Players can’t get out of the rain

Ducking out of the rain Wednesday afternoon, PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem wore a blue suit and a wry smile.

“Welcome to sunny, dry, warm, Florida,” he said.

And welcome to the Players Championship, a $9-million blockbuster tournament that was relocated from March to May, so weather wouldn’t botch things up.

There was measurable rain only twice in these parts in the last 11 months, so of course it started raining Monday night and rain is in the forecast the rest of the week, thanks to subtropical storm Andrea, the first named storm of 2007.

This can mean only one thing for this upwardly mobile tournament. Hey, September’s open.

Just for the record, the tournament’s normal week in March was bone dry.

But that’s water under the bridge, or at least what’s around the island 17th green, the par-three 137-yard experience in misery that serves as the signature hole at this 7,215-yard TPC Sawgrass course.

The entire layout underwent a significant renovation completed in time for the tournament that begins today, with Stephen Ames the defending champion and Tiger Woods trying to keep his hot streak going.

All the fairways were skimmed of their topsoil, which was replaced with about 16 football fields’ worth of fresh sand. Greens were rebuilt and vacuum pump drainage systems were installed.

They could come in handy this week.

A few tees were lengthened, some greenside bunkers were renovated and about 100 large trees were removed. Because it’s a Pete Dye-design course, bulkheads abound, their evidence no more pronounced than around the 17th green.

In last year’s tournament, 54 balls -- nine of them on Sunday -- landed in the water, which is four feet deep, by the way.

“Dry land is your friend there,” Geoff Ogilvy said.

But sometimes, dry land is hard to find. In 2005, Bob Tway made a 12 in the third round, playing in the wind. His first two tee shots flew the green, and his third and fourth shots hit the front of the green and rolled back into the water. His fifth shot landed on the green and, with his four penalty shots, he three-putted for the 12.

The previous low-water mark at the 17th was an 11 by Robert Gamez in 1990.

Said NBC’s Roger Maltbie: “It’s got a high gag factor.”

It’s still a location that gets your attention. In a practice round this week, playing it downwind and using an eight-iron, Phil Mickelson hit six balls before he got one to stop on the green.

Worrying about the 17th isn’t the right way to play it, Mickelson said.

“You try to suppress that hole until the last minute. You really do,” Mickelson said. “You try to suppress it until you walk off the 16th green. You don’t want to think about it early in the round. You know you want to make a lot of birdies before you get there.”

The green was lowered slightly because topsoil buildup had raised it above the wooden bulkheads. The green measures 3,912 square feet, smaller than the course average of 4,500 square feet.

Woods, the 2001 Players winner, is less concerned about the size of the green and the distance of the 17th hole than its location in the round of competition. He believes it would be better as the eighth hole.

“I just think it’s a wonderful hole,” he said, “but I don’t agree with it being the 17th or 71st hole of a championship because I just think that it is a little gimmicky in that sense.

“I just don’t think that it’s the right feel. I understand that fans love it. The players, some do, some like it, some don’t. But, hey, it’s a challenge, you’ve got to hit a proper shot. There’s no getting around it.”

Finchem knew all about Woods’ comments, even the “gimmicky” part.

“It doesn’t trouble me,” Finchem said. “There are an awful lot of players over the years who have not had a good time at 17 for whatever reason.”

In the meantime, there are 1.62 million reasons to just aim for the middle of the green, two-putt and move on. It’s called the winner’s share.

thomas.bonk@latimes.com