We will have a Monday playoff at the Players Championship between one of the game’s biggest stars and a career journeyman.
A playoff between Rory McIlroy and J.J. Spaun will determine the 2025 Players Championship. Both players finished the tournament at 12-under par.
McIlroy began the day four shots behind Spaun, who held the 54-hole lead. The Northern Irishman quickly made up the deficit, though, making a birdie on the par-4 1st and an eagle on the par-5 2nd to jump up the leaderboard.
Later in the round, McIlroy held a three-shot lead after a birdie on the 12th hole. But he made a bogey on the 14th after an errant tee shot. He then finished with four straight pars to card a 4-under 68 and post 12-under.
Spaun, meanwhile, got off to a rough start as he was 2-over par through 11 holes. But he steadied the ship, making birdies on the 14th and 16th holes to jump back up to 12-under to match McIlroy. He then finished par-par to force a playoff.
Because the PGA Tour suspended play for four hours earlier in the day, officials had no choice but to postpone the playoff to Monday morning. The sun set in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida at 7:35 p.m. ET, leaving no daylight left for the three-hole aggregate playoff.
Here is how it will work:
McIlroy and Spaun will play the par-5 16th, the par-3 17th, and the par-4 18th. Whoever has the lowest score after those three holes will emerge as the winner. Should McIlroy and Spaun remain tied after those three holes, the playoff will become sudden death, starting at the famous par-3 17th hole. They will then move to the 18th and return to the 16th, 17th, and 18th and play in that order should it get there.
Play will begin at 9 a.m. ET on Monday morning live on Golf Channel.
McIlroy will go for his second Players Championship title and second victory on the PGA Tour this season. Monday’s playoff will also mark the sixth of his PGA Tour career — he owns a 3-2 record overall, with his last win coming at last year’s Zurich Classic.
“I guess it’s very much just a three-hole match play scenario,” McIlroy said after.
“That’s all it is. Just try to prepare as best I can tomorrow morning. Get a good night’s sleep. It’s been a very long day for all of us. Yeah, and just try to be as prepared as possible for tomorrow.”
Spaun, meanwhile, will see his career change for the better with a win at TPC Sawgrass. He has never played in a playoff before but does have one PGA Tour title, which came at the 2022 Valero Texas Open.
“I didn’t even know it was a three-hole playoff,” Spaun said.
“I thought we were just going to go straight to 17 like tonight. [Chief Referee] Gary Young told me, he’s like, ‘No, you’re coming back in the morning.’ I think it’s the same thing as — it’s not the same thing as a playoff, sudden death. Yeah, you kind of have to have some strategy. I think you have to play off of how he’s playing, too. I haven’t really given it too much thought, but I just know those three holes, anything can happen.”
A Spaun victory would give him much needed security. He would receive a five-year exemption on the PGA Tour and invites to The Masters, U.S. Open, PGA Championship, and The Open Championship for the next three years. His name would be engraved in The Players Championship trophy forever too.
A lot is on the line on Monday morning in Northeast Florida.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Follow him on X @jack_milko.
