Sawgrass serves up something special

A recent off-the-cuff comment by Johnny Miller, the World Golf Hall of Fame legend turned NBC commentator, was pure gold.

While discussing his career highlights, Miller said: "There should only be maybe five championships in golf: The Players Championship, and then the majors. The rest of them can be called tournaments."

Indeed, Miller's placing The Players Championship on the same pedestal as the four majors speaks volumes for the PGA Tour's flagship event and its gold standard for every facet of excellence and prestige.

The 71-year-old Miller's remarks hold water as he has seen it all－first as a fiery competitor who won 25 PGA Tour titles (including two majors), then as lead golf analyst for NBC, where his colorful, unfiltered and no-holds-barred commentary only reinforced his legend.

For years, golfers, fans and media have often debated if The Players should be inducted as the fifth major in the men's game. Either way, this championship, which undoubtedly showcases the strongest field assembled anywhere around the world and is played on a course regarded as the purest test in golf, stands alone.

This year's tournament, from March 14-17, will offer a staggering $12.5 million in prize money on the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass in Florida next week.

Its roll of honor includes the finest, from Nicklaus to Norman, Woods to Mickelson, Couples to Scott. And with a resurgent Tiger Woods, himself a two-time Players champion, continuing his quest to surpass Sam Snead's record of 82 PGA Tour wins, fans can expect more drama to unfold.

Two wins shy of Snead's record, Woods clearly has a third Players victory in his sight as he also aims to match Jack Nicklaus' three wins in the championship.

"I take a lot of pride in playing well in the biggest events－the majors, The Players and the World Golf Championships. I think my record has been pretty good in those events," said Woods.

This year's event marks a switch in tournament dates as the Tour has brought its showpiece forward by two months from its previous May slot. Defending champion Webb Simpson believes the move is a brilliant one.

"I think it will bring even more prestige to the tournament," Simpson said. "When it used to be in May, we already had a very big event on the calendar, the Masters. Now it's in March, so this is the first really big tournament of the year.

"I think that's special, knowing that when the guys come here, they know the best players in the world are going to be here for the first time maybe all season, competing for the trophy."

It's a sentiment not lost on 2016 FedExCup champion Rory McIlroy, who owns three top-10 results at The Players.

"I really like it because you've got five really big tournaments each month starting in March all the way through to July, and then that culminates with the FedExCup playoffs in August," McIlroy said.

"It's a more condensed schedule, and for fans that's going to be good because you're going to see the best players in the world play in the same tournaments more often."

To commemorate the switch in dates, this year's champion will hoist a new first-of-its-kind trophy custom-designed by Tiffany& Co.

Made of sterling silver and 24k gold vermeil, it was brought to life utilizing cutting-edge 3D technology and will help launch the PGA Tour's showpiece event into a new era.

Using a process called "electro-forming," Tiffany & Co. began with the inspiration of the swinging golfer from the iconic PGA Tour logo. Then, through sophisticated computer modeling, designers incorporated aspects of each of the previous 38 different winners of The Players.

South Korean star KJ Choi, the first Asian to win The Players in 2011, is honored to be part of the new trophy.

"It looks beautiful and I understand it was a complicated process to make," said Choi, Asia's most successful golfer on the PGA Tour with eight victories.

"The Players victory was one of the most significant and dramatic moments for me.

"A lot of Korean fans cried and cheered for me that day and I remember it perfectly, even though it happened almost 10 years ago."

Asia's quest to deliver a third winner at The Players will see the likes of China's Li Haotong, Thailand's Kiradech Aphibarnrat, India's Anirban Lahiri, CT Pan of Chinese Taipei, Japan's Hideki Matsuyama and South Korea's Kim Si-woo, the 2017 winner, going toe-to-toe with the world's best.

The author is senior director of communications for the PGA Tour and is based in Kuala Lumpur.