how does the cut work at the players
The Players Championship
1974 : Jack Nicklaus wins the inaugural edition of the tournament . He beats J.C. Snead by two shots near Atlanta . 1977 : Mark Hayes wins by two shots over Mike McCullough at Sawgrass Country Club , despite shooting the highest winning score on the PGA Tour , 289 , since Nicklaus at the 1972 U.S. Open . 1978 : Jack Nicklaus wins his third Tournament Players Championship title . He edges Lou Graham by one shot . 1979 : Bob Murphy , a five - time winner on the PGA Tour , shoots a final round 92 . Winds were gusting up to 45 miles per hour that day . 1980 : Playing in a final threesome with Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus , Lee Trevino shoots a final round 70 to edge Ben Crenshaw by one shot . 1981 : Raymond Floyd defeats Curtis Strange and Barry Jaeckel on the first hole of a sudden death playoff . In addition to the tournament title , Floyd collects an additional $250,000 bonus due to his win at the Doral - Eastern Open the week before . 1982 : After winning the first tournament at the Stadium Course by two shots over Brad Bryant and Scott Simpson , Jerry Pate tosses PGA Tour Commissioner Deane Beman and course architect Pete Dye into the water adjacent to the 18th green before jumping in himself . 1983 : Hal Sutton wins by one shot over Bob Eastwood . John Cook came to the 72nd hole tied for the lead with Sutton before hitting his tee shot in the water on his way to a double bogey . 1984 : Fred Couples shoots a course record 64 during the second round of play on his way to a one - shot victory over Lee Trevino . 1986 : John Mahaffey wins by one shot over Larry Mize after Mize makes bogey on four of the last five holes during the final round of play . 1987 : Sandy Lyle defeats Jeff Sluman with a par on the third hole of a sudden - death playoff . At the playoff 's second hole , Sluman stood over a 6 - foot ( 1.8 m ) birdie putt to win , and a spectator jumped into the water surrounding the 17th green . He backed away , then missed . 1988 : Jacksonville area resident Mark McCumber wins by four shots over Mike Reid . 1989 : Tom Kite wins for the second consecutive week . He beats Chip Beck by one shot . 1991 : Steve Elkington wins by one shot over Fuzzy Zoeller . Phil Blackmar had solo possession of the lead before hitting his tee shot into the water on the 71st hole resulting in a double bogey . 1992 : Mark Calcavecchia and John Daly , the first pair on the final day of the tournament , are reprimanded by Deputy PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem `` for failure to exert their best effort '' after they finish their 18 holes of golf in only two hours and three minutes . 1994 : Greg Norman shoots the 72 - hole record score for the tournament , 264 , on his way to a four shot victory over Fuzzy Zoeller . 1995 : After Norman 's record score , the course is made tougher by the creation of new , rock hard greens . Lee Janzen shoots 283 to win the tournament , the biggest one - year swing for a tournament played on the same layout in PGA Tour history . 1996 : Twelve years after his first win at the TPC at Sawgrass , Fred Couples triumphs again . He shoots a final round 64 to beat Colin Montgomerie and Tommy Tolles by four shots . 1999 : David Duval wins by two shots over Scott Gump . The win by Duval propels him to # 1 in the World rankings . 2000 : Hal Sutton wins at the TPC at Sawgrass for a second time . He edges Tiger Woods by one shot . 2002 : Playing for the first time ever in The Players Championship , Craig Perks finishes eagle - birdie - par to win by two shots over Stephen Ames . It is the only PGA Tour win for Perks . 2003 : Davis Love III wins The Players Championship for a second time . He shoots a final round 64 to win by six shots over Jay Haas and Pádraig Harrington . 2004 : In spite of hitting his 2nd shot at the 72nd hole into the water , Adam Scott is able to get it up and down for bogey to win by one shot over Pádraig Harrington . 2005 : Fred Funk becomes the tournament 's oldest champion by edging Tom Lehman , Luke Donald , and Scott Verplank by one shot . During the final round , Bob Tway hits four balls into the water surrounding the 17th green , scoring a twelve on the hole . 2010 : After 206 career PGA Tour starts , Tim Clark breaks through for his first Tour win . 2011 : K.J. Choi becomes the first Asian born golfer to win The Players Championship . He defeats David Toms on the first hole of a sudden death playoff . 2013 : Roberto Castro ties the course record with a 9 - under 63 in the opening round . Sergio García , tied for the lead with Tiger Woods at 13 - under par going to the par - 3 17th hole in the final round , puts two balls into the water . Tiger Woods wins the event for the first time since 2001 . It is his 78th career PGA Tour win in his 300th start . 2014 : Ongoing injuries prevent Tiger Woods from defending his title . In the first round , Martin Kaymer ties the course record with a 63 matching Fred Couples ( 1992 ) , Greg Norman ( 1994 ) and Roberto Castro ( 2013 ) . Kaymer goes on to win wire - to - wire . 2015 : Following a three - way tie at 12 - under par in regulation play , the tournament 's first aggregate three - hole playoff over holes 16 -- 18 is conducted between Rickie Fowler , Kevin Kisner and Sergio García . Kisner and Fowler both go par - birdie - par to end the playoff at 1 - under par , while García can only muster three pars to finish at even par and is eliminated . The playoff continues into sudden death , starting at the 17th , where both Kisner and Fowler have birdie opportunities . Kisner 's birdie try from about 12 feet is unsuccessful , while Fowler 's effort , inside of five feet , drops home for the victory . 2017 : 21 - year - old Kim Si - woo becomes the event 's youngest winner .
1974 : Jack Nicklaus wins the inaugural edition of the tournament . He beats J.C. Snead by two shots near Atlanta . 1977 : Mark Hayes wins by two shots over Mike McCullough at Sawgrass Country Club , despite shooting the highest winning score on the PGA Tour , 289 , since Nicklaus at the 1972 U.S. Open . 1978 : Jack Nicklaus wins his third Tournament Players Championship title . He edges Lou Graham by one shot . 1979 : Bob Murphy , a five - time winner on the PGA Tour , shoots a final round 92 . Winds were gusting up to 45 miles per hour that day . 1980 : Playing in a final threesome with Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus , Lee Trevino shoots a final round 70 to edge Ben Crenshaw by one shot . 1981 : Raymond Floyd defeats Curtis Strange and Barry Jaeckel on the first hole of a sudden death playoff . In addition to the tournament title , Floyd collects an additional $250,000 bonus due to his win at the Doral - Eastern Open the week before . 1982 : After winning the first tournament at the Stadium Course by two shots over Brad Bryant and Scott Simpson , Jerry Pate tosses PGA Tour Commissioner Deane Beman and course architect Pete Dye into the water adjacent to the 18th green before jumping in himself . 1983 : Hal Sutton wins by one shot over Bob Eastwood . John Cook came to the 72nd hole tied for the lead with Sutton before hitting his tee shot in the water on his way to a double bogey . 1984 : Fred Couples shoots a course record 64 during the second round of play on his way to a one - shot victory over Lee Trevino . 1986 : John Mahaffey wins by one shot over Larry Mize after Mize makes bogey on four of the last five holes during the final round of play . 1987 : Sandy Lyle defeats Jeff Sluman with a par on the third hole of a sudden - death playoff . At the playoff 's second hole , Sluman stood over a 6 - foot ( 1.8 m ) birdie putt to win , and a spectator jumped into the water surrounding the 17th green . He backed away , then missed . 1988 : Jacksonville area resident Mark McCumber wins by four shots over Mike Reid . 1989 : Tom Kite wins for the second consecutive week . He beats Chip Beck by one shot . 1991 : Steve Elkington wins by one shot over Fuzzy Zoeller . Phil Blackmar had solo possession of the lead before hitting his tee shot into the water on the 71st hole resulting in a double bogey . 1992 : Mark Calcavecchia and John Daly , the first pair on the final day of the tournament , are reprimanded by Deputy PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem `` for failure to exert their best effort '' after they finish their 18 holes of golf in only two hours and three minutes . 1994 : Greg Norman shoots the 72 - hole record score for the tournament , 264 , on his way to a four shot victory over Fuzzy Zoeller . 1995 : After Norman 's record score , the course is made tougher by the creation of new , rock hard greens . Lee Janzen shoots 283 to win the tournament , the biggest one - year swing for a tournament played on the same layout in PGA Tour history . 1996 : Twelve years after his first win at the TPC at Sawgrass , Fred Couples triumphs again . He shoots a final round 64 to beat Colin Montgomerie and Tommy Tolles by four shots . 1999 : David Duval wins by two shots over Scott Gump . The win by Duval propels him to # 1 in the World rankings . 2000 : Hal Sutton wins at the TPC at Sawgrass for a second time . He edges Tiger Woods by one shot . 2002 : Playing for the first time ever in The Players Championship , Craig Perks finishes eagle - birdie - par to win by two shots over Stephen Ames . It is the only PGA Tour win for Perks . 2003 : Davis Love III wins The Players Championship for a second time . He shoots a final round 64 to win by six shots over Jay Haas and Pádraig Harrington . 2004 : In spite of hitting his 2nd shot at the 72nd hole into the water , Adam Scott is able to get it up and down for bogey to win by one shot over Pádraig Harrington . 2005 : Fred Funk becomes the tournament 's oldest champion by edging Tom Lehman , Luke Donald , and Scott Verplank by one shot . During the final round , Bob Tway hits four balls into the water surrounding the 17th green , scoring a twelve on the hole . 2010 : After 206 career PGA Tour starts , Tim Clark breaks through for his first Tour win . 2011 : K.J. Choi becomes the first Asian born golfer to win The Players Championship . He defeats David Toms on the first hole of a sudden death playoff . 2013 : Roberto Castro ties the course record with a 9 - under 63 in the opening round . Sergio García , tied for the lead with Tiger Woods at 13 - under par going to the par - 3 17th hole in the final round , puts two balls into the water . Tiger Woods wins the event for the first time since 2001 . It is his 78th career PGA Tour win in his 300th start . 2014 : Ongoing injuries prevent Tiger Woods from defending his title . In the first round , Martin Kaymer ties the course record with a 63 matching Fred Couples ( 1992 ) , Greg Norman ( 1994 ) and Roberto Castro ( 2013 ) . Kaymer goes on to win wire - to - wire . 2015 : Following a three - way tie at 12 - under par in regulation play , the tournament 's first aggregate three - hole playoff over holes 16 -- 18 is conducted between Rickie Fowler , Kevin Kisner and Sergio García . Kisner and Fowler both go par - birdie - par to end the playoff at 1 - under par , while García can only muster three pars to finish at even par and is eliminated . The playoff continues into sudden death , starting at the 17th , where both Kisner and Fowler have birdie opportunities . Kisner 's birdie try from about 12 feet is unsuccessful , while Fowler 's effort , inside of five feet , drops home for the victory . 2017 : 21 - year - old Kim Si - woo becomes the event 's youngest winner .