STEW WITHOUT meat? Cosmopolitan without the vodka? If the 35th staging of The Players Championship at Sawgrass is supposedly missing the star act in Tiger Woods, you wouldn't know it. Life on tour, as it invariably does, goes on; and, in the absence of the world's number one, who is recuperating from knee surgery, those 144 players who have driven shiny courtesy Buick SUVs into designated parking spaces here at TPC at Sawgrass have done so with a greater sense of purpose.

Sure, The Players lacks the history of the majors. Sure, there's a touch of the nouveau riche, of a wannabe major, about this so-called unofficial "fifth" major. Yet, there is something special about it that sets it apart from regular tour events.

The money - $9 million, more than any major - has something to do with it, but the appeal is grander than mere greenbacks: it is a title very much worth winning, and habitually hard won. It is establishing a history of its own.

Does Woods's absence make it easier to win? Possibly, given the form he has been in this year. Yet, as Jim Furyk pointed out, "if Tiger were here, I'd tease him and say he wasn't that much of a factor in the past . . . obviously, he's the best player in the world and he creates a buzz. We'll miss having him. He has drawn a lot more people to the game. We'll still have a good tournament."

The fact of the matter is that Woods hadn't recorded a top-10 finish here since his win in 2001. His absence, as Pádraig Harrington, put it, is "no big deal . . . if it comes down to it on Sunday and you're playing the 18th hole and you're a shot behind or a shot ahead, it doesn't really matter who is on the other side of the tee because, if they're there, they're probably playing the best golf of their life."

Those players chasing Phil Mickelson's title are faced with a course playing fast and firm. Last year, after the major course renovations that included replacing all 18 greens with Bermuda grass, the set-up was a little kind to allow some breathing space to get acquainted with the new set-up.

A year on, the greens - grainy and hard to read into the bargain - are running at up to 13 on the stimpmetre, compared to 10.5 in 2007, and the course is set to play very much as originally intended by designer Pete Dye. Indeed, Harrington is of the opinion you approach The Players as you would a major. "You know, there's a lot of times when you come to an event and, if you're not three-under-par after the first nine or shooting six-under the first day, you feel like you're going backwards. Whereas, in a major, you couldn't care less because as long as you're not going over par too much you don't really mind.

"At the end of the week, you know it only takes one good round and three solid rounds (to win). You feel like you're at a race at most events but, hopefully, this one is more like a major because players have so much more pressure to win. Yet, this is a course that suits chasers. Anyone going into the last round can (still) shoot a 65. I can assure you the leader going into the last round is never going to be comfortable on this golf course."

Harrington, one of 21 European players in the field, is returning to tournament play after a three-week break since the Masters at Augusta where he finished tied-fifth. It was his third top-five finish of six appearances on the US Tour this year. Yet, despite consistently making cuts and finishing in the top-10 of tournaments, he is without a win since capturing the British Open last July.

"I'm comfortable with my preparations," remarked Harrington, who is among the favourites given his past endeavours here; although he did make the observation his two runner-up finishes - in 2003 and 2004 - were "on a different golf course at a different time of the year".

Indeed, the only player to have won on the new-look course is Mickelson, who triumphed last year. After that win, Mickelson's newly-acquired coach Butch Harmon remarked, "you're just seeing the tip of the iceberg". Mickelson's performances since then, however, have hardly been earth shattering: he has won twice and lost one play-off in his 21 tournaments since while battling with a wrist injury and working through new problems with his once infallible short game.

"I think in the effort to improve my long game, my short game has suffered a little bit," admitted Mickelson, who has worked hard these past few weeks with Dave Pelz in an effort to change that situation. "My chipping has come around to where it is back to the level I expect, and my putting is getting there. I expect to have a great week this week."

The key for whoever ultimately triumphs will be patience.

"It's a course that gives up birdies, but it can take them away too," observed Harrington. "So, if you stay patient, you can always get a run maybe a couple of times during the week . . . probably that's the way to win the tournament, to stay patient and wait for those good runs."