Backspin: Seve's impact; PLAYERS preview; more

text size

There's not much that I could add that already hasn't been said or written about Seve Ballesteros and his impact on the game of golf, so I'll direct you here and will offer up just a couple of small nuggets below in The Back Nine.

As for what happened in the rest of golf, my colleague Helen Ross did a nice job pointing out the biggest thing that Lucas Glover will take from his win at the Wells Fargo Championship on Sunday is confidence.

I don't know that Glover will contend at this week's PLAYERS Championship, but if his short game was anything like it was last week then he might. TPC Sawgrass is such a second-shot golf course, though, your iron play better be really good.

Given that, what can we expect at THE PLAYERS Championship? Probably something unexpected. Just look at the tournament's recent list of winners: Tim Clark last year, Henrik Stenson in 2009, Stephen Ames in 2006, Fred Funk in 2005, Craig Perks in 2002.

There have been plenty of notables to win there, too -- Sergio Garcia in 2008, Phil Mickelson in 2007, Adam Scott in 2004 and Tiger Woods in 2001 -- but mostly it's a guessing game. And given how this season has gone with 19 winners in 20 events, it should be an even bigger one this year.

I'll save my prediction for later in the week, but here are a few guys to keep an eye on:

Luke Donald: He's one of the best ball-strikers on TOUR and playing incredibly well right now. He also tied for second there in 2005.

Ben Crane: Forget the goofing around on YouTube. Crane has been really good the last three years with a tie for fourth, tie for fifth and tie for sixth.

Adam Scott: He's won the event before and comes in with a world of confidence in that long putter. Scott is also one of the best ball-strikers in the game.

Stock up

Pat Perez: Forget the Sunday 75. After a fairly lackluster start to his season Perez has dialed it up the last month with three top-6 finishes in his last four starts. What's been the difference? Putting mostly. In those three finishes, Perez is averaging 1.69 putts per green in regulation. FedExCup rank: 47 (63 last week). Padraig Harrington: The two late bogeys were costly to Harrington but they didn't cost him the tournament. And on a positive note, Harrington seems to be headed the right direction at least in terms of his results with three top-10s in his last five starts on the TOUR. Don't be surprised if Harrington contends at a major this year. FedExCup rank: 93 (105 last week). Webb Simpson: A lot of players would be demoralized by a playoff loss and a second runner-up this season. Not Simpson. He bounced back with a tie for 21st last week and would have finished even better if not for a third-round 74. The former Wake Forest standout seems to be coming into his own and I don't think it will be long before he wins. FedExCup rank: 11 (10 last week)

Stock down

Stuart Appleby: After a pretty torrid run early in the year that included four straight top-15 finishes, Appleby has cooled considerably. Actually, he's been downright ice cold with his fifth straight missed cut coming last week in Charlotte. He's a combined 18 over in those last 10 rounds. FedExCup rank: 73 (67last week). Jhonattan Vegas: Ditto Vegas, who started off his rookie season with a win in just his second start and a tie for third the following week. He added a couple more top-20s in the weeks that followed, but the last month has not been kind with four missed cuts in his last five starts. His only made cut during that time was in San Antonio, where he tied for 44th. FedExCup rank: 14 (13 last week) Anthony Kim: The 2008 Wells Fargo champion says he's healthy but you have to wonder what sort of effect his thumb injury is having. After all, we've seen it before when a player suffers a hand injury. Kim had an MDF (made cut, did not finish) in Charlotte, but before that he'd missed his last two cuts and he has just one finish in the top 60 in his last eight stroke-play events. FedExCup rank: 79 (74 last week)

THE BACK NINE: 9 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

1. Perhaps the best way to sum up Seve Ballesteros was that he was the Spanish Arnold Palmer. He really was, and he'll be missed.

2. When does silence speak volumes? When there was a moment of it at 3:08 p.m. ET on Sunday in honor of Ballesteros. Never did quiet sound so beautiful. Classy move. So was the decision by defending PLAYERS champ Tim Clark to replace his South African flag in the Circle of Champions at TPC Sawgrass with a Spanish flag in honor of Ballesteros.

3. Stop me if you've heard this before: "Decided last off season to make a swing change and try to be a little more efficient, and I hit some wild shots this week, but short game was good and was able to escape. It's not like it's exactly where I want it." Who said it? Newly crowned Wells Fargo champion Lucas Glover. The point is players are almost always trying to tweak or change their swing, Tiger Woods included. The biggest problem for Woods, at least lately, hasn't so much been his swing as much as his short game. He's just not making the putts we've become accustomed to seeing him make.

4. If you think the beard is coming off Lucas Glover now that he's ended his nearly two-year long victory drought, think again. "I don't think so," Glover said. "It's not itching yet."

5. As for Woods' health, his knee and Achilles are well enough to play or else he wouldn't play. Woods has never been one to enter a tournament unless he's gotten what he feels is the proper amount of work in. How well he plays is another story. Woods has just four career top-10s, including one win, in 13 trips to TPC Sawgrass.

6. Stay tuned on whether or not Clark, who is battling elbow tendonitis, will be able to defend his title this week at THE PLAYERS Championship. It will be a game-time decision for Clark, who badly wants to defend his first career PGA TOUR title. "I will be there," Clark told the Florida Times-Union. "I just hope I'll be able to play."

7. Don't read too much into the decision by Sean O'Hair to split from Sean Foley last week. O'Hair, who has been coached by Foley the last three years, is mired in the worst slump of his career and said he just needed to change things up. Foley gets that and doesn't begrudge him at all and the two remain close friends. "We will always be close," Foley said via text message. "He is a great guy just going through a bad stretch of golf and felt he needed another direction."

8. Rory McIlroy last week was seen working on his putting with Dave Stockton, who you might remember helped Adam Scott end his winless drought a little over a year ago. Given Stockton's simplistic approach, the two would be a good fit. "First thing, I don't think I was ready," said McIlroy of being on the cusp of winning the Masters. "That was the most important thing. I displayed a few weaknesses in my game that I need to work on." And that's exactly what he's doing and just another reason this won't become the hallmark of his career.

9. Remember the name Russell Henley. The University of Georgia senior became just the second amateur ever to win on the Nationwide Tour when he won the Stadion Classic at UGA. This wasn't some kind of fluky coincidence either. Hanley was the low amateur at last year's U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, where he tied for 16th.

Forward Spin

THE PLAYERS Championship annually has the best field in golf, though this year it's got its bumps and bruises with defending champion Tim Clark having played just two rounds since January because of a lingering elbow injury. He said over the weekend he plans to play, but he's obviously not healthy. Tiger Woods is also battling the injury bug. Last year, he pulled out of the tournament in the final round with a neck and injury and this year he's playing for the first time since the Masters following a minor knee and Achilles injury he sustained at Augusta National. Who will win? TPC Sawgrass is a second-shot golf course so expect whoever it is to be someone who keeps it in the short grass off the tee and has a good ball-striking week. Maybe Luke Donald? Not many are playing better than him right now.

Next Kodak Challenge hole

TOURNAMENT: THE PLAYERS Championship HOLE: The par-3, 137-yard 17th at TPC Sawgrass ABOUT THE HOLE: In its brief history, the island hole at TPC Sawgrass has become one of the signature holes on the PGA TOUR. Built with fans in mind, hole No. 17 is surrounded by spectators in one of golf's first true "stadium" hole designs. Players must completely carry the water from tee to green. The right side of the green is protected by a small bunker, which sometimes provides relief to players who come up short of the green. Club selection on this hole is critically important. With the tricky winds of spring, the Championship could be won or lost here. Kodak Challenge standings