Most of the world’s best players are at TPC Sawgrass for The Players Championship. But some notable names are missing…
You know your tournament is a big deal when it attracts 47 of the top 50 players in the Official World Golf Rankings. But does that mean The Players Championship needs to be a major?
It’s a debate that will rumble on in Ponte Vedra Beach this week, where so many of the world’s best will compete for the PGA Tour’s flagship prize at iconic TPC Sawgrass.
There is a concerted effort among promoters to push the ‘fifth major’ narrative – with the PGA Tour clearly not content with the event’s elevated position as the biggest showpiece outside the four tournaments that so often prove career defining.
But without the best LIV Golf players – Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau will be in Singapore rather than Sawgrass this week – can The Players seriously stake a claim for major status?
It’s doubtful, but bosses at Ponte Vedra will argue the 121-player field assembled this week is among the very finest in golf. Brooks Koepka will intriguingly compete for the first time in four years after he was granted access via the Returning Members Program.
But who are the notables who are missing from the field at Sawgrass?
Tiger Woods
Woods has won The Players on two occasions and if he wanted a place in this elite field with the Masters around the corner, he would have been given one. If the 15-time major champion really is serious about playing at Augusta National next month, the consensus is that he would require a tune-up beforehand. Perhaps a debut on the Champions Tour is more likely for Woods, who is already back hitting full shots again and has teased that he would be ready to play in a member-guest tournament.
Will Zalatoris
Zalatoris withdrew from the Cognizant Classic last month with another injury. Fortunately, it wasn’t the back problem that has plagued him for years and forced him into two different surgeries. But the American, a three-time runner up in majors, is still fighting his way back to the upper echelons and is on the alternate list at Sawgrass.
Patrick Reed
Make that five months until Patrick Reed is officially allowed to return to the PGA Tour. Expect Reed to return to Sawgrass in 2027, but for now he is serving a year-long suspension from his last LIV event. Reed has been globetrotting ever since leaving the breakaway league and played in last week’s Joburg Open. Reed, Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton are the only players inside the top-50 not competing.
Billy Horschel
Horschel is still finding his rhythm this season after the hip injury that completely derailed his 2025. A tie for 13th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational was encouraging progress on a challenging course, but he’s way down the alternates list at Sawgrass.
Matt Kuchar
Adam Scott who is competing in this event for a 25th time, is one of the seven past champions in the field. But Matt Kuchar, who won The Players in 2012, is set to miss the tournament for the first time since 2007 after losing full PGA Tour status last year.
Daniel Brown
The Englishman has had a mixed start to life on the PGA Tour after moving up from the DP World Tour this season, but will miss the circuit’s marquee event. He is on the alternate list so, naturally, flew home and enjoyed a night out at Pop World in York instead. If you know, you know.
Casey Jarvis
Another argument for why this tournament should not be a major is that it is not open to the best players on all tours. Last week, Jarvis narrowly missed out on matching something only done by Seve Ballesteros and Sir Nick Faldo – winning three consecutive European Tour events. He’ll have a week off after the Joburg Open, but one would it assume it won’t be too long before we see this supremely talented South African strutting his stuff at Sawgrass.
And… Rory McIlroy?
For now, Rory McIlroy intends to defend his title at The Players. But there’s an element of doubt about the appearance of the biggest name in the field after McIlroy was forced out of the Arnold Palmer Invitational with a back injury. That will worry organizers. It’s understood that he still hopes to play, but major season is right around the corner and McIlroy won’t take risks if the problem flares up again before Thursday.