How to watch 2026 Players Championship: Tee times for Round 1

It’s a good time to be alive if you’re a golf fan. The 2026 Players Championship begins today.

TPC Sawgrass always provides immaculate views and even better golf. This year should be no different with dozens of contenders set to tee off soon including Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa and Brooks Koepka, among many others.

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McIlroy is playing in the event despite a back injury he suffered at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. That’s the kind of dedication to expect at The Players Championship. After all, McIlroy has some pretty decent incentive. Both he and Scottie Scheffler are just one win away from joining Jack Nicklaus as the only golfers in history with three wins at The Players Championship.

TPC Sawgrass is known for being unforgiving though. One slip-up could ruin a round. This is the tournament where consistency will win above all else, and that makes it all the more exciting.

Here are the tee times for Thursday’s Round 1, plus how to catch all the action.

The Players Championship first round tee times, groups

*All times listed are Eastern (ET)

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No. 1 tee

• 7:40 a.m. – Mark Hubbard, Thorbjørn Olesen, Mac Meissner

• 7:52 a.m. – Bud Cauley, Vince Whaley, Chandler Phillips

• 8:04 a.m. – Emiliano Grillo, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Max Greyserman

• 8:16 a.m. – Kevin Yu, Cam Davis, Gary Woodland

• 8:28 a.m. – Ricky Castillo, Ryan Gerard, Patrick Cantlay

• 8:40 a.m. – Adam Schenk, Garrick Higgo, Matt McCarty

• 8:52 a.m. – Brian Harman, Maverick McNealy, Davis Riley

• 9:04 a.m. – Sami Valimaki, Lucas Glover, Matt Fitzpatrick

• 9:16 a.m. – Michael Brennan, Harris English, J.T. Poston

• 9:28 a.m. – Haotong Li, Zecheng Dou, Jordan Smith

• 12:30 p.m. – Lee Hodges, Andrew Putnam, Sam Stevens

• 12:42 p.m. – Erik van Rooyen, Keith Mitchell, Michael Kim

• 12:54 p.m. – Taylor Moore, Joel Dahmen, Ryo Hisatsune

• 1:06 p.m. – Jacob Bridgeman, Ben Griffin, Adam Scott

• 1:18 p.m. – J.J. Spaun, Sepp Straka, Shane Lowry

• 1:30 p.m. – Sahith Theegala, Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth

• 1:42 p.m. – Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy, Hideki Matsuyama

• 1:54 p.m. – Chris Gotterup, Justin Rose, Min Woo Lee

• 2:06 p.m. – Brian Campbell, Karl Vilips, Aaron Rai

• 2:18 p.m. – Matti Schmid, Max McGreevy, Takumi Kanaya

• 2:30 p.m. – Zach Bauchou, Sudarshan Yellamaraju, A.J. Ewart

No. 10 tee

• 7:40 a.m. – Mackenzie Hughes, Eric Cole, Rico Hoey

• 7:52 a.m. – Max Homa, Daniel Berger, Michael Thorbjornsen

• 8:04 a.m. – Rasmus Højgaard, Danny Walker, Kristoffer Reitan

• 8:16 a.m. – Jhonattan Vegas, Taylor Pendrith, Alex Noren

• 8:28 a.m. – Akshay Bhatia, Brooks Koepka, Tony Finau

• 8:40 a.m. – Collin Morikawa, Ludvig Åberg, Si Woo Kim

• 8:52 a.m. – Scottie Scheffler, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Thomas

• 9:04 a.m. – Viktor Hovland, Russell Henley, Robert MacIntyre

• 9:16 a.m. – Aldrich Potgieter, Jake Knapp, Sungjae Im

• 9:28 a.m. – Patton Kizzire, Seamus Power, Johnny Keefer

• 12:30 p.m. – Tom Hoge, Denny McCarthy, Nicolai Højgaard

• 12:42 p.m. – Patrick Rodgers, Kevin Roy, Marco Penge

• 12:54 p.m. – Chad Ramey, Alex Smalley, Pierceson Coody

• 1:06 p.m. – Kurt Kitayama, Harry Hall, Stephan Jaeger

• 1:18 p.m. – Keegan Bradley, Ryan Fox, Chris Kirk

• 1:30 p.m. – Andrew Novak, Nick Taylor, Wyndham Clark

• 1:42 p.m. – Steven Fisk, William Mouw, Joe Highsmith

• 1:54 p.m. – Cameron Young, Davis Thompson, Sam Burns

• 2:06 p.m. – Nico Echavarria, Jason Day, Corey Conners

• 2:18 p.m. – Matthieu Pavon, S.H. Kim, Austin Smotherman

How to watch Round 1 of 2026 Players Championship

The first round of the 2026 Players Championship will stream exclusively on ESPN+ starting at 7:30 a.m. ET. Television coverage of the event will begin at 1 p.m. ET on Golf Channel. Both ESPN+ and Golf Channel will provide coverage of Round 1 through 7 p.m. ET.

How to watch The Players Championship

Round 2: Friday, March 13

• ESPN+: 7:30 a.m. – 7 p.m.

Round 3: Saturday, March 14

Final round: Sunday, March 15

• ESPN+: 7:30 a.m. – 6 p.m.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: The Players Championship tee times, how to watch Round 1