Posted by Jason Sobel
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- This is a pretty cool town over here on the outskirts of Jacksonville. Decent restaurants, good nightlife, friendly people. And maybe the best part: As home to PGA Tour headquarters, PVB (as the locals call it) is all about golf, golf and more golf.
A few of those locals are playing in this week's event, though they're hardly the Monday qualifiers from nearby clubs that infiltrate other tour events. Jim Furyk, Vijay Singh, Fred Funk and Rocco Mediate all make their home in PVB and whether it's the quick commute or the home-cooking, each has fared well during the first two rounds of The Players Championship.
"The positives are you're sleeping in your own bed, your family is right there and you've got all those people rooting for you," Furyk said.
But there are negatives, too. Though it would be easy to assume that pros who routinely play the TPC-Sawgrass Stadium Course in non-tournament situations would find success at The Players Championship, that's not necessarily true. After all, with narrower fairways, higher rough and slicker greens, this is hardly the same track that exists the other 51 weeks of the year.
Which poses the question: Does playing this course year-round have an adverse effect on these players during this event?
"What you know about the greens for 51 weeks makes no difference because they change totally this week," Furyk said. "When I usually hit it left edge and hit it firm, now I'm hitting it two cups out to the left and breathing on it because the greens are so much firmer."
Not that he's complaining much right now. Though a far cry from his opening-round 65, Furyk's score of 1-under 71 on Friday gives him a one-stroke lead entering the weekend. Though the course seems like one that would set up well for Furyk, he owns only one top-10 (T-4 in 2003) here in 10 career starts.
Meanwhile, Singh toils only two strokes further back. At 3-under entering the second round, the world's No. 2-ranked player dropped two shots in his first five holes, but rallied to shoot 2-under 70. With no wins in seven starts this season, Singh has reached the third month on the calendar without a victory for the first time since 2002. And he'd love to get one in his adopted hometown.
"I've got a lot of friends out here, a lot of fans," Singh said. "All the workers over here are my friends. I see them every day. It just feels like home. It is home."
With rounds of 70-69 so far, Funk, the defending champion, is right in the thick of things once again. He could become the first repeat winner in tournament history, which would mean even more local pub next year.
"It's been a great week having my image on all the ticket specials in the paper all the time," Funk said. "It's really an incredible ride I've had. It's been a lot of fun.
"It wouldn't have been as special if it wasn't the hometown. Being a hometown event and such a big stature event and to have all the notoriety I've gotten, it's been a lot of fun."
Though Mediate doesn't currently live in PVB, he still lists it as his official hometown and is T-42 at 1-under for the tournament. Simply making the cut is success these days for Rocco, who's failed to see the weekend in four of five tour starts this season.
The folks of PVB have enjoyed a hometown champion for the past year. With a little luck, they'll be cheering for another one come Sunday night.
