The Players Championship announces early feature groups for first two rounds
The Players Championship has announced two marquee feature groups for the tournament’s first two rounds at TPC Sawgrass, splitting defending champion Rory McIlroy and World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler into separate threesomes. As of Saturday at 2: 00 p. m. ET, the pairings set the early spotlight for March 12-13 while the rest of the 123-player field awaits official tee times.
McIlroy, the defending champion and a two-time winner of the event, will play alongside Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama and two-time major champion Xander Schauffele. Scheffler, a two-time champion who won back-to-back titles in 2023 and 2024, will headline the other feature group with defending FedEx Cup champion Tommy Fleetwood and 2021 Players champion Justin Thomas, a two-time PGA Championship winner.
The Players Championship splits Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler
The PGA TOUR is separating McIlroy and Scheffler after they shared a feature group last year. In that opening stretch, McIlroy began with rounds of 67 and 68, while Scheffler posted 69 and 70, before McIlroy later defeated J. J. Spaun in a three-hole playoff on a Monday finish.
This time, the tournament’s first highlighted trio will center on McIlroy with Matsuyama and Schauffele. The second featured group will be led by Scheffler with Fleetwood and Thomas, placing two two-time champions at the Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass in each of the two announced groups.
March 12-13 rounds set; March 10 tee times and practice schedule coming
The first two rounds are scheduled for March 12-13, but the PGA TOUR has not yet released the specific times and starting holes for the two feature groups or the rest of the field. Those details are set to be announced on March 10.
March 10 also marks the first day fans can begin coming to the Stadium Course to watch practice rounds. Later that day, a Military Appreciation Day ceremony is scheduled for 4: 30 p. m. ET, followed by a concert by Ludacris at the 17th hole.
TPC Sawgrass field includes Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas
The Florida swing continues with the 52nd edition of THE PLAYERS Championship returning to TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. The PGA TOUR’s field overview lists a group that includes two-time champions Scheffler and McIlroy, along with past champions such as Adam Scott, Thomas, and Rickie Fowler.
The TOUR uses a standardized system to determine event fields, based on the current season’s Priority Ranking while also including additional exemption and qualifying categories. Field sizes can vary by event, and the TOUR notes that fully exempt members are guaranteed entry into full-field events, with various conditional categories subject to periodic reshuffles based on FedExCup Points accrued throughout the season.
The Players Championship field details include lists by eligibility category that reference recent tournament winners and other criteria, including major champions such as Matsuyama (Masters Tournament winner), Wyndham Clark and Matt Fitzpatrick (U. S. Open winners), and Brooks Koepka (PGA Championship winner). The PGA TOUR also notes an additional year of eligibility was granted to some categories because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Next up, the PGA TOUR is scheduled to announce tee times and starting holes for March 12-13 on Monday, March 10, with the Military Appreciation Day ceremony set for 4: 30 p. m. ET the same day.
