These guys know there's nothing like a home win

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When David Duval won THE PLAYERS in 1999, his father, Bob, won on the Champions Tour the same day.

Mark McCumber sat on his golf bag and cried. Fred Funk slam-dunked his hat. David Duval removed his wraparound sunglasses and smiled, an emotional moment for the normally reserved Jacksonville native. Those reactions came after each of the players clinched a PLAYERS Championship on THE PLAYERS Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, in front of family and friends, plus thousands of First Coast fans who regard them as one of their own.

Winning the PGA TOUR's signature event is never easy, but trying to do it as a home game brings a mixed bag of challenges for TOUR players who are either natives of the area or long-time residents. No wonder their emotions simmered over the top of the kettle in different ways when McCumber, Funk and Duval realized they had won.

"There are aspects of the week that are easier because you're home," said McCumber, who won THE PLAYERS in 1988. "But there is an enormous amount of pressure that goes with it. I've got to admit that I didn't handle that pressure as well as I could have the first few times I played the tournament. But you figure it out as you go. Not every professional golfer gets the chance to have a true home tournament, let alone win it."

Funk found it impossible to block out the fact that his fan club, "Funk's Punks," was following him in droves and cheering loudly when he was sprinting to the lead on the back nine during a Monday finish in 2005, then holding on with a nerve-wracking par from a greenside bunker at the final hole.

"It's always exciting to play at home and it's even better to do it in a big tournament like THE PLAYERS," Funk said. "But coming down the stretch that year, when it was my tournament to win or lose, I felt the heat. I didn't want to blow it in front of the people who were rooting so hard for me. There was definitely some added pressure there."

Even Vijay Singh, who is so focused on the course, admits to feeling a bit more churning on the inside during his home game.

"Maybe ... I guess I do," he said.

"My friends are there and people who see me all year round are there and they expect me to play well. So yes, there is an added pressure to perform well."

It's not just family and close friends. Stadium Course galleries are quick to adopt area natives and residents when coming down the stretch with victory in sight.

When McCumber walked down the 18th fairway Sunday in 1988, some fans unfurled a large homemade banner that read, "Jacksonville's Champion."

"I always wanted to know who they were, to thank them for the trouble of making that banner, then bringing it to the course and taking it out," McCumber said. "I never found out."

When Duval made his victory march down the 18th fairway during the final round in 1999, five area youths shed their T-shirts to reveal the letters "D-U-V-A-L" painted on their chests. The tournament rule barring fans from going shirtless on the course was forgotten about for those last few minutes of the tournament.

Duval's victory also completed a sweep within the family. Earlier that day, his father, Bob, won the Champions Tour's Emerald Coast Classic in Milton, Fla. A volunteer marshal let that slip to Duval when he arrived at the 14th tee of the Stadium Course with a three-shot lead. Duval bogeyed his next two holes, but didn't lose any more ground as he birdied the par-3 17th hole and parred the par-4 18th hole by getting up and down from behind the green. It remains the only time that a father and son have won on the Champions Tour and the PGA TOUR, let alone the same day.

"It was a wonderful week," Duval later recalled.

McCumber, Duval and the late Dan Sikes are the only Jacksonville natives to have competed in THE PLAYERS. However, after the tournament established its permanent home at the TPC Sawgrass, a number of other professionals moved to the area to take advantage of the year-round warm weather and the TPC practice facilities.

The migration began in the 1980s when Blaine McCallister and Rocco Mediate bought homes within sight of the second fairway of THE PLAYERS Stadium Course. Len Mattiace's family moved to Ponte Vedra Beach when he was in junior high school, and he played the course frequently since his father was a member.

Funk, Singh, Jim Furyk, Frank Lickliter II and Mark Carnevale followed in the 1990s.

If you extend the reach of the Jacksonville area to south Georgia, the two PLAYERS titles won by Davis Love III of St. Simons Island, Ga., add to the local lore. Love shot two of the most brilliant final rounds to win in tournament history, a 67 in 1992 and a 64 in 2003, both the low rounds of the field those days. Three Northeast Florida residents have won the tournament. McCumber set the scoring record at the time. Duval's 3-under 285 in 1999 was the highest winning score at TPC Sawgrass. Funk battled numerous rain delays and a wild, windy finish to become the oldest PLAYERS champion at age 48.

Most of the other players who have lived in the area on a long-term basis had shots at winning the tournament.

A triple-bogey 7 at the par-4 14th hole cost Singh a chance to overtake Tiger Woods in 2001, and he finished second by one shot. Mattiace was within one stroke of Justin Leonard in the final round in 1998 when he hit two balls in the water at the par-3 17th hole and finished tied for fifth. Furyk tied for fourth in 2003 and for third in 2006.

Lickliter contended during the weekend of the 2004 tournament, and finished tied for third, four shots behind Adam Scott. Mediate, who no longer lives in the area, hung around in 2002 and finished solo third, two shots behind Craig Perks. Six years before, Mediate established a PLAYERS Stadium Course record when he birdied the last six holes to shoot 66 and tie for fourth, five shots behind Fred Couples. Most of the players agree that performing in front of friends and family adds a bit of steam to the pressure cooker. The obvious advantage is playing in your own back yard.

"The routine of being at home is relaxing," said Mattiace. "There are no travel hassles of dealing with airports and hotels, or where to eat that night."

Another issue is whether players living in the area have a home-course advantage of sorts because they can play the course year round.

Reaction to that is mixed. Singh once pointed out that the tournament conditions for the course were different than the rest of the year. That was especially true when the tournament was held in March when the greens were bentgrass and the ryegrass rough was very tall in some places. With the tournament played in May, the rough has been cut down to about 2 inches and the course is wall-to-wall bermudagrass. There is no longer a ryegrass overseed. That makes the conditions during the tournament week somewhat closer to how the course plays during other times of a year.

"You get to play the bermuda pretty much all year round, so we get a better sense of how the greens will play," Singh said. "The golf course does favor players who know the course very well, and I have an advantage. I have not made use of that advantage in the past."

TOUR players look for any little edge they can get. And the ones who live near the TPC Sawgrass hope the plusses that week always trump the added pressure.

"In general, it's a positive experience for us," McCumber said. "I remember the first time I played with Phil Mickelson [in the 1994 TOUR Championship]. He told me he had watched me on TV winning THE PLAYERS and thought that would be the coolest thing to win in his hometown. It's something to embrace."

Garry Smits covers golf for the Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville, Fla.