One of the top non-major tournaments on the PGA Tour is taking place this week. The PLAYERS Championship is home to one of the season’s purest tests.
This comes after two players earned their first win on the PGA Tour last week. Nico Echavarria won the Puerto Rico Open, highlighted by a bogey-free 6-under 30 on the front nine en route to a 7-under 65 in Saturday’s third round to eventually give him the two-shot win over Akshay Bhatia.
In addition, Kurt Kitayama was able to hold off the best in the fourth designated event of the season in a one-shot win over Harris English and World No. 3 Rory McIlroy at the Arnold Palmer Invitational on a difficult Bay Hill course.
Despite a triple bogey on the par-4 ninth during the final round, Kitayama was able to stave off anyone below him on the leaderboard to capture the victory as he retook the lead by making a 13-foot birdie putt on the par-3 17th.
As a result, Kitayama and Echavarria earned themselves into this week’s PLAYERS Championship field as they represent two of the 14 PGA Tour winners competing this week at the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass.
TPC Sawgrass, which was built in 1980 and renovated in 2016, is a par-72 lasting 7,275 yards and is considered one of the trickiest layouts on the PGA Tour.
The PGA Tour schedule has seen tricky three-hole stretches, and this week is no different. The final three holes – 16, 17, and 18 – are as demanding as they get. There is water in play on all three holes. Hole 16 is a short par-5 that gives players a chance to reach the green in two shots, but the placement of the rough, the bunkers, and an oak tree on the course presents the challenges of going for eagle.
The par-3 17th hole is one of the most famous holes on the PGA Tour as players have to hit their tee shot onto an island green mostly surrounded by water. Although the shot is only 135 yards, looking straight into the water and the winds make the shot even more deceiving.
The final hole is a dogleg left with water on the left from tee to green, and players have to pinpoint their accuracy on one of the premier finishing holes on the PGA Tour.
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What channel is The PLAYERS Championship on?
The PLAYERS Championship will be televised between NBC and the Golf Channel.
Television schedule for The PLAYERS Championship
| Round | Date | Time (ET) | TV |
| 1 | Thursday, Mar. 9 | 12:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. | Golf Channel |
| 2 | Friday, Mar. 10 | 12:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. | Golf Channel |
| 3 | Saturday, Mar. 11 | 1:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. | NBC |
| 4 | Sunday, Mar. 12 | 1:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. | NBC |
Other coverage for The PLAYERS Championship
In addition to NBC and the Golf Channel, The PLAYERS Championship will be broadcasted on ESPN+ and Peacock. PGA Tour Live for the marquee and featured groups can be exclusively found on ESPN+. The featured holes on ESPN+ will be the par-3 3rd, par-4 12th, par-5 16th and the par-3 17th.
The PLAYERS Championship will also be on the airwaves of Sirius XM.
Thursday, March 9 (Round 1)
ESPN+: 6:45 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. ET
Peacock: 12:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. ET
Sirius XM: 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. ET
Friday, March 10 (Round 2)
ESPN+: 6:45 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. ET
Peacock: 12:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. ET
Sirius XM: 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. ET
Saturday, March 11 (Round 3)
ESPN+: 7:45 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. ET
Peacock: 1:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. ET
Sirius XM: 12:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. ET
Sunday, March 12 (Round 4)
ESPN+: 7:45 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. ET
Peacock: 1:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. ET
Sirius XM: 12:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. ET
How much are tickets for The PLAYERS Championship?
Tickets to walk the grounds for The PLAYERS Championship, called the Stadium Pass, begin at $95. Tickets for The Deck, which offers a premium view of the 16th and 18th holes, begin at $179.
Up to two youths, ages 15 and under, will be admitted free with a ticketed adult all week. In addition, there are complimentary and discounted tickets for active duty, retired, and reserve national guard members and veterans, which can be found here.
Payout for the 2023 PLAYERS Championship
The total purse for the event is set for $25 million, and the winner will receive $4.5 million.
Who are some of the top golfers in The PLAYERS Championship?
The top names on the PGA Tour are present as 49 of the top 50 in the current FedEx Cup standings are in the field, and 43 of the top 50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking are competing this week at TPC Sawgrass.
Rory McIlroy is one of eight former PLAYERS Champions and six former FedEx Cup winners to be teeing it up this week.
In addition, the revolving door to be No. 1 in the world will be as evident this week as McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, and Jon Rahm will be in the same pairing for the first two days.
The winner will receive 600 FedEx Cup points besides the $4.5 million, which will be the most points given out this season this week, in addition to the four major tournaments.
5 players who can hoist The PLAYERS Championship trophy on Sunday
Scottie Scheffler
Scottie Scheffler is coming off a fourth-place finish at the Arnold Palmer Invitational last week in his second-career PGA Tour title defense. Had Scheffler recorded a better Sunday, he may have been hoisting the trophy.
In total, Scheffler has five top 10s in eight official starts this season and is looking to win his first PLAYERS Championship at a difficult TPC Sawgrass. The challenge this week, especially with the wind and possibility for rain on Friday, will be how well the players will be able to hit the greens in regulation. Scheffler has done that at the best clip on the PGA Tour this season at 73.61%.
Max Homa
Although The PLAYERS Championship is not taking place in California, which is home to four of Max Homa’s six PGA Tour wins, he still has the ability to be in contention. Last year, Homa carded a final round 6-under 66, which can give him the momentum he may need if he can rekindle it.
Homa, who is second in the FedEx Cup standings and has jumped up to seventh in the Official World Golf Ranking, is right behind Scheffler in total strokes gained. In addition, Homa is known to get going early in his starts, leading the field with a front nine scoring average of 33.88.
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Jason Day
Jason Day has started to get hot with four consecutive top-10 finishes, including placing fifth at the WM Phoenix Open last month. Day is coming off of a 10th-place finish last week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Day, who won the PLAYERS Championship in 2016, is sixth on the PGA Tour this season on strokes gained total and 12th in strokes gained tee to green. Being able to cut down strokes is going to be key this week.
Rory McIlroy
Rory McIlroy is coming off of a second-place finish last week at Bay Hill that saw him jump up to No. 10 in the FedEx Cup standings at the positive momentum heading into another tough course this week at TPC Sawgrass.
Since 2013, McIlroy, who won the PLAYERS Championship in 2019, has the best cumulative score to par on holes 16, 17, and 18, which is essential to finishing strong no matter which day. His 26-under par score on the final three over the last decade is the best of any player by 11 strokes.
Justin Thomas
Justin Thomas, the most recent PLAYERS Champion in the field this week after winning in 2021, enters this week with five consecutive top 25 finishes, highlighted by placing fourth at the WM Phoenix Open that was keyed by a final round 65.
With the tough conditions in play this week, shooting 70 in a round is going to be a positive, and if Thomas can start getting the putter going, it can be a momentum shifter, not only for this week but for the rest of the season.
The PLAYERS Championship pairings
Round 1 tee times (Thursday; all times ET)
6:50 a.m.
Tee #1: Robby Shelton, Austin Smotherman, Min Woo Lee | Tee #10: Danny Willett, Brandon Wu, Davis Thompson
7:01 a.m.
Tee #1: Kevin Streelman, Denny McCarthy, Matthew NeSmith | Tee #10: Adam Long, Hayden Buckley, Taylor Montgomery
7:12 a.m.
Tee #1: Byeong Hun An, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Doug Ghim | Tee #10: Tommy Fleetwood, Taylor Pendrith, Callum Tarren
7:23 a.m.
Tee #1: Michael Thompson, Brendon Todd, Keith Mitchell | Tee #10: Si Woo Kim, Webb Simpson, Tyrrell Hatton
7:34 a.m.
Tee #1: Kevin Kisner, Nick Taylor, Corey Conners | Tee #10: Tony Finau, Tom Kim, Patrick Cantlay (Featured Group)
7:45 a.m.
Tee #1: Trey Mullinax, Cam Davis, Tyler Duncan | Tee #10: Collin Morikawa, Adam Scott, Rickie Fowler (Featured Group)
7:56 a.m.
Tee #1: Adam Svensson, Joel Dahmen, Robert Streb | Tee #10: Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy (Marquee Group)
8:07 a.m.
Tee #1: J.J. Spaun, Chad Ramey, Luke List | Tee #10: Justin Rose, Billy Horschel, Hideki Matsuyama
8:18 a.m.
Tee #1: Russell Henley, Mackenzie Hughes, Brian Harman | Tee #10: Nico Echavarria, Sungjae Im, Harris English
8:29 a.m.
Tee #1: Emiliano Grillo, Mark Hubbard, Matt Wallace | Tee #10: Jhonattan Vegas, Peter Malnati, Ryan Fox
8:40 a.m.
Tee #1: Nate Lashley, Troy Merritt, Kelly Kraft | Tee #10: Adam Hadwin, Patrick Rodgers, Greyson Sigg
8:51 a.m.
Tee #1: Aaron Baddeley, David Lingmerth, Ben Martin | Tee #10: Nick Hardy, Eric Cole, Harrison Endycott
11:50 a.m.
Tee #1: Kevin Tway, Russell Knox, Chesson Hadley | Tee #10: David Lipsky, S.H. Kim, Tyson Alexander
12:01 p.m.
Tee #1: Andrew Putnam, Maverick McNealy, Doc Redman | Tee #10: Kramer Hickok, Lee Hodges, Will Gordon
12:12 p.m.
Tee #1: Beau Hossler, Adam Schenk, Stephan Jaeger | Tee #10: Ben Griffin, Matthias Schwab, Justin Lower
12:23 p.m.
Tee #1: Lucas Herbert, Aaron Wise, Jason Day | Tee #10: Sepp Straka, Garrick Higgo, Stewart Cink
12:34 p.m.
Tee #1: Matt Fitzpatrick, Viktor Hovland, Shane Lowry (Featured Group) | Tee #10: Chez Reavie, Tom Hoge, Francesco Molinari
12:45 p.m.
Tee #1: Kurt Kitayama, Will Zalatoris, Xander Schauffele | Tee #10: J.T. Poston, Lucas Glover, Matt Kuchar
12:56 p.m.
Tee #1: Max Homa, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth (Featured Group) | Tee #10: K.H. Lee, Martin Laird, Gary Woodland
1:07 p.m.
Tee #1: Sam Burns, Carson Young, Sahith Theegala | Tee #10: Ryan Brehm, Lanto Griffin, Scott Stallings
1:18 p.m.
Tee #1: Chris Kirk, Seamus Power, Keegan Bradley | Tee #10: Ryan Palmer, Patton Kizzire, Alex Smalley
1:29 p.m.
Tee #1: Sam Ryder, Davis Riley, Taylor Moore | Tee #10: Dylan Frittelli, Jerry Kelly, Wyndham Clark
1:40 p.m.
Tee #1: Alex Noren, Thomas Detry, Max McGreevy | Tee #10: Scott Piercy, James Hahn, Nick Watney
1:51 p.m.
Tee #1: Joseph Bramlett, Justin Suh, Andrew Novak | Tee #10: Aaron Rai, Dylan Wu, Erik Barnes
Round 2 tee times (Friday; all times ET)
6:50 a.m.
Tee #1: David Lipsky, S.H. Kim, Tyson Alexander | Tee #10: Kevin Tway, Russell Knox, Chesson Hadley
7:01 a.m.
Tee #1: Kramer Hickok, Lee Hodges, Will Gordon | Tee #10: Andrew Putnam, Maverick McNealy, Doc Redman
7:12 a.m.
Tee #1: Ben Griffin, Matthias Schwab, Justin Lower | Tee #10: Beau Hossler, Adam Schenk, Stephan Jaeger
7:23 a.m.
Tee #1: Sepp Straka, Garrick Higgo, Stewart Cink | Tee #10: Lucas Herbert, Aaron Wise, Jason Day
7:34 a.m.
Tee #1: Chez Reavie, Tom Hoge, Francesco Molinari | Tee #10: Matt Fitzpatrick, Viktor Hovland, Shane Lowry (Featured Group)
7:45 a.m.
Tee #1: J.T. Poston, Lucas Glover, Matt Kuchar | Tee #10: Kurt Kitayama, Will Zalatoris, Xander Schauffele (Featured Group)
7:56 a.m.
Tee #1: K.H. Lee, Martin Laird, Gary Woodland | Tee #10: Max Homa, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth (Marquee Group)
8:07 a.m.
Tee #1: Ryan Brehm, Lanto Griffin, Scott Stallings | Tee #10: Sam Burns, Carson Young, Sahith Theegala
8:18 a.m.
Tee #1: Ryan Palmer, Patton Kizzire, Alex Smalley | Tee #10: Chris Kirk, Seamus Power, Keegan Bradley
8:29 a.m.
Tee #1: Dylan Frittelli, Jerry Kelly, Wyndham Clark | Tee #10: Sam Ryder, Davis Riley, Taylor Moore
8:40 a.m.
Tee #1: Scott Piercy, James Hahn, Nick Watney | Tee #10: Alex Noren, Thomas Detry, Max McGreevy
8:51 a.m.
Tee #1: Aaron Rai, Dylan Wu, Erik Barnes | Tee #10: Joseph Bramlett, Justin Suh, Andrew Novak
11:50 a.m.
Tee #1: Danny Willett, Brandon Wu, Davis Thompson | Tee #10: Robby Shelton, Austin Smotherman, Min Woo Lee
12:01 p.m.
Tee #1: Adam Long, Hayden Buckley, Taylor Montgomery | Tee #10: Kevin Streelman, Denny McCarthy, Matthew NeSmith
12:12 a.m.
Tee #1: Tommy Fleetwood, Taylor Pendrith, Callum Tarren | Tee #10: Byeong Hun An, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Doug Ghim
12:23 p.m.
Tee #1: Si Woo Kim, Webb Simpson, Tyrrell Hatton | Tee #10: Michael Thompson, Brendon Todd, Keith Mitchell
12:34 p.m.
Tee #1: Tony Finau, Tom Kim, Patrick Cantlay | Tee #10: Kevin Kisner, Nick Taylor, Corey Conners
12:45 p.m.
Tee #1: Collin Morikawa, Adam Scott, Rickie Fowler | Tee #10: Trey Mullinax, Cam Davis, Tyler Duncan
12:56 p.m.
Tee #1: Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy (Featured Group) | Tee #10: Adam Svensson, Joel Dahmen, Robert Streb
1:07 p.m.
Tee #1: Justin Rose, Billy Horschel, Hideki Matsuyama | Tee #10: J.J. Spaun, Chad Ramey, Luke List
1:18 p.m.
Tee #1: Nico Echavarria, Sungjae Im, Harris English | Tee #10: Russell Henley, Mackenzie Hughes, Brian Harman
1:29 p.m.
Tee #1: Jhonattan Vegas, Peter Malnati, Ryan Fox | Tee #10: Emiliano Grillo, Mark Hubbard, Matt Wallace
1:40 p.m.
Tee #1: Adam Hadwin, Patrick Rodgers, Greyson Sigg | Tee #10: Nate Lashley, Troy Merritt, Kelly Kraft
1:51 p.m.
Tee #1: Nick Hardy, Eric Cole, Harrison Endycott | Tee #10: Aaron Baddeley, David Lingmerth, Ben Martin