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The PLAYERS

PGA TOUR: It’s The PLAYERS

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH – The unofficial “fifth major” of the 2025 PGA Tour season kicks off on Thursday with the first round of The Players Championship at the TPC Sawgrass in Florida.

Contested on the famed Stadium Course, one of the year’s deepest fields will vie for one of the tour’s most coveted trophies. Can Scottie Scheffler create history by winning for a third consecutive year?

“The Players Championship is absolutely our busiest tournament outside of the majors and it’s no surprise that Scottie Scheffler is the clear favorite this week as he goes for his third consecutive win in this tournament,” BetMGM senior sports trader Matt Wall said.

The iconic 17th hole with its island green will again be the focus of several prop markets at sportsbooks, including closest to the pin and the number of balls hit in the water.

Our golf experts preview the event and provide their favorite prop picks along with the best bets to win this week.

THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP
Location: Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., March 13-16
Course: TPC Sawgrass, The Players Stadium Course (Par 72, 7,352 Yards)
Purse: $25M (Winner: $4.5M)
Defending Champion: Scottie Scheffler
FedExCup leader: Sepp Straka

HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Friday: 1-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday: 2-7 p.m. (NBC/Peacock); Sunday: 1-7 p.m. (NBC/Peacock)
Streaming (ESPN+): Thursday-Friday: 7:30 a.m.-7 p.m. ET; Saturday: 8 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sunday: 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m.
X: @ThePlayers

PROP PICKS
–Michael Kim to Beat Jordan Spieth (-125 at DraftKings): Kim might be the hottest player few people are talking about with five consecutive finishes of T13 or better, including fourth at Bay Hill. His lone PGA Tour title to date came seven years ago at the John Deere, but we like him as a +6500 darkhorse to win this week. Spieth is making his fifth start in his return from wrist surgery and while he has posted a T4 and T9 against softer fields, he has a T69 and missed cut in two signature event starts. He failed to make the weekend here last year.

–Hideki Matsuyama Top 20 Finish (+125 at BetMGM): Matsuyama has four top-10s since 2015 at The Players, tied with Brian Harman for the most of any player in the field. While he has cooled off a bit since winning The Sentry to tee-off the year, he has posted a T13 and T22 in his past two starts, both at signature events, and tied for sixth year last year.

The PLAYERS: Crowded at Top of Leaderboard After Round 1

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH – (Staff and Wire Service Report) -World No. 2 Rory McIlroy and No. 6 Xander Schauffele shared the lead at 7-under par as the morning wave of the first round of The Players Championship was wrapping up Thursday.

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Both took advantage of soft greens and light winds to card opening 65s at TPC Sawgrass, although they did it in distinctly different fashions.

McIlroy recorded 10 birdies, the most he has recorded in 41 career rounds at TPC Sawgrass. The Northern Irishman reached 8 under through 15 holes before finding the water left with his drive on the par-4 seventh hole, going on to record a double bogey.

McIlroy made up one of the strokes with a birdie on his final hole of the day at the par-5 ninth. Along with the 10 birdies and the double, he had a lone bogey and just six pars on his scorecard while finding the water twice.

“Much, much improved on the approach play today, which was nice to see,” McIlroy told reporters, adding that he chose to “grind” on the range rather than taking Monday off following a final-round 76 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. “I needed to clean up the technique a little bit, needed to clean up some things. Honestly, just needed to put the time in.”

Schauffele’s bogey-less card was mundane by contrast with seven birdies and 11 pars. He was happy to be playing in the morning, with the wind starting to pick up as the afternoon wave teed off.

“I wouldn’t want to re-hit a few of those shots today, I can tell you that much,” Schauffele said. “I definitely need to clean it up.”

Canada’s Nick Taylor recorded six birdies in a bogey-free round to finish one stroke in back of McIlroy and Schauffele.

Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg, who entered the Top 10 in the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time this week, eagled two of the four par-5s en route to a 5-under 67 in his first round at The Players. He added a pair of birdies against a lone bogey.

New Zealand’s Ryan Fox hit the first hole-in-one of the week, recording just the 14th ace in the history of the event at the famed par-3 17th hole.

McIlroy downplayed what appeared to be a disagreement with playing partner Jordan Spieth about where McIlroy’s drive crossed into the water.

“I think Jordan was just trying to make sure that I was doing the right thing,” McIlroy said when asked if Spieth’s actions were needless. “I was pretty sure that my ball had crossed where I was sort of dropping it. It’s so hard, right, because there was no TV evidence. I was adamant. But I think, again, he was just trying to make sure that I was going to do the right thing.

“If anything, I was being conservative with it. I think at the end of the day we’re all trying to protect ourselves, protect the field, as well. I wouldn’t say it was needless. I think he was just trying to make sure that what happened was the right thing.”

–Field Level Media

Scheffler to Defend at PLAYERS

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler will begin his defense at The Players Championship paired alongside fellow Americans Rickie Fowler and Justin Thomas for the first two rounds.

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Coming off a dominating victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, where he beat the entire field by two strokes on Sunday, Scheffler is the first defending champion to arrive at TPC Sawgrass as the top-ranked player in the world since Rory McIlroy in 2020. The event was ultimately canceled that year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Scheffler will begin his quest for a repeat in the afternoon wave on Thursday, teeing off in at 1:40 p.m. ET in one of the marquee pairings released Monday. The trio will tee off at 8:35 a.m. on Friday. Fowler won the Players in 2015 while Thomas claimed the trophy three years ago.

Thursday’s afternoon wave will include other marquee groups comprised of defending U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark playing with fellow former champions Collin Morkikawa and Brian Harman, while young American stars Tony Finau and Will Zalatoris will play with former Open champion Shane Lowry.

McIlroy is coming off a disappointing Sunday at Bay Hill, where he stumbled to a final-round 76. Rather than grab his opportunity to reclaim the No. 1 ranking, McIlroy saw the distance between him and Scheffler grow further with a tie for 21st.

The 2019 champion finished T33 at last year’s Players. He will tee off at 8:35 a.m. on Thursday in a featured group along with Jordan Spieth and Norway’s Viktor Hovland.

Also teeing off in the morning wave of the opening round will be the group of Patrick Cantlay, 2004 Players champion Adam Scott and rising Swedish star Ludvig Aberg.

They will all be looking to get off to a fast start to put pressure on Scheffler, the +500 pre-tournament favorite at DraftKings and +550 favorite at BetMGM.

“Everybody, I guess, now is kind of looking up at me at the top of the rankings and trying to take me down, so in order to stay up there, you got to put in a lot of work,” Scheffler said on Sunday.

–Field Level Media

The PLAYERS to Scottie Scheffler

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By TERRY LYONS

PONTE VEDRA BEACH – Reigning PGA Tour Player of the Year Scottie Scheffler won The PLAYERS Championship, earning his sixth career PGA Tour title overall and second of the season. All six of Scheffler’s victories have come in his last 27 starts.

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Scheffler returned to No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking with the victory as he became the ninth player to win The PLAYERS and the Masters Tournament and only the third to hold both titles at the same time, joining Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.

Tyrrell Hatton (2nd) birdied the final five holes and tied the back-nine scoring record at TPC Sawgrass (29).

Tom Hoge (T-3) became the first player to record a (78) or higher in the first round of a PGA Tour event and finish in the Top Five since Jose Maria Olazabal at the 2007 PLAYERS Championship.

The PLAYERS | Final Leaderboard

Scottie Scheffler 68-69-65-69—271 (-17)

Tyrrell Hatton 72-71-68-65—276 (-12)

Viktor Hovland 69-71-70-68—278 (-10)

Tom Hoge 78-68-62-70—278 (-10)

Hideki Matsuyama 74-70-67-68—279 (-9)

It’s The PLAYERS Game

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By TERRY LYONS

PONTE VEDRA BEACH – Red hot Scottie Scheffler holds his seventh career 54-hole lead/co-lead on Tour with a (65). His career low at The PLAYERS provided him with a two shot lead going into today’s final round.

Min Woo Lee, currently trailing Scheffler but in the final pairing today, seeks to become the third player in tournament history to make The PLAYERS their first career Tour title.

Having missed five consecutive cuts entering the week, Cam Davis birdied Nos. 17 and 18 and sits solo third at 206 (-10).

Tom Hoge set a new course record at The PLAYERS Stadium Course with a 10-under (62).

Aaron Rai aced the par-3 17th hole, marking the first PLAYERS Championship with multiple aces at No. 17.

Third-round scoring average of 69.573 marks the lowest scoring average in any round in the history of The PLAYERS.

The PLAYERS | 54-Hole Leaderboard

Scottie Scheffler 68-69-65—202 (-14)

Min Woo Lee 68-70-66—204 (-12)

Cam Davis 69-70-67—206 (-10)

Tommy Fleetwood 72-70-65—207 (-9)

Aaron Rai 73-69-65—207 (-9)

Chad Ramey 64-75-68—207 (-9)

Christiaan Bezuidenhout 68-70-69—207 (-9)

First Round at The PLAYERS

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By TERRY LYONS

PONTE VEDRA BEACH – The 2021 FedEx Cup champion, Patrick Cantlay, has finished in the Top Five in each of his last two starts and is the only player to do so at the last two designated events (The Genesis Invitational, Arnold Palmer Invitational). That stated, Cantlay missed the cut in each of the last three PLAYERS Championships and has not finished better than T22 (2017).

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World No. 6 Xander Schauffele, who won three times on TOUR during the 2021-22 season, finished T2 at the 2018 PLAYERS Championship but has missed the cut in each of his three appearances since.

Max Homa, one of two players with multiple titles on TOUR this season (along with Jon Rahm), is making his third start at THE PLAYERS and is coming off a T-13 in 2022.

The 2021 PLAYERS Championship winner, Justin Thomas, holds a scoring average of 70.48 at THE PLAYERS, the lowest of any player with a minimum of 15 rounds played on record (1983-present). With a win, Thomas would become the seventh player to win multiple titles at THE PLAYERS and first to accomplish the feat since Tiger Woods in 2013. Thomas is the only player that won on the PGA TOUR in each season from 2015-16 through 2021-22 and can extend his streak to eight seasons with a win at THE PLAYERS.

Most PLAYERS Championship wins (*not held at TPC Sawgrass)

  • 3 Jack Nicklaus 1974*, 1976*, 1978*
  • 2 Tiger Woods 2001, 2013
  • 2 Davis Love III 1992, 2003
  • 2 Hal Sutton 1983, 2000
  • 2 Steve Elkington 1991, 1997
  • 2 Fred Couples 1984, 1996

World No. 1

For the fourth time in the last five weeks, the No. 2 and No. 3 players are contending for the No. 1 position in the Official World Golf Ranking. Both Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, who have previously held the World No. 1 position this season, have a chance to return to No. 1.

Recent World No. 1 Timeline

  • March 27, 2022 Scottie Scheffler won WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, moved to No. 1
  • October 23, 2022 (30 weeks later) Rory McIlroy won THE CJ CUP, moved to No. 1
  • February 12, 2023 (16 weeks later) Scottie Scheffler won the WM Phoenix Open, moved to No. 1
  • February 19, 2023 (1 week later) Jon Rahm won The Genesis Invitational, moved to No. 1

The PLAYERS | Tournament Facts

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

YARDS/PAR: 7,256 yards/Par 72

ARCHITECTS: Pete Dye

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

DEFENDING CHAMPION: Cameron Smith

PAST RESULTS: (link)

FEDEx CUP Points to Winner: 600

SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedExCup @THEPLAYERSChamp

How to Watch: In case of changes, visit: (PGATourCom)

The PLAYERS | The Basics

The Tee Times at TPC Sawgrass will run from 6:50am (ET) to 1:51pm (ET).

Weather: Today’s forecast is for mostly sunny skies and temperatures hovering around 72 degrees. There’s only a 2% chance of rain and winds will blow at 12 mph. There’s a 75% chance of rain on Friday while the weekend forecast looks good.

Tournament Web Site: (link)

PGA Tour: The PLAYERS Preview

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By TERRY LYONS

PONTE VEDRA BEACH – THE PLAYERS Championship is the first of five events during the 2023 season offering 600 FedExCup points to the winner. It joins the four major championships. The field this weekend includes 44 of the Top 50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking and 29 of the Top 30 players in the FedExCup standings.

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This is the 49th playing of THE PLAYERS Championship and 41st since the tournament moved to TPC Sawgrass in 1982. The purse is $25 million and the winner’s share of $4.5 million are the largest in PGA TOUR history.

With three wins this season (Sentry Tournament of Champions, The American Express, The Genesis Invitational), Jon Rahm currently holds the No. 1 position in both the FedExCup standings and the Official World Golf Ranking. He is the third player (fourth instance) to enter THE PLAYERS as the FedExCup leader and World No. 1 (second consecutive year competing at THE PLAYERS as World No. 1). Rahm has one Top-10 (T-9/2021) and has not missed the cut in five previous starts at THE PLAYERS.

Reigning PGA Tour Player of the Year Scottie Scheffler is making his third start at THE PLAYERS Championship (MC/2021, T-55/2022). Scheffler successfully defended his title at the WM Phoenix Open in February and finished T-4 in his second attempt to do so at last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational. Scheffler will also be the defending champion at two tournaments in the four weeks following THE PLAYERS (WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, Masters Tournament). Scheffler leads the PGA TOUR in Greens in Regulation Percentage (73.61%).

The 2019 winner and reigning FedExCup Champion Rory McIlroy finished runner-up at last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, his second Top-Two result in four starts this season (Won/THE CJ CUP in South Carolina). McIlroy made his tournament debut in 2009 (MC), which was his eighth career start on the Tour, and has four Top-10s in 12 starts at the event.

Smith Takes The PLAYERS

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH – Cameron Smith won The 2022 PLAYERS Championship, earning his fifth PGA Tour title and second win of the season as the PLAYERS became the first PGA TOUR event with an unscheduled Monday finish since the 2021 FedEx St. Jude Championship.

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Smith became the third consecutive winner of the event to enter the week in the Top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking and 13th since the inception of the official rankings in 1986.

Smith also became the fifth Australian to win The PLAYERS, joining Steve Elkington (1991, 1997), Greg Norman (1994), Adam Scott (2004) and Jason Day (2016).

Smith moved from No. 10 to No. 2 in the FedEx Cup standings, the highest position of his career. He’s led the field in SG: Putting in all three of his individual titles on the Tour (2020 Sony Open in Hawaii, 2022 Sentry Tournament of Champions, and this, the 2022 PLAYERS Championship).

 

PLAYERS | Final Leaderboard

Cameron Smith 69-71-69-66—275 (-13)

Anirban Lahiri 67-73-67-69—276 (-12)

Paul Casey 70-69-69-69—277 (-11)

Kevin Kisner 68-74-68-68—278 (-10)

Keegan Bradley 72-71-68-68—279 (-9)

No Matter Rain, Sleet, Snow or Wind

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH – The 2022 PLAYERS Championship went from rain and thunderstorms to high winds and darkness. Today, more windy conditions are in store for the best PGA Tour players in the world.

Due to dangerous weather on Saturday morning, the second round did not start until 12 Noon (ET) and then due to darkness, the second round was suspended at 6:29pm (ET) with 48 of 71 players in the first wave having completed the second round. But, 45 of 72 players in the second wave began the second round Saturday and none of them completed.

Second-round play resumed at 8:15 am (ET) this morning. Keep in mind, the USA adjusted to Daylight Savings Time overnight which will allow for extended play this evening.

Current second-round scoring average is 75.625 (71.902 in R1). There were 29 total balls hit in the water at No. 17 on Saturday (10 during completion of round one, 19 during round two).

Bubba Watson (68) and Justin Thomas (69) recorded the only bogey-free rounds among those who completed round two and of the 48 players who completed 36 holes, Watson and Thomas (T-15) sit highest on the leaderboard.

Henrik Stenson withdrew following Saturday’s suspension of play

PGA Tour officials are planning to complete play on Monday.

The last Monday finish at THE PLAYERS came in 2005, with Fred Funk as champion.

Stormy Weather at The PLAYERS

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH – First-round tee times at The PLAYERS were delayed by one hour due to overnight rain and area thunderstorms. Unfortunately, stormy weather will be the storyline as ‘the fifth major’ is underway, and the golfers who can navigate the weather (rain/wind/humidity) will rise on the dripping wet leaderboard.

This week’s PLAYERS Championship will be more of a challenge than the Tournament Players Club of Sawgrass usually can dish out. The weather report is not cooperating as thundershowers, high humidity and a 30-degree dip in temperature from Friday to the weekend could wreak havoc for the contenders when the sun shines on Sunday.

The PLAYERS Championship is the first of five tournaments on the PGA Tour schedule offering 600 FedEx Cup points to the winner, along with the four major championships.

The field includes 47 of the Top 50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking and 109 PGA TOUR winners combining for 418 titles. Justin Thomas is looking to become the first player to successfully defend a title at The PLAYERS Championship. The best result by a defending champion of The PLAYERS is T5 (Jack Nicklaus/1977, Tom Kite/1990, Hal Sutton/2001). In the last six attempts, only one defending champion has finished in the Top 50 (Webb Simpson, 2019). Thomas, a 14-time Tour winner (most recently at The PLAYERS in 2021), has successfully defended a title once on the PGA Tour (2016 CIMB Classic) and has earned multiple titles at three different PGA Tour events.

With his win at last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, Scottie Scheffler moved to No. 1 in the FedEx Cup standings for the first time in his career. Three players have won the week before The PLAYERS and then won The PLAYERS: Raymond Floyd (1981), Tom Kite(1989) and Tiger Woods (2001).

The people of the Ukraine were recognized by the PGA Tour and its Commissioner. As the tournament began at TPC Sawgrass with round 1 of The PLAYERS Championship, representatives of the Tour expressed its unified support for the people of the Ukraine.

PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan announced support via Golfers For Ukraine, an industry-wide effort that is collecting donations for UNICEF, the United Nations agency that provides humanitarian and developmental aid to children impacted by the crisis.

“Our hearts go out to the people of Ukraine and those caught in the crosshairs of the conflict,” Monahan said. “We hope for an end to this senseless violence and a peaceful resolution. The game of golf has a way of rallying around important causes and this is one.”