Fansided

5 groups to watch in the first two rounds of The Players Championship

By Luke Norris

AUGUSTA, GA - APRIL 03: Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson of the United States look on from the 12th tee during a practice round prior to the start of the 2018 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 3, 2018 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
AUGUSTA, GA - APRIL 03: Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson of the United States look on from the 12th tee during a practice round prior to the start of the 2018 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 3, 2018 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images) /
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CHASKA, MN – SEPTEMBER 27: Vice-captain Bubba Watson and Dustin Johnson of the United States practice prior to the 2016 Ryder Cup at Hazeltine National Golf Club on September 27, 2016 in Chaska, Minnesota. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
CHASKA, MN – SEPTEMBER 27: Vice-captain Bubba Watson and Dustin Johnson of the United States practice prior to the 2016 Ryder Cup at Hazeltine National Golf Club on September 27, 2016 in Chaska, Minnesota. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images) /

Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Bubba Watson

Thursday, Round 1: 10th tee, 8:05 a.m ET

Friday, Round 2: 1st tee, 1:30 p.m. ET

There’s certainly some power in this threesome and it starts with world No. 1 Dustin Johnson, who actually is in danger of losing that top spot for the first time since Feb. 19 of last year. DJ has spent 64 consecutive weeks as the top player in the world, the fifth-longest stretch since the rankings became official in 1986. Only Tiger Woods, Greg Norman, Nick Faldo and Rory McIlroy have gone longer. The formula isn’t quite as difficult for Johnson this week. Just win and he’ll stay there. Simple enough, right? The chances of him being around for the weekend are quite strong as he hasn’t missed a cut in his last 18 starts, a stretch dating back to last June, and has only finished outside the top 20 in three of those. The only time he’s missed the cut at The Players was his debut in 2008 and he finished tied for 12th in 2017.

After missing four months due to injury, reigning U.S. Open champ Brooks Koepka is finally back and ready to play some golf. Initially injuring his left wrist while preparing for the Hero World Challenge late last year, Koepka finished dead last in the 18-man tournament and did so again in the 34-man Sentry Tournament of Champions to kick off 2018. The torn ligaments kept him from touching a golf club for 91 days, which meant that he missed out on The Masters, but he finally returned to action at the Zurich Classic team event and made his solo return to the PGA Tour this past week at Quail Hollow. Following rounds of 72-72-71-70, he finished tied for 42nd, 13 strokes behind winner Jason Day. The 28-year-old Floridian is still ranked 11th in the world and tied for 16th at his tournament in 2017. It will be nice to see him back on a big stage.

Bubba Watson is certainly having an interesting year. Earlier in 2018, the two-time Masters champ had dropped down to 117th in the world following a six-tournament stretch in which he finished no higher than 35th. However, he was able to quickly turn things around and won the Genesis Open at Riviera in February, tied for ninth at the WGC-Mexico Championship, went backwards a bit at the Arnold Palmer with a T-66, but bounced back strong by winning the Match Play and finished tied for fifth at Augusta. In less than three months, Bubba has climbed exactly 100 spots in the rankings and comes into The Players as the 17th-ranked player in the world. Unfortunately, TPC Sawgrass hasn’t been overly kind to him. Since his debut in 2007, he’s missed the cut four times and has never finished higher than a tie for 37th, which he’s done twice. But he always makes it entertaining and watching this trio try to outdrive each other should be fun to watch.

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