World No. 2 Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, seeking to defend his title at "the fifth major" Players Championship, is expected to compete without any practice rounds.
During a live broadcast on Golf Channel on Monday (local time), McIlroy sent a message to the host saying, "My back is getting worse than I thought, so I will continue treatment in South Florida today and tomorrow (Monday and Tuesday local time). I hope to be able to travel to Ponte Vedra Beach (Florida, where the tournament is held) on Wednesday."
The PGA Tour Players Championship, now in its 52nd edition, will be held over four days starting Thursday night (Korean time) at TPC Sawgrass Players Stadium Course (par 72) in Ponte Vedra Beach. The tournament boasts prestige rivaling the four major championships. Total prize money stands at $25 million, exceeding last year's U.S. Open purse of $21.5 million, with the winner's share at $4.5 million (approximately 6.6 billion won). McIlroy won last year's tournament.
McIlroy felt a sharp pain in his back during warm-up before the third round of last week's Arnold Palmer Invitational. The pain developed into muscle spasms once he started hitting balls, ultimately forcing him to withdraw for the first time in 13 years.
McIlroy, who also won this tournament in 2019, will tee off in the first round from the 1st hole at 2:42 a.m. (Korean time) on Thursday alongside Xander Schauffele of the United States and Hideki Matsuyama of Japan.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler of the United States is seeking to reclaim the title he won in 2023 and 2024. Scheffler will start from the 10th hole at 9:52 p.m. on Thursday with Justin Thomas of the United States and Tommy Fleetwood of England. If either Scheffler or McIlroy wins this year, they would become only the second player to win this tournament three times, following Jack Nicklaus of the United States in 1978.
Korean players Kim Si-woo, Im Sung-jae, and Kim Sung-hyun are competing in the tournament. Kim Si-woo, who has been in good form this year, is aiming to reclaim the Players Championship title for the first time since his 2017 victory. Kim Si-woo will begin his first round at 9:40 p.m. on Thursday alongside Collin Morikawa of the United States and Ludvig Åberg of Sweden.