The 2024 edition of the Players Championship is a historic one as it marks the 50th anniversary.
Over the last 49 tournaments, the Players Championship has risen to become one of the biggest events on the PGA Tour schedule, fielding the game’s best players.
Has the Players Championship only been played at TPC Sawgrass?
Through the first eight years, the Players Championship went through a carousel of courses before TPC Sawgrass. In 1974, the first tournament was held at Atlanta Country Club in Georgia followed by Colonial Country Club in Texas the following year. (Colonial is still a course used on the PGA Tour scheduled, this year for the Charles Schwab Challenge).
In 1976, the Players Championship was held at Inverrary Country Club in Lauderhill, Fla., near Fort Lauderdale. The next five events from 1977 to 1981 took place at Sawgrass Country Club before moving a couple miles away and settling at the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass from 1982 to the present.
Related: The Players Championship FAQ: What, Where, When and More
Who won the first Players Championship?
In 1974, Jack Nicklaus won the first Players Championship. At Atlanta Country Club he fired a final round 5-under 67 to for his first PGA Tour win in 13 events where he finished in the top 10 in nine of those tournaments. His winless “drought” coming to an end in Atlanta brought the headlines of “Nicklaus Ends 6-month Famine” in the Sept. 3, 1974, headline in the Des Moines Register.
Nicklaus, who was 34 at the time of winning the first Players Championship, collected the 54th of his eventual 73 PGA Tour victories. However, it was just his second and last victory of 1974, coming after back-to-back seven-win seasons in 1972 and 1973 and a five-win 1975 campaign.
The Golden Bear would go on to win the Players Championship three times in a five-year span. The three Players Championship trophies are the most by a single player.
Who won the Players Championship with the lowest score?
In 1994, Greg Norman posted the best 72-round score in Players Championship history. At 24-under 264, he became the first winner to reach 20-under par or better. He opened with 9-under 63 in his first round before three consecutive 5-under 67s to hoist the trophy. Furthermore, Norman’s final 66 holes were completed without a bogey or worse.
It was also that same tournament where PGA Tour commissioner Deane Beman announced his retirement and was stepping down. Beman, who was the same commissioner that began the Players Championship in 1974, envisioned this event being the strongest field in golf, setting up an unforgetting showcase.
It also showed in the winnings. Two decades before, when Nicklaus won in 1974, the purse was at $250,000. However, when Norman won in 1994, the purse reached $2.5 million.
Related: Payout for The Players Championship 2024: How It compares to other PGA Tour events
Who won the most recent Players Championship?
In 2024, Scottie Scheffler took home the Tiffany & Co. trophy in comeback fashion, firing a bogey-free 8-under 64 in the final round after entering the final down by five strokes to become the first repeat winner in Players Championship history.
With his win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Scheffler became the first to win the week before the Players Championship and win the Players Championship, joining Tiger Woods in 2001, Tom Kite in 1989 and Raymond Floyd in 1981.
Scheffler became the second winner ever to win with a score of 20-under or better joining Norman in 1994 and became the fourth World No. 1 to win the Players Championship and first since Jason Day in 2016.
Before Scheffler won the Players Championship in 2024, the best finish by a repeat champion was T5, which has been accomplished three times and most recently by Hal Sutton in 2001.
Players Championship winners
| Year | Name | Score |
| 1974 | Jack Nicklaus | 272 (-16) |
| 1975 | Al Geiberger | 270 (-10) |
| 1976 | Jack Nicklaus | 269 (-19) |
| 1977 | Mark Hayes | 289 (+1) |
| 1978 | Jack Nicklaus | 289 (+1) |
| 1979 | Lanny Wadkins | 283 (-5) |
| 1980 | Lee Trevino | 278 (-10) |
| 1981 | Raymond Floyd | 285 (-3) |
| 1982 | Jerry Pate | 280 (-8) |
| 1983 | Hal Sutton | 283 (-5) |
| 1984 | Fred Couples | 277 (-11) |
| 1985 | Calvin Peete | 274 (-14) |
| 1986 | John Mahaffey | 275 (-13) |
| 1987 | Sandy Lyle | 274 (-14) |
| 1988 | Mark McCumber | 273 (-15) |
| 1989 | Tom Kite | 279 (-9) |
| 1990 | Jodie Mudd | 278 (-10) |
| 1991 | Steve Elkington | 276 (-12) |
| 1992 | Davis Love III | 273 (-15) |
| 1993 | Nick Price | 270 (-18) |
| 1994 | Greg Norman | 264 (-24) |
| 1995 | Lee Janzen | 283 (-5) |
| 1996 | Fred Couples | 270 (-18) |
| 1997 | Steve Elkington | 272 (-16) |
| 1998 | Justin Leonard | 278 (-10) |
| 1999 | David Duval | 285 (-3) |
| 2000 | Hal Sutton | 278 (-10) |
| 2001 | Tiger Woods | 274 (-14) |
| 2002 | Craig Perks | 280 (-8) |
| 2003 | Davis Love III | 271 (-17) |
| 2004 | Adam Scott | 276 (-12) |
| 2005 | Fred Funk | 279 (-9) |
| 2006 | Stephen Ames | 274 (-14) |
| 2007 | Phil Mickelson | 277 (-11) |
| 2008 | Sergio Garcia | 283 (-5) |
| 2009 | Henrik Stenson | 276 (-12) |
| 2010 | Tim Clark | 272 (-16) |
| 2011 | K.J. Choi | 275 (-13) |
| 2012 | Matt Kuchar | 275 (-13) |
| 2013 | Tiger Woods | 275 (-13) |
| 2014 | Martin Kaymer | 275 (-13) |
| 2015 | Rickie Fowler | 276 (-12) |
| 2016 | Jason Day | 273 (-15) |
| 2017 | Si Woo Kim | 278 (-10) |
| 2018 | Webb Simpson | 270 (-18) |
| 2019 | Rory McIlroy | 272 (-16) |
| 2020 | (Canceled due to COVID-19) | N/A |
| 2021 | Justin Thomas | 274 (-14) |
| 2022 | Cameron Smith | 275 (-13) |
| 2023 | Scottie Scheffler | 271 (-17) |
| 2024 | Scottie Scheffler | 268 (-20) |