MISCELLANEOUS

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Merchandise

Photos

Location:

  • PGA TOUR Fan Shop at THE PLAYERS Stadium Village (near the main entrance)

Free Early Access Merchandise Sale: The PGA TOUR Fan Shop will be open to the public the weekend before the tournament (March 7-9), so that our Northeast Florida community can come check out the unique merchandise collection and purchase commemorative items and apparel. No ticket is required, and guests can park in the public parking lot off CR 210. 

  • Friday, March 8: 12 pm to 5 pm 
  • Saturday, March 9: 10 am to 4 pm 
  • Sunday, March 10: 10 am to 4 pm 

What’s New:

  • The PGA TOUR Fan Shop has increased in size and is now over 37,000 square feet and features endless exciting merchandise for fans to choose from.

Food & Drink

Taste of JAX – 11 green/12 tee

  • Cousins Maine Lobster – serving up its 100% premium, wild-caught, sustainably harvested lobster from Maine.
  • Mojo BBQ – a premier barbecue, southern food, and craft cocktail destination with eight locations in North and Central Florida.
  • Goat Tapas Bar
  • Peles Wood Fire Grille

  • Taste of Jax Bar featuring Bushmill’s Irish Whiskey

Wine & Dine on 9 presented by Meiomi Wines – 9 fairway

Enjoy food from Bonefish Grill and a glass of wine from Meiomi Wines, the official wine of the PGA TOUR, in a beautiful garden setting.  Enjoy the brand-new putting green, and if you need to freshen up, take advantage of the permanent restrooms.

Relax, unwind, and discover the unrivaled taste of Meiomi. 

 
 

Food Court – THE PLAYERS Welcome Experience

  • Homespun Kitchen – Healthy fast food. Whether you are vegan, gluten free or paleo, you will find tons of options at Homespun.
  • Firehouse Subs – This sandwich shop was founded in Jacksonville and specializes in hot subs and sandwiches made with premium meats and cheeses, steamed to perfection, and then piled high on a toasted roll.
  • Bono’s Pit Bar-B-Q -Lou Bono opened the first Bono’s on Beach Boulevard in 1949. The restaurant prides itself on serving up an authentic Southern Pit barbecue experience you won’t forget. 
  • The Local – Jacksonville based high quality café focusing on delicious food with unique twists on every dish as well as craft booze and coffee. 
  • Top Dawg Tavern-Be sure to stop by to fuel up classic American food from this family-owned restaurant.
  • Tropical Smoothie – Bold, flavorful smoothies, wraps, sandwiches, flatbreads and salads with high-quality ingredients and fresh produce.
  • Daily’s concessions  
 

Tacos on 12 – 12 green

One of the most well-trafficked food venues on the course, featuring food and drink from TacoLu, Jacksonville’s most popular Baja Mexicana.

Sawgrass Square – 10 tee

Located at the Davis Love III Entry, grab a donut from Mini Bar and/or some BBQ from 4 Rivers Smokehouse.

  • Mini Bar – Jacksonville’s first mini donut shop will be serving up a set menu of mini-sized donuts in more than a dozen unique flavors. Some examples include fruity pebbles, samoa, pop tart, maple bacon, and coffee cake. 
  • 4 Rivers Smokehouse – a sophisticated Texas-style smokehouse

Trucks on 10 

This venue offers flavors from local, favorite food trucks and an open-air Michelob ULTRA Mobile bar. 

The Patio – between 10 tee and 18 green/16 tee

The Patio offers a shaded fan zone that includes open-air seating and a videoboard to keep up with the tournament action. The Patio features a Michelob ULTRA bar as well as food from V Pizza, founded by Jacksonville natives with the goal of bringing true Neapolitan pizza to their hometown.

Bier Garden presented by Hoptinger – behind 16 green

Near the Couples (rideshare) Entry.  Choose from a variety of craft beer and bar bites from Hoptinger, a locally-owned bier garden and sausage house.

Sawgrass Splash – the signature cocktail of THE PLAYERS.

As part of the PGA TOUR’s commitment to leading the advancement of sustainability in the industry, THE PLAYERS will be serving the tournament’s signature drink, the Sawgrass Splash featuring Tito’s Handmade Vodka, in a lightweight, aluminum cup. Aluminum is the most sustainable beverage packaging material, and like aluminum cans, aluminum cups can be easily recycled; the 16 oz cups are lightweight, sturdy, cool to the touch and provide an elevated drinking experience for all fans. While the cup is changing, the iconic Sawgrass Splash is staying the same; the drink will continue to feature Tito’s Handmade Vodka, and a refreshing combination of orange juice, lemonade and lime juice.

Sawgrass Splash ingredients:

  • 1.5oz Tito’s Handmade Vodka
  • 2 oz. lemonade
  • 2 oz. orange juice
  • Squeeze of lime juice

The Oasis ft. Tito’s Stillhouse Lounge

  • The Oasis is an air-conditioned venue with signature cocktails from Tito’s Handmade Vodka, as well as food and drink available for purchase.  The Oasis offers an enclosed lounge with premium sightlines of the newly reimagined 9th tee. The lounge also features fun additions for fans, including a putting green, Golden Tee retro arcade game, custom murals, TVs with live broadcasts of the tournament and more!  
  • The Oasis features ABBQ – Serving up Texas style BBQ at the Beach.  

The Grove featuring Maestro Dobel

Enjoy eleven generations of tequila-making legacy at The Grove with Maestro Dobel Tequila, Official Tequila of the PGA TOUR and PGA TOUR Champions. Sharing its commitment to mastery with golf fans, Maestro Dobel offers three signature cocktails featuring its range of smooth tequilas including the Ace Paloma, available at the entrance of the course. While in the lounge, experience Dobel’s rich history and hone your tequila knowledge with the brand’s tequila experts, while also learning about “Art of the Cocktail.” Please drink responsibly. 

Filtered Water Stations

  • Near No. 10 tee/No. 16 tee
  • Wine & Dine on 9 (near No. 5 green/No. 9 fairway)
  • Behind 16 green (near The Grove)
  • Taste of JAX (Located behind 11 green and 12 tee)

Remember: THE PLAYERS will allow reusable plastic or metal cups up to 32oz at entries, as long as they are empty. 

By the Numbers

Course

  • $1 – Amount that former PGA TOUR Commissioner Deane Beman paid to purchase the 415 acres of swampland where TPC Sawgrass now sits
  • 15 –minutes it takes to cut a hole location and replace the old hold location  
  • 84– number of bunkers on THE PLAYERS Stadium Course – 52 on the front nine and 32 on the back. #17 is the only hole on the course that has one bunker.
  • 2.5– rough height, in inches
  • 137 – distance, in yards, of the Island Green 17th Hole

Agronomy

  • 105 – full-time agronomy employees who oversee the maintenance of both the Stadium Course and its sister course, Dye’s Valley.
  • 12,000 – approximate number of man hours worked by the agronomy staff during tournament week alone
  • Overseed Process:
    • 4- kinds of seed are spread throughout the entire Stadium Course, including the practice grounds: Rye/Fine Fescue on the fairways and rough; Velvet Bent/Poa Trivialis on the greens.
    • 25- tons of seeds spread
    • 125 – acres of land the overseed covers
  • Equipment the agronomy team uses:
    • 15 – John Deere 2500 Triplex mower used for fairways
    • 18 – John Deere 180SL mowers used for greens
    • 16 – John Deere 260SL mowers used for tees and approaches
    • 6 – John Deere 2653 mowers used for intermediate cut
    • 66 – John Deere Turf Gators
    • 6 –  TruTurf greensrollers
    • 40 – 20” Honda Rotary Mowers used for the rough
    • 60 – Blowers to clean

Competition

  • 51.22%- percentage of players who find the fairway off the tee on the par-5 2nd hole (since ShotLink began in 2003); this is the toughest Fairway to hit at TPC Sawgrass
  • 7,189 – tournament yardage 
  • 15– international players who have won THE PLAYERS
  • 6– number of players that have won THE PLAYERS at least twice (Jack Nicklaus, Steve Elkington, Hal Sutton, Fred Couples, Davis Love III and Tiger Woods)
  • 0– number of back-to-back winners of THE PLAYERS 
  • 15– number of international winners of THE PLAYERS, from 11 different countries (Australia, Canada, Germany, Scotland, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Zimbabwe)
  • 7– widest victory margin. Steve Elkington won by 7 strokes over Scott Hoch in 1997. 
  • 6 – largest come-from-behind victory. Raymond Floyd, 1981, Sawgrass Country Club. At TPC Sawgrass, the largest come-from-behind victory is 5 strokes (Justin Leonard/1998 and Henrik Stenson/2009)
  • 100 feet, 1 inch– length of the longest putt made at THE PLAYERS (Ben Curtis/R1/2007/14th hole)

17th Hole

  • 64 – number of balls that found the water on the 17thhole at the 2022 tournament
  • 868– balls in the water on #17 since 2003
  • 4 feet, 8 inches – length of Rickie Fowler’s winning putt on the 17th hole in 2015.
  • 69 feet, 7 inches– distance of Jhonattan Vegas’ birdie putt on the 17th hole, marking the longest putt ever made on the 17th hole
  • 78 feet- length of the island green 
  • 50,000 to 60,000 – the number of golf balls that are retrieved from the surrounding water every year .
  • 137 – length of the hole from the tournament tees 
  • 60 feet– distance of Tiger Woods’ “better than most” birdie putt in 2001
  • Nine – number of holes-in-one on the 17th 
  • 55 square feet – size of the bunker at the front of the green
  • 3,912 – square footage of the green (compared to a course average of 4,500)
  • 12 – the highest score posted by a professional golfer; Bob Tway in 2005.

Executive Director

Lee Smith

In his role as Executive Director of THE PLAYERS, Lee oversees all aspects of the PGA TOUR’s flagship event, from sales, marketing and operations to community and charitable outreach and support. In addition, he leads THE PLAYERS Council, an association of corporate and community leaders who share THE PLAYERS’ commitment to economic growth and development.  Lee joined THE PLAYERS team in 2023, and prior to that served as the General Manager at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, New Jersey, a property managed by the PGA TOUR, where he was instrumental in helping the PGA TOUR contest THE NORTHERN TRUST in 2019 and 2021.  

Smith has been a key member of the TPC Network since he joined in 2008, serving as Head Golf Professional at TPC Sugarloaf outside Atlanta; General Manager of TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas; and Regional Director of Operations for TPC Networks, a role he held concurrently with his position at Liberty National. He has been a Class A member of the PGA of America for more than 20 years. 

Originally from Illinois, Smith graduated with a degree in Sports Management from Southeast Missouri State University (where he was a letterwinner on the men’s golf team) and later attended the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, where he earned a Masters in Sports Law & Business. Widely recognized as an outstanding golf professional, Lee has been named twice, in both 2013 & 2017, as Golf Professional of the Year for the Las Vegas Chapter PGA, and 2015 Golf Club Operator of the Year by Golf Inc. Magazine.   

Trophy & Theme Music

THE PLAYERS Championship trophy:

Click here for images and videos. Please credit PGA TOUR.

THE PLAYERS unveiled a new Tiffany & Co. trophy at the 2019 tournament.  Using a process called “electroforming,” Tiffany & Co. and the PGA TOUR began with the inspiration of the swinging golfer from the iconic PGA TOUR logo. Then, through sophisticated computer modelling, designers incorporated aspects of each of the 38 different winners of THE PLAYERS – from Jack Nicklaus to Webb Simpson. The golfer stands atop the signature 17th island green, which includes intricate details like the signature Pete Dye pilings and the surrounding water.

THE PLAYERS Championship trophy is one of several pieces that Tiffany & Co. has created for the TOUR and its events, including the season-ending FedExCup.

THE PLAYERS Theme Music: click here to listen 

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