Buckle up: Players Championship sell-out of Friday parking offers hint of a busy week
There's a sure sign that next week's Players Championship will play to a packed Players Stadium Course: general parking for the second round on Friday, March 10, is sold out.
The Players made the announcement on Monday — 12 days before the second round. Parking passes may still be available on The Players' verified resale price at theplayers.com/parking but the tournament does not control the resale pricing.
The news that parking is sold out for the second round continues the tournament's tradition of Fridays being the most well-attended day of tournament week, given good weather.
"Among local fans, there is a certain tradition of Friday being a very good day," executive director Jared Rice said. "Traffic really starts picking up around 11 a.m. and it's a day when people get a head start on the weekend, do business or hang out."
Rice said another reason that Friday is the final day before the cut, so fans can be sure of seeing their favorite player. But he said Thursdays have been improving in recent years — and don't underestimate Saturdays.
"Thursday seems to be getting better every year and in 2019 Saturday was our highest-attended day ever," he said.
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The Players hasn't announced attendance figures since 2013. The tournament reported more than 45,000 people were on the course for the third round that year, with Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia playing together.
The usual weekly attendance is more than 200,000 people.
Rice said parking passes may sell out for other days before tournament week and fans should move quickly. Parking passes much be purchased separately from tournament tickets.
"At this pace, I would expect the other days to start to move more quickly," Rice said of parking for other tournament days.
Fans can also explore other options such as rideshare and shuttles from Nocatee and downtown. The Nocatee shuttle, from Palm Valley Academy, Valley Riger Academy and Pine Island Academy, begins on March 10 and runs through the final round on Sunday, March 12.
Downtown shuttles are from the Marriott Jacksonville, Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront and Southbank Hotel Jacksonville Riverwalk.
Schedules and other information on shuttles can be found at theplayers.com/parking.
Rahm looks for sweep
Now that Tiger Woods has taken over hosting duties for the Genesis Invitational, world No. 1-ranked Jon Rahm has motivation this week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational: winning the tournaments hosted or linked to three of the best players in history.
Rahm won the Genesis last month and won the Memorial, hosted by Jack Nicklaus, in 2020.
He will go after a trifecta this week at Bay Hill that has been achieved by only three other players, Hale Irwin, Fred Couples and Ernie Els — all World Golf Hall of Fame members.
But Irwin, Couples and Els won at Riviera before Woods became the Genesis host. That puts more cachet on the event.
One thing Rahm can’t get by winning Bay Hill: a thumbs up and a handshake from Palmer, who passed away in 2016.
But he said winning at Bay Hill would still be huge.
“But the meaning would still be there,” he said.
Fan shop opens early
The PGA Tour Fan Shop at The Players will once again open before tournament week, opening on Friday at noon, until 5 p.m.
The 36,500-square foot complex, which is at the Players Stadium Village near the main entrance, will also be open from 10 a.m.to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Fans can park free in the Players general parking lot and a Players ticket is not required.
Fans can get a head start on purchasing Players merchandise and get a glimpse of new items for sale.
Tour joins gambling council
The PGA Tour has joined the Leadership Circle of the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) while also renewing its Platinum membership with the national nonprofit organization that serves as the national advocate to mitigate gambling-related harm.
Organizations that support the NCPG through the Leadership Circle investment help ensure the viability of overall operations, sustainability, future growth and innovation.
The Tour also will unveil a cross-platform marketing campaign in support of NCPG’s Problem Gambling Awareness Month in March, bringing an elevated message about problem gambling education and resources across a series of branded and other media channels throughout the month.
“Properly preparing and educating our fanbase on responsible gambling will always be a key focal point of our sports betting strategy at the PGA Tour,” said Scott Warfield, VP of Gaming at the Tour, in a statement. “The National Council on Problem Gambling is committed to those same causes, and we are proud to join their Leadership Circle as we continue to promote the core values of responsible wagering.”
Military job fair set
The Players will host its 12th annual Military Job Fair on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Patriots' Outpost on the 16th hole of the Players Stadium Course, in partnership with the Jacksonville Military Veterans Coalition.
The job fair is free and open to all military personnel, veterans and their family members. Optum, one of the Players' presenting sponsors, will be providing a photographer to take complimentary professional headshots for attendees.
Attire is business casual and participants are encouraged to have a copy of their resume on hand. More than 30 companies with existing job opportunities will be on-hand, including Amazon, Boeing, the city of Jacksonville, VyStar, CSX, Jacksonville Fire and Rescue, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, the Tour, the TPC Network and Florida Blue.
PGA TOUR
Event: Arnold Palmer Invitational, Thursday-Sunday, Bay Hill Club and Lodge, Orlando.
At stake: $20 million purse ($3.6 million and 500 FedEx Cup points to the winner).
Defending champion: Scottie Scheffler.
TV: Golf Channel (Thursday-Friday, 2-6 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 12-2:30 p.m.); NBC (Saturday-Sunday, 2:30-6 p.m.).
Area players entered: Harris English, Brian Harman, Billy Horschel, Zach Johnson, Patton Kizzire, David Lingmerth, Trey Mullinax, Sam Ryder.
Notable: Scheffler defeated Tyrell Hatton and Horschel by one shot. … Leading the field is world No. 1 Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Scheffler, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Max Homa and Xander Schauffele. … The Players Championship is next week at the TPC Sawgrass Players Stadium course.
Event: Puerto Rico Open, Thursday-Sunday, Grand Reserve Golf Club, Rio Grande, Puerto Rico.
At stake: $3.8 million purse ($684,000 and 300 FedEx Cup points to the winner).
Defending champion: Ryan Brehm.
TV: Golf Channel (Thursday-Friday, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.; Saturday, 2:30-5 p.m.; Sunday, 2:30-4:30 p.m.).
Area players entered: Jonas Blixt, Jonathan Byrd, Matt Every, Frank Lickliter, Carl Yuan.
Notable: Brehm, who is in the field at Bay Hill, cruised to a six-shot victory over Max McGreevy.
LPGA TOUR
Event: HSBC Women’s World Championship, Wednesday-Saturday, Sentosa Golf Club, Singapore.
At stake: $1.8 million purse ($324,000 to the winner).
Defending champion: Jin Young Ko.
TV: Golf Channel (Wednesday-Saturday, 9:30 p.m.-2:30 a.m.).
Area players entered: Chella Choi.
Notable: Ko shot 66 in the final round to beat Minjee Lee and In Gee Chun by two shots.
PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS
Event: Cologuard Classic, Friday-Sunday, Omni Tucson National, Tucson, Ariz.
At stake: $2.2 million purse ($396,000 to the winner).
Defending champion: Miguel Angel Jimenez.
TV: Golf Channel (Friday, 7-9 p.m.; Saturday, 5-7 p.m.; Sunday, 4:30-7 p.m.).
Area players entered: David Duval, Fred Funk, Jim Furyk.
Notable: Jimenez fired a 65 in the final round and defeated Bernhard Langer and Woody Austin by four shots.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Players Championship Friday parking sold out; other days soon to follow
