Stephen Cox, tournament director at TPC Sawgrass, indicated that recent course adjustments, including lengthening some tee boxes like the second hole, are designed specifically to reward players who are excellent on long approach shots. This directly plays to Collin Morikawa's strengths, who is widely known as one of the best long-iron approach players in the game. Additionally, Cox explained that due to recent wet conditions, the course would play softer, similar to last year when extremely low scores were prominent. This setup favors players like Morikawa, who excel in precise long-iron approaches and consistently hit greens under soft conditions.