PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp says The Players as a major ‘not for us to decide’
PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp conducted a news conference at the PGA Tour Global Home on March 11, outlining plans foe the future Tour schedule.
The drama is already unfolding as the first round of the 2026 Players Championship got underway on Thursday, March 12.
Collin Morikawa, one of the pre-tournament favorites, was forced to pull out due to injury after one hole at TPC Sawgrass and Rory McIlroy, the defending champion attempting to join Jack Nicklaus as a three-time winner of the event the PGA Tour has dubbed golf’s “fifth major,” was a “game-time decision” after withdrawing from last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational with a back injury.
Contenders like Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Thomas and Ludvig Aberg got off to strong starts but it was underdogs like Maverick McNealy and Austin Smotherman who stole the show. Unfortunately for Smotherman, inclement weather prevented him from finishing his round with play halted due to darkness … despite playing his final hole. He was tied for first place at 5-under when play was halted.
USA TODAY Sports tracked all the first-round action at The Players Championship and shared what’s happening around the course at TPC Sawgrass:
T1. Maverick McNealy: -5 (F)T1. Lee Hodges: -5 (F)T1. Sepp Straka: -5 (F)T1. Sahith Theegala: -5 (F)T1. Austin Smotherman: -5 (17) – DNF due to darknessT6. Justin Thomas: -4 (F)T6. Russell Henley: -4 (F)T6. Taylor Moore: -4 (F)T6. Cameron Young: -4 (F)T10. Tony Finau: -3 (F)T10. Ludvig Åberg: -3 (F)T10. Tommy Fleetwood: -3 (F)T10. Viktor Hovland: -3 (F)T10. Xander Schauffele: -3 (F)T10. William Mouw: -3 (F)T10. Corey Conners: -3 (F)
Click here for the full 2026 leaderboard from The Players Championship first round.
As we finish up Round 1, we’re still not short of spectacular shots from some of the top contenders.
Cameron Young finished his round at 4-under, tied for sixth, and what helped him out was this tremendous shot on 9. Jim Furyk’s reaction says it all.
Theegala was considered by many to be a sleeper at this year’s Players Championship. If he keeps making shots like this, that’ll certainly help. Theegala eagles on the 12th at Sawgrass.
After a 20-minute weather delay in the morning, the rain has been steadily falling at the 2026 Players Championship during the afternoon groups and it’s made scoring conditions tough for golfers. Green speeds have changed since the morning storm and the rough is showing its teeth.
The most likely projected cut line at the moment is +2, according to datagolf.com, and the heavy rain that just started anew suggests the number could go rise as the first round continues.
Justin Thomas had three birdies on his final five holes of the first round to record his best score of his career (-4) at The Players Championship. He currently sits in a tie for second place behind clubhouse leader Maverick McNealy (-5).
Thomas returned from offseason back surgery at last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational and missed the cut with back-to-back scores of 79. He called the performance “humiliating.” On Thursday, he was 11 shots better.
Rory McIlroy is on the course at TPC Southwind despite his recent back injury and hit a nice tee shot with his driver for his official swing of the first round. McIlroy is playing with Xander Schauffele and Hideki Matsuyama. McIlroy said on Wednesday he would be a “game-time decision” after having to withdraw from last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational before the third round began.
McIlroy is on property at TPC Sawgrass and warming up ahead of his first-round tee time at the 2026 Players Championship. His 1:42 p.m. ET tee time has been pushed back to 2:12 p.m. due to the weather delay.
The first round of THE PLAYERS Championship resumed at 12:30 p.m., a delay of 21 minutes.
Tee times for the afternoon wave are delayed 30 minutes.
— PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) March 12, 2026
The PGA Tour announced the first round of The Players Championship has been suspended due to inclement weather in the area of TPC Sawgrass. Players are being held in position.
The PGA Tour announced Collin Morikawa withdrew from the tournament due to a back injury he appeared to suffer on his first hole at the event on Thursday, March 12. Morikawa was shown during the ESPN+ broadcast grabbing at his lower back and bending over in discomfort after taking a practice swing before his tee shot on No. 11 at TPC Sawgrass (he started the first round on hole No. 10).
Morikawa received treatment from a physiotherapist before leaving the course and announcing he could no longer compete at this year’s Players Championship. … As first-round play began at TPC Sawgrass on Thursday, Morikawa had the third-best odds in the field behind only Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy. Read more here.
Rory McIlroy’s playing status for Thursday’s first round at The Players Championships remains uncertain, though he is still scheduled to tee off at 1:42 p.m. ET tee time with Xander Schauffele and Hideki Matsuyama. McIlroy sounded hopeful he could compete after going through a short practice session on Wednesday afternoon at TPC Sawgrass.
“It’s better than it was. I hit up until a 6-iron on the range there and it felt OK,” McIlroy told reporters when asked about the condition of his back and whether he’s still planning to play in The Players Championship. “We’ll see. I’m taking it sort of hour-by-hour, but it feels better. That’s all I can say. I couldn’t stand to address the ball on Saturday morning at Bay Hill and it’s obviously better than that. Probably a game-time decision, but all indications are pointing in the right direction.”
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No. 1 tee7:40 a.m. – Mark Hubbard, Thorbjørn Olesen, Mac Meissner7:52 a.m. – Bud Cauley, Vince Whaley, Chandler Phillips8:04 a.m. – Emiliano Grillo, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Max Greyserman8:16 a.m. – Kevin Yu, Cam Davis, Gary Woodland8:28 a.m. – Ricky Castillo, Ryan Gerard, Patrick Cantlay8:40 a.m. – Adam Schenk, Garrick Higgo, Matt McCarty8:52 a.m. – Brian Harman, Maverick McNealy, Davis Riley9:04 a.m. – Sami Valimaki, Lucas Glover, Matt Fitzpatrick9:16 a.m. – Michael Brennan, Harris English, J.T. Poston9:28 a.m. – Haotong Li, Zecheng Dou, Jordan Smith12:30 p.m. – Lee Hodges, Andrew Putnam, Sam Stevens12:42 p.m. – Erik van Rooyen, Keith Mitchell, Michael Kim12:54 p.m. – Taylor Moore, Joel Dahmen, Ryo Hisatsune1:06 p.m. – Jacob Bridgeman, Ben Griffin, Adam Scott1:18 p.m. – J.J. Spaun, Sepp Straka, Shane Lowry1:30 p.m. – Sahith Theegala, Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth1:42 p.m. – Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy, Hideki Matsuyama1:54 p.m. – Chris Gotterup, Justin Rose, Min Woo Lee2:06 p.m. – Brian Campbell, Karl Vilips, Aaron Rai2:18 p.m. – Matti Schmid, Max McGreevy, Takumi Kanaya2:30 p.m. – Zach Bauchou, Sudarshan Yellamaraju, A.J. EwartNo. 10 tee7:40 a.m. – Mackenzie Hughes, Eric Cole, Rico Hoey7:52 a.m. – Max Homa, Daniel Berger, Michael Thorbjornsen8:04 a.m. – Rasmus Højgaard, Danny Walker, Kristoffer Reitan8:16 a.m. – Jhonattan Vegas, Taylor Pendrith, Alex Noren8:28 a.m. – Akshay Bhatia, Brooks Koepka, Tony Finau8:40 a.m. – Collin Morikawa, Ludvig Åberg, Si Woo Kim8:52 a.m. – Scottie Scheffler, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Thomas9:04 a.m. – Viktor Hovland, Russell Henley, Robert MacIntyre9:16 a.m. – Aldrich Potgieter, Jake Knapp, Sungjae Im9:28 a.m. – Patton Kizzire, Seamus Power, Johnny Keefer12:30 p.m. – Tom Hoge, Denny McCarthy, Nicolai Højgaard12:42 p.m. – Patrick Rodgers, Kevin Roy, Marco Penge12:54 p.m. – Chad Ramey, Alex Smalley, Pierceson Coody1:06 p.m. – Kurt Kitayama, Harry Hall, Stephan Jaeger1:18 p.m. – Keegan Bradley, Ryan Fox, Chris Kirk1:30 p.m. – Andrew Novak, Nick Taylor, Wyndham Clark1:42 p.m. – Steven Fisk, William Mouw, Joe Highsmith1:54 p.m. – Cameron Young, Davis Thompson, Sam Burns2:06 p.m. – Nico Echavarria, Jason Day, Corey Conners2:18 p.m. – Matthieu Pavon, S.H. Kim, Austin Smotherman