What makes the Players Championship so special?
In a Players special edition episode of A Life in Golf, Steve Carroll went behind the scenes at TPC Sawgrass to find out why it’s considered the fifth major
The Players Championship has become such a big draw over the decades it’s inevitably drawn into comparisons about whether it should be admitted into the exclusive major club.
It’s also made a star of its course, the iconic TPC Sawgrass with its exciting finish always providing drama every year.
Now, as the PGA Tour‘s flagship tournament takes centre stage again, we gathered together some of the key figures at Ponte Vedra Beach to explain just what makes the tournament so magical.
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Steve Carroll
A journalist for 25 years, Steve has been immersed in club golf for almost as long. A former club captain, he has passed the Level 3 Rules of Golf exam with distinction having attended the R&A's prestigious Tournament Administrators and Referees Seminar.
Steve has officiated at a host of high-profile tournaments, including Open Regional Qualifying, PGA Fourball Championship, English Men's Senior Amateur, and the North of England Amateur Championship. In 2023, he made his international debut as part of the team that refereed England vs Switzerland U16 girls.
A part of NCG's Top 100s panel, Steve has a particular love of links golf and is frantically trying to restore his single-figure handicap. He currently floats at around 11.
Steve plays at Close House, in Newcastle, and York GC, where he is a member of the club's matches and competitions committee and referees the annual 36-hole scratch York Rose Bowl.
Having studied history at Newcastle University, he became a journalist having passed his NTCJ exams at Darlington College of Technology.
What's in Steve's bag: TaylorMade Stealth 2 driver, 3-wood, and hybrids; TaylorMade Stealth 2 irons; TaylorMade Hi-Toe, Ping ChipR, Sik Putter.
