# 2009 Players Championship

The 2009 Players Championship was a golf tournament in Florida on the PGA Tour, held May 7–10 at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, southeast of Jacksonville. It was the 36th Players Championship.

## Tournament summary

Henrik Stenson shot a bogey-free 66 in the final round to win at 276 (−12), four strokes ahead of Ian Poulter. Alex Čejka led by five strokes after the third round, but went out in 42 and finished in a tie for ninth. Stenson was the third European to win the title, after Sergio García the previous year and Sandy Lyle in 1987.
Due to 83 players making the halfway cut (top 70 and ties), a second cut was initiated after the third round.
Defending champion Sergio García finished ten strokes back, in a tie for 22nd place.

## Venue

This was the 28th Players Championship held at the TPC at Sawgrass Stadium Course and it remained at 7,215 yards (6,597 m).

### Course layout

The 2009 Players Championship :
| Tee | Rating/Slope | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
| Yards | n/a | 423 | 532 | 177 | 384 | 471 | 393 | 442 | 237 | 583 | 3,642 | 424 | 558 | 358 | 181 | 481 | 449 | 523 | 137 | 462 | 3,573 | 7,215 |
| Par | | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 36 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 36 | 72 |

## Eligibility requirements

Winners of PGA Tour co-sponsored or approved tournaments, whose victories are considered official, since the previous year's Players Championship.
Ryuji Imada, Phil Mickelson, Kenny Perry, Justin Leonard, Tiger Woods, Stewart Cink, Anthony Kim, Pádraig Harrington, Richard S. Johnson, Chez Reavie, Vijay Singh, Parker McLachlin, Carl Pettersson, Camilo Villegas, Will MacKenzie, Dustin Johnson, Zach Johnson, Marc Turnesa, Cameron Beckman, Ryan Palmer, Davis Love III, Geoff Ogilvy, Pat Perez, Nick Watney, Mark Wilson, YE Yang, Michael Bradley, Retief Goosen, Paul Casey, Ángel Cabrera, Brian Gay, Jerry Kelly, Sean O'Hair
The top 125 finishers on the 2008 Official PGA Tour Money List.
Sergio García, Robert Allenby, Jim Furyk, Mike Weir, K. J. Choi, Ben Curtis, Kevin Sutherland, Trevor Immelman, Ernie Els, Stuart Appleby, Steve Stricker, Chad Campbell, Boo Weekley, D. J. Trahan, Stephen Ames, Ken Duke, Dudley Hart, Hunter Mahan, J. B. Holmes, Woody Austin, Steve Marino, Andrés Romero, Briny Baird, Jeff Quinney, Adam Scott, Mathew Goggin, Nicholas Thompson, Billy Mayfair, Tim Clark, Bart Bryant, Rod Pampling, Aaron Baddeley, Paul Goydos, Daniel Chopra, Freddie Jacobson, Rory Sabbatini, Bubba Watson, Steve Lowery, Charlie Wi, Tommy Armour III, Heath Slocum, Ben Crane, Ian Poulter, Peter Lonard, Luke Donald, Charles Howell III, Matt Kuchar, Johnson Wagner, Rocco Mediate, Nick O'Hern, George McNeill, Scott Verplank, Kevin Streelman, Dean Wilson, Tom Pernice Jr., John Merrick, Steve Elkington, John Senden, Steve Flesch, Ryan Moore, Troy Matteson, Greg Kraft, John Mallinger, Tim Wilkinson, Michael Letzig, Tim Herron, Brian Davis, Cliff Kresge, Vaughn Taylor, Justin Rose, Kevin Na, Jonathan Byrd, Joe Ogilvie, John Rollins, Bill Haas, Lucas Glover, Michael Allen, Tim Petrovic, Scott McCarron, Fred Couples, Charley Hoffman, J. J. Henry, Corey Pavin, Nathan Green, Bo Van Pelt, Eric Axley, Alex Čejka, Jeff Overton, Brett Quigley, Jason Bohn, Brad Adamonis, Martin Laird
Winners of the Players Championship, Masters, U.S. Open, British Open, and PGA Championship from 2004-2008; including 2009 Masters.
Fred Funk, Michael Campbell, Todd Hamilton
Winners of the Tour Championship the last three years (2006-08).
Winners of the World Golf Championship-Accenture Match Play Championship and World Golf Championships-CA Championship in the last three years (2007-2009).
Winner of the World Golf Championships-CA Championship from 2006-2009.
Winners of the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational in the last three years (2006-2008).
Any player(s), not otherwise eligible, among the top 50 leaders from the Official World Golf Rankings through the completion of the Zurich Classic. Any player(s), not otherwise eligible, among the top 10 leaders from the 2008 FedEx Cup Points List through the completion of the Zurich Classic.
Henrik Stenson, Robert Karlsson, Rory McIlroy, Martin Kaymer, Ross Fisher, Jeev Milkha Singh, Søren Kjeldsen, Graeme McDowell, Thongchai Jaidee
The winner of the 2008 Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship. (Such exemption will be an addition to the field.)
D. A. Weibring
The leading money winner from the 2008 Official Nationwide Tour Money List.
Matt Bettencourt
If necessary to complete a field of 144 players, PGA Tour members from the 2009 FedExCup Points List below 10th position one week prior, in order of their position on such list.
David Toms, Jason Dufner, Jeff Klauk, Scott Piercy, Bob Estes, Webb Simpson
Source:

## Round summaries
### First round

Thursday, May 7, 2009
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| 1 | Ben Crane | 65 | −7 |
| T2 | Alex Čejka | 66 | −6 |
| T2 | Richard S. Johnson | 66 | −6 |
| T2 | John Mallinger | 66 | −6 |
| T5 | Brad Adamonis | 67 | −5 |
| T5 | Jonathan Byrd | 67 | −5 |
| T5 | Jason Dufner | 67 | −5 |
| T5 | Retief Goosen | 67 | −5 |
| T5 | Ian Poulter | 67 | −5 |
| T5 | David Toms | 67 | −5 |
| T5 | Scott Verplank | 67 | −5 |
| T5 | Camilo Villegas | 67 | −5 |
| T5 | Bubba Watson | 67 | −5 |

### Second round

Friday, May 8, 2009
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| 1 | Alex Čejka | 66-67=133 | −11 |
| 2 | Ian Poulter | 67-68=135 | −9 |
| T3 | Ángel Cabrera | 72-65=137 | −7 |
| T3 | Jason Dufner | 67-70=137 | −7 |
| T3 | John Mallinger | 66-71=137 | −7 |
| T3 | Kevin Na | 71-66=137 | −7 |
| T3 | Henrik Stenson | 68-69=137 | −7 |
| T3 | David Toms | 67-70=137 | −7 |
| T9 | Ben Crane | 65-73=138 | −6 |
| T9 | Richard S. Johnson | 66-72=138 | −6 |
| T9 | Jeff Overton | 71-67=138 | −6 |
| T9 | Tim Petrovic | 68-70=138 | −6 |

### Third round

Saturday, May 9, 2009
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| 1 | Alex Čejka | 66-67-72=205 | −11 |
| T2 | Jonathan Byrd | 67-72-71=210 | −6 |
| T2 | Ben Crane | 65-73-72=210 | −6 |
| T2 | Retief Goosen | 67-72-71=210 | −6 |
| T2 | Ian Poulter | 67-68-75=210 | −6 |
| T2 | Henrik Stenson | 68-69-73=210 | −6 |
| T2 | Tiger Woods | 71-69-70=210 | −6 |
| T8 | Brian Davis | 71-69-71=211 | −5 |
| T8 | John Mallinger | 66-71-74=211 | −5 |
| T8 | Kevin Na | 71-66-74=211 | −5 |

### Final leaderboard

Sunday, May 10, 2009
Alex Čejka held a five-shot lead entering the final round, but quickly faltered with a six-over front nine and slumped to a closing 79. This opened the door for many, and Henrik Stenson pulled clear with a bogey-free 66 for a four-stroke victory.
* Champion
* (c) = past champion
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) |
| 1 | Henrik Stenson | 68-69-73-66=276 | −12 | 1,710,000 |
| 2 | Ian Poulter | 67-68-75-70=280 | −8 | 1,026,000 |
| T3 | John Mallinger | 66-71-74-70=281 | −7 | 551,000 |
| T3 | Kevin Na | 71-66-74-70=281 | −7 | 551,000 |
| T5 | Ben Crane | 65-73-72-72=282 | −6 | 346,750 |
| T5 | Brian Davis | 71-69-71-71=282 | −6 | 346,750 |
| T5 | Jim Furyk | 68-74-71-69=282 | −6 | 346,750 |
| 8 | Tiger Woods (c) | 71-69-70-73=283 | −5 | 294,500 |
| T9 | Aaron Baddeley | 71-71-76-66=284 | −4 | 237,500 |
| T9 | Alex Čejka | 66-67-72-79=284 | −4 | 237,500 |
| T9 | Tim Clark | 72-69-74-69=284 | −4 | 237,500 |
| T9 | Vijay Singh | 71-72-74-67=284 | −4 | 237,500 |
| T9 | David Toms | 67-70-77-70=284 | −4 | 237,500 |
Leaderboard below the top 10 :
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) |
| T14 | Robert Allenby | 73-66-75-71=285 | −3 | 147,250 |
| T14 | Ángel Cabrera | 72-65-77-71=285 | −3 | 147,250 |
| T14 | Paul Casey | 70-69-76-70=285 | −3 | 147,250 |
| T14 | Daniel Chopra | 75-65-72-73=285 | −3 | 147,250 |
| T14 | Jeff Klauk | 71-72-71-71=285 | −3 | 147,250 |
| T14 | Matt Kuchar | 72-72-73-68=285 | −3 | 147,250 |
| T14 | Camilo Villegas | 67-72-75-71=285 | −3 | 147,250 |
| T14 | Mike Weir | 72-72-73-68=285 | −3 | 147,250 |
| T22 | Tommy Armour III | 74-70-70-72=286 | −2 | 79,325 |
| T22 | Woody Austin | 72-72-68-74=286 | −2 | 79,325 |
| T22 | Ben Curtis | 71-72-69-74=286 | −2 | 79,325 |
| T22 | Sergio García (c) | 71-73-73-69=286 | −2 | 79,325 |
| T22 | Retief Goosen | 67-72-71-76=286 | −2 | 79,325 |
| T22 | Geoff Ogilvy | 70-72-73-71=286 | −2 | 79,325 |
| T22 | Kenny Perry | 73-71-68-74=286 | −2 | 79,325 |
| T22 | Scott Piercy | 71-72-74-69=286 | −2 | 79,325 |
| T22 | Justin Rose | 70-71-72-73=286 | −2 | 79,325 |
| T22 | Steve Stricker | 71-71-71-73=286 | −2 | 79,325 |
| T32 | Jason Dufner | 67-70-77-73=287 | −1 | 53,770 |
| T32 | Zach Johnson | 72-71-70-74=287 | −1 | 53,770 |
| T32 | Justin Leonard (c) | 70-69-75-73=287 | −1 | 53,770 |
| T32 | Billy Mayfair | 70-74-69-74=287 | −1 | 53,770 |
| T32 | Kevin Sutherland | 73-67-72-75=287 | −1 | 53,770 |
| T37 | Jonathan Byrd | 67-72-71-78=288 | E | 39,900 |
| T37 | Luke Donald | 74-70-71-73=288 | E | 39,900 |
| T37 | Charley Hoffman | 70-69-76-73=288 | E | 39,900 |
| T37 | Jeff Overton | 71-67-75-75=288 | E | 39,900 |
| T37 | Tim Petrovic | 68-70-75-75=288 | E | 39,900 |
| T37 | John Rollins | 68-76-70-74=288 | E | 39,900 |
| T37 | John Senden | 72-69-72-75=288 | E | 39,900 |
| T37 | Bubba Watson | 67-75-72-74=288 | E | 39,900 |
| T45 | Ernie Els | 73-69-73-74=289 | +1 | 28,595 |
| T45 | Ryuji Imada | 72-70-75-72=289 | +1 | 28,595 |
| T45 | Richard S. Johnson | 66-72-74-77=289 | +1 | 28,595 |
| T45 | Michael Letzig | 71-68-74-76=289 | +1 | 28,595 |
| T49 | Stephen Ames (c) | 70-71-75-74=290 | +2 | 23,211 |
| T49 | Jason Bohn | 72-71-74-73=290 | +2 | 23,211 |
| T49 | Pádraig Harrington | 72-72-74-72=290 | +2 | 23,211 |
| T49 | Freddie Jacobson | 70-73-72-75=290 | +2 | 23,211 |
| T49 | Nick O'Hern | 68-73-75-74=290 | +2 | 23,211 |
| T49 | Scott Verplank | 67-74-73-76=290 | +2 | 23,211 |
| T55 | Brad Adamonis | 67-76-74-74=291 | +3 | 21,470 |
| T55 | Martin Kaymer | 71-73-69-78=291 | +3 | 21,470 |
| T55 | Phil Mickelson (c) | 73-71-71-76=291 | +3 | 21,470 |
| T55 | Heath Slocum | 75-69-71-76=291 | +3 | 21,470 |
| T55 | Mark Wilson | 69-72-75-75=291 | +3 | 21,470 |
| T60 | Rocco Mediate | 73-71-74-74=292 | +4 | 20,710 |
| T60 | Chez Reavie | 70-72-75-75=292 | +4 | 20,710 |
| T60 | Johnson Wagner | 69-73-72-78=292 | +4 | 20,710 |
| 63 | Michael Allen | 71-70-74-78=293 | +5 | 20,330 |
| T64 | Steve Flesch | 75-69-74-76=294 | +6 | 20,045 |
| T64 | Jeev Milkha Singh | 68-74-76-76=294 | +6 | 20,045 |
| T66 | Cameron Beckman | 72-72-73-78=295 | +7 | 19,665 |
| T66 | John Merrick | 70-72-74-79=295 | +7 | 19,665 |
| T68 | Pat Perez | 72-72-74-78=296 | +8 | 19,285 |
| T68 | Jeff Quinney | 73-70-75-78=296 | +8 | 19,285 |
| 70 | Ryan Moore | 71-68-75-84=298 | +10 | 19,000 |
| T71 | K. J. Choi | 73-69-77=219 | +3 | 18,430 |
| T71 | Nathan Green | 74-69-76=219 | +3 | 18,430 |
| T71 | Robert Karlsson | 74-70-75=219 | +3 | 18,430 |
| T71 | Martin Laird | 71-72-76=219 | +3 | 18,430 |
| T71 | Hunter Mahan | 73-71-75=219 | +3 | 18,430 |
| T76 | Stewart Cink | 70-73-77=220 | +4 | 17,765 |
| T76 | Bob Estes | 75-68-77=220 | +4 | 17,765 |
| 78 | Graeme McDowell | 71-73-77=221 | +5 | 17,480 |
| T79 | Fred Funk (c) | 73-71-78=222 | +6 | 17,005 |
| T79 | Dustin Johnson | 72-72-78=222 | +6 | 17,005 |
| T79 | Steve Marino | 72-72-78=222 | +6 | 17,005 |
| T79 | Rod Pampling | 70-73-79=222 | +6 | 17,005 |
| CUT | Bart Bryant | 74-71=145 | +1 | |
| CUT | Ken Duke | 70-75=145 | +1 | |
| CUT | Jerry Kelly | 73-72=145 | +1 | |
| CUT | Søren Kjeldsen | 70-75=145 | +1 | |
| CUT | Will MacKenzie | 73-72=145 | +1 | |
| CUT | Troy Matteson | 73-72=145 | +1 | |
| CUT | George McNeill | 70-75=145 | +1 | |
| CUT | Joe Ogilvie | 72-73=145 | +1 | |
| CUT | Andrés Romero | 74-71=145 | +1 | |
| CUT | Adam Scott (c) | 71-74=145 | +1 | |
| CUT | Chad Campbell | 75-71=146 | +2 | |
| CUT | Steve Elkington (c) | 73-73=146 | +2 | |
| CUT | Todd Hamilton | 74-72=146 | +2 | |
| CUT | Charles Howell III | 73-73=146 | +2 | |
| CUT | Scott McCarron | 74-72=146 | +2 | |
| CUT | Nicholas Thompson | 73-73=146 | +2 | |
| CUT | Nick Watney | 68-78=146 | +2 | |
| CUT | Stuart Appleby | 71-76=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | Eric Axley | 72-75=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | Bill Haas | 74-73=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | Greg Kraft | 74-73=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | Cliff Kresge | 72-75=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | Davis Love III (c) | 73-74=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | D. J. Trahan | 74-73=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | Bo Van Pelt | 71-76=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | Briny Baird | 72-76=148 | +4 | |
| CUT | Ross Fisher | 74-74=148 | +4 | |
| CUT | Lucas Glover | 73-75=148 | +4 | |
| CUT | Paul Goydos | 78-70=148 | +4 | |
| CUT | J. B. Holmes | 72-76=148 | +4 | |
| CUT | Thongchai Jaidee | 74-74=148 | +4 | |
| CUT | Sean O'Hair | 73-75=148 | +4 | |
| CUT | Brett Quigley | 72-76=148 | +4 | |
| CUT | Kevin Streelman | 74-74=148 | +4 | |
| CUT | Vaughn Taylor | 72-76=148 | +4 | |
| CUT | Charlie Wi | 74-74=148 | +4 | |
| CUT | J. J. Henry | 73-76=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | Parker McLachlin | 75-74=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | Dean Wilson | 77-72=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | Tim Herron | 75-75=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Peter Lonard | 77-73=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Ryan Palmer | 75-75=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Yang Yong-eun | 73-77=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Fred Couples (c) | 80-71=151 | +7 | |
| CUT | Rory McIlroy | 74-77=151 | +7 | |
| CUT | Corey Pavin | 74-77=151 | +7 | |
| CUT | Marc Turnesa | 76-75=151 | +7 | |
| CUT | Mathew Goggin | 76-77=153 | +9 | |
| CUT | Tom Pernice Jr. | 74-79=153 | +9 | |
| CUT | Rory Sabbatini | 81-72=153 | +9 | |
| CUT | Webb Simpson | 76-77=153 | +9 | |
| CUT | Tim Wilkinson | 77-77=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | Matt Bettencourt | 76-79=155 | +11 | |
| CUT | Trevor Immelman | 73-82=155 | +11 | |
| CUT | Anthony Kim | 73-82=155 | +11 | |
| CUT | Michael Bradley | 80-78=158 | +14 | |
| CUT | Steve Lowery | 81-78=159 | +15 | |
| WD | Boo Weekley | 73-67-73=213 | −3 | |
| WD | Dudley Hart | 73 | +1 | |
| WD | Carl Pettersson | 74 | +2 | |
| WD | Brian Gay | 80 | +8 | |
| WD | Michael Campbell | | | |
| WD | D. A. Weibring | | | |
Source:

#### Scorecard

Final round
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| Par | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 |
| Stenson | −6 | −6 | −6 | −6 | −6 | −6 | −7 | −7 | −8 | −8 | −9 | −9 | −10 | −10 | −11 | −12 | −12 | −12 |
| Poulter | −6 | −7 | −7 | −6 | −6 | −6 | −6 | −6 | −7 | −7 | −7 | −7 | −7 | −7 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −8 |
| Mallinger | −5 | −5 | −5 | −5 | −5 | −6 | −5 | −5 | −5 | −5 | −6 | −6 | −6 | −7 | −7 | −8 | −8 | −7 |
| Na | −5 | −6 | −6 | −6 | −5 | −5 | −5 | −5 | −5 | −5 | −6 | −6 | −5 | −5 | −5 | −7 | −7 | −7 |
| Crane | −7 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −8 | −7 | −7 | −7 | −7 | −7 | −6 | −5 | −5 | −6 | −5 | −6 |
| Davis | −5 | −6 | −5 | −5 | −5 | −5 | −4 | −4 | −6 | −6 | −7 | −7 | −7 | −6 | −6 | −6 | −6 | −6 |
| Furyk | −3 | −4 | −4 | −4 | −4 | −5 | −5 | −4 | −3 | −4 | −4 | −5 | −5 | −5 | −5 | −6 | −6 | −6 |
| Woods | −6 | −5 | −5 | −4 | −4 | −5 | −4 | −4 | −4 | −3 | −3 | −3 | −3 | −4 | −4 | −5 | −5 | −5 |
| Čejka | −10 | −10 | −10 | −8 | −7 | −6 | −6 | −5 | −5 | −6 | −6 | −5 | −4 | −4 | −4 | −4 | −4 | −4 |
Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par
| Eagle | Birdie | Bogey | Double bogey |
Source: