Players Championship 2015: Tee Times, Date, TV Schedule and Prize Money
Widely heralded as the unofficial fifth major, The Players Championship remains one of the year's most prestigious tournaments. Complete with a star-studded field boasting every golfer in the world golf rankings' top 50 and a massive $10 million purse, winning the event is a coveted achievement for every tour professional.
The Players Championship takes place on one of the most recognizable tracks in the nation—the treacherous TPC Sawgrass. While the entire 7,215-yard course features plenty of trouble, including sharp doglegs, narrow fairways, thick rough and ultra-slick greens, the short 137-yard par-three 17th and its island green provides the bulk of the edge-of-your-seat action.
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While a short par three doesn't seem overly daunting, keeping golf balls dry has been an issue for players over the years. According to Jeff Shain of PGATour.com, an average of 45.9 balls find the water surrounding the island green at The Players Championship every year. Expect this hole to help shape the tournament's outcome.
As we anxiously await a talented field to tee it up at TPC Sawgrass, let's take a look at all of the tournament's essential viewing information, prize money and some notable Thursday tee times.
2015 The Players Championship
Dates: Thursday, May 7 - Sunday, May 10
Where: TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
Purse: $10 million (winning share: $1.8 million)
FedEx Cup Points: 600 to winner
Viewing Info:
- Thursday and Friday: 1-7 p.m. ET, Golf Channel
- Saturday and Sunday: 2-7 p.m. ET, NBC
Notable Thursday Tee Times
| Jimmy Walker | 8:07 a.m. |
| Brooks Koepka | 8:18 a.m. |
| Patrick Reed | 8:18 a.m. |
| Rickie Fowler | 8:18 a.m. |
| Bubba Watson | 8:28 a.m. |
| Billy Horschel | 8:28 a.m. |
| Matt Kuchar | 8:28 a.m. |
| Rory McIlroy | 8:39 a.m. |
| Jordan Spieth | 8:39 a.m. |
| Jason Day | 8:39 a.m. |
| Justin Rose | 1:17 p.m. |
| Dustin Johnson | 1:17 p.m. |
| Jim Furyk | 1:28 p.m. |
| Henrik Stenson | 1:28 p.m. |
| Phil Mickelson | 1:38 p.m. |
| Sergio Garcia | 1:38 p.m. |
| Martin Kaymer | 1:49 p.m. |
| Adam Scott | 1:49 p.m. |
| Tiger Woods | 1:49 p.m. |
All tournament tee times can be viewed at PGATour.com.
Stars to Watch
It's difficult to pick out a few players to feature from such a fantastic field, but when you have world No. 1 Rory McIlroy and world No. 2 Jordan Spieth paired in the same group for the tournament's first two rounds, that task becomes much easier.
While McIlroy and Spieth are only slated to play together Thursday and Friday, it shouldn't come as a surprise if they wind up paired for all four rounds while remaining atop the leaderboard in a neck-and-neck duel for The Players Championship title—one neither has acquired to date. After all, both players have been in top form of late.
McIlroy began the season strongly in Europe, winning in Dubai after a runner-up finish in Abu Dhabi. It took him a bit to find the same success in America, but a late run at Augusta National paved the way to a fourth-place finish, and he continued that momentum through the new format of the WGC-Cadillac Match Play, winning the event with relative ease.
The world No. 1 spoke of his big stateside win during an interview with Ewan Murray of The Guardian:
"I think it's always important for me to get my first win Stateside during the year. I won in Dubai at the start of the year and had a couple of good finishes but I never really felt like I got into contention for the last few events. Even though I felt like I played OK at Doral, Bay Hill and Augusta, I never really had a chance to win a tournament.
I sat here at the start of the week and said I want to give myself chances to win tournaments. So it was nice to do that and get the job done.
"
McIlroy will be aiming to continue his streak at TPC Sawgrass; however, fatigue may factor into his ability to compete. The new format of the WGC-Cadillac Match Play features three rounds of round-robin play before a bracket-style Sweet 16 conclusion. McIlroy needed to play seven rounds at TPC Harding Park to win the tournament.
As for Spieth, he may be the hottest golfer in the world this year. After finishing the 2014 season with back-to-back wins, he continued to bolster his already impressive resume by winning the Valspar Championship, following up that victory with two runner-up finishes before his impressive wire-to-wire Masters win.
The 21-year-old phenom is in a similar situation this week to his run at Augusta National. Last year, Spieth held the 54-hole lead at TPC Sawgrass following three bogey-free rounds, only to falter during his final 18 holes to finish three shots behind eventual champion Martin Kaymer.
The Orlando Sentinel recalled an emotional comment from Spieth following that round: "I'm not mature enough to be extremely positive. I will be in about an hour, but right now it just really, really stings."
Spieth exited the WGC-Cadillac Match Play slightly early, finishing tied for 17th, and that may be an advantage for the world No. 2 entering The Players Championship, as fatigue won't likely be an issue. He certainly has a good chance to overcome past hiccups in the event and notch a win—just like he did at the Masters.
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