updated 10:18 p.m. ET May 8, 2007

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. - Tiger Woods hasn’t seen the TPC Sawgrass look like this since he won the U.S. Amateur in 1994 before heading off to college. Phil Mickelson joined a chorus of players who were thrilled by the pristine condition.

Indeed, the PGA Tour spared no expense — more than $50 million — for a massive upgrade at The Players Championship.

Most of it went into the clubhouse, a Mediterranean Revival style covering 77,000 square feet. The Stadium Course was refurbished to add a sand base to the fairway for better drainage, and pumps under every green to keep them firm and fast in any weather.

It’s almost like a brand new tournament.

Except for that island.

Despite all the changes, the signature hole — the signature moment — of The Players Championship still captivates the gallery and intimidates even the best players in the world.

Adam Scott had a two-shot lead in 2004 when he came to the 137-yard island hole in the final round and was so nervous he stood with his back to the green.

“I didn’t really want to think about it more than I had to,” he said.

Scott wound up hitting wedge to 25 feet and getting his par, which is all he wanted.

Phil Mickelson played a practice round Tuesday, and it took him six shots to hit the green. It wasn’t as bad as he made it sound. One hit the fringe. Another settled in the rough. One came up short and into the water. One bounced off the green and into the water. The fifth one flew the island into the water.

“And one ended up 10 feet,” he said. “So, with a couple-shot penalty along the way, what is that, 12? Nice.”

Two years ago, when every shot counted, Bob Tway was four shots out of the lead when he put four balls into the water on the 17th and walked away with a 12, the highest score ever on that hole in competition.

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But that’s the very reason Tiger Woods is no fan of the 17th green — more because of its place in the tournament than its location in the middle of a lake. Woods has one of the more memorable birdies, a 60-foot putt that broke three directions and dropped into the cup in the third round of 2001, when he won his only Players Championship.

“I’ve always thought that hole is too gimmicky for the 17th hole of a championship,” Woods said. “I think that would be a fantastic eighth hole, but not as the 71st hole of a tournament, or 17th hole of your round.”

Tway was tied for 10th when he first stuck a tee in the ground. He was tied for 72nd when he finally retrieved his ball from the cup.

Len Mattiace was challenging for the lead on Sunday in 1998 until hitting two into the water — one off the tree, the other a skulled shot out of the bunker — and took 8.

“I think that the 12th at Augusta is the hardest par 3 to make a par,” Mickelson said. “But the 17th here at the TPC is one of the most difficult because ... there not a cap on how high you can go.”

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