PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — It was a long day, one interrupted by a lengthy weather delay, and so Rory McIlroy was understandably a bit drained and disheveled.
He wasn’t defeated—but he had that air of disappointment anyway.
That’s because the four-time major champion had the Players Championship within his grasp late Sunday, holding a three-shot lead with five holes to go, unable to close it out.
The fact is, McIlroy is fortunate to have a chance to win the $25 million tournament Monday morning.
J.J. Spaun, who seemed out of it after a crushing bogey at the par-5 11th just after resuming play, had a 30-footer for birdie in near darkness on the 18th green, leaving it a roll or two short of victory.
More golf awaits tomorrow.@JJSpaun’s birdie putt on the 72nd hole comes out just short to force a playoff at @THEPLAYERS. pic.twitter.com/50rTalDgL6
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 16, 2025
That means a three-hole aggregate playoff starting at 9 a.m. ET.
McIlroy, 35, and Spaun, 34will play the par-5 16th, par-3 17th and par-4 18th at TPC Sawgrass.
“I feel like I had a chance to go home with the trophy tonight,” McIlroy said after a final-round 68 meant a tie with Spaun at 12 under par. “But I’ll get a good night's sleep and reset and try to win it tomorrow.”
Spaun, whose lone PGA Tour victory came in 2022 at the Valero Texas Open, would be considered a huge underdog against McIlroy, ranked second in the Official World Golf Ranking to Scottie Scheffler and a worldwide accomplished player with 27 PGA Tour wins.
But he held his own with McIlroy during Saturday’s third round and although he struggled at times Sunday, he rebounded with two key birdies at the 14th hole—the toughest on the course—and the 16th, which tied McIlroy for the lead.
“Once that bogey (on the 11th) kind of hit me, I just tried to just fight back,” Spaun said. “I kind of went with the odds. I had nothing to lose. Now I’m trying to catch Rory, and I can’t really control what he does, but I can control what I do, and I just started committing to my shots and my swing and trusting it more. Because it’s easy to kind of—now when I’m hunting, it’s easier to let it go. Whereas, starting the round I was a little tentative, a little scared and stuff.
“I think it put me in a pretty comfortable spot to finish off the round.”
With impending poor weather, the tournament organizers moved up tee times. McIlroy got off to a dream start, birdieing the first and making eagle at the second to pull within one shot of Spaun.
He led by one stroke when play was called at 1:15 p.m., leading to a four-hour delay that put the finish in doubt. That’s why the closing holes were played in a haze that McIlroy said gave him some difficulty reading the greens.
McIlroy had a wedge shot into the 12th that he converted into a birdie and Spaun bogeyed the 11th behind him for the three-shot advantage.
But a wayward drive at the par-4 14th led to a bogey for McIlroy, and then he missed a 6-footer for birdie at the 15th. At the par-5 16th, he was unable to get up and down for birdie from left of the green. He then made two pars to finish, needing a shaky 4-footer at the 18th.
Spaun, meanwhile, knocked his approach close at the 14th for an easy birdie, converted his up and down at the 16th, hitting his chip to within inches, and made a great two-putt from 45 feet at the par-3 17th for par before the dramatics at 18.
McIlroy, who won the 2019 Players, had his chances but is glad to have another.
“I’m happy to be in the position that I am, but also I feel like I had chances there on the back nine to close the door, and I didn’t quite do that,” he said. “A little bit of both. But I’m excited for the opportunity tomorrow.”
This will be the first playoff at the Players since Rickie Fowler defeated Sergio Garcia and Kevin Kisner in 2015.
“I think it’s important to hit the 16th fairway and get off to a good start there and then just go from there,” he said. “You’ve got to make five good swings. That’s all it is. So try to get up there, make five good swings tomorrow morning and get this thing done.”
Spaun said he was unaware a three-hole playoff was the format. He expected to go straight to the 17th tee for sudden death.
And he was clearly buoyed by his ability to finish with a chance.
“I showed myself that I don’t have to shy away from the moment,” said Spaun, who at one point last year was in danger of losing his PGA Tour card. “I think in the past I’ve done that, just kind of been afraid of being in that spotlight, being in that pressure, be worried about failure. But it’s hard to win, and you have to fail multiple times in order to win.
“That’s kind of what I've learned throughout my career, and it paid off today.”
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Rory McIlroy Fails to Close Out Players Championship But Has Another Shot Monday.
