We are now officially in ‘The Players Championship’ week, with the 5th major of the year being played for the 43rd time at Pete Dye’s ‘Players Stadium Course’ at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra, FL this Thursday through Sunday! As the gaze of the golf world focuses in on one of Pete’s iconic course designs and a stacked professional field, the below is interesting information for this year’s Players Championship!

Scottie Scheffler Goes for a Three-peat

Last year, Scottie Scheffler did something no one in the history of the Players Championship had done in the 43-year history of the tournament since being held at TPC Sawgrass–win two in a row. Now he will go for a three-peat in 2025–something unfathomable in the past. After a non-golf holiday injury in December, there was doubt that he’d be able to pull off a run at a three-peat. However, he has returned from his injuries and will play in his 5th tournament of the year–showing enough form that he is the current favorite. Click here for tournament odds for the Players Championship.

Iconic Dye Oak Tree on #6 is Back

An iconic oak tree just right of the fairway on the Par-4 sixth hole has made a reappearance, putting the 6th hole back to how Pete Dye originally designed it! The original tree that Dye left on the course in his original plans hung over into the right side of the fairway and provided a menacing visual for players from the back tees. But back in 2014, the tree developed a disease and had to be cut down for fears of limbs falling during play. However, with it gone for the last 10 years, the sixth hole played much easier as proven by lower average scores on the hole in tournaments. But this year, the folks at TPC Sawgrass found an almost identical tree on the property and took on a project to move the 500,000 pound tree to the original tree’s exact position–just in time for the 2025 Players Championship. It will be interesting to see the impact it has this week!

Read more about the re-emergence of the oak tree with video here.

History of the Players Championship and TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course

Click here to navigate to an excellent quick article on some of the history of the course and tournament, along with additional links on all things about the Players Championship.

And this article reflects on the date that TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course broke ground 46 years ago!

Pete Dye video of creating Hole #18 at TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course

Golf Digest just published an outstanding video on the making of #18, and for those with an interest in Pete Dye and his design and construction methods, it is a MUST watch. Watch video here.

How to Watch the Players Championship this week

Lastly, here’s a link to Golf.com’s information page on how to catch coverage of the 2025 Players Championship, as well as other tournament links. In general, Thursday and Friday coverage will be on The Golf Channel, while Saturday and Sunday coverage will be on NBC.