Players Championship 2019: Tee Times, Date, TV Schedule and Prize Money

Thursday marks the opening day of the 2019 Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Florida. Tee times for the opening round have been released, and last year's winner Webb Simpson is paired with Tiger Woods and Patrick Reed in one of the standout groups.

Other notable pairings include American group Rickie Fowler, Brooks Koepka and Jordan Spieth. Meanwhile, 2018 Open winner Francesco Molinari is joined by Jason Day and Tony Finau.

The best of the morning tee times involves Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson and Matt Kuchar. World No. 1 Dustin Johnson will also be involved during the morning when he tees off alongside Jon Rahm and Sergio Garcia.

Justin Rose, Justin Thomas and Xander Schauffele also tee off early as players begin competing for the $2.25 million winner's share of the $12.5 million in prize money available at Ponde Verda Beach.

Date: Thursday, March 14

TV Schedule (Per Dan McDonald of PGA.com):

• Thursday, March 14: 1/7 pm ET on Golf Channel
• Friday, March 15: 1/7 pm ET on Golf Channel
• Saturday, March 16: 2/7 pm ET on NBC
• Sunday, March 17: 1/6 pm ET on NBC

• Thursday, March 14: 11:30 a.m./11 p.m. GMT, Sky Sports The Players
• Friday, March 15: 11:30 a.m./11 p.m. GMT, Sky Sports The Players
• Saturday, March 16: 2 p.m./11 p.m. GMT, Sky Sports The Players
• Sunday, March 17: 2 p.m./10 p.m. GMT, Sky Sports The Players

Live Stream: PGA Tour Live. NBC Sports App. Sky Go.

Tee Times

7:40 a.m. ET/11;40 a.m. GMT

• Charl Schwartzel, Tyrrell Hatton, Thorbjorn Olesen
• Chesson Hadley, Michael Thompson, Corey Conners

7:50 a.m. ET/11:50 a.m. GMT

• Lucas Glover, Louis Oosthuizen, Talor Gooch
• Scott Brown, Byeong Hun An, Beau Hossler

8:01 a.m. ET/12:01 p.m. GMT

• Chris Kirk, Brian Gay, Matt Wallace
• Ryan Palmer, Trey Mullinax, Sungjae Im

8:11 a.m. ET/12:11 p.m. GMT

• Charles Howell III, Aaron Wise, Scott Piercy
• Ted Potter Jr., Patton Kizzire, Brendan Steele

8:22 a.m. ET/12:22 p.m. GMT

• Adam Long, Danny Willett, Vijay Singh
• Keith Mitchell, Austin Cook, Tommy Fleetwood

8:32 a.m. ET/12:32 p.m. GMT

• Cameron Champ, Michael Kim, Cameron Smith
• Justin Rose, Xander Schauffele, Justin Thomas

8:43 a.m. ET/12:43 p.m. GMT

• Marc Leishman, Ian Poulter, Adam Hadwin
• Bryson DeChambeau, Bubba Watson, Billy Horschel

8:53 a.m. ET/12:53 p.m. GMT

• Kevin Tway, Grayson Murray, Brian Harman
• Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm, Sergio Garcia

9:04 a.m. ET/1:04 p.m. GMT

• Brice Garnett, Patrick Cantlay, Ryan Armour
• Phil Mickelson, Matt Kuchar, Rory McIlroy

9:14 a.m. ET/1:14 p.m. GMT

• Ollie Schniederjans, Abraham Ancer, Seamus Power
• Harold Varner III, Sam Ryder, Hao Tong Li

9:25 a.m. ET/1:25 p.m. GMT

• Kevin Streelman, Harris English, Peter Uihlein
• Alex Cejka, Tom Hoge, Brandon Hankins

9:35 a.m. ET/1:35 p.m. GMT

• Nick Watney, Bronson Burgoon, Eddie Pepperell
• Scott Stallings, Rory Sabbatini, Joel Dahmen

12:35 p.m. ET/4:35 p.m. GMT

• Brian Stuard, Chaz Reavie, Patrick Rodgers
• Charley Hoffman, Luke List, Kelly Kraft

12:45 p.m ET/4:45 p.m. GMT

• Danny Lee, Jason Kokrak, Scott Langley
• Vaughn Taylor, Nick Taylor J.T. Poston

12:56 p.m. ET/4:56 p.m. GMT

• Aaron Baddeley, Branden Grace, John Huh
• Alex Noren, Richy Werenski, Dominic Bozzelli

1:06 p.m. ET/5:06 p.m. GMT

• J.B. Holmes, Jason Dufner, Russell Henley
• Andrew Putnam, Gary Woodland, Russell Knox

1:17 p.m. ET/5:17 p.m. GMT

• Brandt Snedeker, Troy Merritt, Jimmy Walker
• Keegan Bradley, Andrew Landry, Si Woo Kim

1:27 p.m. ET/5:27 p.m. GMT

• Tiger Woods, Webb Simpson, Patrick Reed
• Kyle Stanley, Daniel Berger, Kevin Kisner

1:38 p.m. ET/5:38 p.m. GMT

• Henrik Stenson, Adam Scott, Martin Kaymer
• Hideki Matsuyama, Zach Johnson, Stewart Cink

1:48 p.m. ET/5:48 p.m. GMT

• Francesco Molinari, Jason Day, Tony Finau
• Satoshi Kodaira, Paul Casey, Jim Furyk

1:59 p.m. ET/5:59 p.m. GMT

• Rickie Fowler, Brooks Koepka, Jordan Spieth
• Martin Trainer, Kevin Na, Jhonattan Vegas

2:09 p.m. ET/6:09 p.m. GMT

• Bud Cauley, Sam Saunders, Matthew Fitzpatrick
• Emiliano Grillo, Shane Lowry, Martin Laird

2:20 p.m. ET/6:20 p.m. GMT

• Rafa Cabrera Bello, Sung Kang, Tyler Duncan
• Ryan Moore, J.J. Spaun, C.T. Pan

2:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. GMT

• Anirban Lahiri, Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Ryan Blaum
• Denny McCarthy, Wyndham Clark, Lucas Bjerregaard

Johnson and McIlroy are among the early favourites with oddsmakers, according to Kyle Porter of CBS Sports. Porter expressed surprise notable names such as Simpson, Reed, Mickelson, Spieth and Henrik Stenson aren't receiving more buzz.

While some marquee names may be being overlooked, Johnson's status as favourite is justified. The 34-year-old has 20 PGA Tour wins to his credit after triumphing at the recent WGC-Mexico Championship.

Few players are able to match Johnson's power with the driver. Yet unlike most heavy hitters, the South Carolina native is subtle with the wedge and deft on the greens.

His skills make Johnson formidable for the rest of the field, but he needs to show more comfort at Sawgrass, despite repeated attempts to crack the course:

McIlroy poses a strong challenge to Johnson's presumed dominance in Florida. He missed out on history in Mexico after finishing five strokes behind Johnson, but he still has ample motivation to succeed.

Most of said motivation should come from a desire to snap a lengthy losing run. McIlroy hasn't won a tournament in a year since the 2018 Arnold Palmer Invitational. Even so, he still possesses a range of shots and the natural technique most top players envy.

It's always intriguing to see whether good Rory or bad Rory will turn up to a notable event. If he keeps his head, the 29-year-old can outperform the rest.

The story is similar for Woods, who may be past his best but can still turn on the style when it counts. That's not to say there aren't areas of the 43-year-old's game needing work.

Woods has turned to Matt Killen for advice on his putting, per Ben Everill of PGATour.com. It's necessary work after "Woods produced six three-putts in each of his last two tournaments, the Genesis Open and the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship, to quell any real challenge."

What Woods does have on his side is ample experience of winning this tournament:

Of course there's no guarantee the winner will be a familiar name. Simpson upset the odds a year ago, and players such as Molinari, Garcia and Stenson are all capable of doing the same.