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Rory’s McIlroy’s winning highlights from THE PLAYERS
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Written by Staff
The 52nd edition of THE PLAYERS Championship is underway from Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
After an action-packed Thursday that featured a 21-minute rain delay, five players sit at 5-under, including Maverick McNealy, Sahith Theegala, Sepp Straka, Lee Hodges and Austin Smootherman, who was the only player of the bunch not to finish before play was suspended due to darkness. Smotherman will have a 14-foot putt on Friday morning to get to 6-under par. Justin Thomas carded a resilient 4-under 68 while Ludvig Ã…berg, Tommy Fleetwood, Xander Schauffele and Viktor Hovland all sit in a solid position at 3-under.
Three FedExCup champions, Scottie Scheffler (2024), Justin Thomas (2017) and Tommy Fleetwood (2025), will take on TPC Sawgrass for a second day together in a Featured Group for THE PLAYERS Championship.
Defending champion Rory McIlroy will look to bounce back on Friday, along with Xander Schauffele and Hideki Matsuyama, who will attempt to build on their first round, make up a second Featured Group.
See full coverage details below.
How to watch (all times ET, subject to change)
Special programming alerts:
PGA TOUR LIVE Betcast presented by DraftKings: Get your betting coverage and analysis for THE PLAYERS on ESPN+ throughout the week for an all-day, watch-and-bet experience for golf fans.Friday: 8 a.m.-7 p.m.Saturday: 8 a.m.-7 p.m.Sunday: 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m.Wednesday: “On the Range,” 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Golf ChannelFriday: 1-7 p.m, Golf Channel Saturday: 2-7 p.m., NBC, PeacockSunday: 1-6 p.m., NBC, PeacockFriday: 7:30 a.m.-7 p.m.Saturday: 8 a.m.-7 p.m.Sunday: 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m.
PGA TOUR LIVE is available exclusively on ESPN+ and consists of four streams:
Main feed (Stream 1): Primary tournament coverage featuring the best action from across the courseMarquee group (Stream 2): New “marquee group” showcasing every shot from each player in the groupFeatured groups (Stream 3): Traditional PGA TOUR LIVE coverage of two concurrent featured groupsBetcast presented by DraftKings (Stream 4): Betting coverage and analysis throughout the week
PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and free at PGATOUR.COM/liveaudio:
Thursday-Friday: noon-7 p.m.Saturday: 1-7 p.m.Sunday: noon-6 p.m.
8:52 a.m.: Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy, Hideki Matsuyama (10th tee)
8:40 a.m.: Sahith Theegala, Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth (10th tee)
9:04 a.m.: Chris Gotterup, Justin Rose, Min Woo Lee (10th tee)
1:42 p.m.: Scottie Scheffler, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Thomas (first tee)
1:18 p.m.: Akshay Bhatia, Brooks Koepka, Tony Finau (first tee)
Nos. 16 (par 5), 17 (par 3)*:not(style){overflow:hidden;position:absolute;top:0px;right:0px;bottom:0px;left:0px;display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;width:100%;height:100%;}.css-11jnzpa>img,.css-11jnzpa>video{object-fit:cover;}.css-11jnzpa::before{height:0px;content:””;display:block;padding-bottom:66.66666666666666%;}]]>
Mar 8, 2026
How to watch: Scheffler, McIlroy headline featured groups for THE PLAYERSLatest

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