Why winning The Players matters

The world’s leading golfers are gathered at TPC Sawgrass for what the PGA Tour describes as THE PLAYERS (note the use of capital letters, as if to emphasise some point or other!).

I have no intention of going into the fifth major debate again as it is something that we have already covered in depth. To briefly recap, it is not and never will be golf’s fifth major.

Now we have got that out of the way, we want to look at why winning this golf tournament matters.

The Strength of Field

Let’s start with the field. 

We have already had several signature events in 2026 - some would say that we have had too many! These are the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the Genesis Invitational and the Arnold Palmer Invitational. 

These also brought together the cream of the crop but nothing like the field that will assemble at TPC Sawgrass. This is a proper full-field event with a 36-hole cut.

Barring injury, almost every player inside the top 50 in the world rankings will be vying for the title. Just like a major.

So we will be watching Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, Chris Gotterup, Justin Rose, Robert MacIntyre, Collin Morikawa, Russell Henley, JJ Spaun, Xander Schauffele - you get the picture. 

If you are going to win this event then you are going to have to beat all of these guys and more. There is not a single player in the field who does not have the game to win. 

And let’s be honest, that is never the case in any of our sport’s majors.

Let’s take The Masters as an example - many past champions tee it up on the Thursday knowing they do not have a prayer of making the cut, far less picking up the Green Jacket. The field also includes a host of amateurs and a number of lowly-ranked professionals who will also struggle to make the weekend.

Form Guide Before The Masters 

And speaking of The Masters, it is only a month or so away and that means that The Players is going to offer a really good form guide. 

In case you have forgotten, McIlroy won it 12 months ago, beating Spaun in a playoff. The Northern Irishman would, of course, go on to win The Masters and complete the career grand slam the following month. 

And let’s not forget that Spaun would hole a monstrous putt on the final green to win the US Open.

Scheffler won The Players in 2024 and The Masters the following month.

So Many Potential Champions

It could be a week that offers redemption for the likes of 2015 champion Rickie Fowler or Jordan Spieth. It may be the week that Shane Lowry finally remembers how to close the deal. 

Joel Dahmen, the man who became a social media sensation after appearing in the first series of Full Swing, has finally remembered that he has a career to salvage - how good would it be if Dahmen were to win? 

Would you be surprised to see Min Woo Lee pick up the trophy? Or Aaron Rai? Matt Fitzpatrick? 

Austin Smotherman, Mark Hubbard, Michael Brennan, Andrew Novak and Eric Cole may not be golfers you would think of as potential winners but, trust me, each and every one of them has the game to win here.

TPC Sawgrass is Built For Drama

And then there is the course. I have to hold my hands up and admit that I am not a huge fan of what I regard as a stadium course. 

But the final three holes are made for drama, and usually provide it. 

As Fowler proved when he won 11 years ago, it is possible to eagle the par-five 16th, birdie the island green par-three 17th, and birdie the final hole.

But as we also all know only too well, it is just as easy to come to grief on that finishing stretch. 

Go for the green on the 16th, as almost every player in the field will do, and hit the ball right and you are going to end up in the water. Tug it left and you could be stymied by a huge tree. 

The 17th hole may be less than 140 yards but the green is almost entirely surrounded by water and the wind tends to swirl. Yes, you can pick up a birdie. We have even seen the odd hole in one. But we have also seen the best players in the world run up a cricket score here.

If you manage to get to the 18th hole with a one-shot lead, par is anything but a certainty. There is water all the way down the left and trees on the right, and that is another recipe for possible disaster.

There are also always large and enthusiastic galleries, and that provides its own kind of pressure.

Rich Prizes on Offer

Win The Players and you will pocket a massive $4.5m and a bucketload of world ranking points. It will almost certainly also get you into the end-of-season playoffs, where even more money is on offer.

So yes, it might not be a major but it is most certainly a tournament worth winning!