J.J. Spaun hits his approach at No. 18 within 30 feet of the hole during the final round of The Players Championship on Sunday, March 16, 2025. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
Published on March 16, 2025 at 11:27 pm
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Dogged by rain on Sunday, the PGA Tour moved the final round of The Players Championship forward by four hours to avoid a Monday finish. Rory McIlroy and J.J. Spaun had other ideas.
When Spaun’s 30-foot birdie attempt at No. 18 stopped 2 inches short of the hole moments before sunset, it forced The Players to a playoff. Spaun and McIlroy will meet on Monday morning for the richest prize in men’s golf.
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Both men are 12-under par.
“I mean, everyone expects him to win,” Spaun said after shooting an even par 72 in the final round. “I don’t think a lot of people expect me to win. I expect myself to win. That’s all I care about.”
The first playoff in a decade at The Players Championship will start at 9 a.m. Monday. McIlroy and Spaun will square off for a three-hole playoff at the No. 16 tee.
“It’s a good reset, for sure,” McIlroy said afterward. “Yeah, it looks like it’ll be a beautiful morning tomorrow, so I’m excited for that.”
Rain did not deter Bill and Lisa Brown from making the hour-long trek from Fleming Island to TPC Sawgrass for the final round. They have watched The Players for more than 20 years.
“This is my happy place,” Lisa said. “I’m not a big golfer. When our children were little, (my son) got all the autographs of the players. Seeing through the eyes of my children…it’s definitely the best experience. These golfers are so nice.”
Lisa and Bill smiled at the memory of when their son had the chance to meet “Mr. Woods” one year, but he was too awed to speak.
Jacksonville couple Jacob Kraut and Shannon Redding may have a similar story as the Browns in a few decades.
Redding and Kraut plan to marry later this month. On Sunday, they walked the course with one of their bridesmaids, Emilly Mooneyhan.
“It’s great to spend a day on a beautiful course,” Kraut said. “We are not fair-weather fans. It was supposed to rain. But, we are here.”
Kraut placed a few dollars on Stephan Jaeger to win. However, the German was 3-over for the day when play was suspended, dropping him eight shots behind McIlroy when play stopped. He finished tied for 20th at 4-under.
At 1:15 Sunday, lightning clapped over the sky. Hundreds of people who were watching Rory McIlroy at No. 12 tee audibly groaned. They knew what was coming.
Less than a minute later, the airhorn sounded to suspend play.
The PGA Tour desperately wanted to avoid a second Monday finish in the last four years.
The final paring, of Lucas Glover, Bud Cauley and Spaun, had had seven holes to complete when play was suspended. The penultimate group of McIlroy, Corey Conners and Alex Smalley had just teed off from No. 12 when the skies opened up.
The weather sent thousands scampering for cover.
It was a soggy denouement to a week that had Chamber-of-Commerce-perfect weather for the first three rounds.
The Players Championship typically draws about 200,000 people for the week. Many of them congregate around the famed Island Green. Whether it was Tuesday’s Military Appreciation Day or another time, the stands in and around No. 17 often smell like a mixture of cigar smoke and sunscreen.
Spaun and Glover were the co-leaders on Thursday after producing a 6-under 66. The two had divergent paths toward the top of the leaderboard. Spaun, 34, was on the hunt for his first PGA Tour win. Meanwhile, Glover was a U.S. Open champion in 2009 who revitalized his career after his 40th birthday.
Glover said after his first round that he may be 45, but doesn’t want to stop competing at the PGA Tour level anytime soon.
Glover finished tied for third at 10-under alongside 35-year-old Tom Hoge and 23-year old Akshay Bhatia.
The Players is one of the purest tests of a golfer’s entire game, from driving accuracy to approach to putting, to scrambling and taking advantage of scoring opportunities.
“That’s the thing about this place is there’s always some really good scores and always some really bad scores,” Glover said on Thursday.
Former Players champion Justin Thomas illustrated that in an awesome way on Friday.
Thomas set the tournament record with 11 birdies during his second. His march toward the course record drew the gravity toward him. One of the loudest roars at the famed Island Green came when Thomas drained his final birdie of the day from 18 feet.
He highlighted the difference between duffers and pros with his approach on No. 18. After hitting his second shot in the water, Thomas chipped within 22 inches of the hole to secure a bogey – and a 10-under 62.
“That was one of the best rounds I’ve played, for sure,” Thomas said afterward. “I just got it – mentally it was the biggest thing. I felt like I did an unbelievable job of just staying, keeping my eyes forward, keeping my blinders on, not looking backwards, forwards, anything like that. It was just, How can I put this ball in the fairway off the tee, and then how can I make birdie, and let’s rinse and repeat.”
If nothing else, Thomas’ performance inspired Narisse Daye. The Sarnia, Ontario, resident was impressed by the concentration and focus the golfers showcased regardless of whether a shot was positive.
Daye, Zara Kenley and Sadie Westfall are all junior golfers from Canada who visited The Players Championship for the first time.
Meanwhile, Jacksonville resident Shawn DeVries has been attending The Players for nearly 15 years. DeVries and his friends have a tradition of wearing outlandish polo shirts as they watch play.
They quipped their navy, Ready Golf, shirts with “Bang” and “Boom” written in a comic typeface were selected because they were bold and garish.
“It’s just a good group of guys, a group of friends that come out and really enjoy each other’s camaraderie and watching golf. …It’s a great event for families and friends and anybody alike.”
Even if it ends on Monday.
