TPC Sawgrass once again proved why it's one of the toughest courses on Tour.  Rounds the first three days of The Players Championship were pretty high; but the final day was disastrous.  25-35 MPH sustained winds with consistent gusts between 45-50 MPH made TPC Sawgrass nearly unplayable most of the day, until things died down a bit for the players in the final few groups.  Once again, 90+% on the "experts" were way wrong this week, and they'll be called out in my PGA Tournament Busts article.  For certain, no one could have predicted the top-5 (or even the top-10) that we finished with; a lot of it was due to the ridiculous wind that plagued everyone in the final round.  There were a lot of great stories this week, including 50-year-old Bernhard Langer's run (T-15th); but it was the journeymen who really captured the imagination of the crowds, and they will be profiled here today.

Gold

Paul Goydos - He's the 160th ranked player in the World according to the OWGR, and has won a little over $8,000,000 in 17 years (he took two off) on both the Nationwide and PGA Tours.  His stats coming in were pretty unimpressive; 189th in Driving Distance, 135th in GIR, 108th in Total Driving, 148th in Sand Saves, 168th in Scrambling, and 105th in Bounce Back.  His only stat of any note was his 10th in Driving Accuracy, and he wasn't an awful putter (81st in Putting Average, 66th in Putts Per Round); but certainly gave no indication that he could compete with the big dogs on the big stage, especially with his best finish (T-25th last week at the Wachovia) being nowhere near in contention for the big checks.  Goydos chose this week to live by the credo "when you've got nothin', you got nothin' to lose", and was easily the most relaxed golfer on the course most of the week.  He wasn't close to the best tee to green, but 1st in Putts Per GIR, and 1st in Putts Per Round shows how Goydos finished as high as he did, and if he didn't get unlucky on the playoff hole, we may be talking about a win here.  Will we see Goydos again anytime soon?  Honestly, I really wouldn't bet on it; but it will be interesting to see how he plays going forward in the run-up to the U.S. Open.

Silver

Jeff Quinney - It's nice to see that the former U.S. Amateur Champ and a former Who Is He profilee managed to essentially come from nowhere and snag a solo 3rd with one of the best final-round 70s you will ever see.  After making the cut on the number, Quinney finished the weekend shooting stereo 70s; quite the score this weekend.  He was in the same group with eventual winner Sergio Garcia, and matched him stroke for stroke, actually shooting a shot better in the end.  Quinney finished the day with a bogey on the near-impossible 18th; narrowly missing his par putt that would have put him in the playoff as well.  He was T-9th in Putts Per Round, 18th in Putts Per GIR, T-11th in Sand Saves and a relatively impressive T-23rd in GIR.  Although he's still searching for his 1st PGA Tour victory, he's collected a solo 2nd (Northern Trust Open - TPC Scottsdale) and solo 3rd (The Players Championship - TPC Sawgrass) and already has set a career-high for a season's earnings; and we're not even at the halfway mark yet.  I have to imagine Quinney will break through one of these upcoming weeks, especially if he can put together rounds like he did this past Sunday.

Bronze

Kenny Perry - Granted he shot a final round 81, and went from the 36-hole lead to a T-15th finish, but the 47-year-old Perry played as well as he has in a few years the first three days of the tournament, and only a horrific back nine kept him from a podium finish.  Solid all week, Perry was T-14th in Putts Per Round, and T-23rd in GIR, which fueled his effort throughout the tournament.  I think it will be interesting to see how, like Quinney, Perry plays going forward through the season.  Will he revert back to his disappearing act, or will he continue the strong play he displayed this week?  Time will tell, but I like his chances if he's entered in any of these watered-down-field tournaments upcoming.

Honorable Mention: The winner of the tournament, Sergio Garcia, notching his first PGA Tour victory in three years.  Although he gets the headlines and hype, truth is, he made 2 or 3 putts all week, and tried on several occasions to give the tournament away.  In truth, he should have won going away (by three or four shots) considering his competition, and considering he's regarded as an "elite" player.