Hold on for a wild Players ride

Florida Times-Union sports columnist Gene Frenette is at The Players Championship all week and filing reports for jacksonville.com. This is his early-day entry for Sunday May 11.


If Billy Mayfair's TPC Sawgrass Players Stadium course forecast is any indication of what awaits the Players Championship field later today, the leaders will be in for a long day.

"I'd say it's a par 76 or 77 right now," Mayfair said after shooting a final-round 81 in the blustery wind conditions. "We had a hard time keeping the balls from just not rolling on the greens [while waiting to putt]. You stand over a ball and it starts wiggling or trying to move.

"If the wind comes up more this afternoon and we don't get any rain, [the rest of the players] could be in trouble."

The par-three No. 3 hole could be especially troublesome for the leaders because it's directly into a 15-30 mile per hour wind. Today, the pin is at the back on the upper tier of the green, playing to 183 yards, and many golfers wait on the tee to try and hit when the winds are calmer.

"To get it on that back tier today is just about impossible," said Mayfair, who took a triple-bogey 6. "If you do get it back there and hit it a tad too far, it rolls over the back into the bunker. You have to try to hit to the center of the green."

Ben Crane hit the shot of the day at No. 3 among the early groups, putting the ball within 6 feet and making birdie. The only other birdie at that hole came from Bart Bryant, who made a 12-foot putt.

The heavy wind conditions could favor Spaniard Sergio Garcia, who is No. 1 this week in greens in regulation and stands in third place at four-under-par 212, three shots behind leader Paul Goydos.

It appears the potential for great drama will be there at the two closing holes, the par-three island at No. 17 and the par-four No. 18, which was playing almost a full shot above par after the first 22 players completed their round.

So far, the rain has held off through 2 p.m. and there's a strong chance that the thunderstorms that were forecast to push the tournament into Monday could miss us. Stay updated throughout the day at The Players by clicking on to jacksonville.com