WMB MEMORIES: THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP
SPRING BREAK CIRCA 2022
It was the middle of March — five college kids crammed into an F-150, hauling south from Tuscaloosa on a Thursday morning, Spring Break bound. We were all extremely excited for the itinerary ahead, which included golf, fishing, dinners, and our first trip to TPC Sawgrass for the Players Championship. We headed directly to my hometown of Melbourne, FL, which served as home base for the entirety of our stay.
We arrived Thursday evening just in time to celebrate a good friend, Emmer's birthday at a local bar, domestic beers flowing freely after the long haul down the interstate, which in hindsight made the 5 a.m. caravan departure the next morning feel like a mild form of punishment. Groggy, squinting into the dark, nursing the remnants of the night before, we loaded into cars and chased the sunrise north on I-95. Nobody complained too loudly. Everyone knew where we were going.
FIRST TIMERS
We rolled onto the property around 9:15 that Friday morning. The March air provided a cool, crisp morning that snapped us right into shape upon arrival at the grounds we'd been pumped about landing on for months. We funneled through the gates and made a beeline for the pro shop to warm up, still half-functioning on caffeine and adrenaline.
Over the speakers in that pro shop, somewhere between the logoed pullovers, commemorative flagsticks, and a million hat options, came the opening notes of Minute by Minute by the Doobie Brothers. I'd never heard it before. I stood there, slightly foggy from the night before, and felt the most inexplicable wave of calm wash over me. Everything, in that moment, was absolutely fine. That song has been on heavy rotation ever since.
When we walked into the stadium surrounding the 17th hole for the first time, the electricity was immediate, even at that hour, even with the galleries still thin and the morning dew still on the grass. There is no hole in professional golf quite like it. On a busy afternoon it feels like you're in the midst of an SEC football environment with the masses and the energy that come with it. You know it from television, or at least you think you do, until you lay eyes on it for the first time.
From there, the day belonged entirely to us. We sprinted across the property, caught the range, and tracked groups up and down the front nine. We followed Justin Thomas for a stretch, that Crimson Tide loyalty running deep, and spent a good chunk of the afternoon trailing Dustin Johnson, one of my personal favorites. Somewhere in that field was Cam Smith, who would go on to win the whole thing when it was finally finished on Monday.
What we didn't fully appreciate in the moment was the weight of what we were watching. That 2022 Players would be, for several of those marquee names, one of their final appearances in the event before LIV Golf fractured the landscape of professional golf just weeks and months later. We were watching the end of an era without realizing it.
Of course, not every moment of the day carried that kind of gravity. The Sawgrass Splash was located and consumed with enthusiasm within the first hour onsite. The Tito's tent was located by a couple of the guys a little too enthusiastically, which led to them going zero dark thirty for multiple hours from the morning bleeding into the afternoon. We've all been there. It's part of the experience. The Players isn't just a golf tournament. It's a showcase of what a premier sporting event can be when the setting, the food and beverage, the hospitality, and the golf itself are all firing at the highest level simultaneously.
By the end of the day, we were tired, sunburned, and completely satisfied. Upon arrival back in Melbourne, we ventured over to the Chili's across the street from our hotel, where we discovered the absurd margarita deals they offer on Chili's birthday — which, as luck would have it, happened to be that very day. Couldn't have drawn it up any better for our crew.
THE RETURN 2025
I was fortunate to return last year for the first time since that Spring Break trip, this time with my wife, which made it even more special. We stayed at a small Airbnb just around the corner from the beach in Jacksonville Beach and caught the Friday and Saturday rounds. The Bonefish Grill tent on the front nine. Tacos on 12. JT nearly firing the course record on Friday evening. The crowds. Seeing old friends and new. It was a pleasant return, and experiencing it with fresh eyes and a different companion only deepened the appreciation for what this tournament does well.
This year the couch will have to do, and I'll genuinely miss those tacos and margaritas.
The debate resurfaces every March about whether the Players deserves to be called a fifth major. Pete Dye designed Sawgrass with that aspiration in mind, and the purse and field depth make a compelling case. What the Players is, unapologetically, is the finest showcase of professional golf available to fans who walk through those gates. It rewards the first-timer and the seasoned veteran with equal generosity, offering scenery, hospitality, and the kind of moments that stay with you long after you've made it home and create a fondness of the heart to return as soon as you can.
Early March in North Florida is always a gamble. Some years you get cold rain and grey skies. Other years you get some of the prettiest spring days the East Coast has to offer. Either way, the tournament delivers. Tune in this week and if you've never been, start planning. Your first time at Sawgrass is something you won't soon forget.
Cheers,
Lightle
