PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — The Players Championship has its own version of a Super Bowl media day.

For the last two years, the PGA Tour brings together all of its players who are competing for the first time on the TPC Sawgrass, and it was an eclectic group. One of them was Rory McIlroy, who turned 20 this week and already is No. 18 in the world. He was getting most of the attention, as he often does.

There was a Ryder Cup player, Oliver Wilson of England, who played across the street at Sawgrass Country Club when he was in college, but had never seen the fearsome Stadium Course until Monday.

Some of these rookies, such as Chez Reavie and Y.E. Yang, already have won on the PGA Tour.

Most of them have followed The Players Championship over the years because of what it is and where it's played. It's the closest thing to a major without being one — the strongest field in golf with a $9.5 million purse — and is played on the same course each year, one that is hard to forget with an island green and perhaps the most unpredictable closing stretch in golf.

First impressions can go a long way.

"The first thing that stood out to me is the green is much larger than it looks on television," Kevin Streelman said of the island-green 17th hole, which can be the scariest 9-iron in golf.

Martin Laird of Scotland, who qualified by taking the 125th spot on the money list last year, even got nervous in practice.

"It's obviously a great hole, and I was happy to get that behind me," he said after playing it for the first time Tuesday. "You're even a little anxious to hit your shot there in a practice round. Hopefully, I can hit four nice shots there during the week and not give anyone anything to talk about."

It might be the hardest tournament to predict a winner.

Sergio Garcia is the defending champion, having won in a playoff last year when Paul Goydos put his tee shot into the water on the 17th. The Spaniard will try to become the first player in tournament history to win in consecutive years.

Tiger Woods is a favorite no matter where he goes. The Players Championship might be an exception.

The world's No. 1 player hasn't even finished in the top 10 since winning the event in 2001. In his last 24 rounds, he has broken 70 only five times.