x
Skip to main content
Golf Logo
InsideGolf Join Now  / Log In
How the Players Championship became golf’s weirdest event
SHARE
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share by Email
Golf Logo
  • News
    • Latest
      • News
      • Features
      • Shows
      • PGA Tour Schedule
    • Series
      • Tour Confidential
      • Monday Finish
      • Hot Mic
      • Rogers Report
    • Shows
      • The Scoop
      • Subpar
      • Seen & Heard
  • Instruction
    • Game Improvement
      • Driving
      • Approach Shots
      • Bunker Shots
      • Short Game
      • Putting
      • Rules
      • Fitness
    • Series
      • Top 100 Teachers
      • Rules Guy
      • The Etiquetteist
    • Shows
      • Warming Up
      • Play Smart
      • Short Game Chef
      • Pros Teaching Joes
  • Gear
    • Clubs
      • Drivers
      • Irons
      • Hybrids
      • Fairway Woods
      • Wedges
      • Putters
    • Other Gear
      • Balls
      • Shoes
      • Apparel
      • Golf Accessories
    • Series
      • ClubTest
      • Winner’s Bag
    • Shows
      • Fully Equipped
  • Travel & Lifestyle
    • Travel
      • Course Finder
      • Courses
      • Resorts
    • Lifestyle
      • Accessories
      • Celebrities
      • Food
      • Style
      • Betting Advice
    • Shows
      • Super Secrets
      • Destination Golf
  • Shop
    • Shop
      • Clubs
      • Shafts
      • Training Aids
      • Balls
      • Bags
      • Technology
      • Apparel
      • Accessories
      • Our Picks
      • Shop All
    • Collections
      • The GOLF Collection
      • The Birdie Juice Collection
      • The Fully Equipped Collection
      • Shop All
  • Newsletters
    • Sign Up for GOLF’s Newsletters
      • Hot Mic
      • Monday Finish
      • Play Smart
      • Our Picks
      • Top Stories
      • Sign Up for All
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Features
    • Shows
    • PGA Tour Schedule
  • Instruction
    • All Instruction
    • Driving
    • Approach Shots
    • Bunker Shots
    • Short Game
    • Putting
    • Rules
    • Fitness
  • Gear
    • All Gear
    • Drivers
    • Irons
    • Hybrids
    • Fairway Woods
    • Wedges
    • Putters
    • Balls
    • Shoes
    • Apparel
    • Golf Accessories
  • Travel & Lifestyle
    • All Travel
    • All Lifestyle
    • Course Finder
    • Courses
    • Resorts
    • Accessories
    • Celebrities
    • Food
    • Style
    • Betting Advice
  • Series
    • Tour Confidential
    • Monday Finish
    • Hot Mic
    • Rogers Report
    • Rules Guy
    • The Etiquetteist
    • ClubTest
    • Winner’s Bag
  • Shows
    • The Scoop
    • Subpar
    • Seen & Heard
    • Warming Up
    • Play Smart
    • Short Game Chef
    • Pros Teaching Joes
    • Fully Equipped
    • Super Secrets
    • Destination Golf
  • Shop
    • Clubs
    • Shafts
    • Training Aids
    • Balls
    • Bags
    • Technology
    • Apparel
    • Accessories
    • The GOLF Collection
    • The Birdie Juice Collection
    • The Fully Equipped Collection
  • Newsletters
    • Hot Mic
    • Monday Finish
    • Play Smart
    • Top Stories
    • Our Picks
    • Sign Up for All
InsideGolf Join Now  / Log In
InsideGolf
News

How the Players Championship became golf’s weirdest event

By: James Colgan
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Follow on Instagram
March 11, 2023
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share by Email
min woo lee celebration fail

Min Woo Lee's magical week continued on Saturday at the Players Championship — spare for the 17th hole..

Getty Images

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — From the second it left his hands, Min Woo Lee’s putt was tracking.

Lee had made a few putts on Saturday at the Players Championship, but nothing quite like the one he’d hit on No. 17 at TPC Sawgrass: a 38-foot, 9-inch bender that crested gently over the big break in the putting surface and tumbled innocently toward home.

“I was going up there thinking and talking to my caddie, like, how can I stop this?” Lee said.

They both knew the answer: hit the hole.

As Lee — and 36,000 others — watched intently, the ball began its final descent toward the flagstick. The crowd slowly crescendoed as it rolled closer, its dimples illuminated in beams of golden sunlight.

Lee had already charged after the ball by the time it zeroed in on the flag. His hand was already raised in the air, finger pointed toward the heavens.

And then something funny happened. It missed.

“Oh man, it was looking good,” Lee said afterward, a smile still plastered on his face. “When I got on to the apex where it was going down, it was inside-left and it was looking so good and it just crept right. That would have been nice. The roars would have been pretty crazy.”

Lee, of course, is right; a make would have been crazy. But in hindsight, a miss was perhaps more fitting.

min woo lee point players
The moment that wasn’t… Getty Images

Lee would go on to finish his round at 12 under for the week, two strokes back of the 54-hole leader, Scottie Scheffler. The two golfers will play Sunday’s final round in the same pairing for the second time.

That is just one piece to come out of Saturday at the Players Championship, a tournament that is quickly becoming the weirdest in professional golf. For yet another year, a glimpse at the 54-hole leaderboard graces us with some of golf’s most wonderful oddities.

At the top of it all is Scheffler, who can escape from Ponte Vedra as World No. 1 with a victory tomorrow but can’t escape without dipping his toes into the strangeness. He took a break from a lifetime streak of cliche answers to tell a reporter on Saturday that he drinks coffee every day of his life … except for the ones in which he plays golf.

There’s Aaron Rai (-9), the two-gloved 28-year-old from England who also dunked a hole-in-one on the 17th on Sunday. Did we mention he still uses iron covers? He’s tied with Chad Ramey, a 30-year-old journeyman who would be threatening the lead had he not made a quadruple-bogey 7 on the 17th on Saturday, an effort that resulted in two drowned golf balls.

Just behind those two is Tom Hoge (-8), who set the course record on Saturday at TPC Sawgrass with a 10-under 62. Hoge, a notoriously sweet tooth, admitted Saturday that he is on a hunger strike.

“It’s actually my complaint that the food here in player dining is too healthy,” he said. “A lot of vegetables.”

“I need a cheeseburger or something.”

New TPC Sawgrass course record holder (and noted sweet tooth) Tom Hoge says he’s been starved this week

“It’s actually my complaint that the food here in player dining is too healthy…A lot of vegetables. I need a cheeseburger or something.” pic.twitter.com/ry9FPorDFF

— James Colgan (@jamescolgan26) March 11, 2023

Hoge is tied for eighth with David Lingmerth, a Swedish professional golfer who finished T2 here behind Tiger Woods in his Players debut in 2013 … and has recorded four missed cuts and a DFL since.

And then, of course, there is Min Woo Lee, brother of U.S. Women’s Open Champion Minjee. Just 24 years old, he can capture the first win of his PGA Tour career on Sunday in his first-ever Players start. Those who tuned in on Thursday will know it is a minor miracle he made it to this point in the week — a calf cramp nearly derailed his tournament altogether.

The cause of that cramp, he revealed Saturday, was an allergic reaction on his face that caused his eyes to swell to the point of closing. Lee said he stopped eating and taking electrolytes in an effort to subdue the reaction, which caused his leg to lock up during Thursday’s round.

Despite tweeting out “#PickleJuice” and “#Mustard” (in addition to #ImNotAnAthlete), Lee said he did not drink pickle juice in an effort to best prepare for the weekend. Rather, he stuck to coconut water and electrolytes.

“I learned my lesson.”

For context, Min Woo Lee had an allergic reaction on his face last week that caused his eyes to half-close.

Stopped eating and drinking to figure out the cause, which left him dehydrated.

Cramp nearly derailed his tournament. Now he's 2 back and in the final group on Sunday. https://t.co/Y6CUrS5dpo

— James Colgan (@jamescolgan26) March 12, 2023

Nonetheless, the Aussie from golf royalty has the opportunity to close out the largest purse in PGA Tour history on Sunday, locking up a life-changing win in the process.

“Tomorrow could be the biggest day of my life,” he said nonchalantly Saturday evening. “I just crept into this tournament and I’m making the most of it. I’m soaking it all in.”

For a 24-year-old on the brink of history, that’s weird, but after the rest of this week, we’re hardly surprised.

Latest In News

7 hours ago

2 rules officials, Rickie Fowler argue over relief. But Fowler has epic last word

9 hours ago

The LPGA just announced its new commissioner. He laid out 4 goals

14 hours ago

2025 Charles Schwab Challenge Friday tee times: Round 2 groupings

14 hours ago

Did fan's cocktail cause Max Homa's comically bad lie at PGA Championship?

James Colgan

Golf.com Editor

James Colgan is a news and features editor at GOLF, writing stories for the website and magazine. He manages the Hot Mic, GOLF’s media vertical, and utilizes his on-camera experience across the brand’s platforms. Prior to joining GOLF, James graduated from Syracuse University, during which time he was a caddie scholarship recipient (and astute looper) on Long Island, where he is from. He can be reached at james.colgan@golf.com.

  • Author Twitter Account
  • Author Instagram Account

Related Articles

News
PGA Tour pro Jordan Spieth hits a drive prior to the 2025 Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club.

2025 Charles Schwab Challenge Friday tee times: Round 2 groupings

By: Kevin Cunningham
News
Scottie Scheffler of the United States answers questions from media after a practice round prior to the Charles Schwab Challenge 2025 at Colonial Country Club on May 21, 2025 in Fort Worth, Texas.

'Ask those guys:' Scottie Scheffler hasn't wavered on golf's reunification

By: Jack Hirsh
News
A Charles Schwab Challenge pin flag during the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club.

2025 Charles Schwab Challenge Thursday TV coverage: How to watch Round 1

By: Kevin Cunningham
News
Scottie Scheffler, the favorite in 2025 Chalres Schwab Challenge odds, celebrates after winning the 2025 PGA Championship.

2025 Charles Schwab Challenge odds: Scottie Scheffler massive favorite at Colonial

By: Kevin Cunningham
News
A Charles Schwab Challenge tee marker is pictured during practice prior to the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial.

2025 Charles Schwab Challenge: TV schedule, streaming info, how to watch, tee times

By: Kevin Cunningham
News
NEW PGA champion Scottie Scheffler plays tee shot during the Charles Schwab Challenge on May 26, 2024 at Colonial.

2025 Charles Schwab Challenge Thursday tee times: Round 1 groupings

By: Kevin Cunningham
News
Scottie Scheffler is on arguably the best run of golf since Tiger Woods.

What's Scottie Scheffler really like? We asked his inner circle

By: Dylan Dethier
Irons
Titleist 2025 T-Series irons.

Titleist releases new 2025 T-Series irons on Tour, including new T250

By: Jack Hirsh
News
2025 PGA Championship odds: Betting favorites Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler walk at the 2025 Players Championship.

2025 PGA Championship odds: Scottie Scheffler edges Rory McIlroy as favorite

By: Kevin Cunningham
Sign up for GOLF's Newsletters
Get the latest news, the hottest instruction tips, new product releases, golf media insider reports and more delivered directly to your inbox. Choose your favorites now.
Sign Up
Categories
  • News
  • Instruction
  • Gear
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
Services
  • Masthead
  • GOLF Media Kit
  • GOLF Magazine Customer Service
  • TERMS OF SERVICE
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • Opt-out of Ads/Sharing
  • Your Privacy Choices
Social
  • facebook
  • x
  • instagram
  • youtube
Membership
InsideGOLF Logo
More than $140 Value for JUST $39.99

INCLUDES 12 SRIXON Z-STAR XV GOLF BALLS, 1 YR OF GOLF MAGAZINE, $20 FAIRWAY JOCKEY CREDIT - AND MUCH MORE!

LEARN MORE

© 2025 EB Golf Media LLC. An 8AM Golf Affiliated Brand. All Rights Reserved. All of our market picks are independently selected and curated by the editorial team. If you buy a linked product, GOLF.COM may earn a fee. Pricing may vary.

Go to mobile version