Golf Compendium

Points for Par is the name of a golf tournament format for individual golfers playing stroke play and using handicaps. On most holes during this tournament, a player earns point by making a net par or better. But on a few holes, the golfer loses points if he fails to score net par or better.

The 1948 U.S. Women's Open was the third time this major championship was played, and just the second time it was a stroke-play tournament. The champ was Babe Zaharias, who won by eight strokes.

Mac McLendon was a PGA Tour player from the late 1960s into the early 1980s. After winning some state titles and collegiate titles as an amateur, he claimed four victories on the tour in the 1970s.

You've signed up to play in a golf tournament next weekend at your club. What's the format? The notice on the clubhouse billboard only says "Mystery Tournament." Hmm, that's odd — Mystery Tournament? What does that mean? It means you won't know the scoring format — or even whether you are competing as an individual or as part of a team — until the tournament is over.

The 1949 U.S. Women's Open was the fourth time this major championship was played. The winner, Louise Suggs, set a record for margin of victory that still stands today.

Dick Metz was a PGA Tour winner in the 1930s and 1940s who was well-known in his time as a frequent contender. He probably should have won a U.S. Open, but experienced a major collapse the year of his best chance. He later won a tournament, though, that is today called a senior major.

Which winners of The Players Championship have earned those victories with the lowest final-round scores, or best down-the-stretch scoring? Let's look at both to see the best finishes that led to victory in this huge tournament.

The list of winners at The Players Championship goes back to the 1970s. How many times in that span has the so-called " fifth major " ended with a playoff? And what is the playoff format for this tournament?

The par-3, island green , 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass, home of The Players Championship, is one of the most-famous holes in golf. And the focus there is often on golfers who don't do well — who plop a shot into the water that surrounds the green. But what about golfers who do great on that hole? Has anyone birdied the famous 17th hole in all four rounds of The Players Championship?