This is the story of how a $1 purchase led to an amazing tournament and eventual historic win at TPC Sawgrass.
The “who won pga last week” is a story about how a $1 purchase led to a historic $20 million prize at TPC Sawgrass. The winner of the tournament was Russell Henley who shot an incredible 18-under par on the final day.
Every year, TPC Sawgrass is one of the most well-known and identifiable venues on the PGA Tour. The Players Championship’s famous island green on the 17th hole, danger lurking around every corner, and the opulent clubhouse are just a few of the features that have made it a legendary tournament for decades.
But did you know that the PGA Tour initially bought the famed site in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida for a solitary dollar?
The birthplace of stadium golf is TPC Sawgrass.
The Players Championship’s 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass | Keyur Khamar/PGA TOUR via Getty Images
The idea of stadium courses was established with the building of TPC Sawgrass, and it is now used all around the PGA Tour. Former PGA Tour commissioner Deane Beman came up with the concept after deciding to build a one-of-a-kind golf course that would serve as the permanent home of the famous Players Championship.
Beman’s objective was to create a host course that focused on offering the finest viewing experience for fans while also challenging the top players in the world. The Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass was created as a result.
In a YouTube video broadcast by The Fried Egg, Beman noted, “There were two characteristics that I believed were really vital in making a stadium course as effective as it could be.” “One is that you did all you could to arrange spectator sections at the highest points on the course and playing surfaces at the lowest, so that fans could walk alongside you and be above the players, allowing more people to observe.” And that is how a stadium is conceived. The second aspect of the notion that I believed was crucial was that the golf course should be routed in such a manner that it provided the greatest ‘areas of activity.’ Instead of spreading out the golf course and stretching the holes out, they should wind back and forth in a manner that creates centres of activity so a spectator might go two or three hundred yards and witness four or five different shots without having to walk five miles to see a lot of golf.”
Beman had the concept, but he needed the appropriate piece of property to put it into action.
TPC Sawgrass was acquired for $1 at the beginning.
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According to the official website of TPC Sawgrass, Beman initially intended to buy Sawgrass Country Club and turn it into the home of The Players. However, Sawgrass Country Club’s owner, Arvida Corporation, refused to sell.
Beman was determined on Ponte Vedra Beach as the host city, so he contacted local landowners Jerome and Paul Fletcher about buying a 415-acre woodland and swamp down the road. The Fletchers were quick to believe in Beman’s concept, and they sold the site to the PGA Tour for $1.
$1!
TPC Sawgrass was designed by legendary golf course architect Pete Dye, who came up with a magnificent test of golf that included the commissioner’s concept of a stadium course. For 18 holes, players must be able to move the ball both ways off the tee, execute accurate approach shots across water, and handle the whirling gusts.
The island green on the par-3 17th hole is a distinctive element of this masterpiece, yet it was Dye’s wife, Alice, who came up with the concept. It’s now maybe the most well-known hole in all of golf.
The Players Championship purse ranges from $1 to $20 million.
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TPC Sawgrass first hosted the Players Championship in 1982, after Beman and Dye finalized the building. Since then, the tournament has been held at the Stadium Course.
The Players Championship, as the PGA Tour’s flagship event, has developed to become the most profitable tournament on the calendar. The prize pool for 2022 has been set at a record-breaking $20 million, with the winner receiving $3.6 million. For the first time on the PGA Tour, a winner will take home at least $3 million.
Beman’s one-dollar buy may be the biggest investment in PGA Tour history.
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