Mickelson was asked why it has been so hard on defending champions.

“Until this year?” he said to laughter. “I don’t know. I have no idea.”

If anyone is a favorite at The Players, it would be Mickelson based on the trophy in his possession and his No. 2 world ranking. Of the top 25 players in the world at Sawgrass this week, only Mickelson and third-ranked Scott have won this tournament.

Not having Woods around helps only slightly.

“He’s giving us a little bit of a break at the moment,” said Scott, two weeks removed from a playoff victory in the EDS Byron Nelson Championship. “Still, there’s so many good players here this week that I think your percentages are only just a little bit better.”

Woods will be out at least until the Memorial, but he was rarely a factor at The Players. Since winning in 2001, he has failed to crack the top 10. There hasn’t been much buzz during the practice rounds, but there rarely is at a tournament that has yet to attract a national following like the four majors, something PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem hopes will happen over time.

The field, however, is considered the strongest in golf. Unlike the other four majors, which include amateurs, club pros or past champions approaching Social Security, everyone in the 144-man field is capable of winning.

In fact, 101 players in the field have won on the PGA Tour.

And in this age of golf courses being lengthened, the Stadium Course hasn’t required an overhaul to remain a test.

“When par times 100 is less than the yardage, it’s a relatively short golf course,” Goydos said. “And this is a pretty good course.”

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It is a tough test, but not overbearing like a U.S. Open. Norman set the record in 1994 at 24-under par, which should be safe for quite a while, but that doesn’t mean Sawgrass won’t yield a good score to some good golf.

“No matter how tough the course is playing, you feel like if you get on a run out there, you can shoot a 65,” Harrington said. “There will be great scores shot on the course, but it’s hard to keep it going for 72 holes.”

It is such a unique design, beyond the infamous island green, that anyone can win. Not even the man who designed it — Pete Dye, selected Tuesday for the World Golf Hall of Fame — could explain why the roll call of champions is so diverse.

“That’s a secret,” Dye said, acting at first as though there was a clue stashed away in some vault. “If I tried to tell you, I’d just be lying. I haven’t any idea, to tell you the truth.”

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