The Players Championship
March 12 – 15, 2026
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – THE PLAYERS Championship is here. One of the strongest fields of the year will play Pete Dye’s definitive design, the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, beginning Thursday. Dye crafted a course that challenges players in a myriad ways, most notably with the Island Green 17th. THE PLAYERS Championship is the first of five events during the season that offer 600 FedEx Cup points to the winner. The four major championships are the others. This week’s field features 44 of the top 50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking and 29 of the top 30 players in the FedEx Cup standings.
This is the 49th edition of THE PLAYERS Championship and 41st since the tournament moved to TPC Sawgrass in 1982. The purse is $25 million, a $5 million increase from last year, and the winner's share is $4.5 million. Both are the largest in PGA TOUR history.
Only four players – Tiger Woods (2001, 2013), Davis Love III (1992, 2003), Hal Sutton (1983, 2000), Steve Elkington (1991, 1997) and Fred Couples (1984, 1996) – have won multiple times at TPC Sawgrass. No one has gone back-to-back, a testament to the strength of THE PLAYERS field and the democratic nature of TPC Sawgrass, which allows a variety of players to thrive.
After severe weather led to a Monday finish for last year’s PLAYERS, this week’s forecast looks ideal. As of Wednesday afternoon, there was only one competition day where thunderstorms were listed as a possibility. That is Friday, when there’s a 60% chance of afternoon thunderstorms.
Temperatures are forecast to stay in the 60s and 70s all week, with just enough wind to give players anxiety as they approach the island 17th. Winds of around 15 mph are expected each day. The breezes are expected to blow from different directions each day, forcing players to adapt to a variety of conditions.
Last year’s opening round at TPC Sawgrass was not completed until Saturday, as the venue fell victim to torrential rains between Wednesday and Friday evening. Nearly 3 inches of rain fell in a 48-hour period, requiring the first Monday finish since 2005.
The marquee group of THE PLAYERS’ opening two rounds is a meeting of the top three players in the world ranking, a trio that has separated itself from the pack. That group includes the reigning FedEx Cup champion (Rory McIlroy), PGA TOUR Player of the Year, Scottie Scheffler, and the current No. 1 in both the OWGR and the FedEx Cup, Jon Rahm.
One of those three players has held the top spot in the world ranking since July 2021.
The trio will tee off TPC Sawgrass’ 10th tee at 7:56 a.m. ET Thursday.
Homa, who ranks second in the FedEx Cup, will play Thursday with 2021 PLAYERS champion Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth at 12:56 p.m. Thursday.
Here’s a quick look at some other notable groups:
7:34 a.m. ET, No. 10: Tony Finau-Tom Kim-Patrick Cantlay
7:45 a.m. ET, No. 10: Collin Morikawa-Adam Scott-Rickie Fowler
8:07 a.m. ET, No. 10: Justin Rose-Billy Horschel-Hideki Matsuyama
12:34 p.m. ET, No. 1: Matt Fitzpatrick-Viktor Hovland-Shane Lowry
12:45 p.m. ET, No. 1: Kurt Kitayama-Will Zalatoris-Xander Schauffele
1:07 p.m. ET, No. 1: Sam Burns-Cameron Young-Sahith Theegala
Here are your Knollwood Golf Staff Picks for the week
Matt Krallman: 1. Si Woo Kim
2. Matt Fitzpatrick
Dark Horse Max Homa
Matt Kay: 1. Tommy Fleetwood
2. Xander Shauffele
Dark Horse Aaron Rai
Nic Johnson: 1. Scottie Scheffler
2. Brooks Koepka
Dark Horse Chris Gotterup
Cale Bolinger: 1. Ludvig Aberg
2. Akshay Bhatia
Dark Horse Tony Finau