\t\t\t\tMost of the world\u2019s best players are at TPC Sawgrass for The Players Championship. But some notable names are missing\u2026<\/p>\n
You know your tournament is a big deal when it attracts 47 of the top 50 players in the Official World Golf Rankings. But does that mean The Players Championship<\/a> needs to be a major?<\/p>\n It\u2019s a debate that will rumble on in Ponte Vedra Beach this week, where so many of the world\u2019s best will compete for the PGA Tour\u2019s flagship prize<\/a> at iconic TPC Sawgrass.<\/p>\n There is a concerted effort among promoters to push the \u2018fifth major\u2019 narrative<\/a> \u2013 with the PGA Tour clearly not content with the event\u2019s elevated position as the biggest showpiece outside the four tournaments that so often prove career defining.<\/p>\n But without the best LIV Golf players \u2013 Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau will be in Singapore<\/a> rather than Sawgrass this week \u2013 can The Players seriously stake a claim for major status?<\/p>\n It\u2019s doubtful, but bosses at Ponte Vedra will argue the 121-player field<\/a> assembled this week is among the very finest in golf. Brooks Koepka will intriguingly compete for the first time in four years after he was granted access via the Returning Members Program.<\/p>\n But who are the notables who are missing from the field at Sawgrass? <\/p>\n Tiger Woods<\/p>\n Woods has won The Players on two occasions and if he wanted a place in this elite field with the Masters around the corner, he would have been given one. If the 15-time major champion really is serious about playing at Augusta National next month, the consensus is that he would require a tune-up beforehand. Perhaps a debut on the Champions Tour is more likely for Woods, who is already back hitting full shots again and has teased that he would be ready to play in a member-guest tournament<\/a>.<\/p>\n Will Zalatoris<\/p>\n Zalatoris withdrew from the Cognizant Classic<\/a> last month with another injury. Fortunately, it wasn\u2019t the back problem that has plagued him for years and forced him into two different surgeries. But the American, a three-time runner up in majors, is still fighting his way back to the upper echelons and is on the alternate list at Sawgrass.<\/p>\n Patrick Reed<\/p>\n Make that five months until Patrick Reed is officially allowed to return to the PGA Tour. Expect Reed to return to Sawgrass in 2027, but for now he is serving a year-long suspension from his last LIV event. Reed has been globetrotting ever since leaving the breakaway league and played in last week\u2019s Joburg Open<\/a>. Reed, Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton are the only players inside the top-50 not competing. <\/p>\n Billy Horschel<\/p>\n Horschel is still finding his rhythm this season after the hip injury that completely derailed his 2025. A tie for 13th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational<\/a> was encouraging progress on a challenging course, but he\u2019s way down the alternates list at Sawgrass.<\/p>\n Matt Kuchar<\/p>\n Adam Scott who is competing in this event for a 25th time, is one of the seven past champions in the field. But Matt Kuchar, who won The Players in 2012, is set to miss the tournament for the first time since 2007 after losing full PGA Tour status last year.<\/p>\n Daniel Brown<\/p>\n The Englishman has had a mixed start to life on the PGA Tour after moving up from the DP World Tour this season, but will miss the circuit\u2019s marquee event. He is on the alternate list<\/a> so, naturally, flew home and enjoyed a night out at Pop World in York instead. If you know, you know.<\/p>\n Casey Jarvis<\/p>\n Another argument for why this tournament should not be a major is that it is not open to the best players on all tours. Last week, Jarvis narrowly missed out on matching something only done by Seve Ballesteros and Sir Nick Faldo \u2013 winning three consecutive European Tour events. He\u2019ll have a week off after the Joburg Open, but one would it assume it won\u2019t be too long before we see this supremely talented South African strutting his stuff at Sawgrass.<\/p>\n And\u2026 Rory McIlroy?<\/p>\n