Woods and Vijai will face challenge from Els and Mickelson

Toronto: The Players? Championship, widely regarded as golf?s unofficial fifth Major, has attracted the world?s top 50 players to the TPC at Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach this week.

Leading the title contenders in Thursday?s first round on one of the world?s most demanding courses will be the ?Big Four? of Vijai Singh, Tiger Woods, Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson, all with wins in the bag this season.

?This is our (the players?) championship,? said Woods, who won the title in 2001.?People call it the fifth Major and it takes that kind of mentality and that kind of perseverance to win on the TPC at Sawgrass.

?It?s a great tournament, probably one of the strongest fields we?ll have all year.

?You play against the best players on this golf course under these type of conditions. This is one heck of a test.?

If an $8 million purse was not enough to stoke competitive fires, the No. 1 world ranking could change hands for the third time this season, adding even more spice to the week.

Separated by fractions in the rankings, No. 2 Woods and No. 3 Els could leave on Sunday with the top spot that Singh reclaimed with a second-place finish at last week?s Bay Hill Invitational.

Despite the presence of the ?Big Four?, there are plenty of other players who will hope to challenge this week.

South African Retief Goosen, often overlooked by the fans but never by his fellow golfers, ranks high among the contenders.

Defending champion Adam Scott also has his supporters while Irishman Padraig Harrington, runner-up at Sawgrass for the last two years and winner of the Honda Classic two weeks ago, will be in confident mood.

Scott, though, may be facing the longest odds as no player in the 30-year history of the event has ever successfully defended the title.

?It?s coincidence, that?s all,? said Scott, winner of the rain-shortened Nissan Open last month. ?It?s going to happen sooner or later. I?d like it to happen this week.?

With 16 of the last 21 winners at Sawgrass having also won a Major, the signs look good for the ?Big Four?.