PONTE VEDRA BEACH (Florida Sports Wire) – With two weeks to go until the strongest field in golf reconvenes at TPC Sawgrass, THE PLAYERS Championship sets the stage for the 2024 event by profiling four of the biggest names in the sport who are among the favorites to create their Defining Moment en route to hoisting THE PLAYERS trophy.
Justin Thomas
2021 PLAYERS Champion Justin Thomas will be making his ninth career appearance at TPC Sawgrass. The 30-year-old owns 15 career PGA TOUR victories, including PGA Championship titles in 2017 and 2022. Thomas’ PLAYERS win – which featured a tournament-record 12-under 132 on the weekend – put the Kentucky native in rarified air, as one of just four players since 1960 to notch his 14th victory before his 28th birthday (Jack Nicklaus, Johnny Miller and Tiger Woods). Currently ranked No. 22 in the Official World Golf Ranking, Thomas has recorded two top-10s in four starts this year, including a season-best T3 at The American Express.
Jordan Spieth
With 13 career PGA TOUR titles including three major championships, Jordan Spieth is still in search of his first PLAYERS Championship victory. The 30-year-old ended a nearly four-year victory drought with a win at the 2021 Valero Texas Open, then notched win No. 13 at the RBC Heritage in 2022. Spieth is eyeing his first win since that week on Hilton Head Island, and will look to capture it at TPC Sawgrass, where his only top-10 in nine career starts came in his debut in 2014, T4. The current World No. 13 has posted two top-10 finishes in four starts this year, highlighted by a solo-third at The Sentry.
Max Homa
One of the game’s most affable players, Max Homa has recorded six PGA TOUR titles in his career, including five over the last three years alone. The 33-year-old will be making his fourth career start at THE PLAYERS after recording a career-best T6 at the 2023 event. Homa is currently 41st in the FedExCup with three top-25 finishes thus far in 2024, with a season-best T13 at the Farmers Insurance Open.
Nick Dunlap
Nick Dunlap began 2024 as the top-ranked amateur in the world following wins at the 2021 U.S. Junior and 2023 U.S. Amateur, in the midst of a standout career at the University of Alabama. After receiving a sponsor exemption into The American Express in January, the 20-year-old phenom posted 29-under 259 for a one-shot victory, becoming the first amateur to win on the PGA TOUR in 33 years. Dunlap turned professional the following week, and will be making his PLAYERS Championship debut in March. Dunlap made three starts in the Junior PLAYERS during his AJGA career where he was a two-time Rolex Junior All-American and the 2021 Rolex Junior Player of the Year. In 2021, he finished runner-up at the Junior PLAYERS.