Rory McIlroy had a few shots that didn’t go his way on Sunday at The Players. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
After a weather delay at The Players Championship of four hours and six seconds, Rory McIlroy calmly stepped up to his approach shot on the par-4 12th hole and chipped to inside 14 feet. One putt later, McIlroy had put a two-stroke cushion between himself and the field. Moments after that, J.J. Spaun, in solo second place, missed a par putt … and just like that, McIlroy was up three strokes on the field.
When rain halted play shortly after 1 p.m. ET, McIlroy held the lead at -12; with Spaun at -11; and Akshay Bhatia, Tom Hoge and Danny Walker at -10. Minutes after the restart, McIlroy stood at -13, with Spaun and the rest at -10 with just six holes left to play.
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Naturally, McIlroy’s good fortune wouldn’t last. He dropped a stroke even as Spaun rallied, and the two played the final hole all tied at -12. McIlroy parred the hole, and Spaun’s would-be winner stopped just inches from the hole.
McIlroy and Spaun will return for a three-hole aggregate playoff on Monday morning at 9 a.m. ET.
McIlroy had begun the day at -8, four strokes off Spaun’s lead. But McIlroy started his round birdie-eagle, enough to get him right into the hunt. He bracketed birdies around the rain delay to claim the three-shot lead … briefly.
But since McIlroy can’t seem to handle prosperity, he immediately flared his tee shot on 14 wide right. He punched up and over the trees into the fairway, then chipped to within 16 feet. But he wasn’t able to hole the par putt, and gave a stroke back to the field.
Behind him, Spaun darted an approach shot on 14 from 189 yards out to 14 inches from the cup, and he tapped that in for a birdie to close to back within a stroke. On 15, McIlroy failed to convert a five-foot birdie putt, leaving the door open … and Spaun strode right through it.
McIlroy walked to Sawgrass’s famed island green with a one-stroke lead, but it wouldn’t last. After watching playing partner Alex Smalley’s tee shot roll along the wall and drop into the water, McIlroy was able to stick the green and set up a successful par putt. Behind him, Spaun birdied the 16th and held the green on the 17th. His 45-foot putt rolled to within three feet, and he tapped in for a par.
That left both Spaun and McIlroy tied at -12 on the 18th and final hole. McIlroy’s approach on 18 spun back away from the pin, leaving him a 74-foot putt for birdie. He rolled the putt to about four feet from the hole. Almost simultaneously, Spaun’s tee shot rolled just into the pine straw on the right side of the fairway.
McIlroy curled in a nerve-wracking par putt to walk into the clubhouse at -12 and put all the pressure on Spaun behind him. Spaun forced his way out of the straw and onto the green, with 30 feet between him and a Players Championship title. His birdie putt finished just inches short, and he tapped in to force a Monday playoff.
Others in the mix on the day included Bud Cauley, who continues to battle his way back into form following a litany of injuries and medical issues. Cauley was in solo second heading into Sunday at -11, but four bogeys in the first 11 holes detonated his tournament hopes.
“He’s such a good player. I think it would be a crime if he doesn’t win at some point in his career,” said Justin Thomas, a college teammate of Cauley’s, on Sunday. “Man, he’s just been through a lot. He’s had a lot of injuries and just battled a lot of ups and downs and just craziness. I’m just happy to have him out here and playing and seeing him all the time again.”
Two-time defending champion Scottie Scheffler struggled — relatively speaking — on the day and on the week. His frustrated smirk when his par putt on 18 looped around the cup and didn’t drop spoke volumes; Scheffler is still the best player in the world, but the margin isn’t quite as wide this year as it was in 2024.
“Obviously the condition was pretty tough with the wind and then we had the big delay there,” Scheffler said. “I just didn’t do enough really today or this week. Today I just didn’t give myself enough opportunities and didn’t hole enough putts. I felt like I was putting from distance most of the day.”
The best reaction of the day belonged to former champion Si Woo Kim, who celebrated mightily when he chipped in from off the green on 18:
Kim finished well off the pace at -1, but at least he ended his day with a smile.
McIlroy and Spaun will return Monday morning for a three-hole aggregate playoff on holes 16, 17 and 18.
