Matt Rapp served as executive director of The Players Championship starting with the 2011 tournament and concluded his term of service following Jason Day’s 2016 triumph. Rapp, a native of Louisville, Kentucky, still remains involved with The Players, but he is now the Tour’s senior vicepresident for the Championship Management department, a position that allows him to oversee all the events the Tour runs. With another Players almost upon us, the 36th to be contested at TPC Sawgrass, Rapp took some time to discuss the tournament he’s grown to love and what makes it—and its home course—so special.
How do you view TPC Sawgrass in the firmament of great golf courses in the world?
When I first got this gig, one of the people I talked to was Tour administrator (and former PGA Tour player) Mike Bodney, who ran Championship Management for the Tour for a number of years and been involved with the Tour for years and years and years. One of the things he said was don’t underestimate the power of this piece of property.
What did others tell you about TPC Sawgrass?
Jay Monahan (the new PGA Tour commissioner), who was my predecessor as The Players’ executive director, said the same thing as Mike. He said, “Don’t forget you have this property.” Mike was talking more about how the tournament lays out and how the course is laid out for fans, how wonderful it is for fans and how it was built for fans and how unique the course is because it’s so balanced. Jay talked about how No. 17 is the most famous hole in golf and this is a course that’s known all around the world. He basically said you can get people who are willing to come out and look at the TPC Sawgrass because of how unique it is, people who wouldn’t just go out and look at a golf course, even some prized golf courses. As Jay said, TPC Sawgrass is not just any golf course.
What are your thoughts about the course?
It’s the purest test in golf. It was built so you can walk the course easily, so you can walk and see all 18 holes and look at every shot. Or you can sit in one spot and walk a short distance that way, a short distance this way and see three or four holes of great golf in close proximity. That’s where we put the fan hubs. If you’re hot, if you’re thirsty, if you have to go to the bathroom, there are fan services in these places. Then you go back to watching golf.
This story is from the May 2017 edition of Golf Digest India.
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This story is from the May 2017 edition of Golf Digest India.
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