Players' Championship: So, what transforms a tournament into a major? History, perhaps? Tradition?

In terms of prestige, the Players' Championship has all the trappings of a major without managing to secure elevation to the status of those events it has sought to imitate and join. It has the strongest field (statistically) of the year, the biggest purse - $8 million (€6.6 million), of which $1.44 million (€1.12 million) will inflate the winner's bank balance - and, some would say, the toughest course.

All in all, it's a cocktail aimed at delivering a true champion, which it does more often than not.

Those in pursuit of the title don't have to look too far for inspiration. Each day they drive up the grandly-named PGA Tour Boulevard at the TPC at Sawgrass, where poster images of past champions stretching back three decades adorn lampposts, and, on a circular monument close to the first tee, plaques bearing the names and national flags of past winners are in clear view.

We know it's not a major, but, in truth, it is the next best thing.

"It's an incredible event," conceded Phil Mickelson. "We've all the top players in the world, and that makes it unique. We obviously have strong fields at the majors, but player for player this is the best field. It's a great showcase for the game."

Ernie Els went further. "It's like a major here, isn't it? We keep saying it every year," said Els, "but more and more it feels like it every year we come back. It's one hell of a field on one hell of a golf course."

Of the game's big guns, all are playing here with the exception of US Open champion Jim Furyk, who underwent arthroscopic surgery on an injured wrist last Monday. He has been given a wide time-frame for recovery, from between three to six months. "Six months is the week after the Ryder Cup, and right now I'd have to say that is my main focus of recovery," admitted Furyk.

Furyk apart, the field is exceptional. And although European players at this stage are sick to the teeth of being reminded that none of them are in the world's top-10, the European representation in this event has never been stronger. In all, 19 will attempt to win a title won only once by a player from Europe, Sandy Lyle in 1987.

The two Irish players are, in many ways, the standard bearers of the European invasion force. Padraig Harrington is ranked 13th in the world, while Darren Clarke is 14th. "I have high hopes, not high expectations . . . hopes are like we all dream of it all falling into place," said Harrington, who has played only three times this year, most recently in Dubai.

As someone who finished runner-up to Davis Love a year ago, he at least knows he has a game that suits this course.

Whether the sharpness is there won't be known until Harrington tees it up. And he has unashamedly admitted that all of his early-season build-up is focused on the US Masters at Augusta National in two weeks.

Indeed, the field is of such quality that potential winners lurk around every corner; and the intrigue is heightened by indications that the top three players in the world aren't exactly firing on all cylinders. Tiger Woods was out of the top-10 for the first time this season by finishing tied-46th in Bay Hill last weekend; Vijay Singh hasn't had a top-10 finish since his streak of 12 successive such finishes ended with a missed cut at the Buick Invitational last month, while Els missed the cut at Bay Hill.

"I've got to vindicate myself in a lot of aspects," claimed Els. "I know where the weak points are and I've been working on them. You've got to get out of it, to shake it off and have a fresh go."

If anyone is good at shaking things off, it is Woods. That finish in Bay Hill, where he was seeking to win for a fifth straight year, could be seen as a mere blip.

Woods, who won here in 2001 after finishing second the year before, agrees that it is becoming more difficult to be the world's most dominating player with his pursuers growing in number and technology giving more players an edge than before.

But no player can match Woods' consistency. He has won at least five events on the US Tour every year since 1999 and his confidence remains high.

"Winning breeds winning, there's no substitute for that. This is a really big week, one we're all excited about as players."

And if Tiger is excited, that's as much of a warning bell to others as is needed. As usual, he is the player to beat; especially on a course that has been set up so tough. The greens are firm, and the rough is high and tough.

Woods considers it the hardest tournament of all to win, and the 149-player field is the strongest in golf, with 48 of the top 50 players in the world. The exceptions are Furyk and Rocco Mediate, who withdrew with a bad back.

For some, among them John Daly, this is make or break week in determining whether they get to play the Masters. The Players' is the final tournament for those not already eligible for the season's first major - the top 50 in the world rankings and the top 10 on the US Tour money list qualify - and Daly, 53rd in the world and ninth on the money list, is on the bubble.

For Woods, these issues are not a concern. All he wants to do is to get back on the winning trail.