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By T.J. Auclair
PGATOUR.com Interactive Producer

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- The much-anticipated 34th edition of THE PLAYERS Championship at THE PLAYERS Stadium Course certainly did not disappoint.

(WireImage)

PHIL-ING A VOID

In his third week with a new coach, Phil Mickelson suddenly looks as good as ever.  Mickelson added his 31st PGA TOUR victory to his collection Sunday by winning THE PLAYERS Championship with control that had been lacking the last three months, closing with a 3-under 69 for a two-shot victory that returned him to No. 2 in the world and pointed him in the right direction with the U.S. Open approaching.  • Complete story,  click here

The multi-million dollar course renovation, along with a spanking-new 77,000 square-foot clubhouse -- 40 percent larger than the White House -- was a hit. Oh yeah, so was the new date. The switch from March to May provided better weather, for the most part, and also a flow to the PGA TOUR schedule, as players now have five monster-sized tournaments in consecutive months without the typical two-month layoff between the Masters and the U.S. Open.

The excitement provided by this prestigious event complimented the changes beautifully. Aside from a fan-favorite winner in Phil Mickelson, this PLAYERS saw not one, but two double eagles. Hunter Mahan made the first albatross in the history of THE PLAYERS when he holed a 5-iron from 225 yards out on the 11th hole in the second round.

Imagine -- it took 34 years for THE PLAYERS to see its first double eagle and then less than 24 hours for it to see its second, when Aussie Peter Lonard holed a 229-yard, 5-iron shot on No. 2 in the third round.

"I didn't," Lonard said when asked if he realized his was just the second double eagle in tournament history. "My caddie actually told me on the green. He said, 'That's the second in history.' I said, 'How would you know?' He said, 'because Hunter made the first one yesterday. They had it on the telly.' So I knew walking over to the third tee. Do I get a prize for that? Anything?"

There was no prize, but it sure provided a treat for those who witnessed it.

All in all, the famous island-green 17th hole swallowed up 94 golf balls for the week. That's the most ever -- by a lot. In fact, through two rounds of the 2007 PLAYERS, more balls found the drink (71) than any other PLAYERS had seen for an entire tournament (the previous four-round record was 67 in 2005).

For Mickelson, who finished at 11-under-par, 277 total, it was the first time he was victorious at TPC Sawgrass in 14 tries. Prior to Sunday, his best finish was a tie for third in 2004. His only other top 10 had been a tie for eighth in 1998.

Just like TPC Sawgrass unveiled its changes to the world last week, so did Lefty, who recently began working with renowned coach Butch Harmon. The duo was working to revamp Mickelson's swing in an effort to improve his driving accuracy. While that may not have panned out at TPC Sawgrass -- he was tied for 56th in driving accuracy for the week at 53.57 percent -- his misses weren't nearly as bad as they've been in the past. Case in point: Mickelson hit 16 of 18 greens on Sunday, finding 10 of 14 fairways.

In three events since the swing changes were put in play, Mickelson has finished in a tie for third twice (EDS Byron Nelson Championship and Wachovia Championship) and then picked up the win Sunday. How's that for yielding quick results?

"It tells me I'm on the right path and things I'm doing are correct," he said. "I'm excited about the way my ball-striking seemed to get better as the week went on. It seemed to get better from Dallas to Wachovia (Championship), it seemed to get better from Wachovia to here, and so I believe that if I keep working at these things and progressing, I should be ready to take on the ultimate tough challenge at Oakmont (site of the U.S. Open)."

From the that's-hard-to-watch department comes Sean O'Hair. The young PGA TOUR star in the making, who already has one win to his credit at age 24, was in the hunt throughout the final round. On Saturday, O'Hair made what many regard as the hardest three-hole closing stretch in golf look easy when he rolled off three consecutive birdies.

On Sunday, those same three holes bit him back like a vicious snake. After missing a short birdie putt that would have pulled him within one shot of Mickelson's lead with two to go, O'Hair deposited his tee shot over the green and into the water on 17. Dropping two and hitting three, O'Hair sent his shot from the drop area into the water as well, setting up an unfortunate, stomach-turning quadruple-bogey 7, which made the final hole nothing more than a technicality for Mickelson.

Even still, O'Hair took his misfortune like a man and talked to the media after the round, answering every question he was asked.

"On 16, I had a nice opportunity," O'Hair explained. "I mean, the hole is tilted dead right and I just don't know how that didn't move at all. I hit a good putt there. And then on 17, I told Steve (his caddie), 'I'm not playing for second.' You know, I took it right at the pin, hit a great shot, and obviously the wind was helping. I thought the wind was more across, and it was helping. You know, I got kicked in the butt on 17. I hit a good shot on 18, just trying to stay out of Phil's way obviously, and unfortunately made bogey there. There you go."

Just how expensive were those mistakes coming in? Assuming O'Hair would have finished second minus those hiccups, the total money he spent on the way in was a whopping $747,000. Not that he cared about the money.

"I'll make plenty of money in my career," the wise beyond his years O'Hair said. "I want the crystal."

Arguably the biggest surprise of this tournament was what a non-factor world No. 1 Tiger Woods turned out to be. Woods shot a 3-over-par 75 in the first round -- his first birdie-free round in four years. It took a strong finish on Friday for Woods to avoid missing his first cut since the 2006 U.S. Open, but Saturday's 1-over 73 on a day where low scores were there for the taking pretty much knocked the 2001 PLAYERS Champion out of contention for good. He bounced back with his final-round 5-under-par 67, which was more about pride than anything else.

"Well, the first day is probably irrelevant because it was playing so different than it is right now," Woods said. "But I think the changes they've made, it's been a wonderful change playing on Bermuda grass. It gives you an opportunity to be aggressive, but also there is going to be a price. The guys are catching more fliers than they ever have. Also, then again, the greens are a little bit slower, too. Some of the difficult shots you used to have around the greens aren't as difficult, but still, you're trying to -- if you are in the rough, more than likely you're probably going to take a shot at getting the ball to the green, which can lead to a bogey pretty easily."