This article is about the golf tournament. For the snooker tournament, see 2026 Players Championship (snooker). For the curling tournament, see 2026 Players' Championship (January). For the darts series, see 2026 PDC Players Championship series.
2026 Players Championship
DatesMarch 12–15, 2026
LocationPonte Vedra Beach, Florida
CourseTPC Sawgrass
(Stadium Course)
TourPGA Tour
Par72
Field123 players, 74 after cut
Cut146 (+2)
Purse25,000,000
Winners share4,500,000
ChampionCameron Young
Score275 (−13)
Previous2025
Next2027
Coordinates30.198°N 81.394°W

The 2026 Players Championship was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour, being held at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida from March 12–15. Officially, it was the 52nd edition of The Players Championship tournament, but the 49th as a standalone tournament.

Venue

Main article: TPC at Sawgrass

2026 marked the 44th full tournament played on the Stadium Course of TPC at Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

Field

The field consisted of 123 players meeting various criteria; they included tournament winners on the PGA Tour since the previous Players Championship, recent winners of major championships, The Players and World Golf Championships, and leading players in the FedEx Cup standings from the current and preceding seasons.[1] Due to Brooks Koepka competing, the field was increased to 123 under the rules of the PGA Tour Returning Member Program.[2]

Eligibility criteria

This list details the eligibility criteria for the 2026 Players Championship and the players who qualified under them; any additional criteria under which players are eligible is indicated in parentheses.

1. Winners of PGA Tour events since the 2025 Players Championship

2. Recent winners of the Masters Tournament (2021–2025)

3. Recent winners of The Players Championship (2021–2025)

4. Recent winners of the U.S. Open (2021–2025)

5. Recent winners of the PGA Championship (2021–2025)

6. Recent winners of The Open Championship (2021–2025)

7. Recent winners of the FedEx Cup (2021–2025)

8. Recent winners of the WGC Match Play (2023)

9. Recent winners of the Arnold Palmer Invitational (2024–2026)

10. Recent winners of the Memorial Tournament (2023–2025)

11. Recent winners of the Genesis Invitational (2024–2026)

12. Top 100 from the previous season's FedEx Cup points list

13. Top 100 (medical)

14. Top 50 from the Official World Golf Ranking following the Cognizant Classic

15. Top 10 in the current season's FedEx Cup points standings after the Cognizant Classic

16. Kaulig Companies Championship champion from previous year

17. Leading player who earned a PGA Tour card from the 2025 Race to Dubai

18. Leading points winner from the Korn Ferry Tour during the previous year

19. Remaining positions and alternates filled through current year FedEx Cup standings after the Cognizant Classic

Alternates added after field was finalized

Ineligible players

The following players met criteria, but having been contracted with LIV Golf, were suspended by the PGA Tour and ineligible to compete:

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, March 12, 2026
Friday, March 13, 2026

Inclement weather delayed play for 21 minutes with a suspension being called at 12:09pm.

Highly touted pre-tournament contender Collin Morikawa was forced to withdraw on the 2nd hole due to an apparent back injury following a practice swing. 5 players were tied for the overnight lead, and the final first round lead, with Americans McNealy, Theegala, Hodges and Smotherman (with 1 to play after being stranded on the 18th green when play was suspended due to darkness) setting the pace alongside Austrian Sepp Straka.

A strong logjam of players emerged one back at 4-under, including Cameron Young, Russell Henley and Justin Thomas, delivering a strong showing after a poor outing at the Arnold Palmer invitational a week before. Following the resumption of play, Smotherman parred the ninth, remaining in the tie for the lead.

Battling a back injury that forced him to withdraw at the Arnold Palmer Invitational a week earlier, World No.2 and reigning champion Rory McIlroy scampered to a round of 74 (+2), struggling significantly on the greens. Pre-tournament favorite and World No.1 Scottie Scheffler struggled with the driver and posted an even-par 72, a score which was matched by numerous prominent names including the returning Brooks Koepka, Justin Rose and 2004 Champion Adam Scott.

PlacePlayerScoreTo par
T1Lee Hodges67−5
Maverick McNealy
Austin Smotherman
Sepp Straka
Sahith Theegala
T6Russell Henley68−4
Taylor Moore
Justin Thomas
Cameron Young
T10Ludvig Åberg69−3
Corey Conners
Tony Finau
Tommy Fleetwood
Viktor Hovland
William Mouw
Xander Schauffele

Second round

Friday, March 13, 2026

Thursday's rain combined with continuous sunshine over Ponte Vedra Beach enabled easier scoring conditions and significant movement up the leaderboard before the cut. Ludvig Åberg turned in 29 (−7) on his front nine holes on his way to a round of 63 (−9), seizing the tournament lead at 12-under. Xander Schauffele hit all 14 fairways off the tee en route to a round of 65 (−7) to move into solo second place at ten-under. Cameron Young remained one back of second place at nine-under, with Justin Thomas turning in a second consecutive 68 to join Corey Conners at eight-under.

World No.1 and pre-tournament favorite Scottie Scheffler birdied hole 18 to ensure he would not miss the cut, which fell at +2. Notables to miss the cut included Rasmus Højgaard (+3), Ben Griffin (+4) and Shane Lowry (+5). 73 players advanced to the weekend.

PlacePlayerScoreTo par
1Ludvig Åberg69-63=132−12
2Xander Schauffele69-65=134−10
3Cameron Young68-67=135−9
T4Corey Conners69-67=136−8
Justin Thomas68-68=136
6Sepp Straka67-70=137−7
T7Jacob Bridgeman70-68=138−6
Lee Hodges67-71=138
Maverick McNealy67-71=138
T10Matt Fitzpatrick70-69=139−5
Tommy Fleetwood69-70=139
Brian Harman75-64=139
Russell Henley68-71=139
Viktor Hovland69-70=139
Austin Smotherman67-72=139
Michael Thorbjornsen74-65=139

Third round

Saturday, March 14, 2026

Due to an incident in the Ponte Vedra Beach area, the gates were not opened to spectators until 9 am, with hospitality areas not opened until 11 am local time. However, round three commenced on time at 8:15 am without delay.

"Moving Day" again provided easier scoring conditions to the 73 players that had made the weekend, however Ludvig Åberg continued to take up the running at the top of the leaderboard. After bogeying hole 18, he turned in a round of 71 (−1) for a 3-round total of 203 (−13), and a 3 shot lead over a charging Michael Thorbjornsen. Cameron Young was in solo second place walking to the 18th hole before making double bogey after going bunker-to-bunker and completing an even-par 72, settling for solo 3rd position. Xander Schauffele struggled to a round of 74 (+2), relegating him to a tie for fourth among 6 challengers. Robert MacIntyre shot the low round of the day, charging up the leaderboard with a round of 65 (−7) that included nine birdies.

PlacePlayerScoreTo par
1Ludvig Åberg69-63-71=203−13
2Michael Thorbjornsen74-65-67=206−10
3Cameron Young68-67-72=207−9
T4Corey Conners69-67-72=208−8
Matt Fitzpatrick70-69-69=208
Brian Harman75-64-69=208
Viktor Hovland69-70-69=208
Xander Schauffele69-65-74=208
Justin Thomas68-68-72=208
T10Jacob Bridgeman70-68-71=209−7
Robert MacIntyre72-72-65=209
Austin Smotherman67-72-70=209
Sepp Straka67-70-72=209
Sahith Theegala67-74-68=209

Final round

Sunday, March 15, 2026

Cameron Young of the USA shot a final-round 68 (−4) to win the 2026 Players Championship, capturing the title at 13-under-par, one stroke ahead of Matt Fitzpatrick.

Third-round leader Ludvig Åberg entered Sunday with a three-shot advantage and played steady early, turning in a front nine 36 (E) but struggled to maintain control of the tournament from there. Åberg quickly lost momentum after hitting shots into the water on both hole 11 and 12, resulting in a bogey and double bogey respectively, and eventually faded with a closing 76 (+4), opening the door for the chasing pack.

Young began the final round four strokes behind but steadily climbed the leaderboard with a composed front nine of 34 (−2) before igniting his charge on the back nine. Matt Fitzpatrick emerged as his primary challenger as the pair separated themselves from the rest of the field and began to battle down the stretch.

Young was a shot behind Fitzpatrick at −12, but Young stuffed his tee shot on the famed island-green 17th hole to 7 feet, converting the birdie putt to draw level with Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick had a chance to match the birdie from 15 feet but failed to convert his putt, leaving the tournament tied at −13 approaching the 72nd hole.

On the 18th hole, Young delivered one of the defining shots of the championship, launching a 375-yard drive, which was the longest recorded on the hole since ShotLink tracking began, setting up a comfortable approach shot which he hit to the fringe within 15 feet of the cup. Fitzpatrick, needing to match Young to force a playoff, faltered after finding trouble with his drive into the pine straw and had to chip out. Fitzpatrick's chip then fell short of the green, and he missed his 8-foot par putt after Young had already lag putted to less than 2 feet on his birdie attempt.

Young calmly tapped in for par to complete a final-round 68 and secure the championship at −13, one stroke ahead of Fitzpatrick. The victory marked the biggest win of Young's career and his second PGA Tour title, following his triumph at the Wyndham Championship the previous season.

Behind the leading duo, Xander Schauffele finished third after a final round 69 (−3), while several contenders, including Robert MacIntyre fell short during the closing stretch. Hideki Matsuyama shot the low round of the day, a 67 (−5) to finish in a tie for 27th.

Champion
(c) = past champion
PlacePlayerScoreTo parMoney ($)
1Cameron Young68-67-72-68=275−134,500,000
2Matt Fitzpatrick70-69-69-68=276−122,225,000
3Xander Schauffele69-65-74-69=277−111,725,000
4Robert MacIntyre72-72-65-69=278−101,225,000
T5Ludvig Åberg69-63-71-76=279−9925,000
Jacob Bridgeman70-68-71-70=279
Sudarshan Yellamaraju73-72-66-68=279
T8Tommy Fleetwood69-70-73-68=280−8731,250
Sepp Straka67-70-72-71=280
Justin Thomas68-68-72-72=280
Leaderboard below the top 10
PlacePlayerScoreTo parMoney ($)
T11Brian Harman75-64-69-73=281−7606,250
Patrick Rodgers70-70-71-70=281
T13Akshay Bhatia71-71-70-70=282−6409027
Sam Burns76-68-69-69=282
Corey Conners69-67-73-74=282
Russell Henley68-71-71-72=282
Ryo Hisatsune71-69-70-72=282
Viktor Hovland69-70-69-74=282
Brooks Koepka72-70-60-71=282
Justin Rose72-68-70-72=282
Austin Smotherman67-72-70-73=282
T22Scottie Scheffler (c)72-73-67-71=283−5271,250
Michael Thorbjornsen74-65-67-77=283
T24William Mouw69-72-69-74=284−4221,250
Alex Smalley70-70-71-73=284
J. J. Spaun71-72-68-73=284
T27Ryan Gerard73-68-73-71=285−3178,750
Nicolai Højgaard71-74-71-69=285
Chris Kirk71-74-71-69=285
Hideki Matsuyama70-72-76-67=285
Chad Ramey72-69-73-71=285
T32Patrick Cantlay73-73-70-70=286−2128,250
Bud Cauley70-74-72-70=286
Eric Cole73-73-71-69=286
Max Homa71-72-70-73=286
Min Woo Lee72-70-70-74=286
Maverick McNealy67-71-73-75=286
Alex Norén71-71-73-71=286
Andrew Putnam70-72-73-71=286
Jordan Spieth73-68-76-69=286
Sahith Theegala67-74-68-77=286
T42Wyndham Clark73-70-71-73=287−191,250
Rickie Fowler (c)70-72-75-70=287
Joe Highsmith70-75-68-74=287
Nick Taylor74-70-70-73=287
T46Rory McIlroy (c)74-71-72-71=288E72,125
Keith Mitchell72-68-72-76=288
Taylor Pendrith74-69-72-73=288
Matti Schmid70-73-71-74=288
T50Zach Bauchou74-72-69-74=289+161,083
Keegan Bradley77-66-68-78=289
Kim Si-woo (c)73-72-68-76=289
Max McGreevy72-72-70-75=289
Taylor Moore68-75-72-74=289
J. T. Poston76-69-71-73=289
T56Chris Gotterup71-73-68-78=290+258,000
Adam Scott (c)72-71-71-75=290
58 Sam Stevens72-72-72-75=291+357,250
T59Jason Day (c)70-70-72-80=292+456,250
Lee Hodges67-71-77-77=292
Kevin Roy75-71-71-75=192
T62Steven Fisk75-71-75-72=293+554,500
Rico Hoey77-69-75-72=293
Stephan Jäger75-71-69-79=293
Danny Walker71-75-78-69=293
T66Daniel Berger72-74-75-73=294+652,750
Nico Echavarría74-71-72-77=294
Kristoffer Reitan75-71-76-72=294
69Michael Brennan72-74-73-76=295+751,750
T70Ricky Castillo71-74-77-74=296+850,750
Tony Finau69-75-75=77=296
Séamus Power74-72-74-76=296
73Takumi Kanaya73-72-81-72=298+1049,750
CUT Brian Campbell74-73=147+30
David Ford75-72=147
Lucas Glover70-77=147
Rasmus Højgaard75-72=147
Im Sung-jae75-72=147
Jake Knapp75-72=147
Matt McCarty75-72=147
Mac Meissner73-74=147
Adam Schenk77-70=147
Jhonattan Vegas75-72=147
Ben Griffin70-78=148+4
Harry Hall76-72=148
Johnny Keefer76-72=148
Li Haotong74-74=148
Aaron Rai74-74=148
Davis Thompson73-75=148
Erik van Rooyen77-71=148
Gary Woodland75-73=148
Kim Seong-hyeon75-74=149+5
Kurt Kitayama74-75=149
Shane Lowry76-73=149
Thorbjørn Olesen79-70=149
Matthieu Pavon75-74=149
Vince Whaley77-72=149
Christiaan Bezuidenhout73-77=150+6
Joel Dahmen77-73=150
Cameron Davis77-73=150
Dou Zecheng76-74=150
Harris English73-77=150
Mark Hubbard74-76=150
Andrew Novak75-75=150
Mackenzie Hughes74-77=151+7
Denny McCarthy76-75=151
Marco Penge75-76=151
Aldrich Potgieter74-77=151
Garrick Higgo76-76=152+8
Patton Kizzire80-72=152
Jordan Smith79-73=152
Sami Välimäki78-74=152
Karl Vilips73-79=152
A. J. Ewart78-75=153+9
Max Greyserman73-80=153
Tom Hoge73-80=153
Michael Kim73-81=154+10
Pierceson Coody75-83=158+14
Chandler Phillips80-78=158
Kevin Yu80-78=158
Emiliano Grillo84-77=161+17
Davis Riley84-79=163+19
WDCollin Morikawa

Notes

  1. ^ David Ford replaced Ryan Fox.[3]

References

  1. ^ Bolton, Rob. "Qualifiers for all 2026 Signature Events, The Players and majors". PGA Tour. Retrieved 2026-03-02.
  2. ^ "How it works: PGA Tour Returning Member Program". PGA Tour. 2026-01-12. Retrieved 2026-03-02.
  3. ^ "David Ford gets in Players field after Ryan Fox withdraws". Golf Channel. 2026-03-12. Retrieved 2026-03-12.