The Players Championship has a knack for delivering and turnover is the main theme: only one player has ever defended his title at the PGA Tour’s flagship event, which has been held annually at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, since 1982.
Over the last 21 editions of the Players, 19 different players have hoisted the trophy.
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Jack Nicklaus is the lone three-time winner but he never won at TPC Sawgrass. Scottie Scheffler is the only one to repeat. And Rory McIlroy is the latest to win at least two Players titles.
More: Who has won The Players Championship? See the full list
Here’s the list of those who have won the Players at least twice in their PGA Tour careers.
Jack Nicklaus: 1974, 1976, 1978
Jack Nicklaus won just about everything in the 1970s, including three of the first five Players Championships (then known as the Tournament Players Championship) in 1974, 1976 and 1978.
Not only that, he won all three at three different courses. His first came at the inaugural event at Atlanta Country Club, then he won two years later at Inverrary Country Club’s East Course in Lauderhill, Florida. His third and final Players title came at Sawgrass Country Club near TPC Sawgrass, where the event was held from 1977 to 1981.
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Fred Couples: 1984, 1996
Fred Couples holds the trophy after winning the 1996 Players Championship at the TPC at Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
Boom Boom Couples became the first player to win the TPC Sawgrass double in 1996, 12 years after his first Players win in 1984 by just one stroke over Lee Trevino.
Steve Elkingon: 1991, 1997
A year after Couples, Elkington became the third player to win the flagship event more than once with his win in 1997, where he finished a tournament-record seven shots clear of the field.
The six years between Elkington’s titles is also the shortest time span between wins since the event moved to TPC Sawgrass in 1982.
Steve Elkington hits the ball during the Players’ Championship at the TPC at Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. (Photo: Andy Lyons/Allsport)
Hal Sutton: 1983, 2000
Five words: Be the right club today. This clip never gets old.
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Sutton’s 17-year gap between Players titles is the longest span between wins among the six players.
Davis Love III: 1992, 2003
Love put in some efficient work at TPC Sawgrass with his two wins.
In 1992, Love was four shots clear of the runners-up Phil Blackmar, Ian Baker-Finch, Nick Faldo and Tom Watson (ever heard of them?). He won by four once again in 2003 over Jay Haas and Padraig Harrington (how about them?).
Davis Love III and fans celebrate when Love’s ball drops into the hole after he chipped from the gallery behind the eighth green for birdie and the lead during the final day of The Players Championship in 1992. He would go on to win with a final-round 67. (Bob Self/Florida Times-Union)
Tiger Woods: 2001, 2013
Three words this time: Better than most.
With his eyes on major championships these days, golf fans may never see Woods play at TPC Sawgrass ever again, but his iconic putt on the island green is sure to be replayed year after year.
Scottie Scheffler: 2023, 2024
A final-round 8-under 64 in 2024 edged Wyndham Clark, Brian Harman and Xander Schauffele as Scheffler became the first player to repeat as champion. In 2023, one day after he shot 65 to seize control of the tournament, Scheffler withstood a windswept Sunday and shot 3-under 69 to win the Players by five strokes over Tyrrell Hatton.
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Rory McIlroy: 2019, 2025
McIlroy won his second Players in a playoff on a Monday. As PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan noted, it was the second time McIlroy had won the Players on St. Patrick’s Day.
The three-hole aggregate playoff against J.J. Spaun was over quickly as McIlroy avoided mistakes. He started by ripping a 336-yard driver at the par-5 16th, the first playoff hole, planted his second shot to 33 feet and two-putted for birdie.
Golfweek’s Adam Schupak contributed to this article.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: PGA Tour golfers who won The Players Championship at least twice
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