Golf fans will have to wait an extra day to see who will win The Players Championship after Rory McIlroy and JJ Spaun finished the final round tied atop the leaderboard at 12-under par.
Weather was a big factor at the 51st edition of the famed tournament at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
McIlroy started the final round four shots behind Spaun after a frustrating third round 73 slowed the momentum he built after an opening round 67 and Friday’s 68.
Following a four-hour weather delay, it appeared to be the 35-year-old McIlroy in command as he quickly jumped out to a three-stroke lead over the American Spaun with six holes to play.
However, the Northern Irishman’s blazing play would falter a bit, bogeying the 14th hole while Spaun birdied the 14th and 16th holes.
With both entering the 18th and final hole tied at 12-under par and the Florida sun setting, it was do-or-die time for the two golfers.
McIlroy’s approach shot spun away from the pin, forcing a tough 74-foot birdie attempt that stopped a couple feet from the hole leaving the four-time major champion to settle for par.
The 34-year-old Spaun found himself standing over a birdie putt with the opportunity to win his second career event on the PGA Tour.
After a tee shot that found the pine straw right of the fairway, Spaun regrouped on his second shot to hit the green and set up a 30-foot birdie putt that would have won the trophy.
With the fans on hand who stayed through the ugly weather cheering him on, the Los Angeles native’s putt missed the pin by inches to force a playoff with McIlroy on Monday.
The three-hole aggregate playoff is scheduled for 9 a.m. ET with holes 16, 17, 18 playing host.
This is the sixth playoff in the tournament’s history and the first since 2015. The last time the tournament ended on a Monday was in 2022 when severe weather delays left all 71 players in the field still needing to finish their third rounds on Monday morning.
McIlroy struggled to find words about his play after getting out to a three-shot lead, lamenting about a “bad” tee shot on hole 14.
“I had really good chances on 15 and 16, I felt like it got a little darker on 15 and 16 as there was a little cell a few miles away. And I really struggled to read those two putts,” McIlroy told the NBC Sports broadcast.
“All day it was a bit of a battle. I’m standing here feeling like I probably should be going home with a trophy tonight but that’s fine. I’ll reset and hopefully go home with a trophy tomorrow.”
Spaun added that he knew it “wasn’t going to be easy” adding that the weather delay was a help to get him back into contention.
“I think the little break we had with the weather kind of helped me regroup and reset and kind of came out with a different mindset instead of being so nervous,” Spaun said.
Scottie Scheffler had arrived at TPC Sawgrass in pursuit of an unprecedented Players three-peat, but a second successive title defense never looked imminent as the world No. 1 labored to 20th place tie finish at 4-under par overall.
Requiring the type of stirring final day fightback that saw him overturn a five-shot deficit last year, the 28-year-old – having cut an uncharacteristically frustrated figure during the third round – had to wait till the 11th hole to mark his first birdie of Sunday before signing off with bogey on the 18th hole to finish one-over for the round.
Despite the struggles, Scheffler displayed confidence in his game going forward, with his next event at the Houston Open at the end of the month.
“I walk away from this week feeling close,” Scheffler said following the round. “I feel like there’s some stuff that I need to work on at home, but I feel very close. Overall, I felt like I did some good things this week, felt like I could have done some other things better. But overall don’t feel far off by any means. Definitely excited to get home, get a little practice in and get ready for Houston.”
Scheffler will now have just under a month to prepare for his next title defense at The Masters, the first major of the 2025 calendar on April 10, as he seeks to claim a third green jacket at Augusta National.
Bhatia, Glover and Hoge impress
World No. 31 Akshay Bhatia, world No. 44 Lucas Glover and world No. 73 Thomas Hoge all impressed at The Players, finishing tied for 3rd at 10-under par overall.
The 35-year-old Hoge shot a blistering six-under par on Sunday to move up 19 spots on the leaderboard and put him in the mix for his second-ever tour win.
A bogey on the 11th hole and two straight pars to end the round kept him from hoisting the trophy, but he felt like this weekend gave him good momentum for the upcoming events.
“Every week is big out here,” Hoge said. “Try to get in the top 70 first off and get in the playoffs and then try and keep moving up into each round. It just seems like every week out here there’s so much to play for, and a finish like this, get a lot of points on the board, can go a long ways.”
The 23-year-old Californian Bhatia, looking for his third Tour win, started final round five shots back from Spaun after third round 75 but came roaring back at the start of Sunday, birdieing three of his first four holes.
While remaining afloat, Bhatia struggled putting, parring his final eight holes to finish the fourth round 70.
“I mean, got off to the start I needed,” Bhatia said. “Just played pretty good. Just didn’t really make any putts today after the start I had. … All in all, pretty pleased with this result.
“It’s a tough golf course, great field, obviously the best that we have on the PGA Tour. To be 23 and battling with Rory McIlroy who I’ve looked up for years is pretty cool.”
The 45-year-old Glover’s round got off to a nightmare start, with bogeys on three of his first nine holes.
But four birdies on the back nine gave him the chance to become the second-oldest winner of Players after Fred Funk won at 48 years old in 2005.
Despite finishing two shots back, Glover’s career resurgence after a near 10-year battle with the yips is on still on track.
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