12th. And from his last 12 rounds here he has been under Par on 8 of them.

Zach consistantly ranks high for Driving Accuracy on the tour and this year is the same. He his 10th in Driving Accuracy, 9th in Scrambling, 16th in Scoring average, 25th in Strokes gained from Putting and 2nd in Par 5 Performance.

All this makes for a player who should go very close to victory.

Good Luck and Good Punting!!!