How will the weather impact The Players? A new world No 1 at TPC Sawgrass? Storylines to follow | Golf News

Sky Sports to show round-the-clock coverage of the PGA Tour’s flagship event in Florida, where Justin Thomas returns as defending champion and Jon Rahm’s world No 1 status is under threat – watch live on Thursday from 11.30am on Sky Sports The Players

How will the weather impact the PGA Tour’s flagship event? Who are the five players in the race for world No 1? Will we see history made at TPC Sawgrass? We take a look at some of the storylines to follow at The Players this week…

Could the weather cause problems at Sawgrass?

The last few editions of The Players have passed without any weather delays, but the forecast issued by the PGA Tour this week suggests conditions will be somewhat different this year.

Widespread rain and the threat of thunderstorms dominate the forecast for the first two rounds, with the rain set to continue into Saturday and bring with it winds up to 30 miles per hour.

The wind brings a noticeable drop in temperatures, slipping as low as 12 degrees (54f) for Sunday’s final round – a stark contrast to when the thermometer was flirting close to 30 degrees earlier in the week.

The cold, wet and windy weather will bring extra challenges to an already demanding TPC Sawgrass, with the tournament potentially experiencing its first weather stoppages since the second round was disrupted in 2016.

Will Rahm retain his place as world No 1?

Jon Rahm has topped golf’s world rankings since a tied-third finish at The Open in July, having won the US Open the previous month, although arrives in Florida with his world No 1 status under serious threat.

Rahm holds a slender 0.42 advantage in the standings over two-time major champion Collin Morikawa, who is one of four players who could leapfrog the Spaniard this week into top spot.

All of the world’s top five are aged under 30 for the first time since the OWGR was introduced in 1986, with Viktor Hovland and Patrick Cantlay both also in contention for a charge at world No 1.

Scheffler followed a breakthrough victory at the WM Phoenix Open last month with a win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Sunday, lifting him to a career-high world No 5, while a third success in four starts this week could be enough to jump top of the standings if other results go his way.

Can the English finally conquer Sawgrass?

While an Englishman has come close to being a winner on several occasions – Lee Westwood, Nick Faldo, Ian Poulter and Luke Donald all have runner-up finishes at TPC Sawgrass – England still remains conspicuously absent from the winners’ circle.

For a nation that has had 166 competitors in the field over the last 46 years, offering a combined 10 major victories and 40 PGA Tour wins, it remains an odd quirk in what is otherwise an overwhelming success story.

It is even stranger considering the country boasts more success at The Players than any other competition outside of the United States and Australia, as Englishmen have amassed 23 all-time top-10 finishes in the event’s history.

Westwood finished runner-up to Justin Thomas in last year’s contest, while Poulter finished second to Ryder Cup teammate Henrik Stenson in 2009 and claimed tied-second to Si Woo Kim in 2017.

The pair are among the eight English players in this year’s field – will 2022 be the year where an Englishman finally celebrates victory at Sawgrass?

Can Thomas enjoy a historic title defence?

Six players have won The Players on multiple occasions, although it remains a golfing anomaly that nobody has ever been able to successfully defend their title at the PGA Tour’s flagship event.

Rory McIlroy became the eighth defending champion to miss the cut when he suffered an early exit in the 2021 contest, with more Players champions failing to make it through to the weekend than have followed a victory with a top-10 finish the following year.

No defending champion has ever seriously contended 12 months later, with Tom Kite in 1990 and Hal Sutton in 2001 both finishing tied-fifth the season after their Players triumph.

Thomas claimed his 14th PGA Tour title in last year’s event with a one-shot victory over Lee Westwood but hasn’t won since, with the world No 1 looking to end that drought and become the first player to win successive editions at TPC Sawgrass.

Will we see a record week at the 17th?

TPC Sawgrass’ iconic par-three 17th has claimed many a victim over the years, with that number only likely to increase if the bad weather rolls in as expected.

Some 66 balls found the water around the famous Island Green during the four tournament rounds of last year’s contest, the fourth-highest total since the PGA Tour records began in 2003.

The tournament record remains at 93 from 2007, including a staggering 50 during the opening round that year, although strong winds and cold conditions could put that tally under threat this week.

Watch The Players throughout the week live on Sky Sports’ dedicated Players Championship channel. Live coverage of the opening round begins on Thursday from 11.30am on Sky Sports The Players.