The Players is one of the most prestigious golf tournaments in the Professional Golfers’ Association of American (PGA) tour schedule; it happens every March in Jacksonville, Florida at TPC Sawgrass. The Players features the best players in the sport vying for a spot in history. Two of the heavy favorites for the Players are Rory McLory and Scottie Scheffler, who both have the opportunity to be the first person since Jack Nickolaus to win the Players for the third time in their career.
The Players is the most prestigious non major on the PGA Tour schedule, and with the set up of TPC Sawgrass having water and trees on the sides of most fairways and greens, it can create endings that don’t seem possible. Especially with one of the hardest holes in golf — the 17 Island green — where the players have to hit their ball over the water to land on the green but even the smallest of misses can cause the ball to end up in the water. The 17 hole also has the opportunity to allow for a player to make a hole in one that can change the entire landscape of the Players. Ben Bieri ’27 talked about how this tournament is so successful.
“It’s a great course, a very challenging course you have to like. I think this course really shows whoever wins that week, you have to be playing really good golf. The course really shows the best players,” Bieri said.
The favorite to win the Players this week is Scottie Scheffler who is currently number one in the world. Scheffler won two majors in the 2025 season while also winning seven tournaments as well. Rory McLory won the Players last season and he also won the Masters for the first time. McLory’s chances are going down because he had to withdraw from the Arnold Palmer tournament with a back injury and is a game time decision to play in the Players. Jenna Roebuck, a teacher at South and a golf fan, talked about who she thinks may win.
“The safest bet every time right now is Scottie Scheffler even though he’s been playing badly,” Roebuck said.
The Players make it with how challenging the course can be and that any player can win even if they are going through injuries,that’s why you can’t count out any players. Andrew Bayster ’28 offered his opinion on who he thinks can win, and McLory’s chances to go back to back.
“I wouldn’t give it a very high chance, I’d say maybe 30 or 40 percent chance to win [McLory],” Bayster said.
