PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Phil Mickelson added to his victory resume a year ago at THE PLAYERS Championship when he came from behind on the final day to defeat Sergio Garcia by two strokes at TPC Sawgrass.

Mickelson tied for third in 2004, his previous-best PLAYERS finish, and he enters this week's tournament playing well. He is second in FedExCup points in 2008 and tied for 12th last week at the Wachovia Championship.

Of the previous 34 tournament champions, 26 have been major championship winners -- including Mickelson, who has already won this year (Northern Trust Open) to continue a streak of at least one PGA TOUR victory every year since 2004.

Besides his victory this season, Mickelson tied for sixth at the Buick Invitational, lost in a playoff at the FBR Open and tied for fifth at the Masters Tournament.

As always, THE PLAYERS Championship offers one of the strongest fields of any PGA TOUR event. This year, even with the absence of Tiger Woods, the world's top-ranked player, 49 of the top 50 players in the FedExCup points standings are in Ponte Vedra Beach for the 27th playing of THE PLAYERS Championship. This is the 35th tournament overall.

Playing in his second PLAYERS Championship will be Anthony Kim, who won last week's Wachovia Championship and moved to fourth in the FedExCup standings. While 25,000 points are available at typical PGA TOUR events, the Masters Tournament, the U.S. Open, the British Open, the PGA Championship and this week's PLAYERS Championship offers 27,500, with 4,950 going to the winner.

Defending champion Phil Mickelson holds or shares several PLAYERS Championship scoring records at TPC Sawgrass THE PLAYERS Stadium Course. Mickelson is one of nine players to shoot a 6-under 30 on the back nine. He did that in 1996. His 64 in the first round in 2002 is tied with six other players for best opening-round score, while his third-round 64 (1996) is tied for the best third-round score.

In the 34-year history of THE PLAYERS, eight of the victories have been by international players, led by the two titles Australia's Steve Elkington has won. The others are Greg Norman and Adam Scott (Australia), Craig Perks (New Zealand), Nick Price (Zimbabwe), Sandy Lyle (Scotland) and Stephen Ames (originally from Trinidad and Tobago and now a citizen of Canada).

Richard Johnson, the 2007 Nationwide Tour leading money winner, will be playing in his first PLAYERS Championship. Last year, Ken Duke was the first Nationwide Tour money winner from the previous year to qualify for the field. Duke went on to tie for 37th.

Phil Mickelson's 2007 PLAYERS victory was just his second PGA TOUR title in Florida. The other came at the 1997 Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando. Mickelson has won in 10 different states, including 11 events in California.

In the history of the event, no PLAYERS champion has managed to successfully defend his title. Five players have won this event multiple times but none in consecutive years. Jack Nicklaus is the only three-time winner (1974, 1976 and 1978). Two-time winners include Steve Elkington (1991 and 1997), Hal Sutton (1983 and 2000), Fred Couples (1984 and 1996) and Davis Love III (1992, 2003).

THE PLAYERS Championship has been held at TPC Sawgrass THE PLAYERS Stadium Course since 1982. The PGA TOUR didn't keep specific hole-by-hole records until 1983, so no data exists from that first tournament. But since 1983, some players have had extraordinary success on the par-3 17th hole, while others have, well, not. Tom Lehman has the best cumulative score on the hole, and until last year he had never deposited a ball in the lake that surrounds the green.

Anthony Kim not only won his first PGA TOUR title last week at the Wachovia Championship, he moved into the top five of the FedExCup points standings. Kim is in fourth, trailing only overall leader Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Stewart Cink. Rounding out the top five is Vijay Singh, in the fifth position. Only Woods, sidelined by a knee injury, didn't make points last week in Charlotte.

THE PLAYERS Championship is offering THE PLAYERS Stadium Village this week, an area where fans can gather for an interactive experience. THE PLAYERS Stadium Village, which debuted in 2007 is moving to a more central location adjacent to the clubhouse this year.

The large area, that features one of two main merchandise tents, will focus on the 16th, 17th and 18th holes. People can relive famous shots that have occurred on the par-5 16th hole, they can attempt to hit the 17th green on a one-quarter scale version of the course's second-to-last hole at the UBS 17th Hole Challenge. They can putt to PLAYERS pin placements on a replica of the 18th green.

"We want to improve the fans' experience at THE PLAYERS, and moving it to a central location near the clubhouse makes it accessible from more places on the course,"said Kirsten Sabia, PGA TOUR Director, Brand Marketing, Brand Integration.

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