The 2008 Players Championship was a golf tournament in Florida on the PGA Tour, held May 8–11 at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, southeast of Jacksonville. It was the 35th Players Championship.
The event was won by Sergio García in a sudden-death playoff over Paul Goydos.[1][2] Defending champion Phil Mickelson finished nine strokes back, in a tie for 21st place.
This was the 27th Players Championship held at the TPC at Sawgrass Stadium Course and it remained at 7,215 yards (6,597 m).
Winners of PGA Tour co-sponsored or approved tournaments, whose victories are considered official, since the previous year's Players Championship.
Zach Johnson, Rory Sabbatini, K. J. Choi, Woody Austin, Ángel Cabrera, Hunter Mahan, Brian Bateman, Jonathan Byrd, Pádraig Harrington, Joe Ogilvie, Jim Furyk, Steve Flesch, Brandt Snedeker, Steve Stricker, Phil Mickelson, Chad Campbell, Justin Leonard, George McNeill, Mike Weir, Daniel Chopra, Stephen Ames, D. J. Trahan, J. B. Holmes, Steve Lowery, Brian Gay, Ernie Els, Sean O'Hair, Geoff Ogilvy, Greg Kraft, Andrés Romero, Johnson Wagner, Boo Weekley, Adam Scott, Anthony Kim
The top 125 finishers on the 2007 Official PGA Tour Money List.[3]
Vijay Singh, Scott Verplank, Mark Calcavecchia, Charles Howell III, Justin Rose, Tim Clark, John Rollins, Stewart Cink, Robert Allenby, Brett Wetterich, Luke Donald, Heath Slocum, David Toms, Carl Pettersson, Jerry Kelly, Ken Duke, John Senden, Henrik Stenson, Camilo Villegas, Nick Watney, Billy Mayfair, Stuart Appleby, Charley Hoffman, John Mallinger, Pat Perez, Lucas Glover, Bubba Watson, Mark Wilson, Jeff Quinney, Bo Van Pelt, Ryan Moore, Rod Pampling, Freddie Jacobson, Ian Poulter, Ryuji Imada, Nathan Green, Kevin Sutherland, Nick O'Hern, Vaughn Taylor, Brian Davis, José Cóceres, Troy Matteson, Robert Garrigus, Peter Lonard, Dean Wilson, Fred Funk, Paul Goydos, Kenny Perry, Steve Marino, Bart Bryant, Rocco Mediate, Bernhard Langer, Charlie Wi, Jason Gore, J. J. Henry, Jesper Parnevik, Charles Warren, Tim Petrovic, Retief Goosen, Michael Allen, Davis Love III, Stephen Leaney, Jeff Overton, Briny Baird, José María Olazábal, Mark Hensby, Mathew Goggin, Bill Haas, Shigeki Maruyama, Tim Herron, Chris DiMarco, Shaun Micheel, Tom Pernice Jr., Tommy Armour III, Steve Elkington, Cameron Beckman, Cliff Kresge, J. P. Hayes, Matt Kuchar, Tom Lehman, Bob Estes, Rich Beem, Alex Čejka, Ryan Armour, Kevin Na, Jeff Maggert, Kevin Stadler, Mathias Grönberg
Winners of the Players Championship, the Masters, U.S. Open, British Open, and PGA Championship from 2003 to 2007.
Michael Campbell, Ben Curtis, Todd Hamilton
Winners of the Tour Championship the past three years (2005-2007).
Winners of the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship and World Golf Championships-CA Championship in the last three years (2006-2008).
Winners of the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational in the last three years (2005-2007).
Any player(s), not otherwise eligible, among the top 50 leaders from the Official World Golf Rankings through the Wachovia Championship. Any player(s), not otherwise eligible, among the top 10 leaders from the 2008 FedExCup Points List through the Wachovia Championship.
Sergio García, Lee Westwood, Niclas Fasth, Paul Casey, Richard Sterne, Miguel Ángel Jiménez, Søren Hansen
The winner of the 2007 Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship. (Such an exemption will be an addition to the field.)
The leading money winner from the 2007 Official Nationwide Tour Money List.
If necessary to complete a field of 144 players, PGA Tour members from the 2008 FedExCup Points List below 10th position through the Wachovia Championship, in order of their positions on such list.[3]
Dudley Hart, John Merrick, Nicholas Thompson, Aaron Baddeley, Ben Crane, Brett Quigley, Fred Couples, Jason Bohn, Matt Jones, Tim Wilkinson, Dustin Johnson
Source:[4]
Thursday, May 8, 2008
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Friday, May 9, 2008
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Saturday, May 10, 2008
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Sunday, May 11, 2008
In windy conditions, the final pairing struggled on the final day; overnight leader Paul Goydos managed a 2-over-par 74, whilst Kenny Perry crashed to an 81 (+9). In the groups ahead, the pairing of Jeff Quinney and Sergio García produced some of the best golf of the day, and García became the clubhouse leader at 5-under-par 283. Goydos still led, but missed a 15-foot (4.6 m) par putt to win on the final hole, forcing a sudden-death playoff.[2]
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Final round
Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par
Source:[9]
At the first playoff hole, the infamous par-3 17th, Goydos' went first and his tee shot found water. Garcia stayed dry, stopping 4 feet (1.2 m) from the pin and the playoff was essentially over. Goydos finished the hole with a double bogey to give Garcia three putts to win; he two-putted for par and the title.[1] It was the first playoff at the Players Championship since 1987 and the first to start at the 17th hole.[2]