All of the PGA TOUR’s best are once again set to tee it up at THE PLAYERS Championship – a major start to springtime.

Rory McIlroy is set to defend his title – his second-career triumph at THE PLAYERS – after winning in a playoff in 2025. He’ll look to tilt the trophy against a field of 123 golfers teeing it up at TPC Sawgrass in 2026.

It’s the 52nd playing of THE PLAYERS and per usual, the field is chock-full of top-ranked superstars, up-and-coming rookies and proven champions looking to add their name for the first time – or again – to the list of winners.

Here’s everything else you need to know as the Florida Swing continues and the TOUR returns to TPC Sawgrass.

FIELD NOTES: Rory McIlroy returns to TPC Sawgrass as the defending champion but after withdrawing from the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard citing a back injury prior to the third round. Reports from Bay Hill Club & Lodge were encouraging and McIlroy appears set to tee it up at THE PLAYERS without issue. McIlroy is scheduled to speak to media on Wednesday morning. If McIlroy were to win, he would join Jack Nicklaus as the only golfers in history to win THE PLAYERS three times. … Scottie Scheffler is looking to capture his third title at THE PLAYERS in four years after going back-to-back in 2023-24. Scheffler has a win already this season after capturing The American Express, and followed that up with back-to-back top-5 finishes. Scheffler’s T24 Sunday at Bay Hill was his first finish outside the top 15 on the PGA TOUR since, ironically enough, last year’s THE PLAYERS when he finished tied for 20th. … Brooks Koepka is back at TPC Sawgrass. Koepka, whose best finish at THE PLAYERS was a T11 in 2018, has had a mixed bag of results since his return to the TOUR but in his last start at the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches he finished tied for ninth – far and away his best finish so far in 2026. … Past champ Justin Thomas will continue his return from back surgery last fall with his second start in as many weeks. Thomas, by his own admission, struggled in his 2026 debut, shooting 79-79 at Bay Hill. … Among the group of past winners in the field is also Adam Scott, who has the most appearances at THE PLAYERS of any player in the field with 24. … Reigning FedExCup winner Tommy Fleetwood looks to bounce back after a tough week at Bay Hill where he finished second-last amongst those who made the cut. Alas, Fleetwood had two top-10 results in his first two events on TOUR in 2026 and has made the cut in four straight years at TPC Sawgrass. He finished T5 in 2019. … J.J. Spaun will rebound after his 2025 playoff loss to McIlroy. Spaun, who was just inches away from winning THE PLAYERS in regulation 12 months ago, hasn’t yet found his groove in 2026 with three missed cuts in five starts. … Akshay Bhatia will look to continue his momentum in Florida after winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational in a playoff. Bhatia, who is just 24 and now owns three PGA TOUR titles, has three top-seven finishes in his last four starts and finished T3 at THE PLAYERS last year. … Ricky Castillo is one of this year’s debutants at TPC Sawgrass after he won for the first time on the PGA TOUR at the Puerto Rico Open on Sunday. … Sixteen golfers drew into THE PLAYERS field via their efforts so far in 2026 and their ranking in the FedExCup standings including fan favorites Joel Dahmen, Max Homa and Sahith Theegala.

SIGNATURE EVENT STORYLINES: The next Signature Event on the schedule is the RBC Heritage. The top five FedExCup points earners in the Puerto Rico Open, Valspar Championship, Texas Children’s Houston Open and Valero Texas Open will earn spots in the RBC Heritage via the Aon Swing 5, while the top 10 FedExCup points earners through the Masters will earn spots at Hilton Head. … Jake Knapp continues to top the Aon Next 10 list, while Ricky Castillo (the winner in Puerto Rico) jumped to No. 7. Adam Scott and Sahith Theegala swapped spots, with Theegala, after his T6 at Bay Hill, jumping to No. 3. … Chandler Blanchet, who finished second alone in Puerto Rico, sits on top of the Aon Swing 5 list with Davis Thompson, Luke Clanton, Paul Peterson and Matti Schmid rounding it out.

FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 750 FedExCup points.

COURSE: TPC Sawgrass (THE PLAYERS Stadium Course), 7,352 yards, par 72. Just over 70 yards have been added to the Stadium Course from 2025 after a couple of years of changes – new for 2023 was a fresh tee box on No. 9, while 2024 saw a total of 77 yards added. Built in 1980, Pete Dye’s masterpiece is the ultimate in championship layouts and more often than not, the cream rises to the top – the last six winners (since THE PLAYERS moved back to March) were ranked in the top 10 in the world.

72-HOLE RECORD: 264, Greg Norman (1994)

18-HOLE RECORD: 62, Tom Hoge (Round 3, 2023)

LAST TIME: Rory McIlroy won THE PLAYERS for the second time in his career, topping J.J. Spaun in a playoff that extended the tournament into Monday. Spaun shot an even-par 72 on Sunday which opened the door for a hard-charging McIlroy, who shot a 4-under 68 and was 3 under through his first two holes Sunday. The pair reset on Monday morning for a three-hole playoff. McIlroy birdied No. 16 to get off to a fast start and Spaun’s chances were sunk when he hit his tee ball on the par-3 17th into the water. With the win, McIlroy became the eighth multi-time winner of THE PLAYERS. The event needed a Monday finish after a four-hour rain delay on Sunday afternoon. McIlroy rolled in a 4-foot putt for par to finish at 12 under while Spaun had a 30-foot birdie try to win in regulation, but it came up just short. It was the first time in McIlroy’s career he won twice on the PGA TOUR prior to the Masters (having also captured the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am) and it, of course, turned into a harbinger of things to come at Augusta National.

Tom Hoge, whose 6-under 66 tied for the low round of the day Sunday, Akshay Bhatia and Lucas Glover finished at 10 under and tied for third.

How to watch (all times ET)

Special programming alerts:

• PGA TOUR LIVE Betcast presented by DraftKings: Get your betting coverage and analysis for THE PLAYERS on ESPN+ throughout the week for an all-day, watch-and-bet experience for golf fans.
  • Thursday-Friday: 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m.
  • Saturday: 8 a.m.-7 p.m.
  • Sunday: 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m.

Television

• Thursday-Friday: 1-7 p.m. (Golf Channel)
• Saturday: 2-7 p.m. (NBC)
• Sunday: 1-6 p.m. (NBC)

PGA TOUR LIVE on ESPN+:

• Thursday-Friday: 7:30 a.m.-7 p.m.
• Saturday: 8 a.m.-7 p.m.
• Sunday: 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m.

PGA TOUR LIVE is available exclusively on ESPN+ and consists of four streams:

• Main feed (Stream 1): Primary tournament coverage featuring the best action from across the course
• Marquee group (Stream 2): New "marquee group" showcasing every shot from each player in the group
• Featured groups (Stream 3): Traditional PGA TOUR LIVE coverage of two concurrent featured groups
• Betcast presented by DraftKings (Stream 4): Betting coverage and analysis throughout the week

PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and free at PGATOUR.COM/liveaudio:

• Thursday-Friday: noon-7 p.m.
• Saturday: 1-7 p.m.
• Sunday: noon-6 p.m.