PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — The weather is finally heating up on the East Coast, and the PGA Tour is headed to The Players, its flagship event at Pete Dye’s Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass.
While there has been much debate about whether The Players should be considered the sport’s fifth major, there’s no doubt there will be much on the line for the 123-man field starting Thursday.
The Players has a $25 million purse, with $4.5 million and 750 FedEx Cup points going to the winner.
Rory McIlroy is the defending champion after he defeated J.J. Spaun in a Monday playoff last year.
There will be plenty of attention on what happens off the course this week, too. PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp will address the media Wednesday, when he’s expected to reveal part of his vision for the tour’s future.
Here are the top contenders to win The Players:
1. Scottie Scheffler
The world No. 1 golfer picked up his 20th PGA Tour victory in his first start of the season at the American Express on Jan. 22. He’ll attempt to become only the second three-time winner of the Players — he’d join Jack Nicklaus (1974, ’76 and ’78) — after becoming the first back-to-back champion in 2023 and ’24. The four-time major champion has four straight opening rounds of 70 or worse. Maybe he’s simply giving the rest of the field a chance?
2. Rory McIlroy
The defending Players Championship winner seemed to be gaining momentum for his upcoming defenses at both TPC Sawgrass and Augusta National Golf Club with a tie for second at the Genesis Invitational. But then he was forced to withdraw before the third round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Saturday because of lower-back spasms. McIlroy said he felt a twinge in the gym and the condition worsened while hitting balls on the range. His health will be a major storyline this week. McIlroy can also join the Golden Bear as the only other three-time winner.
3. Tommy Fleetwood
After picking up his first PGA Tour victory at last season’s Tour Championship, Fleetwood picked up where he left off by tying for fourth at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and for seventh at the Genesis Invitational. His last top-10 finish at TPC Sawgrass was a solo fifth in 2019.
4. Xander Schauffele
A painful rib injury derailed Schauffele’s 2025 season, but the two-time major champion’s game showed signs of life when he tied for seventh at the Genesis. He has been inaccurate off the tee so far this season. Schauffele is a two-time runner-up at the Players in 2018 and 2024.
5. Collin Morikawa
The two-time major champion won at Pebble Beach on Feb. 22, his first victory on tour since October 2023. A switch to a mallet putter — Morikawa said he «stole» it from good friend Kurt Kitayama — helped him finally get back to the winner’s circle. He tied for 10th at 7 under in the 2025 Players Championship, his best finish at TPC Sawgrass.
6. Jake Knapp
Knapp was off to a sizzling start this season — he didn’t finish worse than 11th in each of his first five starts — until he was forced to withdraw before the opening round of the Arnold Palmer because of illness. Heading into that tournament at Bay Hill, Knapp ranked third in strokes gained: total (2.183), fourth in putting (1.095) and eighth in driving distance (319.4 yards). He tied for 12th in the 2025 Players Championship, his second start in the event.
7. Akshay Bhatia
Even before Bhatia picked up his third PGA Tour victory at Bay Hill, he seemed headed toward potential stardom. After back-to-back missed cuts to start the season, Bhatia’s form has been tremendous over the past month. He had three top-10 finishes in his past four starts, including a tie for third in Phoenix. He tied for third in last season’s Players Championship at 10 under in only his second start at TPC Sawgrass.
8. Sepp Straka
Personal reasons caused Straka to sit out a stretch of the end of the 2025 season, but he has been heating up lately. He was runner-up at Pebble Beach and tied for 13th at Bay Hill. Plus, TPC Sawgrass seems to fit his eye. He finished 16th or better in three of his past four starts in the Players.
9. Robert MacIntyre
The Scottish golfer had some moments during the West Coast swing, tying for fourth in the Sony Open in Hawaii and for 20th in the Genesis Invitational. His iron play hasn’t been great. He was 141st in strokes gained: approach (-.575) heading into Bay Hill. But MacIntyre has been putting great, and he enjoyed a breakthrough in the Players last season, tying for ninth at 8 under.
10. Justin Rose
The 45-year-old continues to play some of the best golf of his career. He collected his 13th PGA Tour victory with a 7-shot rout in the Farmers Insurance Open on Jan. 29. His iron play has been stellar. The English golfer missed the cut in three of his past five starts at TPC Sawgrass, but he also had a pair of top-10s.
11. Jacob Bridgeman
Bridgeman had his breakthrough in the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club near Los Angeles, holding off McIlroy and Kitayama for a one-shot victory, his first on tour. The 26-year-old former Clemson star has six top-25s in as many starts this season. He led the tour in strokes gained: putting (1.276) heading into Bay Hill last week. It will be his second start in The Players.
12. Chris Gotterup
Just when it seemed that Gotterup might be cooling off after his torrid start, in which he won the Sony Open in Hawaii and WM Phoenix Open, he was back near the top of the leaderboard at Bay Hill. Gotterup has been one of the best golfers on tour off the tee, ranking fifth in driving distance (322 yards) heading into the Arnold Palmer. He missed the cut in his first start in the Players in 2025.
13. Ludvig Åberg
Åberg withdrew from the American Express because of illness in his first start this season and had an uneven start to 2026. He has turned things around by tying for 20th in the Genesis Invitational and tying for third at Bay Hill. His stats haven’t been great so far, but he did finish solo eighth at 5 under in his first Players start in 2024. He’ll have home-course advantage this week after moving close to the Stadium Course.
14. Hideki Matsuyama
Matsuyama cooled off a bit after a hot opening stretch of the season. He didn’t finish worse than 11th in his first four starts, including a playoff loss to Gotterup on the first hole of a playoff in Phoenix. Matsuyama has a good track record at TPC Sawgrass, where he has seven top-25s in 11 starts. He missed the cut last year, after tying for sixth in 2024 and finishing solo fifth in 2023.
15. Shane Lowry
Lowry was probably still stinging from his late collapse in the Cognizant Classic — he had a three-stroke lead with three holes to play and lost to Nico Echavarria by two — and when he missed the cut in last week’s Arnold Palmer. The Irish golfer has otherwise performed well in 2026, especially with his irons and putter, and he has four top-20 finishes in his past five starts in the Players.
16. Si Woo Kim
Kim, the 2017 Players Championship winner, is off to a great start this season. He had five finishes in the top 13, including a tie for second in the Farmers Insurance Open and for third in the WM Phoenix Open. His last victory on tour came in the 2023 Sony Open in Hawaii.
17. Matt Fitzpatrick
The 2022 U.S. Open winner is back to being one of the best ball strikers in the world. Entering the Arnold Palmer, he ranked fourth in strokes gained: approach (1.120) and fifth in tee to green (1.731). He missed the cut in three of his past five starts in the Players and was in the top 10 in the other two.
18. Viktor Hovland
Hovland didn’t wait long to make significant changes this season, moving from swing coach Grant Waite to T.J. Yeaton, his former coach, according to Golfweek. Hovland also was using his old Ping driver at Bay Hill. Hovland was apparently frustrated after he failed to contend in two signature events, the Pebble Beach Pro-Am and Genesis Invitational. Although he missed the cut at TPC Sawgrass last year, he did tie for third in 2023 and ninth in 2022.
19. Corey Conners
Conners is off to a so-so start this season with a tie for 24th in the Sony Open in Hawaii being the high mark. Still, the Canadian golfer has been one of the best irons players in the world, and he can turn things around. He finished 13th or better in three of his past five starts at TPC Sawgrass.
20. Cameron Young
Young finally won on the PGA Tour in the Wyndham Championship in August, then was one of the U.S. team’s best performers in the Ryder Cup. His form seems to be heating up with back-to-back top-10s in the Genesis Invitational and Arnold Palmer. TPC Sawgrass has perplexed him so far; he doesn’t have a top-50 finish in four starts.
21. Tom Hoge
There seems to be almost two certainties at TPC Sawgrass: Plenty of balls will be hit into the water on the island-green 17th, and Hoge will be somewhere on the leaderboard. Although he has fallen to 95th in the Official World Golf Ranking, the Players seems to bring out Hoge’s best. He tied for third in 2023 after carding a 10-under 62 in the third round, a tournament record. Hoge tied for third again last year, two strokes out of a playoff.
22. J.J. Spaun
The reigning U.S. Open winner is off to a slow start this season, missing three cuts in five starts. He didn’t finish better than a tie for 40th in the other two. Spaun is capable of turning things around at TPC Sawgrass, where he lost to McIlroy in a three-hole aggregate playoff in a Monday finish in the 2025 Players Championship.
23. Rickie Fowler
It has been another resurgence for Fowler, who played well in two FedEx Cup playoffs events at the end of 2025. This season, he has four top 20s and hasn’t finished lower than 28th. He tied for ninth in the API. He’s hitting his irons well and ranks in the top 25 in strokes gained: putting (.701). Fowler has only one top-45 finish in the Players since winning in a playoff in 2015.
24. Harris English
English’s results this season have been about as steady as his game: He hasn’t finished outside the top 28 in each of his first six starts. The Players had been a nightmare for English until the past two years. He missed the cut in seven straight tournaments before tying for 19th in 2024 and 30th last year.
25. Russell Henley
Henley, who is ranked seventh in the world, had a good West Coast swing, tying for 19th in the Pebble Beach and eighth at the American Express. Henley’s performance at TPC Sawgrass also has been a mixed bag. He had seven missed cuts in his first 13 starts; his best finish was a tie for 13th in 2022.
