The unofficial fifth major is back.
The Players Championship returns to TPC at Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. Last year's winner, will not, however. Cameron Smith joined LIV Golf last summer, and because of that, he and several other golfers who also left for LIV are prohibited from competing in the tournament.
MORE: Smith might attend Players Championship as a fan, despite ban
That doesn't mean the field will be missing all its previous winners. Past champions Justin Thomas (2021), Rory McIlroy (2019), Webb Simpson (2018), Si Woo Kim (2017), Jason Day (2016) and Rickie Fowler (2015) will all be competing, looking to join Jack Nicklaus, Fred Couples, Steve Elkington, Hal Sutton, Davis Love III and Tiger Woods as the only players with multiple wins in the event.
MORE: Inside TPC Sawgrass' infamous Island Green
The Sporting News will be tracking live scores and highlights from Thursday's Round 1 leaderboard. Follow for results from the first day of the tournament.
MORE: Watch the Players Championship live with fuboTV (free trial)
Players Championship leaderboard 2023
| Rank | Player | Score (hole) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chad Ramey | -8 (F) |
| 2 | Collin Morikawa | -7 (F) |
| 3 | Taylor Pendrith | -5 (F) |
| T4 | Ben Griffin | -5 (F) |
| T4 | Justin Suh | -5 (13) |
Players Championship live updates, highlights from Thursday's Round 1
(All times Eastern)
5:47 p.m. — Turns out Watney's quadruple bogey earlier isn't even the worst score on a hole today. Aaron Wise just made a sextuple bogey 10 on the par 4 18th hole. That's six over par on a single hole. He hit three drives in a row into the water before finally getting it onto dry land, hitting onto the green and two-putting. It dropped him all the way from +2 to +8 for the tournament, and he'll need a miracle tomorrow to even have a chance at making the cut.
It’s official, I’m better at golf than Aaron Wise pic.twitter.com/v6N1GANDiK
— Jump The Sharp Podcast (@jumpthesharp) March 9, 2023
5:39 p.m. — Justin Suh is the latest name shooting up the leaderboard. He drains a 12-footer for birdie on hole No. 12 to move to -5 and into a tie for third place.
5:21 p.m. — Former UNC Tar Heel Ben Griffin holes out for birdie to move to -4 with one hole left in his round. He's had the best day of anyone in the afternoon wave so far.
What a flop shot from @BenGriffinGolf 👏
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 9, 2023
He moves to T4 after back-to-back birdies @THEPLAYERSChamp. pic.twitter.com/eajEmPF3ry
4:48 p.m. — Viktor Hovland has been struggling a bit today, but this unbelievable shot from out of the deep rough helped set up a very welcome birdie.
Deep rough. Bad lie.
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 9, 2023
Not a problem for Viktor Hovland 💪 pic.twitter.com/fZUaNe3bgJ
4:25 p.m. — The 17th hole claims another victim. This time it's Nick Watney, who hit his tee shot in the water and proceeded to four-putt to finish the hole with a quadruple bogey. One of his putts was from less than a foot, which he tried to knock in one-handed but missed. His week essentially just came to an end on the surface of the infamous island green.
There are no gimmes on the PGA TOUR.
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 9, 2023
Nick Watney cards a quadruple bogey at 17th hole. pic.twitter.com/3omjPExJHY
4:14 p.m. — Scoring has really slowed down as the day has gone on, and the lowest score currently of anyone out on the golf course is Justin Lower at -3. Further down the leaderboard, past champion Jason Day (-2) and three-time major winner Jordan Spieth (-1) both have decent rounds going. But outside of that, it has been a quiet Thursday so far.
3:30 p.m. — One of the more surprising strugglers of the afternoon wave is world No. 6 Xander Schauffele, who is +3 as he makes the turn. He'll be very disappointed with his start to the weekend.
3:20 p.m. — There haven't been too many big moves yet among the players in the afternoon wave, but Davis Riley and Justin Lower are leading the way right now at -4. Riley has played just six holes, while Lower has played ten.
4-under thru 6 👀@DavisRiley68 is dialed @THEPLAYERSChamp. pic.twitter.com/zgIxxBBW9k
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 9, 2023
2:47 p.m. — In addition to its famous island green, the 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass features one of the smallest bunkers on tour. It might be tiny, but it can be a real headache for golfers — just ask Austria's Matthias Schwab, who couldn't escape it on his first attempt today.
Not what you want to see 😬 pic.twitter.com/TFHEtiYOQW
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 9, 2023
2:13 p.m. — Thomas nearly holes the ensuing pitch shot after taking a drop, but it'll be a double bogey for him at No. 4. that drops him back down to even par for the day.
2:05 p.m. — Disaster for Thomas at the 4th hole as he pitches it into the water from just off the green. A very uncharacteristic mistake from him, and he'll more than likely drop at least one shot here.
1:34 p.m. — Justin Thomas with some early fireworks! He chips in from across the green for birdie on the par 5 second hole to quickly move to -2! Spieth follows him up with a long birdie putt of his own to move to -1.
Fast start for JT 🔥
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 9, 2023
He’s 2-under thru 2 after the eagle chip-in @THEPLAYERSChamp. pic.twitter.com/M6nejAQQLZ
1:17 p.m. — Ramey makes a solid par on the last hole to finish with a round of -8 (64). What a great start to the week for him! He could well be our overnight leader after day one.
1:14 p.m. — Scottie Scheffler finishes his round with a birdie to post 68 (-4) and move into a tie for fourth place. Rory McIlroy, on the other hand, drops yet another shot to finish the day with a 76 (+4). He'll need a great day tomorrow to even make the weekend.
1:07 p.m. — Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth and Max Homa are now on the golf course as the afternoon wave gets underway. They'll be the marquee group as the first round winds down in Ponte Vedra.
1:01 p.m. — Ramey hits a beautiful tee shot on No. 17 to inside two feet and rolls in the putt for a fantastic birdie. He now holds the solo lead at -8. Ramey is a 30-year-old pro from Fulton, Miss., who has one win (2022 Corales Puntacana Championship) in his PGA Tour career.
What a shot 🔥 @ChadRamey2 birdies the iconic 17th and now owns the solo lead @THEPLAYERSChamp. pic.twitter.com/Bg1DyHIr7Y
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 9, 2023
12:58 p.m. — Morikawa has a very makable birdie putt on his last hole of the day, but he pulls it left from about seven feet. He settles for a par to post an opening-round 65. We'll wait and see if Ramey — or anyone else — can leap ahead of him before the day is done.
What a start from @Collin_Morikawa 🔥
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 9, 2023
He's currently in solo second after a strong round @THEPLAYERSChamp. pic.twitter.com/Nv9xCvH3Do
12:52 p.m. — Morikawa missed his birdie putt, so he remains at -7 as he heads to his last hole of the day. Meanwhile on No. 16, Chad Ramey gets up and down for birdie on the par 5 to move into a tie for the lead. He'll make the walk around the pond to No. 17 as he looks to close out strong.
12:26 p.m. — Morikawa makes a difficult tee shot on the long par 3 8th hole look easy by knocking it inside 20 feet. He'll have a good chance to extend his lead at the top with another birdie.
12:17 p.m. — What a round Morikawa has going! A nice putt for birdie on No. 6 has pushed him into the solo lead at -7.
Another birdie for @Collin_Morikawa 👀
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 9, 2023
He now owns the solo lead @THEPLAYERSChamp. pic.twitter.com/6zKLkw82XI
11:24 a.m. — Another bogey for McIlroy drops him all the way down to +4 and close to the very bottom of the leaderboard. He has really been off his game in the early going.
11:22 a.m. — Min Woo makes his first mistake of the day, coming up short and finding the water on the famous 17th hole. He'll have his work cut out for him to avoid a double bogey.
11:16 a.m. — Min Woo Lee has been receiving treatment out on the course for what looks to be some sort of calf issue. A physiotherapist was out massaging his leg and he had to take a seat in the fairway briefly. Despite the ailing calf, he rolls in a birdie on the 16th hole to take the solo lead at -6.
10:58 a.m. — Morikawa hits an absolute beauty on his second shot into the par 5 second hole, setting up a short eagle putt. He drains it and suddenly he has moved into a tie for the lead!
235 yards ➡️ 3 feet 👀 @Collin_Morikawa is now tied for the lead after the eagle on No. 2 @THEPLAYERSChamp. pic.twitter.com/UVpJHuOxC9
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 9, 2023
10:51 a.m. — After a great shot out of the pine straw at hole No. 1, Scheffler rolls in a 12-foot putt for his first birdie of the day to move to -1. Meanwhile, McIlroy misses a short one for par and he has now dropped to +3. A miserable start to the week for the Northern Irishman.
10:43 a.m. — Collin Morikawa just made his third birdie of the day after sticking it close to move to -3.
Smooth as silk.@Collin_Morikawa is heating up @THEPLAYERSChamp. pic.twitter.com/ajxmivhYE6
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 9, 2023
10:38 a.m. — The biggest names out on the course currently are Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy. They represent arguably the three best golfers in the world today, and they're making the turn to hole No. 1 right now. Rahm is at -2, Scheffler is at even and McIlroy is struggling a bit at +2 right now.
10:25 a.m. — The biggest highlight of the day so far belongs to Hayden Buckley, who hit a perfect shot on the famous island green 17th hole for an incredible hole-in-one. That's how you do it.
🚨 BUCKETS FOR BUCKLEY! 🚨 @HBuckley13 makes a hole-in-one at the 17th hole in the second group of the day! pic.twitter.com/Cd7BULOB2W
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 9, 2023
10:11 a.m. — Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of The Players Championship 2023! It's a beautiful Thursday morning at TPC Sawgrass and the first wave of players is already well underway in their opening round.
What channel is the Players Championship on today?
- TV channel: Golf Channel, NBC
- Live stream: ESPN+, fuboTV
Golf Channel and NBC will be the television homes of the 2023 Players Championship. Golf Channel will broadcast the first two rounds of the event, while NBC will finish out the weekend coverage on Saturday and Sunday.
ESPN+ will carry featured groups and select holes. For those looking to watch the main televised action, fuboTV will carry both Golf Channel and NBC coverage. The streaming service offers a free trial.
Here's the TV schedule for this weekend's tournament:
| Date | Time (ET) | TV channel |
|---|---|---|
| Thursday, March 10 | Noon-6 p.m. | Golf Channel |
| Friday, March 11 | Noon-6 p.m. | Golf Channel |
| Saturday, March 12 | 1-6 p.m. | NBC |
| Sunday, March 13 | 1-6 p.m. | NBC |
Players Championship tee times 2023
- Round 1 (Thursday, March 9)
| Time (ET) | Tee | Group |
|---|---|---|
| 6:50 a.m. | 1 | Robby Shelton, Austin Smotherman, Min Woo Lee |
| 6:50 a.m. | 10 | Danny Willett, Brandon Wu, Davis Thompson |
| 7:01 a.m. | 1 | Kevin Streelman, Denny McCarthy, Matthew NeSmith |
| 7:01 a.m. | 10 | Adam Long, Hayden Buckley, Taylor Montgomery |
| 7:12 a.m. | 1 | Byeong Hun An, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Doug Ghim |
| 7:12 a.m. | 10 | Tommy Fleetwood, Taylor Pendrith, Callum Tarren |
| 7:23 a.m. | 1 | Michael Thompson, Brendon Todd, Keith Mitchell |
| 7:23 a.m. | 10 | Si Woo Kim, Webb Simpson, Tyrrell Hatton |
| 7:34 a.m. | 1 | Kevin Kisner, Nick Taylor, Corey Conners |
| 7:34 a.m. | 10 | Tony Finau, Tom Kim, Patrick Cantlay |
| 7:45 a.m. | 1 | Trey Mullinax, Cam Davis, Tyler Duncan |
| 7:45 a.m. | 10 | Collin Morikawa, Adam Scott, Rickie Fowler |
| 7:56 a.m. | 1 | Adam Svensson, Joel Dahmen, Robert Streb |
| 7:56 a.m. | 10 | Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy |
| 8:07 a.m. | 1 | J.J. Spaun, Chad Ramey, Luke List |
| 8:07 a.m. | 10 | Justin Rose, Billy Horschel, Hideki Matsuyama |
| 8:18 a.m. | 1 | Russell Henley, Mackenzie Hughes, Brian Harman |
| 8:18 a.m. | 10 | Nico Echavarria, Sungjae Im, Harris English |
| 8:29 a.m. | 1 | Emiliano Grillo, Mark Hubbard, Matt Wallace |
| 8:29 a.m. | 10 | Jhonattan Vegas, Peter Malnati, Ryan Fox |
| 8:40 a.m. | 1 | Nate Lashley, Troy Merritt, Kelly Kraft |
| 8:40 a.m. | 10 | Adam Hadwin, Patrick Rodgers, Greyson Sigg |
| 8:51 a.m. | 1 | Aaron Baddeley, David Lingmerth, Ben Martin |
| 8:51 a.m. | 10 | Nick Hardy, Eric Cole, Harrison Endycott |
| 11:50 a.m. | 1 | Kevin Tway, Russell Knox, Chesson Hadley |
| 11:50 a.m. | 10 | David Lipsky, S.H. Kim, Tyson Alexander |
| 12:01 p.m. | 1 | Andrew Putnam, Maverick McNealy, Doc Redman |
| 12:01 p.m. | 10 | Kramer Hickok, Lee Hodges, Will Gordon |
| 12:12 p.m. | 1 | Beau Hossler, Adam Schenk, Stephan Jaeger |
| 12:12 p.m. | 10 | Ben Griffin, Matthias Schwab, Justin Lower |
| 12:23 p.m. | 1 | Lucas Herbert, Aaron Wise, Jason Day |
| 12:23 p.m. | 10 | Sepp Straka, Garrick Higgo, Stewart Cink |
| 12:34 p.m. | 1 | Matt Fitzpatrick, Viktor Hovland, Shane Lowry |
| 12:34 p.m. | 10 | Chez Reavie, Tom Hoge, Francesco Molinari |
| 12:45 p.m. | 1 | Kurt Kitayama, Will Zalatoris, Xander Schauffele |
| 12:45 p.m. | 10 | J.T. Poston, Lucas Glover, Matt Kuchar |
| 12:56 p.m. | 1 | Max Homa, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth |
| 12:56 p.m. | 10 | K.H. Lee, Martin Laird, Gary Woodland |
| 1:07 p.m. | 1 | Sam Burns, Cameron Young, Sahith Theegala |
| 1:07 p.m. | 10 | Ryan Brehm, Ryan Armour, Scott Stallings |
| 1:18 p.m. | 1 | Chris Kirk, Seamus Power, Keegan Bradley |
| 1:18 p.m. | 10 | Ryan Palmer, Patton Kizzire, Alex Smalley |
| 1:29 p.m. | 1 | Sam Ryder, Davis Riley, Taylor Moore |
| 1:29 p.m. | 10 | Dylan Frittelli, Jerry Kelly, Wyndham Clark |
| 1:40 p.m. | 1 | Alex Noren, Thomas Detry, Max McGreevy |
| 1:40 p.m. | 10 | Scott Piercy, James Hahn, Nick Watney |
| 1:51 p.m. | 1 | Joseph Bramlett, Justin Suh, Andrew Novak |
| 1:51 p.m. | 10 | Aaron Rai, Dylan Wu, Erik Barns |
- Round 2 (Friday, March 9)
| Time (ET) | Tee | Group |
|---|---|---|
| 6:50 a.m. | 1 | David Lipsky, S.H. Kim, Tyson Alexander |
| 6:50 a.m. | 10 | Kevin Tway, Russell Knox, Chesson Hadley |
| 7:01 a.m. | 1 | Kramer Hickok, Lee Hodges, Will Gordon |
| 7:01 a.m. | 10 | Andrew Putnam, Maverick McNealy, Doc Redman |
| 7:12 a.m. | 1 | Ben Griffin, Matthias Schwab, Justin Lower |
| 7:12 a.m. | 10 | Beau Hossler, Adam Schenk, Stephan Jaeger |
| 7:23 a.m. | 1 | Sepp Straka, Garrick Higgo, Stewart Cink |
| 7:23 a.m. | 10 | Lucas Herbert, Aaron Wise, Jason Day |
| 7:34 a.m. | 1 | Chez Reavie, Tom Hoge, Francesco Molinari |
| 7:34 a.m. | 10 | Matt Fitzpatrick, Viktor Hovland, Shane Lowry |
| 7:45 a.m. | 1 | J.T. Poston, Lucas Glover, Matt Kuchar |
| 7:45 a.m. | 10 | Kurt Kitayama, Will Zalatoris, Xander Schauffele |
| 7:56 a.m. | 1 | K.H. Lee, Martin Laird, Gary Woodland |
| 7:56 a.m. | 10 | Max Homa, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth |
| 8:07 a.m. | 1 | Ryan Brehm, Ryan Armour, Scott Stallings |
| 8:07 a.m. | 10 | Sam Burns, Cameron Young, Sahith Theegala |
| 8:18 a.m. | 1 | Ryan Palmer, Patton Kizzire, Alex Smalley |
| 8:18 a.m. | 10 | Chris Kirk, Seamus Power, Keegan Bradley |
| 8:29 a.m. | 1 | Dylan Frittelli, Jerry Kelly, Wyndham Clark |
| 8:29 a.m. | 10 | Sam Ryder, Davis Riley, Taylor Moore |
| 8:40 a.m. | 1 | Scott Piercy, James Hahn, Nick Watney |
| 8:40 a.m. | 10 | Alex Noren, Thomas Detry, Max McGreevy |
| 8:51 a.m. | 1 | Aaron Rai, Dylan Wu, Erik Barns |
| 8:51 a.m. | 10 | Joseph Bramlett, Justin Suh, Andrew Novak |
| 11:50 a.m. | 1 | Danny Willett, Brandon Wu, Davis Thompson |
| 11:50 a.m. | 10 | Robby Shelton, Austin Smotherman, Min Woo Lee |
| 12:01 p.m. | 1 | Adam Long, Hayden Buckley, Taylor Montgomery |
| 12:01 p.m. | 10 | Kevin Streelman, Denny McCarthy, Matthew NeSmith |
| 12:12 p.m. | 1 | Tommy Fleetwood, Taylor Pendrith, Callum Tarren |
| 12:12 p.m. | 10 | Byeong Hun An, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Doug Ghim |
| 12:23 p.m. | 1 | Si Woo Kim, Webb Simpson, Tyrrell Hatton |
| 12:23 p.m. | 10 | Michael Thompson, Brendon Todd, Keith Mitchell |
| 12:34 p.m. | 1 | Tony Finau, Tom Kim, Patrick Cantlay |
| 12:34 p.m. | 10 | Kevin Kisner, Nick Taylor, Corey Conners |
| 12:45 p.m. | 1 | Collin Morikawa, Adam Scott, Rickie Fowler |
| 12:45 p.m. | 10 | Trey Mullinax, Cam Davis, Tyler Duncan |
| 12:56 p.m. | 1 | Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy |
| 12:56 p.m. | 10 | Adam Svensson, Joel Dahmen, Robert Streb |
| 1:07 p.m. | 1 | Justin Rose, Billy Horschel, Hideki Matsuyama |
| 1:07 p.m. | 10 | J.J. Spaun, Chad Ramey, Luke List |
| 1:18 p.m. | 1 | Nico Echavarria, Sungjae Im, Harris English |
| 1:18 p.m. | 10 | Russell Henley, Mackenzie Hughes, Brian Harman |
| 1:29 p.m. | 1 | Jhonattan Vegas, Peter Malnati, Ryan Fox |
| 1:29 p.m. | 10 | Emiliano Grillo, Mark Hubbard, Matt Wallace |
| 1:40 p.m. | 1 | Adam Hadwin, Patrick Rodgers, Greyson Sigg |
| 1:40 p.m. | 10 | Nate Lashley, Troy Merritt, Kelly Kraft |
| 1:51 p.m. | 1 | Nick Hardy, Eric Cole, Harrison Endycott |
| 1:51 p.m. | 10 | Aaron Baddeley, David Lingmerth, Ben Martin |