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Moving Day at The PLAYERS ’26

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CUT: The PLAYERS 36-hole cut advanced 73 professionals at 2-over (146) from a field of 123 professionals.

By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

PONTE VEDRA BEACH – Ludvig Åberg (1st/-12) Friday round of (63) marked the second-lowest 18-hole score in PLAYERS history, with the lowest being a (62) by Justin Thomas/2025/R2, Tom Hoge/2023/R3).

Åberg holds his sixth career 36-hole lead/co-lead on TOUR and is 1-for-5 converting to victory (2023 RSM Classic). The last player to hold the

36- hole lead/co-lead at THE PLAYERS and go on to win was Rory McIlroy in 2019.

Åberg is now the third player to post 29 on the front nine at TPC Sawgrass, joining Dustin Johnson/2022/R4, Martin Kaymer/2014/R1), and Åberg joined Derek Fathauer (2015/R1) as the only two players to post 5-under on Nos. 1-4 at TPC Sawgrass.

Xander Schauffele (2nd/-10) shot (65) and it matches his low 18-hole score in 24 career rounds at THE PLAYERS Championship (R1, R3/2024). He carded eight birdies in a round to mark the most in his career at TPC Sawgrass (previous: 7; R1, R3/2024).

Two-time PLAYERS Champion (2023, 2024) and World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler (T51/+1) extended his longest active cuts made streak on TOUR to 70.

The PLAYERS | Leaderboard After 36 Holes

1 Ludvig Åberg 69 63 132 (-12)

2 Xander Schauffele 69 65 134 (-10)

3 Cameron Young 68 67 135 (-9)

T4 Corey Conners 69 67 136 (-8)

T4 Justin Thomas 68 68 136 (-8)

Tournament Leaderboard: (link

PGA Tour: Round 1 at The PLAYERS

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Maverick McNealy, Lee Hodges, Sahith Theegala and Sepp Straka formed a tie for the lead in Thursday’s weather-hit opening round of The Players Championship when play was suspended in fading light.

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Surprise package Austin Smotherman, one of four players yet to complete the opening round, has a chance to seize the outright lead when play resumes on Friday as he faces a 15-foot birdie putt on his final hole — the par-5 ninth.

Smotherman was at 5 under after mixing four birdies with a lone bogey on his back nine, but he regretted playing a chip shot from 40 yards out before deciding to mark his ball on the green and return the following morning to complete his round.

“It was just getting so dark,” said Smotherman, a three-time winner on the Korn Ferry Tour who was a runner-up at last month’s Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches. “Greens are getting — I mean, the rain softened them enough to where spike marks, footprints, all that stuff’s kind of adding up.

“So a 15-, 16-footer, whatever I have. I mean, it’s not worth it right now (and he will) get fresh greens in the morning, which is the benefit of that. Do I wish I hit the chip in the morning as well? Went back and forth. The fact I was even questioning it, I probably should have maybe backed off.”

McNealy, Hodges, Theegala and Straka fired matching 5-under-par 67s on a day of mixed weather conditions at TPC Sawgrass, where the course was relatively firm in the morning before being softened by early afternoon thunderstorms.

Former world No. 1 amateur McNealy, who teed off in the morning wave, reeled off five birdies in his first 12 holes on his way to an early one-shot lead. He was then caught late in the day by fellow American Hodges, who birdied two of his last three holes, and Austrian Straka, who eagled the par-5 16th with a chip-in from 50 feet.

“It was a very straightforward chip,” said Straka, who has won four times on the PGA Tour with his most recent victory coming at last year’s Truist Championship. “It was just off the green, upslope in the first cut. It was about as easy as they come, and I was able to take advantage of it.”

American Theegala made it a four-way tie at the top after covering his back nine in 3 under, highlighted by a hole-out eagle at the par-4 12th where he hit a stunning 99-yard approach from the right fairway, his ball bouncing sharply to the left off the fringe before disappearing into the cup.

“I hit it a little skinny and just came out a little right,” said Theegala, whose only PGA Tour victory came at the 2023 Fortinet Championship. “Got a nice bounce … it was probably going to spin left off that slope, was probably going to go like 20, 25 feet down that slope, just straight left of the hole. So for it to crash into the pin and go in is pretty cool. It’s a nice bonus.”

World No. 6 Russell Henley and fellow American Justin Thomas, who won this event in 2021 and is making his second PGA Tour start of the year after undergoing back surgery in November, were among a group of four players who opened with 68s on a tightly bunched leaderboard.

Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler, bidding for a rare third victory at The Players Championship, produced a mixed bag as he opened with an even-par 72. He birdied his final hole, the par-5 ninth, following consecutive bogeys.

“I did some good things, changing weather out there, but overall I felt like I gave away some shots,” said Scheffler, who clinched his 20th career victory on the PGA Tour at The American Express in January. “Hoping to clean it up a little bit the next few days.

“It can get very challenging when you get some high winds like we had this morning. It can get even more challenging when you’re playing from the rough, which I felt like I was doing a bit too much of today … I struck it better on the back nine. Just made a few mental errors and just need to be a little bit sharper the next few days.”

World No. 2 and defending champion Rory McIlroy, looking to shrug off a back injury that led to his withdrawal from last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, experienced a frustrating day as he battled to a 74. Often wayward off the tee, he mixed three bogeys with a lone birdie to finish seven strokes off the pace.

“I would say the most discomfort was like when the ball was below my feet or with chipping,” McIlroy replied when asked if his back had posed any problems. “Just like getting down a little bit to it. Honestly, overall it was fine. Got a little bit tired at the end of the day, but yeah, it was actually all pretty good.”

The elite Players Championship field is one of the strongest in the game with the top 10 golfers in the world rankings — and 47 of the top 50 — assembled at TPC Sawgrass for the tournament’s 52nd edition.

However, World No. 4 Collin Morikawa withdrew from the tournament due to a back injury after playing just one hole on Thursday. After teeing off on the 10th hole and making a par, he experienced some discomfort while taking a practice swing on the 11th tee box.

– Field Level Media

Note: Ryan Fox (illness) withdrew prior to the start of the first round and was replaced by David Ford (T82/+3)

PGA TOUR: First Look@ PLAYERS

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By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

PONTE VEDRA BEACH – This year marks the 52nd playing of THE PLAYERS Championship, dating back to 1974. It’s the 44th at TPC Sawgrass with the first year of 1982. THE PLAYERS Championship is the first of five events this season that offer 750 FedExCup points to the winner.

THE PLAYERS is the third event in the Florida Swing, which began with the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches (won by Nico Echavarria) and continued with the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard in Orlando (won by Akshay Bhatia). The TOUR will make its way to Palm Harbor for the Valspar Championship next week, where Viktor Hovland will defend his 2025 title.

Akshay Bhatia won the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard for his third career PGA TOUR title and first since the 2024 Valero Texas Open. He’ll make his third PLAYERS appearance, finishing T3 in 2025.

Second-year TOUR member and University of Florida product Ricky Castillo won the Puerto Rico Open for his first career PGA TOUR title; was previously qualified for THE PLAYERS by virtue of his position in the FedExCup through the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches. Castillo missed the cut in his PLAYERS debut in 2025.

The 2026 PLAYERS field features:

  • 46 of the top 50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking, including all of the Top 10
  • Seven past champions (nine wins): Rory McIlroy (2019, 2025), Scottie Scheffler (2023, 2024), Justin Thomas (2021), Si Woo Kim (2017), Jason Day (2016), Rickie Fowler (2015), Adam Scott (2004)
  • Eight past FedEx Cup Champions (10 wins): Tommy Fleetwood (2025), Scottie Scheffler (2024), Viktor Hovland (2023), Rory McIlroy (2016/2019/2022), Patrick Cantlay (2021), Justin Rose (2018), Justin Thomas (2017), Jordan Spieth (2015)
  • As part of his return to the PGA TOUR via the returning member program, Brooks Koepka was added to the field (121) so not to take a spot from a current Tour member. To round out threesomes, the field was expanded to 123 players as of Monday at Noon EDT, with the first two alternates at that time – Patton Kizzire and Seamus Power – being added to the field.
  • 14 players in the field are making their tournament debut, highlighted by three PGA TOUR winners: Zach Bauchou, Michael Brennan, Pierceson Coody, Zecheng Dou, A.J. Ewart, Steven Fisk, Takumi Kanaya, Johnny Keefer, William Mouw, Marco Penge, Kristoffer Reitan, Jordan Smith, Michael Thorbjornsen, Sudarshan Yellamaraju (winners in BOLD).
  • Of the 14 players in the field making their tournament debut, seven are PGA TOUR rookies: Zach Bauchou, A.J. Ewart, Johnny Keefer, Marco Penge, Kristoffer Reitan, Jordan Smith, Sudarshan Yellamaraju.

The PLAYERS | Tournament Facts

 

COURSE: TPC Sawgrass – The PLAYERS Stadium Course, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL

YARDS/PAR: 7,352 yards/Par 72

ARCHITECTS: Pete Dye

OVERVIEW: (link)

PRIZE Money – Purse: $25,000,000 with Winner: $4,500,000

DEFENDING CHAMPION: Rory McIlroy

PAST RESULTS: (link)

2025 Results: (link)

FEDEx CUP Points to Winner: 750

SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedExCup @THEPLAYERSChamp

Arnold Palmer Invitational Preview

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By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

ORLANDO – The Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard is the eighth event of the 2026 PGA TOUR Season and the third of eight Signature Events. Like all Signature Events, the limited-field event offers increased FedExCup points (700) and a heightened purse ($20 million), however, additional elements set the three player-hosted events apart (The Genesis Invitational, Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard and the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday):

  • Only Signature Events to feature a cut: 36-hole cut, low 50 players and ties and any additional players within 10 strokes of the 36-hole lead
  • Twenty percent prize allocation to winner ($4 million), up from 18 percent
  • One tournament host exemption, not restricted to PGA TOUR members: The Genesis Invitational (Sahith Theegala, Charlie Sifford Memorial Exemption/finished T22), Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard (Daniel Bennett, Arnold Palmer Cup Exemption), the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday (TBD/Jack Nicklaus Award)

The Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard is the first of four PGA TOUR events (the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday, RBC Canadian Open, Genesis Scottish Open) that is part of The Open Qualifying Series (OQS).

One spot will be available this week into the 154th Open at Royal Birkdale. The top player, not otherwise exempt, that makes the cut at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard will earn an exemption. In the event of a tie for a qualifying place, the player with the higher ranking in the OWGR at the beginning of the week will earn the spot.

There has not been a playoff at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard since 1999; in the 26 events since then, 14 have been decided by one stroke.

The 2025 FedEx Cup champion, Tommy Fleetwood, will make his 10th start at this event, with three top-10 finishes (T10/2017, T3/2019, T10/2021); most recently finished T11 in 2025.

Arnold Palmer Invitational | Tournament Facts

COURSE: Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge, Orlando, Florida

YARDS/PAR: 7,466 yards/Par 72

ARCHITECTS: Dick Wilson/Joe Lee

PRIZE Money – Purse: $20,000,000 with Winner: $4,000,000

DEFENDING CHAMPION: Russell Henley

PAST RESULTS: (link)

OVERVIEW: (link)

FEDEx CUP Points to Winner: 700

SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedExCup @APInv and @PuertoRicoOpen

Echavarria Wins on Home Golf Course

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PALM BEACH GARDENS – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Nico Echavarria, who together with his wife, on Monday, closed on a new home on the grounds of PGA National,  then played a steady final round of 5-under-par (66) and benefited from late struggles from Ireland’s Shane Lowry to win the Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches on Sunday.

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Echavarria, who trailed by three strokes on the backside, turned in a 17-under 267 at PGA National’s Champion Course for his first PGA Tour victory since 2024 and his third overall. He held a two-stroke edge on Lowry, Austin Smotherman and Taylor Moore.

Lowry, who posted 68, appeared heading toward a victory until double-bogeys on Nos. 16 and 17 cost him. His tee shots on both holes ended up in the water.

Until then, he was 6 under for the round without a bogey.

The first double-bogey allowed Echavarria, who was in the process of notching a birdie on No. 17, to pull even. The next series of miscues handed Echavarria the lead.

Moore also shot 68. Smotherman, who began the round tied for the lead with Lowry, had a birdie on the last hole to register 69.

Ricky Castillo, with a final-round 68, finished fifth at 13 under.

Brooks Koepka had a notable final day as his 65 was tied for the best score of the round. Koepka ended up at 10 under in a ninth-place tie. Denmark’s Nicolai Hojgaard also had 65, putting him at 11 under in a sixth-place tie with William Mouw (67) and Keith Mitchell (68).

–Field Level Media

White Leads Celtics Over Suns

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PHOENIX – (Wire Service Report) – Derrick White scored 22 points, Neemias Queta had 14 points and 13 rebounds, and the visiting Boston Celtics rolled over the short-handed Phoenix Suns 97-81 to extend their winning streak to four. Sam Hauser scored 16 points and Bailey Scheierman had 11 points and 11 rebounds in his third career double-double for the Celtics, who have won nine of 10 and are a season-high 19 games over .500. White and Hauser had four 3-pointers apiece for Boston.

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The Celtics trailed 41-30 at 6:41 of the second quarter before going on an extended 50-11 run to take control with an 80-52 lead on Nikola Vukevic’s basket with 1:39 left in the third quarter.

Collin Gillespie scored 15 points, Grayson Allen scored 14 and Jalen Green added 13 points for the Suns, who played without leading scorers Devin Booker and Dillon Brooks for the second straight game.

The Suns have lost seven of 10.

Boston has won five in a row in the series and the last four in Phoenix.

The Suns went on a 14-0 run over the late third and early fourth quarters to close to 80-66 with 9:24 remaining, but Scheierman’s corner 3-pointer pushed the Celtics’ lead back 90-68 with 5:51 to play.

The Celtics played without Jaylen Brown (knee contusion), who was held out in the first game of a back-to-back, and got only eight points from Payton Pritchard, who was 2 of 13 from the field.

Boston outscored the Suns 30-11 in the third quarter and led 80-57 entering the fourth. Hauser had 13 points and three 3-pointers in the third quarter, when Phoenix was 4 of 22 from the field.

The Suns shot 36.7% from the field and were 12 of 36 from distance.

Boston had a 61-34 rebounding advantage and turned 22 offensive rebounds into 15 points.

The Suns, coming off a season scoring low in a 92-77 loss to Portland on Sunday, led 26-21 after the first quarter, when Green and Ryan Dunn had seven points apiece. The Celtics were 3 of 15 from distance in the quarter.

Royce O’Neale’s third 3-pointer put the Suns ahead 41-30 lead midway through the second quarter before the Celtics began their extended run with a 14-0 spurt capped by Queta’s two free throws for a 44-41 edge.

–Field Level Media

Morikawa Ends an 848 Day Drought

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By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

PEBBLE BEACH – Collin Morikawa had a pretty good weekend. First, he and his wife announced they are expecting. (Congrats, all around). Then, he broke an 848 day drought between PGA Tour wins. And, since the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am is a Signature event on TOUR, he pocketed $4m dollars for the baby to get “new shoes.”

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Morikawa (Winner/-22) earned seventh PGA TOUR victory in his 145th start at age of 29 years, 9 days. He won again in his 46th PGA TOUR start since his last victory at the 2023 Baycurrent Classic (span of 848 days).

Morikawa’s PGA TOUR wins (7): 2019 Barracuda Championship, 2020 Workday Charity Open, 2020 PGA Championship, 2021 WGC-Workday Championship at The Concession, 2021 The Open Championship, 2023 Baycurrent Classic, 2026 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

It is his third TOUR victory in California (2019 Barracuda Championship, 2020 PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park); his first win in a TOUR Signature Event

Morikawa earned a cool 700 FedExCup points and moved to No. 3 in the FedExCup standings. He also moved from No. 19 to No. 5 in the Official World Golf Ranking.

 

AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am | Final Leaderboard

1 Collin Morikawa 69 SH 68 PB 62 PB 67 PB 266 (-22)

T2 Min Woo Lee 67 SH 65 PB 70 PB 65 PB 267 (-21)

T2 Sepp Straka 66 PB 66 SH 67 PB 68 PB 267 (-21)

T4 Scottie Scheffler 72 PB 66 SH 67 PB 63 PB 268 (-20)

T4 Tommy Fleetwood 67 SH 68 PB 67 PB 66 PB 268 (-20)

Full Leaderboard: (link)

PGA Tour Brunch | SONY Open

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The 2026 PGA Tour Season | Honolulu, Hawaii

PGA TOUR: FedEx Fall Series

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JACKSON – (Wire Service Report) – The PGA Tour returns to its regularly scheduled programming with the second event of its FedEx Fall series taking place in Mississippi this week, while the LPGA Tour is in Hawaii for the Lotte Championship.

PGA TOUR

LAST TOURNAMENT: Procore Championship (Scottie Scheffler)
THIS WEEK: Sanderson Farms Championship, Jackson, Miss., Oct. 2-5
Course: The Country Club of Jackson (Par 72, 7,461 Yards)
Purse: $6M (Winner: $1.08M)
Defending Champion: Kevin Yu
FedEx Cup Champion: Tommy Fleetwood

HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Saturday: 4-7 p.m. ET; Sunday: 3:30-6:30 p.m. (All times Golf Channel)
Streaming (ESPN+): Thursday-Friday: 8 a.m.-7 p.m. ET; Saturday: 2-7 p.m.; Sunday: 2-6:30 p.m.
X: @Sanderson_Champ

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NOTES: Only the top 100 players in the FedEx Cup standings following the seven fall events will secure fully exempt status for 2026. Those who began the fall series in the top 70 have already clinched their top-100 eligibility, with Nos. 51-70 still working to secure spots in the first two signature events of 2026. … Rasmus Hojgaard is the only player in the field who competed in last week’s Ryder Cup. He went 0-2-0 for the winning European team. His twin brother, Nicolai, is also in the field, as is European vice captain Francesco Molinari and United States assistant Brandt Snedeker. … Former Vanderbilt star Will Gordon is in the field as a sponsor exemption, as is 2025 NCAA individual champion Michael La Sasso and his Ole Miss teammate Kye Meeks. Other sponsor invites include 2017 event winner Ryan Armour, Ben Martin, Zac Blair and Matt NeSmith. … Sam Burns holds the tournament scoring record at the Country Club of Jackson, which he set with a 266 in 2021.

BEST BETS: Akshay Bhatia (+2000 at DraftKings) is the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 34 and has three top-13 finishes in his past four starts. … Kevin Yu (+2200) is seeking to become the first player to win back-to-back Sanderson Farms Championships. … Min Woo Lee (+2500) has largely struggled since his win at the Texas Children’s Houston Open but is coming off a T5 at the Open de France. … Michael Thorbjornsen (+2800) is one of the game’s rising young stars and has three top-20s in his past six starts. … J.T. Poston (+3000) is a three-time PGA Tour winner and one of the most accomplished players in the field with 34 career top-10s. … Mackenzie Hughes (+3500) won this event in 2022 and is coming off a T7 at the Procore Championship.

NEXT TOURNAMENT: Baycurrent Classic, Yokohama, Japan, Oct. 9-12

Europe Keeps the Ryder Cup

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OLD BETHPAGE – (Wire Service Report) – Shane Lowry of Ireland drained a 6-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to halve his match, and Team Europe survived a surprise rally by the United States team to retain the Ryder Cup on Sunday at Bethpage State Park’s famed Black course.

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As defending champions, the Europeans needed to reach just 14 points to ensure the Cup stayed with them. Despite starting the day just 2 1/2 points away, it took about five hours, 15 minutes from the first tee time before Europe finally clinched it.

Lowry entered No. 18 1 down in his match against Russell Henley, after Henley missed a 10-footer to put away the match at No. 17. Henley hit a remarkable shot from the sand onto the 18th green, only to miss another 10-footer to seal his victory.

Lowry drained his putt to give Team Europe the final half-point boost it needed to reach 14, and several teammates joined him on the green in raucous celebration.

It marks Team Europe’s 11th win in the last 15 Ryder Cups and its second in a row under captain Luke Donald of England.

The United States was outplayed throughout Friday and Saturday and needed 10 of an available 12 points to pull off the largest comeback in Ryder Cup history.

Despite clutch performances by Cameron Young, Justin Thomas and Scottie Scheffler — who won his first point after an 0-4-0 start — the Americans and first-time captain Keegan Bradley came up short and will have plenty to address before the 2027 Ryder Cup in Ireland.

The United States’ loss also ended a five-match winning streak for the hosts in the event. No visiting team had won the Ryder Cup since Europe’s “Miracle at Medinah” comeback in 2012.

Europe entered the day leading 11 1/2 points to 4 1/2, but the scoreline became 12-5 before a match began.

Norway’s Viktor Hovland withdrew from singles after hurting his neck Saturday morning and being unable to move it when he awoke Sunday. The U.S. took Harris English out of the lineup in the event’s rarely used “envelope rule,” and the match counted as a draw.

–Field Level Media