PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — The Players Championship groups and starting times for the first two rounds on Thursday, March 12, and Friday, March 13 at the Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass will feature a late start for defending champion Rory McIlroy.
From the early word on the back condition that forced him to withdraw from last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational in the third round, McIlroy may need the extra time for get his aching muscles ready to defend the title he won in a three-hole playoff against J.J. Spaun last year.
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McIlroy will tee off at 1:42 p.m. ET in the first round off No. 1, playing with Xander Schauffele and Hideki Matsuyama. They will start at No. 10 in the second round at 8:52 a.m. ET.
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland plays his shot from the 17th tee during the playoff in the final round of THE PLAYERS Championship on the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass on March 17, 2025 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
McIlroy told the Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis in a text that his “back is being a bit more stubborn than we thought, so I’m staying home [Monday] and tomorrow [Tuesday] to continue treatment in South Florida, with the hope to travel to Ponte Vedra on Wednesday at some point.”
McIlroy was scheduled to meet with the media at 7:45 a.m. ET on Wednesday, March 11. PGA Tour officials said that as of Monday, March 9 at 6 p.m. ET, they have not yet been asked by McIlroy to reschedule.
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Two-time Players champion Scottie Scheffler, Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Thomas, the other featured group, will start at No. 10 for their first round at 8:52 a.m. ET, and at No. 1 for the second round at 1:42 p.m. ET.
Other groups of interest:
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Arnold Palmer Invitation champion Akshay Bhatia is going off with Brooks Koepka and Tony Finauaat 8:28 a.m. ET off No. 10 in the first round and 1:18 p.m. ET off No. 1 in the second round.
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FedEx Cup points leader Collin Morikawa, Ludvig Aberg and 2017 Players champion Si Woo Kim, 8:40 a.m. ET off No. 10 in the first round, 1:30 p.m. ET off No. 1 in the second round.
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Spaun will play with Sepp Straka and Shane Lowry off No. 1 at 1:18 p.m. ET in the first round, and off No. 10 at 8:40 a.m. ET in the second round.
Players Championship first-round tee times
All times listed below are ET.
No. 1 tee
7:40 a.m.: Mark Hubbard, Thorbjorn Olesen, Mac Meissner.
7:52 a.m.: Bud Cauley, Vince Whaley, Chandler Phillips.
8:04 a.m.: Emiliano Grillo, Christaan Bezuidenhout, Max Greyserman.
8:16 a.m.: Kevin Yu, Cam Davis, Gary Woodland.
8:28 a.m.: Ricky Castillo, Ryan Gerard, Patrick Cantlay.
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8:40 a.m.: Adam Schenk, Garrick Higgo, Matt McCarty.
8:52 a.m.: Brian Harman, Maverick McNealy, Davis Riley.
9:04 a.m.: Sami Valimaki, Lucas Glover, Matt Fitzpatrick.
9:16 a.m.: Michael Brennan, Harris English, J.T. Poston.
9:28 a.m.: Haotong Li, Zecheng Dou, Jordan Smith.
12:30 p.m.: Lee Hodges, Andrew Putnam, Sam Stevens.
12:42 p.m.: Erick van Rooyen, Keith Mitchell, Michael Kim.
12:54 p.m.: Taylor Moore, Joel Dahmen, Ryo Hisatsune.
1:06 p.m.: Jacob Bridgeman, Ben Griffn, Adam Scott.
1:18 p.m.: J.J. Spaun, Sepp Straka, Shane Lowry.
1:30 p.m.: Sahith Theegala, Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth.
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1:42 p.m.: Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy, Hideki Matsuyama.
1:54 p.m.: Chris Gotterup, Justin Rose, Min Woo Lee.
2:06 p.m.: Brian Campbell, Karl Vilips, Aaron Rai.
2:18 p.m.: Matti Schmid, Max McGreevy, Takumi Kanaya.
2:30 p.m.: Zach Bauchou, Sudarshan Yellamaraju, A.J. Ewart.
No 10 tee
7:40 a.m.: Mackenzie Hughes, Eric Cole, Rico Hoey.
7:52 a.m.: Max Homa, Daniel Berger, Michael Thorbjoensen.
8:04 a.m.: Rasmus Hojgaard, Danny Walker, Kristoffer Reitan.
8:16 a.m.: Jhonattan Vegas, Taylor Pendrith, Alex Noren.
8:28 a.m.: Akshay Bhatia, Brooks Koepka, Tony Finau.
8:40 a.m.: Collin Morikawa, Ludvig Aberg, Si Woo Kim.
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8:52 a.m.: Scottie Scheffler, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Thomas.
9:04 a.m.: Viktor Hovland, Russell Henley, Robert MacIntyre.
9:16 a.m.: Aldrich Potgieter, Jake Knapp, Sungjae Im.
9:28 a.m.: Patton Kizzire, Seamus Power, Johnny Keefer.
12:30 p.m.: Tom Hoge, Denny McCarthy, Nicolai Hojgaard
12:42 p.m.: Patrick Rodges, Kevin Roy, Marco Penge.
12:54 p.m.: Chad Ramey, Alex Smalley, Pierceson Coody.
1:06 p.m.: Kurt Kitayama, Harry Hall, Stephan Jaeger.
1:18 p.m.: Keegan Bradley, Ryan Fox, Chris Kirk.
1:30 p.m.: Andrew Novak, Nick Taylor, Wyndham Clark.
1:42 p.m.: Steve Fisk, William Mouw, Joe Highsmith.
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1:54 p.m.: Cameron Young, Davis Thompson, Sam Burns.
2:06 p.m.: Nico Echavarria, Jason Day, Corey Conners.
2:18 p.m.: Matthieu Pavon, S.H. Kim, Austin Smotherman.
Players Championship second-round tee times
No. 1 tee
7:40 a.m.: Tom Hoge, Denny McCarthy, Nicolai Hojgaard
7:52 a.m.: Patrick Rodges, Kevin Roy, Marco Penge.
8:04 a.m.: Chad Ramey, Alex Smalley, Pierceson Coody.
8:16 a.m.: Kurt Kitayama, Harry Hall, Stephan Jaeger.
8:28 a.m.: Keegan Bradley, Ryan Fox, Chris Kirk.
8:40 a.m.: Andrew Novak, Nick Taylor, Wyndham Clark.
8:52 a.m.: Steve Fisk, William Mouw, Joe Highsmith.
9:04 a.m.: Cameron Young, Davis Thompson, Sam Burns.
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9:16 a.m.: Nico Echavarria, Jason Day, Corey Conners.
9:28 a.m.: Matthieu Pavon, S.H. Kim, Austin Smotherman.
12:30 p.m.: Mackenzie Hughes, Eric Cole, Rico Hoey.
12:42 p.m.: Max Homa, Daniel Berger, Michael Thorbjoensen.
12:54 p.m.: Rasmus Hojgaard, Danny Walker, Kristoffer Reitan.
1:06 p.m.: Jhonattan Vegas, Taylor Pendrith, Alex Noren.
1:18 p.m.: Akshay Bhatia, Brooks Koepka, Tony Finau.
1:30 p.m.: Collin Morikawa, Ludvig Aberg, Si Woo Kim.
1:42 p.m.: Scottie Scheffler, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Thomas.
1:54 p.m.: Viktor Hovland, Russell Henley, Robert MacIntyre.
2:06 p.m.: Aldrich Potgieter, Jake Knapp, Sungjae Im.
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2:18 p.m.: Patton Kizzire, Seamus Power, Johnny Keefer.
No. 10 tee
7:40 a.m.: Lee Hodges, Andrew Putnam, Sam Stevens.
7:52 a.m.: Erick van Rooyen, Keith Mitchell, Michael Kim.
8:04 a.m.: Taylor Moore, Joel Dahmen, Ryo Hisatsune.
8:16 a.m.: Jacob Bridgeman, Ben Griffn, Adam Scott.
8:28 a.m.: J.J. Spaun, Sepp Straka, Shane Lowry.
8:40 a.m.: Sahith Theegala, Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth.
8:52 a.m.: Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy, Hideki Matsuyama.
9:04 a.m.: Chris Gotterup, Justin Rose, Min Woo Lee.
9:16 a.m.: Brian Campbell, Karl Vilips, Aaron Rai.
9:28 a.m.: Matti Schmid, Max McGreevy, Takumi Kanaya.
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9:40 a.m.: Zach Bauchou, Sudarshan Yellamaraju, A.J. Ewart.
12:30 p.m.: Mark Hubbard, Thorbjorn Olesen, Mac Meissner.
12:42 p.m.: Bud Cauley, Vince Whaley, Chandler Phillips.
12:54 p.m.: Emiliano Grillo, Christaan Bezuidenhout, Max Greyserman.
1:06 p.m.: Kevin Yu, Cam Davis, Gary Woodland.
1:18 p.m.: Ricky Castillo, Ryan Gerard, Patrick Cantlay.
1:30 p.m.: Adam Schenk, Garrick Higgo, Matt McCarty.
1:42 p.m.: Brian Harman, Maverick McNealy, Davis Riley.
1:54 p.m.: Sami Valimaki, Lucas Glover, Matt Fitzpatrick.
2:06 p.m.: Michael Brennan, Harris English, J.T. Poston.
2:18 p.m.: Haotong Li, Zecheng Dou, Jordan Smith.
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This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Players Championship 2026 first- round, second-round tee times
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