2022 Players Championship: Youth movement on display in field featuring top stars under 30 at TPC Sawgrass

Of the 10 best players on the planet, only Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson are over 30 years old

When Scottie Scheffler won the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Sunday, it was notable for a number of reasons. Perhaps none of those reasons, though, will be felt more this week at The Players Championship than his ascension into the top five into the Official World Golf Rankings. Why is that so notable this week at the PGA Tour's crown jewel event of the year? It marks the first time in the history of the OWGR that every player in the top five in the world is under age 30.

This youth movement is nothing new, of course. Most golf scribes have been writing about it anecdotally or empirically for several years (this is one of the better stat-based articles I've seen on it), but it's more meaningful that it's this prominent in a Players week than any other week.

The PGA Tour has been fighting off the rival Super Golf League for the last few years now, and showcasing that the very best players in the world, none of whom were rumored as potential candidates to jump to the SGL and many of whom vehemently voiced their allegiance to the Tour, is always a good thing.