Next up is the PLAYERS Championship. While it may not be the 5th Major, the PLAYERS certainly comes with a bit more luster than the average PGA tournament. The field and the coverage generally reflect it also. Golf coverage as a whole is pathetic but the PLAYERS tends to be one of the better tournaments of the year in that department.

Last year Scottie Scheffler won by one stroke over Xander Schauffele, Wyndham Clark and Brian Harmon shooting 20 under. Scheffler started the final round five strokes off the lead and shot 8 under on Sunday to secure the victory. He gained just under 16 strokes tee to green en route to his 2nd straight PLAYERS Chandler win. Wyndham had a birdie putt to force a playoff that went in the hole and somehow came out. As if Scheffler wasn’t impressive enough he also had to overcome a neck injury that clearly caused him discomfort for the bulk of the 2nd round.

In 2023 Scottie Scheffler looked as if he was playing a different course than everyone else as he shot 69 or better in all four rounds including a 65 on Saturday. He  won with a score of 17 under. He went into Sunday with a two stroke lead but found himself tied with Min Woo Lee after a few holes. Min Woo then triple bogeyed and Scottie went in to make five straight birdies. Hideki Matsuyama made a run as well but faltered late in the round.

The 2022 PLAYERS was ravaged by inclement weather and numerous delays. Cam Smith came away with the win on Monday when it was all said and done. He made 13 one-putts in the final round and finished 13 under for the tournament.

Justin Thomas had back-to-back rounds of one under on Thursday and Friday before firing a combined 12 under on the weekend to claim victory in 2021. He led the field by gaining 13 strokes from tee to green. A number of LIV defectors finished top 5 including, Westwood, Bryson, Gooch, and Paul Casey.

The PLAYERS Championship is played at the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

TPC Sawgrass is a Pete Dye designed 7,352 yard par 72. There has been about 100 yards added to the course this year. There are 92 bunkers and water can come into play on basically every hole. There are four par threes, four par fives and ten par fours.

Three of the par fives are reachable in two by most of the field and boast a 37% or higher birdie rate. The 600+ yard ninth hole will likely only being reachable by bombers but still plays as the 5th easiest hole on the course.

The par threes vary in yardage and difficulty with two ranging from 175-200 yards. The 8th hole is 237 yards and plays as the 3rd hardest hole on the course with a 25% bogey rate. TPC Sawgrass is home to the famous 137 yard par three 17th hole. The Island Green has seen plenty of water balls and the final three holes at Sawgrass can make or break a round.

There are five par fours ranging from 450-500 yards. Three of the four most difficult holes on the course are par fours and the 18th hole is a 462 yard par four that plays as the hardest hole on the course.

There are 24 acres worth of water and long bunkers run along the fairways that are strategically placed close to where golfers will want to aim for an optimal second shot. This makes accuracy off the tee a must and many golfers go less than driver on tee shots.

As a result driving accuracy comes in right around tour average at 62 percent of fairways hit. The rough is also penal here but is slightly less so since the tournament has been moved from May to March. Driving distance is also a bit lower than the tour average with an average drive of 278 yards. Mainly due to the afformentioned club down strategy.

The greens are on the smaller side. They are multi-tiered and most of them are surrounded by water and/or bunkers. The greens are TifEagle bermudagrass overseeded with Poa/Trivialis. They play a little more like bentgrass but putting surface splits shouldn’t be a major concern. We do see similar surfaces at TPC Scottsdale for the Waste Management Phoenix Open.

With smaller greens, greens in regulation percentage is slightly below the tour average at 63%. The greens generally play extremely fast so despite being on the smaller side, three putts are always a possibility especially if approach shots find the wrong tier.

Despite the course not being extremely long, 22% of approach shots come from over 200 yards. Approach shots from 125-150 make up 19 percent, and shots from 150-175 yards make up another 19 percent. Mid and especially long irons will need to be dialed in.

There really isn’t a distinct skill set that should be targeted so a good mix of recent form and course history should be considered. An emphasis on ball striking and a lean towards accuracy is the preferred route but many skillsets have performed well here in the past.

The field consists of 144 golfers with the Top 65 and ties making the cut after 36 holes to play the weekend at THE PLAYERS Championship.

2025 PLAYERS Championship: Key Stats and Figures

• Approach
• Par 5 Scoring
• Bogey Avoidance
• Recent Form
• Fairways Gained

Historic Cut Line

• 2024: even
• 2023: +3
• 2022: +3
• 2021: +1
• 2020: Canceled
• 2019: even

PREVIOUS WINNERS

2024: Scottie Scheffler -20
2023: Scottie Scheffler -17
2022: Cam Smith -13
2021: Justin Thomas-14
2020: Canceled
2019: Rory McIlroy -16

Golfers to Consider

* all statistical metrics are prior to the conclusion of the Arnold Palmer Invitational

Scottie Scheffler

Mandatory considering his success here.

Hideki Matsuyama

Matsuyama has played well at the PLAYERS over the years. He’s only missed the cut twice in nine appearances at TPC Sawgrass. That’s impressive considering the volatility here. Outside of the missed cuts his worst finish was 23rd all the way back in his debut in 2014. He’s finished top ten four times including a 6th place last year and a 5th place in 2023. Although it didn’t count, Hideki also was the first round leader in 2020 before the tournament was canceled. He’s only failed to lose strokes on approach once in nine appearances here.

Matsuyama has played well so far in 2025. He won in impressive fashion to kick off the year at the Sentry. He’s made the cut in all six of his tournaments. He has four top 25 finishes including a 13th most recently at the Genesis. Over the last 24 rounds Hideki is 1st in strokes gained around the green, 6th in sand saves, 14th in bogey avoidance, 8th in par five scoring game and 18th on approach.

Sepp Straka

Straka has had some mixed results at the PLAYERS in his four appearances here. He missed the cut his first time in 2021 then came 9th in 2022, 64th in 2023. He gained 8.4 strokes tee to green last year en route to a 16th place finish.

Straka is a much better player over the last year and has been playing very well in 2025. He missed the cut at the Genesis but otherwise has five top-15 finishes in seven tournaments this year. He won the AMEX and currently sits in 7th place entering the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Straka has gained strokes on approach in eight of his last nine tournaments. Over the last 24 rounds he’s 1st in opportunities gained, 5th on approach and 20th in bogey avoidance.

Si Woo Kim

Si Woo has never missed a cut at the PLAYERS in seven appearances. He won here back in 2017 and has two other top ten finishes including a 6th place last year. He’s only lost strokes tee to green once in all of his appearances at the Stadium Course.

The start of 2025 was nothing to write home about for Si Woo but he’s played much better lately. He has three straight top-25 finishes with a 12th place finish at Pebble Beach being the best of the bunch. He’s gained strokes on approach in each of those three tournaments. Over the last 24 rounds Si Woo is 2nd in sand saves, 17th in fairways gained, 20th in opportunities gained, 20th in approach and 18th in par five scoring.

Brian Harmon

Harmon has had mixed results at the PLAYERS Championship over the years. He does have four top-10 finishes including a 2nd place finsh last year when he gained nine strokes on approach. He’s only failed to gain strokes off the tee in two appearances both of which were back in 2013 and 2014. He’s also 2nd in total strokes gained on Pete Dye courses over the last 50 rounds.

Harmon has played well recently with two top-25 finishes in his last three appearances. Over the last 24 rounds Harmon is 3rd in sand saves, 7th in bogey avoidance and 9th in fairways gained.