Preview: The Players Championship 2026 - predictions, course guide, preview, will Rory McIlroy defend title?

The 52nd edition of the Players Championship takes place this week as the majority of the best golfers in the world descend on TPC Sawgrass in Florida.

While members of LIV Golf will not be present, there will be a 123-strong field, but doubts will remain over whether Rory McIlroy is fit enough to defend his title after his withdrawal from the Arnold Palmer Invitational last week.

The Players Championship preview

As a two-time winner of the event, McIlroy will be eager to participate at the "fifth major", but it is clear that the Northern Irishman is still feeling the effects of a back injury.

McIlroy - who has two top-three finishes from his four starts in 2026 - has already revealed that he has delayed his arrival at Sawgrass until at least Wednesday, casting doubt over whether he will attempt to practice before Thursday's first round.

The chances of a ding-dong battle between the world's best two players now seem remote, but it is a boost to Scottie Scheffler after he only finished in 24th place at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

That represented just the second time - and in consecutive outings - that Scheffler had not finished in the top 10 of a tournament since his 20th-placed finish at the 2025 Players Championship.

Prior to that, though, Scheffler had lifted back-to-back trophies at Sawgrass with scores of -20 and -17 that have rarely been seen at this tournament.

Two-time major winner Collin Morikawa is one to watch this week, a consequence of three top-seven finishes in succession in a run that includes victory at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Attention should also be paid to 2017 winner Si-Woo Kim, who has made 14 successive cuts, recently posted three top-six finishes in a row and was 13th last week.

With regards to the English contingent, world number three Tommy Fleetwood was only 49th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and has not finished in the top five at Sawgrass since 2019.

While there will be interest in Justin Rose after his win at the Farmers Insurance Open earlier this week, the veteran has missed two of three cuts since that tournament, as well as three of the last four cuts at the Players Championship.

Course Guide

After two years of Scheffler posting low scores, Sawgrass proved to be a far greater test last year with McIlroy and J.J. Spaun finding themselves in a playoff after shooting -12.

The 'Island Green' 17th hole is set to provide more memorable moments this year, in front of a 36,000-strong crowd, but despite there being 14 aces at this hole in the tournament's history, no-one achieved the feat in 2025.

The 17th is infamous for its layout, and the masses of crowds which flock to see, but the closing 18th hole is potentially the most daunting challenge.

Despite much jeopardy given the huge water hazard down the left-hand side, the reward of executing a risky shot is certainly worth it, especially come Sunday, when it will be a psychological battle for the golfers.

All 18 holes have water hazards in places to a varying degree, but it will ultimately be down to the Floridian weather as to what the scoring will be this week.

As of Tuesday, the players appear to be in for a stressful week. Heavy rain is forecast for Thursday, storms could arrive by Sunday, and wind may negatively impact the early starters on Friday.

We say: Scottie Scheffler to win

Despite his rare off-week last week, it feels impossible to back against Scheffler on the biggest stages, particularly when there are major doubts over McIlroy.

He has gone four tournaments without success, a rarity for golf's best player, and last week's drop-off where he did not record a round below 70 will only sharpen his focus to join Jack Nicklaus as the only three-time winner of this event.

As well as Morikawa and Si-Woo Kim being ones to watch, Akshay Bhatia - who won the Arnold Palmer Invitational last week - finished in a share of third at the Players Championship in 2025.

Nevertheless, Scheffler remains the player to beat, and providing that the weather forecast proves correct, a late start on Friday is only going to benefit a player who has entered his 176th week as world number one.