2011 Players Championship

The 2011 Players Championship was a golf tournament in Florida on the PGA Tour, held May 12–15 at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, southeast of Jacksonville. It was the 38th Players Championship.

K. J. Choi defeated David Toms on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff to claim his first PGA Tour title since 2008.^[1][2][3][4]

Traditionally, the flag of the defending champion (2010 winner Tim Clark of South Africa) flies at TPC Sawgrass during the week of the Players. As a tribute to the recently deceased Seve Ballesteros, per Clark's request, the PGA Tour flew the Spanish flag in its place.^[5] Clark withdrew during the second round due to nagging elbow problems.

Venue

This was the 30th Players Championship held at the TPC at Sawgrass Stadium Course and it remained at 7,215 yards (6,597 m).

Course layout

The 2011 Players Championship

Tee	Rating/Slope	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Out	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	In	Total
Yards	n/a	423	532	177	384	471	393	442	237	583	3,642	424	558	358	181	481	449	523	137	462	3,573	7,215
Par		4	5	3	4	4	4	4	3	5	36	4	5	4	3	4	4	5	3	4	36	72

Field

The field consisted of 144 players meeting criteria 1–12, plus the winner of the 2010 Senior Players Championship.

1. Winners of PGA Tour events since last Players

Stuart Appleby (3), Arjun Atwal (3), Aaron Baddeley (3,11), Matt Bettencourt (3), Michael Bradley, Jonathan Byrd (3), Tim Clark (2,3,6,9), Jason Day (2,3,9), Luke Donald (2,3,7,9,11), Jim Furyk (2,3,8,9), Robert Garrigus (3), Lucas Glover (3,5), Bill Haas (3,9), Charley Hoffman (2,3), Dustin Johnson (2,3,9), Zach Johnson (2,3,5,9), Martin Kaymer (5,9), Matt Kuchar (2,3,9), Martin Laird (2,3,9,11), Bill Lunde (3), Hunter Mahan (2,3,7,9), Graeme McDowell (3,5,9), Rocco Mediate (3), Phil Mickelson (2,3,5,6,7,8,9,11), Louis Oosthuizen (5,9), Carl Pettersson (3), D. A. Points (3), Justin Rose (2,3,9), Rory Sabbatini (3), Charl Schwartzel (5,9), Adam Scott (2,3,9), Heath Slocum (3), Brandt Snedeker (3,9,11), Brendan Steele, Steve Stricker (2,3,9), Jhonattan Vegas, Johnson Wagner, Nick Watney (2,3,7,9,11), Bubba Watson (2,3,9,11), Mark Wilson (3,11), Gary Woodland (9,11)

• Lee Westwood (9) did not play.

2. Top 30 from previous season's FedEx Cup points list

Robert Allenby (3,9), Paul Casey (3,9), K. J. Choi (3,9), Ben Crane (3,9), Ernie Els (3,7,9), Retief Goosen (3,9), Ryan Moore (3,9), Kevin Na (3), Geoff Ogilvy (3,5,7,9), Jeff Overton (3), Ryan Palmer (3), Kevin Streelman (3), Bo Van Pelt (3,9), Camilo Villegas (3,8)

3. Top 125 from previous season's PGA Tour money list

Blake Adams, Stephen Ames (6), Ricky Barnes, Cameron Beckman, Kris Blanks, Jason Bohn, Ángel Cabrera (5), Chad Campbell, Alex Čejka, Greg Chalmers, Stewart Cink (5), Chad Collins, Michael Connell, Chris Couch, Ben Curtis, Brian Davis, Brendon de Jonge, Jason Dufner, Joe Durant, David Duval, Rickie Fowler (9), Sergio García (6), Brian Gay, Paul Goydos, Pádraig Harrington (5,9), J. P. Hayes, J. J. Henry, J. B. Holmes, Charles Howell III, Ryuji Imada, Freddie Jacobson, Matt Jones, Jerry Kelly, Anthony Kim (9), Derek Lamely, Marc Leishman, Justin Leonard, Spencer Levin, Davis Love III, Steve Marino, Troy Merritt, Shaun Micheel, Bryce Molder, Sean O'Hair, Corey Pavin, Pat Perez, Kenny Perry, Tim Petrovic, Ian Poulter (7,9), Alex Prugh, Chris Riley, John Rollins, Andrés Romero, John Senden, Michael Sim, Webb Simpson (11), Vijay Singh (7), Kevin Stadler, Chris Stroud, Kevin Sutherland, Vaughn Taylor, Josh Teater, David Toms, D. J. Trahan, Scott Verplank, Jimmy Walker, Boo Weekley, Charlie Wi, Garrett Willis, Dean Wilson, Tiger Woods (5,7,9), Yang Yong-eun (5,9)

• Graham DeLaet, Steve Elkington, Tom Gillis, Jeff Maggert, Rory McIlroy (9), and Roland Thatcher did not play.

4. Top 125 from current season - Medical Extension

Nick O'Hern

5. Major champions from the past five years

Trevor Immelman

6. Players Championship winners from the past five years

Henrik Stenson

7. WGC winners from the past three years (WGC-HSBC Champions winner only in 2010, and only if a PGA Tour member)

8. The Tour Championship winners from the past three years

9. Top 50 from the Official World Golf Ranking as of May 1

Ross Fisher, Peter Hanson, Robert Karlsson, Matteo Manassero, Edoardo Molinari, Francesco Molinari, Álvaro Quirós

• Anders Hansen, Ryo Ishikawa, Miguel Ángel Jiménez, and Kim Kyung-tae did not play.

10. Web.com Tour money leader from prior season

• Jamie Lovemark did not play.

11. Top 10 current year FedEx Cup points leaders as of May 1

12. Field filled to 144 through current year FedEx Cup standings as of May 1

Keegan Bradley, Kevin Chappell, Tommy Gainey, Hunter Haas, Brandt Jobe, Chris Kirk, Troy Matteson

13. Senior Players champion from prior year (did not count against field of 144)

Mark O'Meara

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Nick Watney made eight birdies, an eagle, and a double bogey en route to an opening round 64. Lucas Glover, coming off a win the week before at the Wells Fargo Championship, shot an opening round 65. Tiger Woods shot 42 (+6) on his first nine then withdrew, citing multiple injuries. Defending champion Tim Clark, who had been battling injuries all season, shot an opening round 74.

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	Nick Watney	64	−8
2	Lucas Glover	65	−7
T3	Mark O'Meara	66	−6
	David Toms
T5	Freddie Jacobson	67	−5
	Martin Kaymer
	Graeme McDowell
	Álvaro Quirós
	Rory Sabbatini
T10	Ben Crane	68	−4
	J. B. Holmes
	Davis Love III

Second round

Friday, May 13, 2011

David Toms posted a 68 to gain a one-shot lead over first round leader Nick Watney. Greg Chalmers had the round of the day at 65, while defending champion Tim Clark (tendonitis) and Geoff Ogilvy (shoulder) both withdrew. The cut was at even par 144, and 74 players advanced to the weekend.

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	David Toms	66-68=134	−10
2	Nick Watney	64-71=135	−9
T3	Luke Donald	69-67=136	−8
	Lucas Glover	65-71=136
	Graeme McDowell	67-69=136
	Steve Stricker	69-67=136
T7	Aaron Baddeley	70-67=137	−7
	J. B. Holmes	68-69=137
	Davis Love III	68-69=137
	Hunter Mahan	70-67=137

Third round

Saturday, May 14, 2011

At the end of a rain soaked Saturday, Graeme McDowell and Nick Watney were tied for the lead at −11. Martin Kaymer birdied his first four holes and five of his first seven holes to temporarily tie for the lead, but bogeyed 8, 9 and 10 and ended the day 3 shots back.

Place	Player	Score	To par	Hole
T1	Graeme McDowell	67-69-19=155	−11	5
	Nick Watney	64-71-18=153		5
T3	Steve Stricker	69-67-20=156	−10	5
	David Toms	66-68-20=154		5
T5	K. J. Choi	70-68-37=175	−9	10
	Lucas Glover	65-71-25=161		6
T7	Luke Donald	69-67-27=163	−8	8
	Jason Dufner	69-70-46=185		12
	Robert Karlsson	71-67-34=172		9
	Martin Kaymer	67-72-46=185		12
	Rory Sabbatini	67-71-38=176		10

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Play resumed at 7:35 a.m. EDT with most of the leaders still on the front nine. Graeme McDowell held a three-shot lead standing on the 18th tee, but found the water on his approach and made double bogey. K. J. Choi stormed into contention with a 67 and was in the final threesome with McDowell and David Toms. Lucas Glover also finished with a double bogey and fell out of contention. Peter Hanson, who finished the following night, had the best third round at 66.

Place	Player	Score	To par
1	Graeme McDowell	67-69-68=204	−12
T2	K. J. Choi	70-68-67=205	−11
	David Toms	66-68-71=205
T4	Aaron Baddeley	70-67-70=207	−9
	Luke Donald	69-67-71=207
	Jason Dufner	69-70-68=207
	Davis Love III	68-69-70=207
	Steve Stricker	69-67-71=207
	Nick Watney	64-71-72=207
T10	Paul Goydos	69-70-69=208	−8
	Álvaro Quirós	67-73-68=208

Final round

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Four different players held a share of the lead in the final round, which came down to the final group. Third round leader Graeme McDowell struggled to a 79, including double bogey on 17, and fell out of the top thirty.^[4] Charlie Hoffman stormed into contention before a quadruple bogey 7 on the infamous 17th hole led to 71. Paul Goydos, the 2008 runner-up, made a move with a 69, but came up two shots short of a playoff.

David Toms, who held the lead almost the entire day, had a one shot lead over K. J. Choi as they played the par-5 16th. Toms went for the green in two and hit it into the water right. He made bogey and was now tied with Choi. On the 17th, Choi made a 10-foot (3 m) birdie putt to take the outright lead for the first time in the tournament. After Toms drove it into a divot on the 18th hole, he hit his approach to 20 feet (6 m). Choi, who pushed his drive right, came up short right of the 18th green and chipped up to five feet. Toms made his birdie putt, only the fourth of the day on 18, to put the pressure back on Choi, who made his par putt to force a playoff.^[1][2][3]

Champion

(c) = past champion

Place	Player	Score	To par	Money ($)
T1	K. J. Choi	70-68-67-70=275	−13	Playoff
	David Toms	66-68-71-70=275
3	Paul Goydos	69-70-69-69=277	−11	646,000
T4	Luke Donald	69-67-71-71=278	−10	418,000
	Nick Watney	64-71-72-71=278
T6	Aaron Baddeley	70-67-70-72=279	−9	287,375
	Jason Day	69-70-72-68=279
	Jason Dufner	69-70-68-72=279
	J. B. Holmes	68-69-73-69=279
	Hunter Mahan	70-67-73-69=279
	Álvaro Quirós	67-73-68-71=279

Leaderboard below the top 10
Place	Player	Score	To par	Money ($)
T12	Sergio García (c)	74-68-73-65=280	−8	175,071
	Brian Gay	71-69-71-69=280
	Zach Johnson	74-70-70-66=280
	Spencer Levin	72-69-68-71=280
	Davis Love III (c)	68-69-70-73=280
	Steve Stricker	69-67-71-73=280
	Chris Stroud	71-67-74-68=280
T19	Stewart Cink	70-72-69-70=281	−7	107,214
	Peter Hanson	72-72-66-71=281
	Matt Jones	72-72-69-68=281
	Martin Kaymer	67-72-70-72=281
	Steve Marino	70-72-69-70=281
	Sean O'Hair	71-71-67-72=281
	Kevin Streelman	70-69-75-67=281
T26	Chad Campbell	73-71-69-69=282	−6	67,450
	Brian Davis	69-69-73-71=282
	Charley Hoffman	72-71-68-71=282
	Robert Karlsson	71-67-72-72=282
	Jeff Overton	69-71-73-69=282
	Rory Sabbatini	67-71-71-73=282
	Charl Schwartzel	72-71-71-68=282
T33	Trevor Immelman	70-73-70-70=283	−5	50,191
	Graeme McDowell	67-69-68-79=283
	Phil Mickelson (c)	71-71-69-72=283
	Bryce Molder	70-73-67-73=283
	Ryan Moore	71-69-71-72=283
	Carl Pettersson	73-71-71-68=283
T39	Kenny Perry	72-71-68-73=284	−4	41,800
	Andrés Romero	72-69-69-74=284
T41	Jonathan Byrd	71-73-72-69=285	−3	36,100
	Ángel Cabrera	70-74-68-73=285
	Greg Chalmers	73-65-74-73=285
	Charlie Wi	70-72-68-75=285
T45	Ben Crane	68-76-71-71=286	−2	27,816
	Corey Pavin	72-69-74-71=286
	Justin Rose	70-69-74-73=286
	Bubba Watson	76-66-76-68=286
	Garrett Willis	70-74-69-73=286
T50	Robert Allenby	69-74-68-76=287	−1	23,132
	Chris Couch	71-72-71-73=287
	Ben Curtis	71-73-70-73=287
	Lucas Glover	65-71-74-77=287
T54	Matt Kuchar	69-72-73-74=288	E	21,850
	Rocco Mediate	72-69-71-76=288
	Scott Verplank	73-71-71-73=288
T57	Arjun Atwal	73-70-77-69=289	+1	21,185
	Dustin Johnson	72-70-73-74=289
	Justin Leonard (c)	70-73-72-74=289
	Ian Poulter	70-72-74-73=289
T61	Jason Bohn	71-73-72-74=290	+2	20,520
	Retief Goosen	73-69-72-76=290
	Troy Merritt	69-75-73-73=290
T64	Kris Blanks	69-72-81-69=291	+3	19,760
	Hunter Haas	72-71-75-73=291
	Freddie Jacobson	67-75-73-76=291
	Jerry Kelly	73-70-73-75=291
	Matteo Manassero	72-70-73-76=291
T69	Kevin Chappell	71-73-80-68=292	+4	19,000
	Martin Laird	72-70-76-74=292
	Webb Simpson	70-73-74-75=292
72	Keegan Bradley	75-69-72-77=293	+5	18,620
73	Robert Garrigus	74-69-76-75=294	+6	18,430
74	Mark O'Meara	66-74-79-77=296	+8	18,240
CUT	Stephen Ames (c)	77-68=145	+1
	Michael Bradley	71-74=145
	Joe Durant	73-72=145
	Ernie Els	72-73=145
	Rickie Fowler	77-68=145
	Ryuji Imada	73-72=145
	Brandt Jobe	75-70=145
	Kevin Na	73-72=145
	Heath Slocum	71-74=145
	Kevin Stadler	73-72=145
	D. J. Trahan	75-70=145
	Bo Van Pelt	76-69=145
	Camilo Villegas	74-71=145
	Mark Wilson	70-75=145
	Yang Yong-eun	69-76=145
	Paul Casey	71-75=146	+2
	David Duval (c)	70-76=146
	Ross Fisher	73-73=146
	Bill Haas	74-72=146
	J. P. Hayes	73-73=146
	Shaun Micheel	71-75=146
	Francesco Molinari	76-70=146
	Ryan Palmer	70-76=146
	Jimmy Walker	77-69=146
	Boo Weekley	75-71=146
	Dean Wilson	77-69=146
	Gary Woodland	75-71=146
	Jim Furyk	71-76=147	+3
	J. J. Henry	74-73=147
	Charles Howell III	73-74=147
	Derek Lamely	74-73=147
	Nick O'Hern	76-71=147
	Louis Oosthuizen	71-76=147
	Alex Prugh	75-72=147
	Vijay Singh	75-72=147
	Brandt Snedeker	73-74=147
	Kevin Sutherland	72-75=147
	Blake Adams	72-76=148	+4
	Ricky Barnes	70-78=148
	Cameron Beckman	72-76=148
	Chad Collins	74-74=148
	Pat Perez	76-72=148
	Tim Petrovic	75-73=148
	D. A. Points	74-74=148
	John Rollins	73-75=148
	Adam Scott (c)	76-72=148
	Michael Sim	76-72=148
	Josh Teater	72-76=148
	Stuart Appleby	76-73=149	+5
	Tommy Gainey	75-74=149
	Chris Kirk	76-73=149
	Chris Riley	72-77=149
	Vaughn Taylor	76-73=149
	Johnson Wagner	74-75=149
	Alex Čejka	72-78=150	+6
	Anthony Kim	74-76=150
	Bill Lunde	73-77=150
	Edoardo Molinari	72-78=150
	Brendan Steele	78-72=150
	Michael Connell	73-78=151	+7
	Pádraig Harrington	73-78=151
	John Senden	76-75=151
	Matt Bettencourt	79-74=153	+9
	Brendon de Jonge	81-73=154	+10
Troy Matteson	78-76=154
Henrik Stenson (c)	79-75=154
Jhonattan Vegas	78-77=155	+11
Marc Leishman	81-80=161	+17
WD	Tim Clark (c)	74	+2
	Geoff Ogilvy	75	+3
	Tiger Woods (c)

Source:^[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
Choi	−12	−12	−12	−12	−11	−11	−11	−11	−11	−12	−11	−11	−12	−12	−12	−12	−13	−13
Toms	−11	−12	−12	−13	−13	−14	−14	−13	−13	−13	−13	−13	−13	−13	−13	−12	−12	−13
Goydos	−8	−8	−8	−8	−7	−8	−8	−8	−9	−10	−11	−11	−10	−10	−10	−11	−11	−11
Donald	−9	−8	−8	−9	−9	−8	−9	−9	−9	−10	−10	−10	−10	−9	−9	−10	−10	−10
Watney	−10	−11	−12	−11	−11	−11	−12	−11	−10	−10	−10	−11	−11	−10	−10	−10	−10	−10
McDowell	−12	−12	−12	−12	−13	−12	−11	−11	−10	−10	−10	−10	−9	−9	−8	−8	−6	−5

Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par

Birdie

Bogey

Double bogey

Source:^[7]

Playoff

This was the fourth playoff in Players Championship history and the first since Sergio García defeated Paul Goydos in 2008. The format was again sudden death, on a rotation of holes 17-18-16-17-18 until there is a winner. On the first extra hole, both players made it on the island green 17th, but both had long birdie putts. After Choi lagged up to three feet, Toms had 23 feet (7 m) for the win, but barely missed; it went three and a half feet past, and he lipped out his comebacker for par. Choi sank the putt for his first win on the PGA Tour since 2008.^[1][2][3]

Place	Player	Score	To par	Money ($)
1	K. J. Choi	3	E	1,710,000
2	David Toms	4	+1	1,026,000

• Playoff was at the par-3 17th hole

References

External links

• The Players Championship website