It may have taken a while, but the final round of the 2025 Players Championship finally came to a close today … but with no outright winner. So get ready for playoff golf on Monday.
After a four-hour weather delay due to blustering winds, Sunday came down to the final hole and a tie for the lead between Rory McIlroy and unlikely contender J.J. Spaun. Now the two will tee it up again Monday morning at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
Midway through Sunday’s final round, this looked like McIlroy’s tournament to lose. He started play on the 14th hole with a three-stroke lead over Spaun, but gave it away by the time the 18th rolled around. While McIlroy bogeyed 14, Spaun birdied 14 and 16 to surge into a tie atop the leaderboard heading into 18. It was a great turnaround for Spaun, who came into the final round of play at -12, but had shot +2 prior to 14. The final five holes reinvigorated his chances of winning.
After a par for McIlroy on 18, it was up to Spaun to knock in a birdie. He needed to sink a 30-footer for the win. It didn’t fall, coming up less than a foot short for the win.
He did par the hole thing, meaning we the pair were all knotted up at -12, two shots ahead of the next closest contenders.
How will the playoff work?
The Players Championship instituted their current playoff format in 2014, an aggregate system that sees each of the tied golfers play the 16th, 17th, and 18th holes again with the best score being declared the winner.
If the golfers are still tied after playing the three holes, they will go into sudden death starting on the Par-3 17th and moving to the Par-4 18th afterwards, if necessary.
When was the last time there was a playoff at the Players?
In 2015, Rickie Fowler defeated both Sergio Garcia and Kevin Kisner in a playoff. Garcia was eliminated after the 18th, but Fowler and Garcia needed one more hole to determine a winner. Fowler birdied 17. Garcia made par, giving Fowler the biggest win of his career.
What are the golfers playing for?
The Players Championship is considered by many to be the PGA Tour’s unofficial fifth major, bringing a lot of attention and respect to the winner.
The prize pool is nothing to scoff at either. The winner will take home $4.5 million, with second-place claiming $2.725 million.
Has McIlroy ever won the Players Championship?
In 2019, McIlroy became the first player ever from Northern Ireland to win the Players Championship. Ironically, he accomplished the feat on St. Patrick’s Day.
When will the playoff start?
The playoff will begin at 9 a.m. ET on Monday with coverage on the Golf Channel. Fans can also stream the event with Peacock or through the NBC Sports app.
Stream the Players Championship with Peacock
We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.
