The Players Championship has reached its 51st edition at this year’s tournament as the PGA Tour’s strongest field pitches up at TPC Sawgrass.
The tournament is often dubbed as the “unofficial fifth major” in men’s golf due to the calibre of field and the fact it’s the PGA Tour’s flagship event.
Played at the same course every year, players will battle their way around Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, which is famously home to the par-3 17th hole.
18-time major championship winner Jack Nicklaus took the very first title of the event back in 1974 and many of the best players to ever pick up a club have won it since.
The cream always rises to the top at TPC Sawgrass with World No.1 Scottie Scheffler claiming victory at last year’s tournament with an incredibly dramatic finish. Having started the final round five shots behind Xander Schauffele, Scheffler shot a 64 to topple his fellow American to become the first player to successfully defend their title from the previous year.
Recent winners of the tournament include Rory McIlroy, Cameron Smith and Justin Thomas and there will no doubt be another big name added to the winner’s board in 2025.
The Players Championship Preview
- Dates: March 13-16, 2025
- Course: Stadium Course, TPC Sawgrass
- Par: 72
- Length: 7,275 yards
- Prize purse: $25 million
- Defending champion: Scottie Scheffler (-20)
The Players Championship: Useful links
- Who’s in the field for the 2025 Players Championship?
- 2025 Players Championship prize money
- Players Championship TV schedule 2025
- Who’s had a hole-in-one at The Players Championship?
- Hole-by-hole guide to TPC Sawgrass
- Who has won The Players Championship?
- A brief history of The Players
- Which player is on The Players Championship trophy?
NCG on the ground: The Players Championship Preview
What is it like to make your Players Championship debut?
How Jerry Pate ignored the noise surrounding Sawgrass to win The Players
Rory, Spieth, and Hovland face off in rules spat at The Players
Stunning shot-tracers on a misty morning: Practising in the dark at The Players
A Park to the Palace: The last 3 holes at TPC Sawgrass is another world entirely
Frequently Asked Questions about the Players Championship
Who won the Players Championship?
In 2024, Scottie Scheffler won the Players Championship and became the first player to successfully defend their title on the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass.
With Scheffler in the clubhouse on 20-under-par, Wyndham Clark had the chance to tie the score and force a playoff on the 18th hole on Sunday, but his birdie putt horseshoes around the cup and agonisingly stayed above ground. This was one of seven PGA Tour titles for Scheffler in 2024.
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Is the Players Championship a major?
The Players Championship is not a major. Although the event has built a great portfolio of winners and heritage, there are only four majors in the sport and this will likely never change: the Masters, the PGA Championship, the US Open and The Open.
When is the Players Championship?
The Players Championship is now played in March. For the first 30 years of the event being in Ponte Vedra Beach, the event was played in March but it was moved to May in 2007. The final round of the Players was played on the second Sunday in May.
In 2017, it was announced the Players would come back to March beginning in 2019. In 2025, it will be played from March 13 to 16.
Who has won the most Players Championships in golf?
Jack Nicklaus won the Players Championship three times between 1974 and 1978. Interestingly, Nicklaus won the event at three different golf courses: Atlanta CC, Inverrary CC and Sawgrass Country Club.
Where is TPC Sawgrass?
TPC Sawgrass is in southeastern America in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. It was opened in 1980 and it was the first of several Tournament Players Clubs to be built.
The golf course at TPC Sawgrass was delved into by NCG’s Tom Irwin and Steve Carroll on the NCG Golf Podcast:
“You’re on the cusp of having dominant players, multiple major winners and those who’ve not quite done it,” Tom Irwin said. “That speaks to the style of the golf course. There is a uniqueness to it, which in the ‘Is it a major debate?’ I think it’s a big tick in the box for me. It’s your week for ball strikers and it’s a week for classic golfers around a pretty classic golf course.
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“The golf course has changed quite a lot and it’s evolved into a venue that is aimed at Players week. If you look at some of the old footage from the 80s, it used to have a sandy wasteland look about it. The whole thing is built on a swamp and if you look at the old pictures or look at the old footage, anything away from the playing areas was just sand.
“They took the view that it was too hard for the spectators to move around, so now everything that’s surrounding the players’ areas is big grassy gnolls for purposes of spectator viewing and that speaks to what the venue is trying to do, which is just provide the best possible experience for Players week, for spectators and players and for TV. It’s a course that has attracted criticism over the years from lots of different players for lots of different reasons.
“But they have responded to those changes and totally excavated the greens, totally reshaped them. They got a lot of criticism for the greens being too firm and too fast for their size and the penalty areas around them. The 17th hole, for example, people said it was Mickey Mouse at various points because you can’t physically stop the ball on the green.
“They’ve softened that off now. A lot of the runouts that used to be US Open-style rough are now little swales, which promotes a lot more shot-making. They’ve totally redesigned some of the holes. The 12th is a very cool drivable par 4. The benefit of going back to that same venue every year is they’ve been able to refine it and modify it and turn it into something which is now providing this very fit-for-purpose venue for everybody.”
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Can you play TPC Sawgrass?
You most certainly can play TPC Sawgrass. With a lodging, you can book up to a year in advance through TPC Vacations and without a lodging, you can book up to 14 days in advance.
You can book a golf outing with a group of friends by visiting the TPC Sawgrass website. There is the Players Stadium Course and Dye’s Valley Course.
How much is a round at TPC Sawgrass?
At the Stadium Course, it will cost $750 per player between September and May and $550 per player between June and August.
At the Dye’s Valley Course, it will cost $325 per player between September and May and $225 per player between June and August. These rates on the Stadium Course include a cart fee, a caddie and a bag of practice balls.
Are there alligators at TPC Sawgrass?
Alligators frequent the wetlands of TPC Sawgrass. The 17th hole with the island green has featured alligators before, for example, as the course was built on a rather swampy layout.
How far is the 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass?
The par 3 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass is 137 yards. This is short in the modern game, but the difficulty of the hole is pretty clear on television and if you get the chance to play the hole yourself.
Club choice is key as one too long or too short will find your ball in the lake and if the wind is up, that makes the green look even smaller than it already is.
The 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass was a topic of discussion on the Players Championship Preview podcast, courtesy of the NCG Golf Podcast.
“I hit the purest shot of my life at 17. I mean, like completely flushed it, hit railway sleepers and went into the water. That was the first time I’ve really understood in my life, the power of temperature and a shot over water,” Steve Carroll said on the podcast.
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“I hit six iron, we got there quite late. We had a middle afternoon tea time and we got to the 17th at about half past six. I hit six iron and I hit the purest shot I’ve ever hit. It hit the front sleeper and went in the water and then I did it again and did the same thing. I finally hit the green on the third occasion. I was lucky enough to play the 17th again the next day and I hit two clubs less, I hit an eight iron.”
“People used to debate, is it gimmicky? Is it Mickey Mouse? And I think that debate has stopped. There’s now universal agreement that it is actually a very cool golf hole, a very cool time in the round that tests something pretty unique, which is basically nerve. It’s not just nerve, but it’s strategy. Do you have the stones to hit it at the right portion of the green,” Tom Irwin said.
“I’m going to be controversial and say it looks better on TV,” Steve added. “Because from my eye level, you can’t see the water behind it. I suppose that maybe adds to the tension, but it just looks like a great, expansive green in front of me. And it’s like, well, can you carry the front of the water? If you can carry the front of the water, you’ll be all right.
“From a height from the TV, it looks unbelievable. Because obviously you see that full alien shape of the island peninsula. I preferred 18. I thought 18 looked visually more spectacular to me.”
How much is a membership at TPC Sawgrass?
It has been reported that membership at TPC Sawgrass requires an initiating fee between $50,000 and $75,000 and an annual cost between $5,000 and $10,000. No surprises there.
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Players Championship 2025 Betting Markets
Scottie Scheffler 9/2
Rory McIlroy 11/1
Collin Morikawa 14/1
Ludvig Aberg 18/1
Justin Thomas 20/1
Xander Schauffele 25/1
Tommy Fleetwood 30/1
Hideki Matsuyama 30/1
Russell Henley 35/1
Patrick Cantlay 40/1
Shane Lowry 40/1
Sepp Straka 50/1
Sungjae Im 55/1
Corey Conners 55/1
Daniel Berger 60/1
NOW READ: Why the Players Championship looks like a major tournament more and more each year
NOW READ: Players Championship Betting 2025: Could this 66/1 Ryder Cup hero conquer Sawgrass?
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