Jordan Spieth returns to competition for the first time since the Masters and will make his third career start at the Players Championship. He missed the cut last year and is 5 over in his past three rounds at TPC Sawgrass after being 12 under in his first three career rounds there.
After missing the cut in his first three career starts at The Players (12 over combined), Rory McIlroy has posted top-eight finishes in his past three starts there (24 under combined).
History has been tough on defending champions at the Players. None of the past six Players champions have finished in the top 40 the next year.
Here is a look at the course, the tournament and its notable players.
The 17th Hole -- Island Green
Since 2003, there have been 598 balls in the water in 5,675 official rounds played on the 17th hole (10.5 percent). The 17th hole’s scoring average during that time of 3.12 is the highest on the PGA Tour among par-3s that measure less than 150 yards on the scorecard.
In 2015, the 17th hole was the site of the highest number of double bogeys (28) and others (four) combined since 2008, when 47 was the combined total (41 doubles, eight others).
Jordan Spieth
In his first three career rounds at the Players Championship, Spieth was a combined 12 under with zero bogeys or worse. In his three rounds since then, Spieth has made 13 bogeys with a combined score of 5 over.
Spieth has been over par in each of his past three rounds (the final three rounds at the Masters). He hasn’t had a streak of four rounds over par since he missed the cut in back-to-back events last fall at The Barclays and Deutsche Bank Championship.
Spieth is searching for his eighth career win, which would be the second most in PGA Tour history by a player 22 or younger. Only Horton Smith had more before turning 23 (14).
If Spieth gets to the weekend, what will we see? In his first three events on the PGA Tour this season (WGC-HSBC Champions, Hyundai Tournament of Champions, AT&T Pebble Beach), he was a cumulative 29 under in six weekend rounds, with three of those at 66 or better. In his past four stroke-play events, he is a cumulative 2 under in eight weekend rounds.
Jason Day
The No. 1 player in the world, Day is one of two players with multiple wins on the PGA Tour this season, joined by fellow Australian Adam Scott. Both players earned their wins in back-to-back starts.
Day has missed the cut in three of his five career appearances at the Players, most recently after a second-round 81 in 2015. That matches the most missed cuts at one event for Day in his PGA Tour career.
But when Day has made the cut, he has played well on the weekend. His scoring average of 69.8 after the cut ranks second all-time among players who have made multiple cuts at this event.
Day enters this week riding a streak of four rounds in the 60s. The last time he went five in a row was during last year’s FedExCup Playoffs.
Rory McIlroy
McIlroy is No. 3 in the Official World Golf Ranking, but he’s the betting favorite this week, according to the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook, at 8-1, just ahead of Spieth and Day (both 10-1).
McIlroy’s weekend scoring average (69.7) at the Players Championship is the best in tournament history among players to make the cut multiple times.
It has been quite a turnaround for McIlroy at the Players, where he missed the cut in his first three career appearances. He has posted top-eight finishes in his subsequent three starts. In his first three starts, McIlroy had no rounds under par. In his past three, nine of the 12 starts have been under par.
Danny Willett
Danny Willett makes his first start on U.S. soil since he won the Masters in early April. Willett missed the cut at the Players last year, his only appearance at the event.
Willett is trying to become the eighth player with a win at both the Masters and the Players. Members of that list are Jack Nicklaus, Raymond Floyd, Sandy Lyle, Fred Couples, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Scott.
