The PGA TOUR heads from Bay Hill to TPC Sawgrass, which will host this year’s edition of THE PLAYERS Championship in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. This is the third straight tournament in the Sunshine State, and it is one of the early-season landmarks in the run-up to the majors. While it isn’t one of golf’s four majors, THE PLAYERS Championship is known as “the fifth major,” since it is the most prestigious non-major each season.
TPC Sawgrass is one of the most well-known, iconic courses in the world, and it has some of the most recognizable holes in the game, led by the island green at No. 17. The big event always draws an extremely strong field and offers a big prize purse. The first round begins Thursday, March 13 and the Final Round will conclude on Sunday, March 15, barring any weather delays.
Let’s start the week with a look at the format, history and course for the 2026 edition of THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP.
The Format of THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP
While the strength of the field and the size of the prize do make this feel like a Signature Event, it is not classified as one by the PGA TOUR. As a result, it has a full field of 120 golfers, but with Brooks Koepka’s re-entry and special status, the field was boosted to 123 to fill out the threesomes for the first two rounds.
Even though it’s not a Signature Event, it has an even bigger purse than last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational. The total purse is $25 million, with the winner earning $4.5 million and 750 FedExCup points.
The tournament also has a unique playoff format, with a three-hole aggregate playoff, rather than a sudden-death playoff like most PGA TOUR events.
The history of the tournament
THE PLAYERS Championship began in 1974 as the Tournament Players Championship, and it has been played at the TPC at Sawgrass Stadium Course since 1982.
The famous course and huge purse have made it a prestigious event, and some of the most memorable wins over the last few years have happened at THE PLAYERS. Seven players have won THE PLAYERS and later added a major championship in the same calendar year, including last year’s winner Rory McIlroy.
Rory claimed his second PLAYERS title last year by beating J.J. Spaun in a playoff on Monday after the two were tied after a four-hour rain delay during the Final Round on Sunday. He then went on to win the Masters, while Spaun went on to claim his first career major at the U.S. Open.
Scottie Scheffler won each of the two previous years in 2023 and 2024 after Justin Thomas won in 2021 and Cam Smith claimed the title in 2022. The 2020 tournament was canceled after the first round due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This week’s field is led by Scottie and Rory, provided McIlroy’s bad back cooperates after forcing him to withdraw last week. If either Scheffler or McIlroy wins this week, the winner would join Jack Nicklaus as the only golfers in history to win this tournament three times. The field is full of the top names on the PGA TOUR, and with 123 players in the field, it’s a deep and broad field that will try to claim a piece of glory at TPC Sawgrass.
While the biggest names in golf often claim the victory at this venue, there have been some surprises as well, like Martin Kaymer in 2014, Tim Clark in 2010, and Stephen Ames in 2006. The course provides lots of volatility and can produce plenty of drama on Sunday, with the purse and the prestige on the line.
Check out the full field and opening odds on DraftKings Sportsbook.
A Closer Look at the Course
TPC Sawgrass is probably the second-most well-known course in the world behind only Augusta National, the home of the Masters. The island green on No. 17 is just one of the many risk/reward holes throughout this Pete Dye design that sets the standard for the best courses on the PGA TOUR.
The course requires players to navigate a picturesque 18 holes bordered by lush and penalizing rough, pristine white sand bunkers and water hazards that come into play on 16 of the 18 holes. In every sense of the phrase, the course offers risk and reward on almost every shot. The angled fairways and bunkers are designed to challenge golfers to make bold decisions off the tee. When players are in the fairway, the best angle for an approach shot often requires aiming close to trouble, rewarding players who are willing to take on more risk.
To contend this week, players will need to execute precision shots and make great decisions, with a little luck along the way. The course exposes any weakness, and more than any other course, it demands strong performance across every club in the bag.
To help you get a better feel for the course, check out this special on the invention of Stadium Golf at TPC Sawgrass, this excellent hole-by-hole flyover of the track, and the highlights from last year’s Final Round.
From a statistical perspective, Strokes Gained: Approach remains a key metric to attack along with Good Drive %, Bogey Avoidance and Scrambling. Players who have played well here in the past do have an advantage, but very few players have consistently posted high finishes due to all the volatility inherent in the design. The weather could also be a big factor if one side of the draw has to deal with more wind than the other, so watch the forecast leading up to Thursday’s opening round.
Stay tuned to DK Network all week as we run down our top picks and best bets for this week’s event!
