Solid Wachovia runs help build momentum for PLAYERS

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May. 4, 2008
By Lauren Deason, PGATOUR.COM Editorial Coordinator

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Fred Couples, twice a winner at THE PLAYERS Championship, received good news after he signed his scorecard at the Wachovia Championship.

Two-time PLAYERS winner Fred Couples is off to a hot start in 2008. (Getty Images)

Wachovia: Round 4

"Am I in (THE PLAYERS) now?" he asked a PGA TOUR media official. When told that he was indeed in the field with a shot at winning his third PLAYERS title, Couples expressed his thoughts on the state of his game after shooting 6-under par over four days at the Wachovia Championship.

"I'm looking forward to playing at TPC Sawgrass," he said. "I am feeling ok about my game but I have three days to practice. I recently took a couple of weeks off so I'm thrilled and surprised at how well I played (this week)."

Couples caught wind earlier that he could potentially enter the field since Will MacKenzie needed surgery to repair a complex tear of the menial meniscus. Unless a player not otherwise exempt won the Wachovia Championship, first alternate Couples stood to replace MacKenzie. Anthony Kim, who was already in THE PLAYERS, held a sizeable lead when Couples (who tied for eighth) finished his round.

Jason Bohn finished one stroke behind Couples at the Wachovia Tournament after a 10-under par for the week. He couldn't get much going on the weekend, carding a 72 on Saturday and a 71 on Sunday. Still, he tied for 27th at THE PLAYERS in 2006 and expects to improve upon that finish since he's recently had two top-10 finishes in his last three starts.

"I'm striking the ball well, I'm putting well, I'm hitting my lines," Bohn said. "I'll be in great shape, I think."

For Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., resident Jim Furyk, THE PLAYERS is a home game. Though he may live nearby, that hasn't given him a huge advantage -- Furyk's best finish was a tie for third in 2006. Still, he's riding a wave of momentum following a seventh-place finish at the Wachovia Tournament and a solo fourth two weeks ago at the Verizon Heritage.

"I think my game is close. I made a lot of stupid errors early on today (en route to a 72) and wasted two or three shots on the front nine and really put myself behind the 8-ball but I ground it out," Furyk said. "...My game is close but I've got to make some adjustments."

He said there's little to compare aesthetically between the tree-lined Quail Hollow course in North Carolina and the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass.

"The only similarities I think they have is they're both really difficult," Furyk said. "Next week will test a lot of areas of our game. You have to get the ball in the fairway. Hopefully we don't have a lot of rain and the fairways are firm and fast. It's a tough, tough golf course and so is this one, so it's good preparation (in that respect)."

Fellow Ponte Vedra Beach homeowner Vijay Singh is also looking for his first PLAYERS win. He came close as the runner-up in 2001 and use momentum from a tie for 17th this week at the Wachovia Championship towards win No. 1.

Unlike Furyk and Singh, who have a combined 27 years of experience, there are 14 players participating in their initial PLAYERS.

First-timer George McNeill tied for 22nd at the Wachovia Championship, the best finish out of THE PLAYERS' rookies. The Florida State University alum lives in Fort Myers, Fla., and spent a cold, rainy day last month at TPC Sawgrass preparing for his first taste of THE PLAYERS.

Vijay Singh has never won on the course where he lives and trains. (Getty Images)

"It's a good golf course. It's very hard much like (Quail Hollow). If you play well you will get rewarded. If I don't, I just get to go home two days earlier," McNeill said, clearly tired after his final-round 71 at Quail Hollow Club. "Other than my putting, I played fairly well this week. Hopefully, if I can keep hitting it alright and just improve upon my putting, I'll be fine."

Ben Curtis had the lowest round on Sunday (65) at the Wachovia Championship and, thanks to his runner-up finish behind Kim, carries positive vibes to Ponte Vedra Beach. Curtis was third in Driving Accuracy at Quail Hollow Club and tied for 16th at hitting the green in regulation.

"I'm putting well and hitting the irons a lot better. For me, that's big. If I can hit some irons, it makes it a lot easier. I haven't been hitting them good all year," said Curtis. "I've never made the cut at THE PLAYERS so hopefully things will change this year."

The Aussie contingent, a force to be reckoned with any week, had six players in the top 25 in Charlotte. Adam Scott is arguably the hottest heading into next week's tournament after winning the EDS Byron Nelson Championship last week and tying for eighth at the Wachovia Championship.

Scott captured THE PLAYERS trophy in 2004 but could soon be joined in the Champions' locker room by Robert Allenby, Matthew Goggin, Geoff Ogilvy, Rod Pampling or John Senden, fellow Australians who were inside the top 25 at the Wachovia Championship.

Other making noise at the Wachovia included lefties Steve Flesch (tied for 22nd) and Phil Mickelson, the defending champion at THE PLAYERS. Mickelson, who tied for 12th in Charlotte, thinks his win in 2007 shook off THE PLAYERS demons that haunted him with missed cuts and several finishes outside the top 30 during much of his career.

Of course, Stewart Cink leads the list of "Players to Watch".

Arguably one of the hottest players on the PGA TOUR not named Woods, Scott or Kim, Cink is third in the FedExCup standings despite a winless season. Cink was runner-up at the PODS Championship and World Golf Championships - Accenture Match Play, tied for third in two other events and tied for eighth at the Wachovia Championship. Cink also tied for third at THE PLAYERS last year.

Finally, there's the most recent PGA TOUR winner. Kim heads into THE PLAYERS on cloud nine after capturing his first TOUR victory. Post-win fatigue may catch up with the youngster but there's no doubt he's "Who's Hot" right now.

The only hitch? In his only PLAYERS appearance last year, Kim missed the cut after shooting 78 and 83.