The Players Championship has arrived and there is no shortage of drama before the first tee shot is struck at TPC Sawgrass.
A cloud hang over Rory McIlroy’s title defence with the reigning Masters champion admitting he may not be able to take part this week.
Watch The Players Championships plus all four Golf Majors LIVE with FOX SPORTS on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.
World No.1 Scottie Scheffler is a certain starter, but is in the midst of unusual form slump given his lofty standards.
While several Australians arrived at the home of the PGA Tour in fine form for a tournament the nation has a rich history in.
Ex-LIV star Brooks Koepka will also attract plenty of attention as he takes part in the PGA Tour’s flagship event for the first time since 2022.
The course has always been fascinating at TPC Sawgrass with plenty of water waiting to swallow up golf balls, most notably at the island green par 3 17th, but a big change witnessed in practice rounds as split opinion.
Here are the biggest talking points ahead of the 2026 Players Championship!
READ MORE
Inside golf’s obsession with ‘fifth major’… and $35m Aussie answer to ‘money-driven agenda’
PGA jewel is Aussie paradise that reveals kings. After heartbreak, the next is ready to be crowned
Genius who turned ugly $1 swamp into legend… and accident that sparked its ‘diabolical’ icon
Tee Times: Blockbuster groups revealed as McIlroy text sparks concern
Spaun eyes Rory’s clubs, but finds water | 01:45
RORY’S ‘GAME-TIME DECISION’
Nerves settled on tournament eve as Rory McIlroy appeared at TPC Sawgrass.
But the career grand slam winner reaggravated fears about him potentially sitting out the event.
McIlroy, who won a second Players title last year in a dramatic three-hole Monday playoff against US Open champion J. J. Spaun, withdrew from last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitation at Bay Hill midway through the tournament with a back issue.
In perhaps a sign that Father Time is catching up with the 36-year-old, he felt a “twinge” in his back during his warm-up for last week’s third round and then experienced back spasms.
McIlroy has since spent days working with physios to rectify the issue and delayed his arrival in Ponte Vedra Beach as a result.
The Northern Irishman would typically arrive at TPC Sawgrass on the Monday, but instead came in on Wednesday to give himself the best chance of being ready to go.
All that work means it is no guarantee he will get to the first tee at 4.42am AEDT on Friday morning, however.
“It’s better. It’s better than it was. I hit up until a 6-iron on the range there and it felt okay,” McIlroy told reporters.
“I’ve got about, I don’t know, is it 20 hours until I tee off, or until I’m supposed to tee off tomorrow. So, yeah, we’ll see. I’m taking it sort of hour by hour. But it feels better.
“That’s all I can say. Like I couldn’t stand to address the ball on Saturday morning on the range at Bay Hill, and it’s obviously better than that.
“So, yeah, probably a game-time decision, but all indications are pointing in the right direction, so hopefully good night tonight.
“The drugs are working wonders, and then just keep it going from there.”
McIlroy could see the funny side of his injury issue when talking about his first range session of the week.
He was asked how his first shot went and replied “terrible”.
“It was like a skulled wedge. I was trying to chip it 30 yards it went about 100,” he added.
“But apart from that, it was okay.”
The other major factor weighing on McIlroy’s mind is his Masters preparation.
Yes, he would love to have a shot at joining Jack Nicklaus as a three-time winner of The Players – an opportunity that sits in front of Scottie Scheffler too – but McIlroy made his hierarchy clear last month.
Among all the discussion around The Players being dubbed the fifth major, McIlroy shared his view that it is not.
He obviously would rank a shot at a second green jacket above another Players trophy.
But McIlroy revealed that his issue is muscular and potentially playing this week should not hinder his chances of teeing it up at Augusta National in less than a month’s time.
“It’s not. It’s not structural, it’s not joint, it’s fine. It’s purely muscular sort of discomfort and fatigue,” he said.
“So there’s nothing I can — I don’t think, and what I’ve been told, obviously I’ll listen to the professionals. But there’s nothing that I can do that’s going to harm that.
“Like what triggered this, I’m not going to — it was a hinge pattern in the gym, and I just overextended a little bit this way, but even doing this now is way easier, and I couldn’t do that a couple days ago.
“So things are getting better, but yeah, I don’t think it’s something where if I play I’m at risk of doing any damage.”
Smith’s INCREDIBLE shot on 17th in 2022 | 01:29
WHAT’S GOING ON WITH SCOTTIE?
For other players, coming tied 24th and tied 12th in their last two starts would be an impressive form line.
But for Scottie Scheffler, alarm bells start to ring.
The world No.1 boasted a ridiculous streak of 18 straight top ten finishes before ending in a share of 12th at the Genesis Invitational.
Earlier in the season, his slow starts were jokingly referred to as his way of settling himself a challenge.
But now, Scheffler seems a little out of sorts.
The most telling moment of that last week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational was Scheffler throwing his ball into the water in frustration after making a bogey at the 18th hole to end his second round.
It was extremely uncharacteristic, and, naturally, led to questions.
At TPC Sawgrass, Scheffler was asked how he manages his expectations when he could get frustrated by not reaching those heights.
The 29-year-old, who started this year with victory at The American Express, put the question back on the reporter.
“Yeah, I think that’s kind of a funny question, because if you flipped my season around and it was like, okay, I finished — what did I finish last week? Like 24th or something. 24th and 12th, and like 3rd and 4th, and a win. Would your question be the same if I was coming from 3rd, 4th, win?” he said.
“No, I understand,” the reporter replied.
“Yeah, so that’s my point is, it’s like your expectations of me are living week by week. My expectations of myself is almost more shot by shot,” Scheffler continued.
“So I think, when you look at the perspective from the media, the media is always trying to create a story. Which can be a great thing. I think that’s part of your job.
“But when it comes to my golf game and my expectations of myself, my expectations all are based around what I want for me mentally on the golf course as being committed to what I can do, and controlling that aspect.
“And so far throughout this season I’ve been really good in some spots and then some other spots I feel like I can improve in terms of my commitment to the shot.”
Double bogeys MELT Min Woo Lee in 2023 | 03:20
FROM ‘NO-NAME’ TO HERO
The Players Championship can put PGA Tour professionals on the radar.
Just ask Adam Scott.
The Australian veteran was already a PGA Tour winner and a four-time European Tour winner when he triumphed at TPC Sawgrass as a fresh-faced 23-year-old in 2004.
It was the win that put him on the map, and led to Scott truly believing he could one day with a major and reach the heights of world No.1.
He, of course, ticked off both of those accomplishments with the former unforgettably coming at The Masters in 2013.
A Players Championship victory also spurred on Cameron Smith to win the Claret Jug in 2022 at St Andrews.
While playing in the last group alongside Scottie Scheffler in 2023 kicked off Min Woo Lee’s popularity beyond Australian shores.
Having been at the top of the sport for more than two decades, it is perhaps forgotten that Scott was once a nobody outside of Australia.
During his press conference in the lead-up to this week’s tournament, Scott recalled overhearing a conversation that could have easily checked any ego that may have existed.
“Yeah, I have funny stories from that week,” Scott told reporters.
“Actually my wife and I were dating at that point, all those years ago. She was here with me.
“I’ve told this before, but we had dinner on Thursday night after the first round somewhere across the street there in the shopping complex, and we were sitting at the bar eating and overheard the guys next to us, and he said, ‘who is leading this tournament?’ And the guy looked at him and said ‘some expletive no-name’.
“And it was me. I shot 65 on Thursday. My wife, or girlfriend at the time, was ready to kind of jump in there and let him have it, but I held her back.
“But it was pretty funny. So it was good to go on and win and maybe get out of the no-name category.”
WHAT’S GOING ON WITH BROOKS?
Brooks Koepka might be back.
The biggest talking point of the off season with the ex-LIV star’s decision to return to the PGA Tour after defecting to the breakaway league in 2022.
But Koepka’s return to PGA Tour tournaments failed to make as big of a splash.
The five-time major winner’s game undoubtedly suffered from the move to LIV as he endured a career-worst run in the majors in the last two years.
And it looked like he had simply carried that rut back to his old, but new tour in his first few starts.
Tied 56th at the Farmers Insurance Open in his first tournament back was followed by a missed cut at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
But the 35-year-old returned to form a fortnight ago at the Cognizant Classic, coming in a tie for ninth.
It was only his third top ten in an Official World Golf Ranking event in the last two years and Koepka feels he has turned a corner.
“It’s obviously a lot better. I think the first week was just trying to get that out of the way. Then the second week, I felt like it was very disappointing,” he said.
“Made a few changes, new putter; just working on a few different mechanical things in the putting.
“Felt like it started to click, I guess, Thursday afternoon after the round one at Cognizant.
“Feel good, hitting it good. Like I said, just building momentum.”
WHAT’S GOING ON WITH THE ROUGH?
After causing a stir with the tag line ‘March is going to be major’ in the lead-up to this event, The Players Championship has now divided opinion by trying to get TPC Sawgrass more of a major feel.
Players were stunned by the length of the rough surrounding fairways and greens as they took to the course for their practice rounds earlier in the week.
Players told journalists that the rough is the thickest they have ever seen at TPC Sawgrass.
While others admitted to lengthy searches for balls and at times losing balls in the dense grass.
Photos of the US Open-like thick rough started doing the rounds on social media as spectators flooded through the gates.
From the rough, players are set to have a very tricky time with the greens reportedly set to play firm and fast if the rain stays away.
“Approach shots are bouncing above knee height — the way Pete Dye designed the golf course to be played — placing a significant premium on ball-striking,” Fried Egg Golf’s Joseph La Magna wrote.
“Weather permitting, more balls should find the water on holes like No. 17 than in previous editions of the tournament, and there is potential for flustered, angry golfers, the number-one indicator of a true major championship.
“Beyond the firmness, the rough is longer than in recent years, currently measuring at least four inches, with the potential to surpass six by the weekend. I watched a player lose his ball in the left rough on No. 4 during his Tuesday practice round. Though lost balls are unlikely once the tournament begins when more eyes are on each shot, inaccurate tee shots will face a steep penalty.
“Around the greens, the combination of ultra-thick rough and uneven lies around the moguls makes getting up and down nearly impossible from out of position. You can never really fake it around Sawgrass, but assuming the golf course doesn’t take too much water over the next few days — light rain is currently anticipated on Thursday afternoon — that will be especially true this year. If you’re missing fairways and greens, it’ll be a short week.
“After walking the course the past couple of days, it’s hard to believe the firmer set-up and the major championship marketing campaign are purely coincidental. They’re setting the golf course up like a major.”