When a neighbour told Deane Beman that his dream would never become reality, Beman took it as motivation. In January 1979, the PGA Tour’s second commissioner acquired 415 acres of Florida swampland for exactly $1, and that patch of waterlogged earth is now TPC Sawgrass, one of the most recognisable golf courses on the planet.

Beman had originally set his sights on Sawgrass Country Club in Ponte Vedra Beach, but the owners of a local real estate and development company refused to sell. Their chairman, Charles Cobb, was so dismissive that he bet Beman $100 it would never happen. Beman then turned to local landowners Paul and Jerome Fletcher, negotiated a deal for $1, and wrote a check that now sits displayed inside the TPC Sawgrass clubhouse.

The land itself created its own problems. The entire 415-acre plot sat just three feet above sea level, so certain areas had to be excavated to create lakes, with the displaced soil used for mounding. That process ended up creating the 17th hole, the island green that has since ended the rounds of countless professionals and amateurs.

Beman wanted a stadium course built with spectators in mind. He brought in architect Pete Dye, and TPC Sawgrass opened in 1980. It made its PLAYERS Championship debut in 1982, but that did not go well.

Jack Nicklaus was critical, and Ben Crenshaw went further, calling it “Star Wars golf designed by Darth Vader.” Dye listened, softened several greens, and the same Crenshaw later said, “Now it’s a damn good golf course.”

TPC Sawgrass now competes with Augusta National as one of golf’s most iconic venues. The 2026 PLAYERS Championship tees off on March 12, with the field set to compete on the same ground that Beman acquired for $1 and that was once written off as unusable swamp.

The course that nearly never existed now stages golf’s biggest week. Here is what is at stake in 2026.

The $1 vision that now hosts golf’s biggest stars in 2026

The Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass will host the 2026 PLAYERS Championship from March 12 to 15, with 144 players competing across four rounds on one of the PGA Tour’s most demanding layouts.

Scottie Scheffler arrives with two PLAYERS titles, level with Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, and Fred Couples. Only Jack Nicklaus has won it three times, his last coming in 1978. A Scheffler victory this week would tie that record outright.

McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, and Jordan Spieth are among those standing between Scheffler and history, alongside Ryder Cup stars and recent Tour winners chasing one of the season’s most significant titles.

The par-72 course tests every type of player, but tournaments here are routinely decided at the 17th, the island green that punishes even the slightest of mistakes.