Take a peek behind the scenes at THE PLAYERS

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For the next 365 days, Henrik Stenson will be the face of THE PLAYERS Championship. His picture will adorn the placards on the golf carts at TPC Sawgrass. There will be an entire room in the clubhouse with images from Stenson, plus the Swedish flag will wave above the Circle of Champions.

His face will be the one that's in the history books from 2009, but there are countless other faces that will not be recognized -- the thousands of volunteers, staff members, concession workers, weathermen, rules officials, media members, trash collectors, cameramen and others who made sure that the tournament went off without a hitch.

By the time THE PLAYERS Championship aired on television or opened the gates to spectators, every blade of grass was perfectly in place, every ticket had been printed and every hospitality tent and leaderboard were standing.

Someone had to plant and mow that grass. Someone else had to print the tickets and make sure that they landed in the right hands. Someone had to erect each tent, set up the leaderboards and lay cables for the television operations.

Each cog in THE PLAYERS wheel is integral in allowing the whole tournament to run smoothly. Get to know several people you probably didn't see, but who made a difference this week:

The rules official

Robby Ware

He was sitting in a golf cart, on top of a steep hill that overlooks the 16th fairway and the 18th hole. On a toasty morning at TPC Sawgrass, Ware had found one of the only shady spots in the vicinity. It was a rare moment of rest for Ware, one of 12 PGA TOUR Rules Officials on site at THE PLAYERS Championship in 2009. "My role this week is to set up the back nine. We have two rules officials each week -- one sets up the front, the other official sets up the back," Ware explained. "I'm in charge of setting the tee placements as well as the hole placements. It's a pretty important job here considering this is probably our premier event of the year." "Important job" is an understatement. Ware knew on Tuesday where the pin placements will be on Nos. 16, 17 and 18 -- arguably the hardest stretch of holes on TOUR -- and spent the first half of the week studying the course to find the best positions. They are typically set in stone before the event even begins, but can be changed depending on weather conditions. Like the other rules officials on site, Ware could also be called upon to make a ruling. He can't put a number on how often players need to consult with the TOUR's rules experts -- it varies, he said, based on "the proximity of structures to the playing areas and wind" -- but the rules-conscious golfers know the importance of following them. "That's one of the great things about the game," he said. "The golfers have respect for their fellow players, the rules of the game and the guys that conduct the events."

The crane cameraman

John Boeddeker

He used to be scared of heights. That quickly passed, though, when Boeddeker became the NBC cameraman who spends five days a week in a crane. It's one of the most unique jobs on -- or is it off? -- the course. He's strapped in a harness, secured in a metal cage and hoisted 120 feet above TPC Sawgrass. The heights don't bother him anymore -- he focuses on the black-and-white viewfinder and said the world looks about the same from a camera lens, whether he's on his couch at home or high in the air. "Now I like looking at the beauty of the course and love being up there," he said. He has full permission to come down if he ever feels nervous due to wind or lightning. Last year, in fact, the winds were so fierce that he couldn't operate the camera and stayed grounded for most of the final round. So why go to such heights for the telecast? If you've watched golf on NBC, you know why Boeddeker's camera angle is important. He's the one who captures the "speed shot", which shows the speed of the ball compared to the stationary items behind it. The crane's height allows him to follow the ball, show the velocity and provide a completely unique shot. The crane can't get too high, as it would conflict with the blimp's cameras. He's gotten it down to a science after 10 years of working THE PLAYERS, though, and can handle eight-hour days in the sun or rain. The only problem? There's not a restroom in his tiny perch. He hated to admit his secret, but Boeddeker explained what he does when temperatures soar into the 90s and he has to stay hydrated. "I go up with a bottle of water," he said, "and come down with a bottle of something else."

The island guy

Brian Phraner

Brian Phraner's had the best seat at TPC Sawgrass for the past 16 years. To the right of the green at the 17th hole, there's an small island in the middle of the lake filled with trees, flowers and -- during tournament week -- Phraner's platform. Like Boeddeker, Phraner is an NBC cameraman with a unique vantage point. He waits for a lull in play, then takes a motorized, flatbed fishing boat to his island. "It actually used to be a peninsula where I could walk out to film, but after course renovations, it's an island," he said. Phraner stows the boat underneath the platform, then gets to work shooting the 16th fairway, the 16th green, the 17th tee box and the 17th green. "The island has a great angle to shoot the 17th tee and carry the golfers all the way to the green. It can capture 360 degrees of stuff out there." He's witnessed several aces and Tiger Woods' "better than most" putt, but there's one moment that Phraner is especially famous for capturing on film. In 1998, Phraner had noticed several seagulls around the 17th green. He happened to pan around to film them when one devilish bird plucked Steve Lowery's golf ball from the island green. "He kept picking up the ball then I followed him as he eventually dropped it in the water. I was at the right place at the right time," Phraner said.

The military supporter

Cathie Hurlburt

Over 5,000 fans surrounded the area around the 18th fairway and green on Wednesday to catch a glimpse of one of the most famous people in the world. For once, it wasn't Tiger Woods. Instead, it was former President George H.W. Bush, who was in town to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the PGA TOUR. The award presentation takes place in front of a small group of people each year, but Cathie Hurlburt thought that others would want to see the former President. So she came up with an idea -- why not make the entire day a celebration for the military? Military members would get in for free on Wednesday, then the day would culminate with a special ceremony for fans at the event. In the same way that sailors line up in rows on a ship deck, Hurlburt pictured soldiers in white Navy uniforms standing along the 18th fairway as former President Bush rode towards the green in a golf cart. She wanted a military band to play, and arranged for a slide show with images of the Bush family. "It was neat. (His sons) Neil and Jeb were at the ceremony and watched the slideshow on the JumboTron. There were pictures they'd never even seen before," Hurlburt said. Of course, no ceremony would be complete without a flyover. TOUR staffers, including Hurlburt, spent weeks making arrangements with the Air Force to make sure that the flyover went off perfectly. On Friday before the ceremony, though, the Air Force had to cancel. So, Hurlburt and others went to the Navy, who stepped in with just two days notice and performed a spectacular flyover with F5 jets. It's part of her job as the TOUR's Senior Manager for Charitable Outreach, but she also genuinely cares about the members of the military. "She's very passionate about supporting the military. It comes natural to her. From sending cookies and golf equipment and answering emails to those fighting overseas, she gives back day in and day out," said John Flaschner, the Director of TPC Public Relations.