The 2025 Players Championship Winners & Losers

Rory McIlroy must have had a four-leaf clover in his pocket this morning because luck—and a bit of J.J. Spaun’s misfortune—helped him secure his second Players Championship title in dramatic fashion. Sidebar: Was that a leprechaun swimming in the pond on the 17th, hanging tight to Spaun’s ball (and any chance of victory) as it sank to the bottom?  

After both players slugged it out through regulation play, the golf gods decided they wanted a little overtime action. And so, off to a three-hole playoff this AM they went.

McIlroy took the lead with a birdie on 16 and then came the moment every golf fan secretly hopes for, but every golfer dreads—the infamous island green at 17. The pressure. The island. The $4.5M on the line.

Spaun, perhaps fighting his nerves and the swirling wind, rocketed his ball on a scenic tour up and over the green straight into the drink. Meanwhile, McIlroy took the easy route. Safe, sound, and boring into the middle of the green – just what his nerves needed to see.  

Despite a three-jack bogey on 17, McIlroy walked to the 18th tee with wee Irish pep in his step, thanks to a three-shot cushion. A conservative bogey was all it took to wrap up the victory, making him the first European to win multiple Players titles. It was a victory for the Northern Irishman on St. Patty’s Day. Fitting.

In typical McIlroy fashion, he remained humble in victory, saying, “I feel for J.J.—he’s had a great week.” Translation: “I totally understand what it’s like to collapse in a high-pressure moment. But thankfully, today was not my turn.”

McIlroy added another trophy to his collection thanks to capturing his 28^th PGA TOUR title—and if he keeps his luck and good play up, finally, that long-awaited green jacket next month.

Winners & Losers from Sunday/Monday at The Players Championship:

1. Winner/Loser: JJ Spaun. J.J. played brilliantly Thursday-Sunday at TPC Sawgrass, eventually taking home $2,725,000 today on his way out of town. Had the playoff taken place last night versus this morning, maybe he wouldn’t have fired his tee shot over the green on 17 into the water, basically sealing his playoff demise.
2. Winner: Tom Hoge, co-holder of the course record at TPC Sawgrass. Hoge isn’t afraid to go low on the fabled Ponte Vedra Beach track and did just that on Sunday, finishing up with a final round best-tying 6-under 66. He leaped 19 places on the leaderboard to finish T-3 and took home $1.325 million.
3. Losers: BDR and Xander. Big Rick and Xander didn’t light up Thursday & Friday at TPC Sawgrass, but they both made the cut and had aspirations of finishing strong over the weekend. However, they played like the JV squad on Saturday & Sunday, firing 82-79 and 77-81, respectively. Ugly golf.   
4. Winner: Collin Morikawa. Saturday was brutal for Collin who fell out of contention while shooting a 5-over par 77. Hold on. Just wait a minute…not to be deterred, he came out hot Sunday and posted a 3-under 33 on his way to a final-round 69 and a respectable T-10, his third top 10 of the season in five tries.
5. Loser: Spieth. Spieth’s final round 78 led to the Texan dropping 26 places on the board Sunday. His game was all over the place all last week, but especially the final round. Did he leave the course with any positives? Time will tell.  

J.J. sending his tee shot to the bottom of the 17^th pond on Monday

Rory sinking his final putt in the playoff. $4.5M richer.