The Players Championship 2025: Field, format, prize money, play-off format as Scottie Scheffler defends at TPC Sawgrass

All you need to know ahead of the 2025 edition of The Players, live on Sky Sports, where Scottie Scheffler returns as defending champion and Rory McIlroy is among those chasing victory at TPC Sawgrass…

What is The Players and why is it important?

The Players is the flagship event on the PGA Tour schedule and has traditionally produced one of the strongest fields in golf, with the calibre of players involved and the interest generated seeing it described – until recent years – as men’s golf’s “fifth major”.

TPC Sawgrass is located at PGA Tour’s global home at Ponte Vedra Beach, with the tournament taking place in mid-March every year as part of a run of Florida-based events on the calendar.

Jack Nicklaus was the inaugural winner in 1974 and The Players has been part of the PGA Tour calendar ever since, with the tournament held at its current venue – The Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass – since 1982.

Has it always been played in March?

The Players was traditionally held in March but then moved annually to May from 2007, where it finished on the second Sunday of that month to coincide with Mother’s Day in the United States.

Changes to the golf calendar from 2019 saw the PGA Championship jump from being the final men’s major of the year in August to an earlier May date, seeing The Players revert from May back to its original March spot in the schedule.

Scottie Scheffler arrives as a two-time defending champion and looking to join Nicklaus as a three-time winner of The Players, having followed his 2023 victory by finishing a shot clear of Ryder Cup team-mates Wyndham Clark, Brian Harman and Xander Schauffele in last year’s title defence.

Rory McIlroy is a former champion and looks to build on a strong start to his PGA Tour season, with Ludvig Åberg another European contender and Tommy Fleetwood among those looking to become the first English winner in the tournament’s history.

A strong field offers 48 of the world’s top 50, with 2021 champion Justin Thomas, Hideki Matsuyama, Collin Morikawa, Patrick Cantlay, Viktor Hovland and USA Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley also involved.

Will LIV Golf players be playing?

LIV Golf players are still banned from featuring on the PGA Tour, with a deal to bring reunification to the men’s game yet to be reached and the same playing restrictions applying for The Players.

Reigning US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau and five-time major winner Brooks Koepka will once again be among the high-profile absentees, along with former world No 1s Jon Rahm and Dustin Johnson.

Cameron Smith has been unable to feature since his 2022 victory and Tyrrell Hatton – the highest-ranked LIV Golf player in the world rankings – also misses out, while former champion Sergio Garcia is ineligible for the third successive year.

Woods has delayed his PGA Tour comeback and is missing The Players for the fifth consecutive year, which is the last of his five-year exemption for winning The Masters in 2019.

The former world No 1 was anticipated to potentially return, then admitted earlier this month his mother’s passing and commitments with the PGA Tour’s policy board have left him barely thinking about competing.

“My heart is not really into practising right now,” he said on March 4. “Once I start probably feeling a little bit better and start getting into it, I’ll start looking at the schedule.”

Woods won the event and 2001 but has only featured in The Players three times since his victory at TPC Sawgrass in 2013, while it remains unclear when we will see him next tee it up at a regular PGA Tour event.

What is the play-off format?

There hasn’t been a play-off at The Players since 2015, when Rickie Fowler prevailed over Garcia and Kevin Kisner, with the format for extra holes different than other PGA Tour events.

The tournament uses a three-hole play-off, where the scores from TPC Sawgrass’ final three holes – the par-five 16th, par-three 17th and par-four 18th – count towards a player’s total.

If there’s still a tie after those three holes, the play-off will move into sudden-death format. Sudden death will start on the 17th before proceeding to the 18th if necessary, then going back to the 16th and playing hole-by-hole until a winner is found.

Who else has won The Players before?

What does the winner get?

The total prize purse of $25m is more than the funds on offer at any of the four majors last year, with the winner at TPC Sawgrass collecting a $4.5m first prize and 750 FedExCup points.

All winners also secure a five-year exemption on the PGA Tour and earn three-year invites to all four men’s majors.

The latest trophy was unveiled in 2019 and incorporates aspects of each of the first 38 winners of The Players, with a golfer made of metal standing atop of a replica of the signature 17th island green.

What is so significant about the 17th?

The par-three 17th hole is one of the most recognisable in the sport, with players hitting towards a hole surrounded by water on all sides and with huge crowds watching from either hospitality tents or spectator banks.

The “Stadium Hole” is TPC Sawgrass’ signature hole and is regularly referred to as having an “island green”, despite having a narrow peninsula at the back of the putting surface, but the 17th hole certainly poses all kinds of problems depending on the wind and the pin position.

There have been 14 holes-in-one at the 17th in the tournament’s history, including Ryan Fox in 2024, with balls in the water and players racking up huge scores both big talking points every year. Expect plenty of drama and memorable moments!

Sky Sports is offering extended live coverage of The Players, with over 60 hours of live content and action to enjoy from Tuesday to Sunday of tournament week.

‘Live from The Players’ shows begins from 1pm on Tuesday and Wednesday, with news and interviews ahead of the event, before wall-to-wall coverage of the opening round beginning on Thursday at 11.30am.

Coverage also begins at 11.30am on the Friday and follows the action from before the opening tee shot until after the close of play, with the action then live from 1pm on both days over the weekend.

The PGA Tour’s main feed, marquee groups featured group an featured holes feed will be available all four rounds on Sky Sports+, along with six bonus groups, while you can download the Sky Sports app to get live scores, text commentary and highlights throughout the week.

Who will win The Players? Watch live throughout the week on Sky Sports. Live coverage of the opening round begins on Thursday at 11.30am. Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW.