TPC SAWGRASS, PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FL • MARCH 13-16, 2026
THE PLAYERS Championship
TPC Sawgrass • Par 72 • 7,245 yards • $25,000,000
Defending champion: Scottie Scheffler
Leaderboard updates live when the tournament begins.
Pete Dye built TPC Sawgrass on a Florida swamp in 1980 and created the most-watched venue in golf. The Stadium Course is not a power test. It is a precision exam administered in front of 200,000 fans across an amphitheater layout designed specifically to embarrass the best players alive. Bermuda greens reward a different putting touch than Augusta's bentgrass. Forty-four bunkers. Water on seventeen holes. And then there is hole 17.
Key Holes
Par 3 • 137 yds
The Island Green
The most famous hole in golf. A 137-yard par 3 over open water with no bailout. Any wind shifts the number 20 yards and the landing zone by 15 feet. Roughly 120,000 balls end up in the water here during tournament week. Bogey is survivable. Double is a different conversation entirely.
Par 4 • 462 yds
The Closer
Water runs the entire left side off the tee and pools behind the green. The finishing hole has decided more PLAYERS Championships than any other single swing. Players leading by one or two are forced to play defensively and often pay for it.
Par 5 • 503 yds
Short Risk-Reward
The shortest par 5 on the course but not the safest. Aggressive second shots flirt with a pond protecting the green's left half. Where lead changes happen in the final round. Long hitters with short memories birdie here at a high rate.
Par 5 • 583 yds
The Long Par 5
The back nine's other par 5 plays downwind one day and into it the next. Three shots for most of the field in tough conditions. Elite drivers who find the fairway can take dead aim. The contrast with hole 16's short risk-reward nature makes par 5 management a full-round conversation.
Par 4 • 358 yds
The Short Dye Trap
The shortest par 4 on the course and one of Pete Dye's most clever designs. A driveable hole surrounded by water and waste areas that tempts players into errors they should never make. Birdie is available. A six is equally available. The risk-reward math is terrible if you forget the water.
Par 4 • 219 yds
The Long Iron Test
A par 4 that plays as the longest hole on the front nine into a headwind. Approach shots must carry over a false front and land softly on a green with almost no backstop. One of the quietest scoring separators at Sawgrass in years when the wind cooperates with the setup.
What Wins Here
APPROACH PRECISION
More important here than anywhere except Augusta. Every miss at Sawgrass goes in water or sand. Top-10 approach players win here at a disproportionate rate.
HOLE 17 NERVE
The island green has ended careers. Players with anxiety history over water shots pay for it. Mental composure on Sunday afternoon is a selection variable the model accounts for.
BERMUDA PUTTING
Augusta bentgrass rewards a different touch. Players who putt well on Bermuda do not automatically transfer to Augusta. Treat the two entirely separately.
PATIENCE
Sawgrass punishes aggression. Players who manufacture birdies when the course is not offering them pile up doubles. The winners accept pars and wait for 16 and 9.
Model: Data Golf baseline_history_fit, 60k simulations. Course Fit: Weighted strokes gained profile matched to venue-specific demands. Sentiment: 12 sources.