Drama abounded this Players Championship—on and off the course.
There was controversy, dissension, carnage, frustration and a Sunday storm with a four-hour delay that extended the event another day for a David-and-Goliath playoff.
In the end, Rory McIlroy, a part of it all, prevailed at the diabolical TPC Sawgrass.
MORE: Final results, winnings from the Players Championship
The 35-year-old Northern Irishman fended off J.J. Spaun in a three-hole-aggregate playoff Monday morning on St. Patrick’s Day for his 28th PGA Tour win and second at the Players.
“Watching Scottie [Scheffler] go two in a row last year was unbelievably impressive,” said McIlroy, who also won the 2019 Players, “and I think the only multiple major champions and multiple Players champions are Jack [Nicklaus], Tiger [Woods], Scottie and myself, so it’s a pretty nice group to be a part of.
“I feel like I’m a better player now than I ever have been, and it’s nice to see the fruits of my labor paying off.”
Starting the brisk, windy Monday on the par-4 16th, the world No. 2 got off to a fast start with a birdie while Spaun, a 34-year-old looking for his second win in 227 starts, hit his second shot into the greenside bunker en route to a par.
Then they went to the famous par-3 17th, where many past Players Championships have been won and lost—and that was the case again this year. Spaun splashed his tee shot after McIlroy landed his safely aboard the island green. Spaun carded a triple and McIlroy made bogey with a three-putt.
Even after the misfortune, Spaun doesn’t regret the swing he took.
“I don’t know if I flighted it too well, but it just went through the wind,” Spaun said. “I couldn’t even tell where it was going to be. I didn’t know what to tell it, like sit, go. If anything I was leaning more towards go. But it was a great shot. It was probably 6, 7 feet left of the pin, just perfect if it was the right distance. I couldn’t believe it was long. It just wasn't my luck of the gust, I guess.”
Splash for Spaun on 17 💔 pic.twitter.com/Rdj0eYu6nM
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 17, 2025
McIlroy echoed that sentiment.
“I feel bad for J.J.,” he said, “he hit a really good shot on 17 and it just went straight through the wind.”
Heading to the closing par-4, the 75th hole of the tournament almost felt like a formality as McIlroy led by three strokes. Both sliced their drives into the trees, but McIlroy’s bogey was still enough to secure him the title and put him 20th on the all-time PGA Tour wins list, tied with Leo Diegel and Paul Runyan.
“I was disappointed that I needed to come back this morning,” McIlroy said, “but I didn’t—I couldn’t let that mind frame linger for too long, and I had to reset and try to get a good night’s sleep and come out this morning committed to get the job done.”
As for Spaun, a player who has never made the Tour Championship in nearly a decade on Tour, he can still take a silver lining from this week. He’ll jump from No. 57 to No. 25 in the world rankings and qualify for his second Masters.
“This is probably the best golf I’ve played maybe in my career consistently,” Spaun said. “... To go from where I was a year ago today or to start the week, I’m pretty proud of where I’ve been able to dig deep and kind of get some self-belief and get some confidence to play some good golf.”
Circling back to Sunday, Spaun held the 54-hole lead by one stroke over world No. 251 Bud Cauley after whipping winds bloated nearly everyone’s scorecards Saturday. McIlroy, meanwhile, was four back entering the final round, but he rapidly jumped to the top of the leaderboard on Sunday with a birdie and an eagle in his first two holes.
Nine holes in, the two were tied at 11 under, following Spaun’s controversial yet legal ruling that led to a birdie. Then, due to lightning, the horn blew with McIlroy clinging to a one-stroke advantage.
Play resumed nearly four hours later at 5:15 p.m. ET, and McIlroy expanded his lead to three in just eight minutes.
Spaun would gain a few strokes back, keeping McIlroy’s comfort non-existent, and eventually re-tied the lead. Fighting daylight to finish, both parred their 72nd hole to send the event to a playoff but would need an extra day to decide the champion.
The extended week began turbulently for McIlroy. During a practice round Tuesday, he hooked his tee shot into the water on the par-4 18th and was heckled by a University of Texas college golfer, referencing McIlroy’s final-round collapse at the 2011 Masters. McIlroy took the heckler’s phone and walked away.
The moment went viral, evoking debate amongst the general public on how the situation was handled. When the media asked McIlroy about it following Round 1, he admitted he didn’t want to discuss it and refused to answer any further questions regarding the incident. It was one of multiple contentious interactions between reporters and players this week.
But after 75 holes, McIlroy withstood all the obstacles and ended the tournament victorious—exactly how he hoped, even if it meant waiting one more day to hoist the trophy in Ponte Vedra Beach.
Out of all the storylines from this Players Championship, that’s likely what everyone will remember.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Rory McIlroy Wins Players Championship Playoff As J.J. Spaun’s Hopes Sink at 17.
