Out of the Rough: THE PLAYERS Championship (2026)

Atlas, we’ve made it to one of the biggest weeks in the sport of golf.

Although we’ve seen several Signature Events to this point of the PGA Schedule, none have been as big as what is in line for this week.

THE PLAYERS Championship, informally known as the “fifth major,” is finally here as a full field of PGA Tour players takes to the infamous TPC Sawgrass this week.

In the previous signature events - AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Genesis Invitational and the Arnold Palmer Invitational - we’ve seen limited fields. That won’t be the case this week as 144 golfers will head to Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

THE PLAYERS Championship also holds the biggest purse in the sport, outside of the TOUR Championship. The purse sits at $25 million as the eventual winner will take home $4.5 million and the top five will all clear $1 million. 

The other Signature Events hold $20 million purses and the Majors range from $16.5 million to $20 million.

This once served as the first event of the PGA Tour schedule where we would all see the World’s best in one spot heading into the Major season. With the inclusion of the Signature Events three years ago, the allure of THE PLAYERS is dismissed a bit.

It is still one of the premier events of the Tour and we could be in line for some fireworks this week. Or so we hope.

The Field

You name them, they’ll be here playing this week.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, of course, headlines this week’s field. Scheffler won this event in back-to-back seasons in 2023 and 2024.

Rory McIlroy comes in as the defending champion, having topped J.J. Spaun in a Monday playoff a season ago. McIlroy will return to defend his title this week. McIlroy also won this event in 2019.

Beyond that, as previously mentioned, this week features a 144-player field, meaning the vast majority of the Tour’s best will be in attendance.

Other former winners of THE PLAYERS Championship playing this week include Justin Thomas (2021,) Webb Simpson (2018,) Si Woo Kim (2017,) Jason Day (2016,) Rickie Fowler (2015,) Matt Kuchar (2012,) and Adam Scott (2024.)

The Course

TPC Sawgrass plays as a par-72 at just under 7,200 yards and requires a well-rounded golf game to be in contention.

This is Pete Dye’s most famous design and like the majority of his designs, the course baits golfers into facing the extensive list of hazards head on.

The course was built simply to be a state-of-the-art tournament golf course to host THE PLAYERS Championship.

What we got from the 1970’s construction of this course is a modern marvel and the quintessential tournament stadium course that features some of the most pristine manicuring in golf.

The course is one of, if not the biggest, risk-reward type tracks on Tour as the constant hazard threat makes for a very volatile leaderboard.

There is water in play on 17 of the 18 holes at TPC Sawgrass. Quirky greenside bunkers that don’t allow for a smooth up-and-down too are included in the list of hazards.

TPC Sawgrass mitigates the advantage of longer hitters off-the-tee with the hazards and a plethora of doglegs going both left and right.

It however does reward those with elite approach and short games.

The par-fives are arguably the most important holes on the course in terms of scoring, and any hopeful winner must take advantage of them.

Along with the par fives, the short par four 12th hole too must be taken advantage of.

TPC Sawgrass is most notably known for its par-three island green that may be the most recognizable hole in all of golf. 

Included in the final three holes is the island green, but the final three-hole stretch is simply one of the best closing stretches on Tour.

Weather will almost certainly be a factor as we saw four years ago. The weather made the event nearly unplayable for half the field.

Wind is often up and can play a big part in the event. However, since the event’s move to March, the greens play much softer, making controlling approach shots and of course putting, much easier.

The winning score of the event will hover around the mid-teens under par as the average score of the event since its move to March in 2019 has been -15.33. Two years ago, for Scheffler’s second THE PLAYERS Championship title, was the first time the winning score had reached -20 in the history of THE PLAYERS Championship.

The Weather

As of the time of writing this, forecasts are calling for a 50-percent chance of scattered thunderstorms on Thursday. Friday currently calls for a 35-percent chance of evening showers, Saturday a 25-percent chance of precipitation and Sunday a 25-percent chance. Temperatures will begin the week at 77-degrees on Thursday before falling to 66-degrees on Friday. Temperatures will bounce back to 73-degrees on Saturday and finish the week at 74-degrees on Sunday. Winds are currently set at 14 miles-per-hour for Thursday before peaking at 16 miles-per-hour on Friday. From there, winds will be the lowest on Saturday at 11 miles-per-hour and will finish the week at 12 miles-per-hour on Sunday. 

Key Stats

• Strokes Gained: Approach (SG: APP)

• Strokes Gained: Off the Tee (SG: OTT) / Driving Accuracy

• Bogey Avoidance

• Par Five Average Scoring

• Scrambling

• Strokes Gained: Around the Green (SG: ATG) 

• Strokes Gained: Putting on Bermuda (SG: PUTT Bermuda)

• Ball Striking

• Birdie or Better Percentage

• Sand Saves Percentage

Betting Card

Collin Morikawa (+2500)

Morikawa was one of my first clicks this week. He comes into this week fifth on Tour in par-five average scoring, 11th in ball striking, 12th in birdie-or-better percentage, 29th in sand saves percentage, 53rd in bogey avoidance, 88th in SG: ATG, 108th in scrambling and 137th in SG: PUTT Bermuda. He placed fifth last week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Prior to that he placed seventh at The Genesis Invitational and won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Morikawa also placed tenth at this event a season ago, 45th in 2024, 13th in 2023, missed the cut in 2022 and placed 41st in 2021. 

Matt Fitzpatrick (+5000)

Once again this season, I find myself on Fitzpatrick. He placed 41st last week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational as my favorite but prior to that placed 24th at The Genesis Invitational, 14th at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and ninth at the WM Phoenix Open. He too has a rather extensive mixed-bag of results at TPC Sawgrass. He missed the cut here a season ago but placed fifth in 2024. He also missed the cut in both 2023 and 2022 but placed ninth in 2021. He also placed 41st here in 2019. Fitzpatrick is currently fifth on Tour is ball striking, 11th in driving accuracy, 19th in birdie-or-better percentage, 20th in SG: APP, 24th in par-five average scoring, 25th in SG: PUTT Bermuda, 32nd in SG: OTT, 58th in bogey avoidance, 81st in SG: ATG, 91st in scrambling and 158th in sand saves percentage. 

Min Woo Lee (+5000)

Along with Morikawa, this was my other first click this week. Lee is currently fourth on Tour in par-five average scoring, seventh in birdie-or-better percentage, 14th in SG: OTT, 15th in SG: ATG, 21st in bogey avoidance, 22nd in ball striking, 27th in driving accuracy, 31st in sand saves percentage, 38th in scrambling, 39th in SG: PUTT Bermuda and 78th in SG: APP. Lee placed sixth last week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, 12th at The Genesis Invitational, second at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, 28th at the WM Phoenix Open and 38th at The American Express this season. He placed 20th at the event a season ago, 54th in 2024 and sixth in 2023. 

Adam Scott (+6600)

Over the past six seasons, Scott has not been amazing at TPC Sawgrass. He missed the cut a season ago, placed 45th in 2024, 71st in 2023, missed the cut in 2022, placed 48th in 2021 and 12th in 2019. However, on the season, he’s been rather good. He placed 11th last week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, fourth at The Genesis Invitational, 30th at the Farmers Insurance Open, 24th at The American Express and 40th at the Sony Open in Hawaii. Scott is currently fifth on Tour in par-five average scoring, 13th in sand saves percentage, 16th in both SG: OTT and scrambling, 17th in SG: APP, 21st in bogey avoidance, 26th in ball striking, 39th in birdie-or-better percentage, 49th in SG: PUTT Bermuda, 77th in driving accuracy and 113th in SG: ATG.

Davis Thompson (+15000)

Thompson placed tenth at TPC Sawgrass a season ago. He also missed the cut in 2024 and placed 68th in 2023. He placed fourth last week at the Puerto Rico Open, 60th at the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches, 64th at the WM Phoenix Open and 43rd at the Farmers Insurance Open this season. He is currently eighth on Tour in ball striking, 11th in bogey avoidance, 12th in scrambling, 25th in sand saves percentage, 36th in SG: APP, 42nd in driving accuracy, 55th in SG: OTT, 102nd in SG: ATG, 107th in par-five average scoring, 110th in SG: PUTT Bermuda and 146th in birdie-or-better percentage.

2025 Betting Card

• Ludvig Aberg (+2000) - MC

• Hideki Matsuyama (+4000) - MC

• Sepp Straka (+6000) - T14th

• Tom Kim (+8000) - T42nd

• Aaron Rai (+10000) - T14th

• Brian Harman (+12500) - MC

2024 Betting Card

• Xander Schauffele (+2200) - T2nd

• Sam Burns (+3300) - T45th

• Jordan Spieth (+3500) - MC

• Si Woo Kim (+6000) - T6th

• Alex Noren (+12000) - T19th

• Doug Ghim (+17000) - T16th