TPC Sawgrass (THE PLAYERS Stadion Course) will again host the most prominent field of the PGA TOUR. The world’s best players will be there to add an iconic title in their trophy case.
FIELD NOTICES:Fifty-nine of current FedExCup Players and Eligibility points List players will compete…. Rory McIlroy, 2019 PLAYERS winner and reigning FedExCup Champion, will lead the field…. At least 30 players are expected to compete in their first PLAYERS. Min Woo Lee was one of those who were among the top 50 after The Honda Classic. Minjee Lee’s brother (No. The brother of Minjee Lee (No. 3 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings), is hoping to attain PGA TOUR status via DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai Rankings at the end of the year. The Race to Dubai will exempt the top 10 players. Justin Suh was the Korn Ferry Tour’s 2022 season-long leader and earned a start at TPC Sawgrass. The winners of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented to Mastercard and Puerto Rico Open, if not exempted, will complete the field.
PONTE VEDRA BEEACH, FLORIDA, MARCH 3, 2019: Views of 16th and 17th holes on TPC Sawgrass Stadium course, before THE PLAYERS Champion, March 3, 2023, Ponte Vedra Beach. (Photo by Rankin white/PGA TOUR via Getty Images
The Field’s Most Highly-Rated Players
FedExCup:Winner gets 600 FedExCup Points
COURSE: TPC Sawgrass (Stadium), 7,275 yards, par 72. The PLAYERS Stadium Course was built in 1980 and has been regarded as one of the most difficult layouts on TOUR. Pete Dye’s masterpiece was renovated in 2016 and made driveable by the par-4 12th.
A new back tee on par-5 9th could be the first 600-yard hole in PLAYERS Champion history.
STORYLINES The ongoing battle for the No. 1 spot in the world. TPC Sawgrass will host the 1 ranking. McIlroy is looking to win his second PLAYERS, while Scottie Scheffler (current No. 1 Jon Rahm will continue to chase their first Tiffany & Co. Trophy. McIlroy is looking to capture his second PLAYERS while Scottie Scheffler, the current No. 1, will be chasing his first Tiffany & Co. Trophy. He became the first player since Tiger Woods, to win two times on TOUR, before turning 21. Ben Taylor is the only one missing from the FedExCup’s top 50. We are hoping for a traditional PLAYERS Championship cadence. In 2020, the event was cancelled due to a drastically reduced fan base in 2021. Last year, the event required a Monday finish following torrential rains early in each week.
72-HOLE RECORD: 264, Greg Norman (1994).
18-HOLE REGISTRY:63. Fred Couples (Round 3 1992), Greg Norman, (Round 1 1994), Roberto Castro(Round 1 2013), Martin Kaymer [Round 1 2014]); Jason Day (Round 1) 2016); Colt Knost; Webb Simpson (Round 2 2018, 2018); Brooks Koepka (Round 4 2018); Dustin Johnson (Round 4 2022).
PONTE VEDRA BEEACH, FLORIDA, MARCH 05 : This is a view from the drone before THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONS at Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, March 5, 2023, Ponte Vedra Beach. (Photo by Ben Jared/PGA TOUR).
LAST TIMECameron Smith began both his back and front nines at TPC sawgrass with four consecutive birdies, en route to a final-round score of 66 and a victory by one over Anirban lahiri. On Nos. 1-4 before Bogeying Nos. 7-9. He turned and added birdies on all of the Nos. He added another birdie on the par-3 17th, 10-13, for good measure. He one-put eight of the final nine holes and made a new record with 10 birdies. He won his fifth TOUR win. Lahiri, the 54-hole leader, birdied the 17th, and needed one more on 18 in order to tie Smith. However, his approach was too short. Paul Casey was third at 11 under, while Kevin Kisner (10 over) and Keegan Bradley (9 under) completed the top five. The weather was unpredictable and it was an unusual week at THE PLAYERS. Only the first round lasted 54 hours. This was the first Monday finish at THE PLAYERS since Fred Funk won in 2005.
How To Follow (all times ET)
Television: Thursday-Friday, 12 p.m.-6 p.m. (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. (NBC)
PGA TOUR Live can only be accessed on ESPN+
Main Feed: main tournament-coverage featuring all the action on the course
* MarqueeGroup: New “marquee group”, displaying every shot taken by each player in the group
* Featured groups: traditional PGA TOUR LIVE coverage for two concurrent featured groups
* Featured Hole: A combination of par-3s or iconic or pivotal holes
Radio: Thursday-Friday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. ET. Saturday-Sunday, 12 p.m.-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PexcelGATOUR.com/liveaudio)
