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7:20 PM ET Associated Press PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Lee Westwood isn’t interested in comparing himself with the player who rose to No. 1 in the world a decade ago. All he knows is he’s playing some of his best golf, and he gets another chance to see if it can hold up against

PONTE VEDRA BEACH — If the flag at 17 on Saturday at the Players Championship looks familiar, it’s because you’ve seen it 10,000 times. On the 20th anniversary of Tiger Woods’ 60-foot, double-breaking, down-the-slope, back-to-front birdie putt on the island green par 3—you know, the one from the “better than most” highlight that plays ad

One of the sneaky best parts of a big-time tournament is Friday evening. Save for the rare Tiger-at-Pebble-in-2000 boat race, it feels like two dozen things are possible over the next two days, and most of those things are scintillating. So while play, at times, seemed sleepy at TPC Sawgrass through two rounds, we are

7:51 PM ET PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — The Players Championship almost never discriminates. It doesn’t matter if you are young or old, hit it long or short, make everything on the greens or struggle with putting. Anybody can contend. TPC Sawgrass has long had this reputation. It simply favors no one. And it is

PONTE VEDRA BEACH — Since the PGA Tour’s restart last June, Bryson DeChambeau and Rory McIlroy have gone in completely opposite directions. It’s been DeChambeau to the moon, while McIlroy can’t seem to get the rocket ship off the ground. On Friday, fresh off a brutal missed cut at the Players Championship (the Northern Irishman

7:51 PM ET Associated Press PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Sergio Garcia rushed to the first tee and raced to the finish line Thursday in the Players Championship. Most importantly, he avoided the kind of wreck that allowed TPC Sawgrass to live up to its reputation as the course where anything can happen to anyone

After an eventful Day 1 at the 2021 Players—so eventful, in fact, not everyone finished their first round—play has resumed on Friday morning at TPC Sawgrass. And that’s a pretty big deal considering how abruptly last year’s tournament ended. Will we see more rules imbroglios like the two Viktor Hovland found himself involved with on

PONTE VEDRA BEACH — Someone needs to take away the Players Championship’s keys, because it’s already drunk. The first warning sign came bright and early, when Rory McIlroy made double bogey on his first hole, the par-4 10th. The opening round of his title defense only got wobblier from there, the biggest lowlight coming at

5:08 PM ET PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — His opening tee shot suggested it was not going to be a fun day for Rory McIlroy. Set up to cut his drive into the 10th fairway — his first hole of the Players Championship — McIlroy hit what pros call a “double-cross” and instead hooked his

(Scroll down for the latest updates) We’ve been on a great stretch of golf. Last week’s Bryson mania over Data Pond at Bay Hill. Jordan Spieth contending nearly every week. Now golf fans will be treated to one of the sport’s most iconic venues, TPC Sawgrass, which has hosted The Players since 1982 when Pete

4:35 PM ET Brooks Koepka‘s status for the Masters is in doubt as he will undergo medical evaluations on his right knee to determine how to proceed. Koepka’s agent, Blake Smith, confirmed a Golfweek.com report in which Koepka said he sprained his right knee last week. The four-time major champion on Sunday withdrew from this

PONTE VEDRA BEACH — There were shades of Royal Portrush. And not in a good way. Rory McIlroy last lifted the Players Championship trophy here in 2019, so he is technically the defending champion. And his title defense couldn’t be going much worse. McIlroy shot seven-over 43 on his opening nine holes at TPC Sawgrass,

Despite a disappointing 75 on Sunday, Jordan Spieth still managed a top-five finish for the third time in four starts. And even without a trophy in that span, gamblers have certainly taken notice of the three-time major champ’s improved play. Ahead of the 2021 Players Championship, Spieth has emerged as the most heavily bet golfer

8:00 AM ET After bombing his way to victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Bryson DeChambeau and the rest of the PGA Tour’s best head to TPC Sawgrass for The Players Championship. Rory McIlroy, who faded over the weekend but still finished tied for 10th last week, is the defending champion. Which players are the

This week’s Players Championship represents a golf nirvana of sorts for fans of the sport. With the PGA Tour taking a second swing at its “Every Shot Live” technology after only getting to roll it out for 18 holes a year ago at TPC Sawgrass, the opportunity for viewers to watch their favorite players compete

7:29 AM ET A year ago, the Players got one round in before the world stopped. But now, the best field in golf is back at TPC Sawgrass, with players searching for both a prestigious win and a huge paycheck of $2.75 million. Here’s who our experts think takes home the trophy and the cash:

Golf fans will be able to see every shot struck during the 2021 Players Championship, but it’s always felt like we’ve seen every shot on TPC Sawgrass’ 17th hole. The good shots. The bad shots. The crazy shots. The bad shots again. And again. The famed island par 3 is shown so much, there may

We are damn lucky to be golf fans. If you’re reading this, you already know. It seems like 2021 has given us so many intriguing storylines, and we haven’t even had a major yet. In a jam-packed year of golf, this is the biggest event to date, and we should be in store for another

3:57 PM ET Former Masters champion Danny Willett had to withdraw from the Players Championship on Tuesday due to a positive COVID-19 test taken as part of the PGA Tour weekly protocols. Willett, who tied for 31st last week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, is the first player since Padraig Harrington at the AT&T Pebble

PONTE VEDRA BEACH — One year after the COVID-19 pandemic brought the Players Championship (and the world) to a halt, the virus is still part of the story this week at TPC Sawgrass. On Tuesday, the PGA Tour announced that former Masters champion Danny Willett tested positive for COVID-19, the most recent reminder that we

7:09 AM ET PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — One of the most-liked and popular players on the PGA Tour is struggling. He has sniped at his long-time caddie, whom he has known since childhood. He has admitted it has been hard not taking his troubles on the course home to his wife. Rickie Fowler is

My course model at RickRunGood.com shows that strokes gained/off the tee is most important here—in fact, there are only 10 other courses on tour where SG/off the tee is more vital. That’s not the type of universal truth that you can fully rely on this week. But it’s how I’ll lean in terms of building

One of the best weeks on the golf calendar is upon us, with the 2021 Players Championship upon us at Pete Dye’s masterpiece, TPC Sawgrass. Though we never quite know what to expect and who will play well at this nuanced, ultra-difficult design on the site of a former swamp, the finishing holes always seem

8:32 PM ET Phil Mickelson has fallen out of the top 100 in the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time since 1993, when he won the International tournament for his second PGA Tour victory. He stayed in the top 100 for a record 1,425 weeks. Mickelson, 50, who did not play this week’s

Last week, we took a deep statistical dive that asked a simple question: How hard is the 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass, really? The “island green” is an entity that comes with its fair share of menace, but is the reputation earned? What we found is that yes, it’s about as tough as they come

7:20 AM ET PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — One year ago, on Thursday afternoon at the Players Championship, Rory McIlroy wasn’t worried about a virus. He was annoyed. The defending champion at the PGA Tour’s signature event, he had just opened with even-par 72, sat 9 shots behind leader Hideki Matsuyama and was staring at

If you watch golf on TV, it would be hard not to have noticed the flurry of Players Championship “Defining Moments” commercials leading up to the PGA Tour’s flagship event. But while these ads feature guys like Tiger and Rickie and even K.J. Choi, you won’t see the guy who—at least, statistically—shot the best round

ORLANDO — In golf, the long-drive scene has always been a sideshow. The guys who swing out of their shoes and grunt after impact and raise their arms like they hit a grand slam—they’re a fun diversion. Something you flip on ESPN2 late-night, after a few beers, but a totally separate entity from the touring

8:31 PM ET ORLANDO, Fla. — Arnold Palmer might have given Bryson DeChambeau a few quizzical looks. He might have wondered about DeChambeau’s single-length irons and the wild diet and all the talk about science. Surely, he would have made fun of the Ben Hogan cap. But the late namesake of the tournament DeChambeau won

Austin Ernst’s victory in itself on Sunday was not particularly surprising, but in a Solheim Cup season it represents an unexpected, though not unimportant one on behalf of the United States. For the first time in 14 years Americans have won the first three tournaments in a new season. Ernst’s win in the LPGA Drive