Watch live coverage on Sky Sports The Players throughout the week as Webb Simpson defends his title
Monday 11 March 2019 07:21, UK
Ahead of the 46th staging of the Players Championship, we take a look at some of standout numbers from the history of the unofficial "fifth major"…
The tournament, to be held from March 14-17, has moved position in the schedule as part of the PGA Tour's changes to the golfing calendar and will precede all four majors, with the PGA Championship occupying the week it previously held.
Webb Simpson will defend his title as a stellar field once again descends on the famed layout at TPC Sawgrass in Florida.
The Players Championship has yet to see a successful title defence
Only on two occasions have a player birdied the iconic par-three 17th at TPC Sawgrass in all four rounds of the tournament. Paul Azinger first achieved the feat in 1987 before Kyle Stanley did so 20 years later.
Jack Nicklaus is the only three-time champion of the event, having won the inaugural event in 1974 and adding further victories in 1976 and 1978 - all coming at different venues.
The number of European winners of the tournament. Sandy Lyle won the then Tournament Players Championship in 1987. Sergio Garcia ended a 21-year wait in 2008 before Henrik Stenson followed the next year while Martin Kaymer was the last to do so in 2014.
There have been five play-offs over the years, with Rickie Fowler's success four years ago coming after the introduction of a three-hole aggregate format and was the first to be decided by a birdie. Previously it had been sudden-death.
Raymond Floyd clawed back a six-stroke deficit during the final round in 1981 as a bogey-free 68 saw him eventually triumph in a sudden-death play-off.
The biggest margin of victory remains Steve Elkington's seven-stroke victory in 1997 over the Australian's nearest challenger Scott Hoch.
Webb Simpson became the eighth wire-to-wire winner, including ties, of the tournament in 2018 as he ended a four-year title drought
The defending champion has missed the cut on nine occasions, most recently when 2015 champion Rickie Fowler missed out on the weekend's action the following year.
The number of past champions expected in this year's field, including two-time champion Tiger Woods.
Si Woo Kim is the youngest champion of the competition after his 2017 triumph, which featured 48 of the world's top 50 players, beat the previous record held by Australia's Adam Scott, who was 23 when he won in 2004.
This year's staging will be the 38th to be held at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach. The competition started out at the Atlanta Country Club in 1974 before it was held at Colonial Country Club and Inverrary Country Club in 1975 and 1976 respectively, while there were five stagings at Sawgrass Country Club between 1977-1981.
Kaymer tied the record for the low first round by an eventual champion when he shot nine-under-par 63 in 2014. Greg Norman also matched the total on his way to his victory in 1994, when he finished with a 24-under par total - which remains a record for the tournament.
Tim Clark eventually sealed his first victory on the PGA Tour on his 206th career start, as he also became the first South African winner. Craig Perks also marked the event as his first success on the PGA Tour in 2002.
The amount in pounds the 2019 winner will receive for winning this time around at TPC Sawgrass.
In January it was announced the 144-player field tournament would include a 13 per cent increase in purse, making it "the biggest prize professional golf has ever seen for a single tournament".
Watch the Players Championship from March 14-17 live on Sky Sports' dedicated channel - Sky Sports The Players.
