What a popular winner. He’s been knocking at the door for a while now - top five finishes in all four majors last year - and a win at the Players is perhaps the first step to greatness. Only his second PGA Tour win, too! This has been a long time coming - but it has been coming. “It’s amazing, a special week that everyone looks forward too. I’m glad I had a chance after my finish to get into a play-off and get the job done here. I’ve proved to myself that I’m back where I should be.” What a deserving champion. What a tournament this has been. It’s lived up to its billing as unofficial fifth major, pushing the best players in the world to their limits, and making stars of some previous unknowns. Commiserations to Kevin Kisner and Sergio Garcia, and congratulations to Rickie Fowler! Just a month or so until Chambers Bay, then...
FINALLY RICKIE FOWLER WINS A BIG ONE! HE’S THE 2015 PLAYERS CHAMPION! He taps in his putt, and a huge smile plays across his face. “I appreciate it,” this sporting young man tells the vanquished Kevin Kisner as they shake hands. Poor Kisner came so close to a shock win, and Sergio was his usual mercurial, brilliant self. But in truth Fowler deserved this. What a finish in regulation play - 2, 4, 3, 3, 2, 3 - and what shots at 16 to set up eagle, and at 17 to win the play-off! Rickie Fowler over-rated? Oh I don’t bloody well think so!
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Kisner probably needs to make this putt. It’s fairly straight, with a little right-to-left break. He sets it off in the right direction, but doesn’t hit it, and it dribbles off to the left, just before the cup. Fowler has his four-footer for birdie, and the tournament. He steps up, and ...
Back to 17, then. A hole in one would just about put the tin lid on it. I mean, it’s not going to happen. But just about everything else has today. Poor old Sergio. A few missed putts, maybe. But he played superbly all week. Kisner up first, then. His tee shot catches the back of the bunker to the right of the green, and finds the back-right of the putting surface. He’s left with a 15-footer from the fringe. But then Fowler steps up and sticks his tee shot pin high to four feet, leaving a short uphill putt for his birdie. Wow. He’s been on one this afternoon.
Fowler with a little wedge. Lovely hands, he bumps it up to a couple of feet. That’ll be a par. He had the flag out, hoping to hole that. Then Kisner, with a putt from off the green that’ll give him the win. Yet again, he hits a fine one, but it dies to the left just before the hole. Another par. The pair will go to sudden death at 17, but will Sergio join them? He needs to hole his putt, but doesn’t, the right-to-left curler staying out on the right. It’s bye bye Sergio, who prods the one-incher he’s got left into the cup with his finger. Sergio gets a lot of stick for blowing tournaments, but in truth he’s done little wrong today. He just came up against Whirlwind Fowler, and an inspired afternoon’s golf from another unlikely source.
After third hole (18)
-1: Kisner, Fowler
E: Garcia
Sergio knocked out; Kisner and Fowler progress to sudden death
Kisner first up. A 9-iron, gently hit into the setting sun. A bit too gently, because it’s dumped just in front of the green, and doesn’t bounce on. Sergio next, with a 9-iron too. A waggle of the hips, and the club, and he’s hit a pretty good one in, not totally unlike the shots both he and Fowler sent in during regulation play. It lands front right, and turns left, stopping pin high, 15 feet from the hole. He’ll have a look at the same putt he missed on 18 earlier. And then Fowler hits an awful wedge that doesn’t even reach Kisner’s ball! Astonishing. Advantage Sergio on this hole.
Kisner still has the honour. The wind’s up, which added to all that water down the left of 18 makes this quite the tee shot. Kisner cracks a 3-wood down the right of the fairway. Fowler takes out his driver and blooters a massive tee shot down the middle, leaving just a wedge to the green. Sergio up last, and he’s playing a 3-wood like Kisner. That’s three beauties, though it’s advantage Fowler. Or is it, seeing Kisner and Garcia will be playing first, and can therefore put the pressure on if they hit their approaches close? Ah the psychology of the play-off!
It was asking too much, of course it was. But he’s got the pace right, if not quite the line this time. It ends 18 inches from the hole, and that’s a very good two putt from there. Kisner next. He’s got a soft left-to-right breaker from ten feet or so. And he strokes it in, a lovely touch, the ball always heading in from the moment he gently pushed his putter on to the ball. Pressure on Fowler to deliver, then, and he follows him in. Birdies for the American pair, then, and a par for poor old Sergio.
After second hole (17)
-1: Fowler, Kisner
E: Garcia
“USA! USA! USA!” I think it’s fair to say the crowd want Fowler to win this. Or maybe Kisner. Sergio’s certainly battling the crowd. Hey, he’s good at the Ryder Cup, maybe this will spur him on. But he’ll have to hole another monster, from almost exactly the same spot. Surely lightning can’t strike twice? That would be ludicrous. Absurd. Insane.
The tee shots at 17. The island green. In a play-off. For the Players Championship. The unofficial fifth major. Gulp. And ulp! Kisner first. And he hits a facsimile copy of the shot he hit on this hole a while back. It lands eight feet to the left of the hole, and he’ll have a very good look at birdie. Now it’s Sergio, who also hits a facsimile copy of the shot he hit on this hole a while back! Once again, it nearly bounced into the water at the back, but bit just in time. He’s left with that huge putt again. And then Fowler clacks the crispest of shots to four feet! Amazing! Sergio’s playing catch-up here.
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Kisner putts first. His effort betrays a few nerves, on show for the first time. It’s short and wide left. He should knock what’s left in for par, from two feet, but there’s a bit of work in that. Sergio next. He tickles his down to 12 inches, but that was tentative too, and not a good putt. Given he hit a poor putt on 18, too, he won’t be feeling particularly happy about his flat stick right now. Fowler up last of all. His putt is the best of the lot, straight at the cup, but somehow it shaves the right-hand side and stays out. A dimple away from a birdie. Kisner tides up, and everyone’s level par through the first hole. Let’s see how long that lasts, because the island 17th’s up next!
After first hole (16)
E: Kisner, Garcia, Fowler
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Sergio up first. He’s in a divot, 97 yards away. He whips his ball straight over the flag, it biting 12 feet from the flag, but not spinning back. Fowler next, with a pretty much identical shot, albeit on lovely grass. He’s below the hole, to the left, roughly the same distance away as Sergio. Finally Kisner, from 78 yards. He’s faced with some overhanging branches from a tree on the left, so has to bump and run it into the green. He’s got a snaky 30-footer up the green. Three birdie efforts coming up.
Kisner lays up well. His ball lands softly on the left of the fairway, giving himself the widest angle of attack for his third. Sergio matches him. And finally Fowler joins them. Nobody was able to go for the green. We’ve had more than enough of that sort of nonsense already. This hole becomes a pitch-and-putt contest now.
Just to clarify: like the Open’s four-hole play-off, this three-hole number is stroke play. Lowest total after three holes wins. If nobody wins, it goes to sudden death, and the hole rotation for that is 17, 18, 16, 17, 18. We’ve got about an hour’s worth of sunlight left.
The handshakes at the 16th tee. And the drawing of lots from a big floppy sun hat. Kisner will go first. It should probably be noted that he’s got one second place, two top ten finishes and three top 25 finishes on the PGA Tour this year. But he’s nervously pushed his drive into the thick stuff down the right. It’s buried. Garcia up next, and he’s done exactly the same thing! So it’s advantage Rickie Fowler before he’s taken a single stroke. That soon goes, as his drive is the worst of all, miles to the right of the fairway! Nerves, huh. Should make this little affair a whole heap of fun.
So we’re going to a three-hole play-off. Rickie Fowler, Sergio Garcia and Kevin Kisner will contest 16, 17 and 18 for the fifth biggest prize in professional golf: the Players Championship! It should be a classic: the three of them played the holes in a combined total of -8 back there. Before we go there, here’s how one of the most astonishing tournaments in living memory looks after the completion of the 72 holes:
-12: Fowler, Garcia, Kisner
-11: Martin, Haas
-9: Sabbatini, Na
-8: Donaldson, McIlroy, Harman, Senden, Ishikawa
-7: Toms, Z Johnson, Horschel, Kirk
Anyway, the play-off coming up. It’s on!
Nope, is the answer to that. He hits a marvellous putt, but it slides past the right of the cup, a millimetre away from dropping! So, so unfortunate! He signs for a 68 today, off the back of a pair of 67s! How he’ll rue coming so close if he doesn’t manage to win the three-way play-off with Fowler and Garcia! But maybe the opening-day 73 caused him most harm. Still, he’s in with a shout, and who’d have thought that at the start of the day?
But is Kevin Kisner, the 31-year-old journeyman from South Carolina, about to steal the prize from under the noses of two of the most famous players in the game? Kisner has only played in one major tournament, last year’s US Open, and failed to make the cut. He’s ranked 123rd in the world. And he’s just split the fairway at 18, then wedged to 12 feet, leaving an uphill putt for the championship!
Martin can’t make his putt, the ball skating past the hole on the right. Bogey on the last, and he ends at -11. A front nine of 37 cost him. Haas taps in his par putt, and finishes the week at -11 too. A pair of 70s.
-12: Fowler (F), Garcia (F), Kisner (17)
-11: Martin (F), Haas (F)
Martin hits a fairly average wedge into the middle of the green. Pin high, and he’s in Fowler-Garcia Country. But he’ll need to knock in a 15-footer for the par he needs to make the play-off. Meanwhile Haas can’t rake in his 25-footer from off the green. He was so unfortunate on the 17th, but you can’t be missing tiddlers like he did earlier on. Two putts from less than two feet cost him the championship.
Haas drives down the edge of the 18th fairway. Martin is in all sorts of bother in the trees. He’s in real trouble there. He can only take his medicine and punch the ball through the trunks and onto the fairway. Haas then plays a Scottish style pitch-and-run up towards the green. It doesn’t quite reach. He’ll have to knock a putt in from off the green if he wants to make the play-off; Martin needs to get up and down from distance if he wants to stay in it. It’s not looking good right now for either man. But back on 17, Kisner rolls his birdie putt straight into the cup! And now he’s the fourth player at -12!
-12: Fowler, (F), Garcia (F), Martin (17), Kisner (17)
-11: Haas (17)
Sergio doesn’t really hit it. It dies to the right, never holding its line. A dismal effort, in truth, mishit more than misread. He’s got a tricky (under the circumstances) two-footer coming back, and taps it in; he’ll sign for a 68. He’s in the clubhouse alongside Fowler at -12. A play-off awaits, unless Martin, Haas or Kisner produce yet another extraordinary moment.
-12: Fowler (F), Garcia (F), Martin (17)
-11: Haas (17), Kisner (16)
Kisner, who also needs a birdie, smacks a beautiful short iron at 17 to eight feet. That’s some shot at this iconic hole under pressure. Up on the 18th tee, Martin sends his tee shot into the trees down the right. And then there’s Sergio on the green ...
Hass rolls a stupendous putt across the 17th, and his monster birdie effort fails to drop by the width of half a dimple! A par, but he’ll need something on the last hole. Martin knocks his short birdie effort in, and he joins the leaders! Meanwhile up on 18, Garcia clips his wedge pin high, but 15 feet to the right of the hole. He’s in Fowler Country. If he can repeat Fowler’s putt ...
-12: Fowler (F), Garcia (17), Martin (17)
-11: Haas (17), Kisner (16)
It just doesn’t stop. Haas finds the centre of the green at 17, though he’ll need a Sergioesque putt to birdie. Martin’s ball almost doesn’t clear the drink at the front, but it hits the knuckle of the bunker and bounces to eight feet! He could have a share of the lead soon, too! Meanwhile on 16, Kisner’s second is just off the front left of the green. He pitches up to four feet, and that’s a birdie. He’s -11. And finally on 18, Sergio splits the fairway with a boomer of a drive. This couldn’t be closer!
-12: Fowler (F), Garcia (17)
-11: Martin (16), Haas (16), Kisner (16)
Sergio’s putt. Sergio’s putt. Sergio’s putt. It’s a glacial 40-footer all the way down the hill, with a gentle right-to-left jiggle, and a little kink back to the right at the end. It’s never going in. It can’t do. But it’s straight down the green, and straight into the cup! It’s in! WOW. Perfectly judged in terms of both line and pace. Magnificent stuff! He’s level with Fowler at -12! He turns to the crowd and smiles gently, but it’s a muted reaction. He knows there’s still work to do. But you can sense his satisfaction. This is game on! Back on the practice green, Fowler clacks his tongue on the inside of his cheek with impotent frustration. The pair are great pals. How could they be doing this to each other?!
Hass hits a bumpy eagle putt, which is always slowing down and turning to the left of the cup. That’s another short putt missed, but at least he’s got the consolation of birdie. He moves to within a shot of the clubhouse leader. As does Martin, whose first, long putt is well short of the hole, but he drains his birdie effort from 10 feet. Both need something on one of the final two holes. No pressure, then. (Speaking of pressure, the 54-hole leader Chris Kirk bogeyed 14 and 15, and he’s three over for his round so far, back down at -7.)
-12: Fowler (F)
-11: Garcia (16), Haas (16)
Sergio at 17, then. He hits it into the meat of the green. For a second it looks like it’s too long, and bounding into the water. But it bites in time. He’s in Sabbatini-Na Country. What he’d give to rattle that monster in. Meanwhile don’t forget Kisner, in the last group: he splits the 16th fairway. We’ve seen what can happen there. Meanwhile a bogey for Na at the last. He signs for a 71, and ends the event at -9. A fine week’s work, albeit a slightly erratic and eccentric one.
Haas has nearly matched Fowler’s approach at 16! This is simply astonishing. He’s creamed it straight at the green, the ball bouncing off the back of the bunker at the front and springing forward, settling pin high, six feet from the hole! A magical chance to eagle, and join Fowler at the top of the tree! But of course he’s missed a couple of tiddlers already today, so nothing’s certain. Martin, his playing partner, hits into the green with his second too, the ball resting on the apron on the left, 40 feet from the hole, a fine shot under normal circumstances. But these are not normal circumstances. What a shot from Haas!
Garcia is faced with a 60-foot putt, across a glacial green, the route zig-zagging all over the place. He nearly strokes it home! It’s dead on line, and almost perfectly paced. Almost. It stops a couple of feet short, but is still a work of genius from there. Heartbreaking genius? Only if he misses the 18-inch birdie putt. He nearly forgets to clean the mud off his ball, betraying how muddled his head will be with nerves. But in it goes. He’s within a shot of Fowler. And about to play the hole that wrecked his chances in 2013, when he melted down and found the drink twice.
Sergio, figuring that it’s time to roll the dice like Fowler did, gets his fairway wood out on 16. And it’s a fine shot, toppling off the back left portion of the green. The pin’s tucked away on the right, behind a bunker by the water, which shows you how preposterously brave Fowler’s shot was. Still, a chance to get up and down for birdie, to move to within one shot. Haas, coming behind Sergio on the tee, splits the fairway. And so does Martin. This is relentless.
Na nearly sends his tee shot at 17 straight through the green. It snags in the rough surrounding the short grass, and stays out of the water. Just! It’s in Rory Sabbatini Country. He really needs to rake this in, like the South African before him. And it looks like it’s going in, rolling down towards the hole on a huge right-to-left bend. But it stays out, a couple of millimetres shy to the right. Oh me, oh my! That was so unlucky! Na runs around the green holding his head. His poor head, it must be thumping with excitement and misery. That’s his chance gone, unless he makes an unlikely eagle down the last from the middle of the fairway. So that’s his chance gone. But what an effort. This is top-quality sport. The unofficial fifth major, right here.
-12: Fowler (F)
-10: Na (17), Garcia (15), Martin (15), Haas (15), Kisner (14)
The possibilities are endless. Kevin Na birdies 16, and though his nervous four-footer only crept in on the right, he won’t care a jot. He’s -10 now, and very much involved here. Everyone thought Na was out of it. Everyone thought Fowler was out of it. Martin, on 15, wedges his second off the bank on the left of the green to six feet. Birdie. He’s -10. Kisner has a long run at a birdie from 30 feet on 14, but settles for par. He’s -10. And another birdie for Haas, on 15! He’s -10 too. Sergio meanwhile blooters his drive down the left of the 16th fairway. This tournament is astonishing! Brilliant! Goodness knows how it’s going to end.
Sergio’s birdie putt stays on the high side, up on the right. He remains at -10. Only three holes to play, and two birdies to find. Another bogey for Thomas, who couldn’t get up and down from a greenside bunker, a poor sand shot followed by a weak putt. The young man looks mentally spent. He’s back to -7, his race run.
-12: Fowler (F)
-10: Garcia (15), Kisner (13)
Haas may not be quite out of this yet, knocking his approach at 14 to six feet. He knocks it in, to move to -9. Martin puts his second in the bunker on the right, shortsiding himself. He can’t get up and down, and drops back to -9. Meanwhile Sergio reacts well to the bogey at 14, battering a drive down the middle of 15, then lifting his second to 12 feet. He’ll have a good look for birdie. He could do with one ...
-12: Fowler (F)
-10: Garcia (14), Kisner (13)
Fowler sends his wedge into 18 pin high to 15 feet. His playing partner Derek Fathauer is a couple of inches outside him, so he’ll get a great chance to go to school on his putt. A birdie here, and the reverberations will be felt all the way back along the course. It could be enough to secure him the Players! And he’s got the speed, and the line, the ball serenely rolling out to the left, then back into the cup. Birdie! He’s come home in 31 shots, despite dropping a shot at 10! That’s a finish of birdie-par-birdie-eagle-birdie-birdie! He signs for a 67, and is the new clubhouse leader at -12! He deserves to win this tournament for that effort alone - that’s one of the greatest finishes in the history of golf - though of course things don’t work like that. A lot of golf to be played yet!
Some admin after all that mayhem. Kisner knocked in his birdie putt on 12, to move to -10. But he’s left himself a long two-putt on 13 with an average tee shot into the green. Martin had puts his tee shot at 13 over the flag, but didn’t commit to the gentle left-to-right breaker coming back from six feet, and he remains at -8. The young man, only 22, looks very frustrated. But this is a really impressive showing, whatever happens.
Fowler splits the middle of the fairway. He’ll have a short iron into the green. Another birdie, and this could be one of the great championship wins! A long way to go, of course. Here, how about Sergio, in all that trouble at 14? His ball rests on the edge of a cartpath, up against some rough. A drop would see him back on the tangled bank, so he elects to play it off the concrete. He takes off his shoes - this is Seve, mixed with a little Jean van de Velde - and whips the ball up the hole. He finds trees down the right, and can’t get up and down from there, though he gives it a good enough go. Bogey, and Rickie Fowler is now the leader of the Players!
-11: Fowler (17)
-10: Garcia (14), Martin (13), Kisner (12)
Fowler joins Sergio in the lead at -11, knocking in the birdie putt on 17! That’s an astonishing burst of form, from a player who looked out of it less than an hour ago! Birdie. Par. Birdie. Eagle. Birdie. Or, to put it another way, 2-4-3-3-2. Haw! What brilliance from one of the most exciting, likable players on the tour. One last hole. One last drive. All that water down the left! Gulp. God speed, Rickie Fowler.
Fowler makes his move (part two)! On the nerve-shredding 17th, he swishes his tee shot straight at the flag, leaving himself an eight-footer for birdie and share of the lead! Sergio, now feeling the pressure, as he does, wings his tee shot at 14 into thick nonsense down the right. He looks concerned and confused right now. I wonder if he hit the front too soon, the load too much to bear. Kisner clips his second at 12 pin high to three feet. That’ll be simple birdie putt to move to -10.
Kirk misses a six-footer for birdie at 11. He stays at -9. Thomas can’t get up and down from the back of 13; he drops back to -9. Sergio misses his short birdie putt, which was more like eight than 12 feet. He’s now missed 15 from inside ten feet this week. He stays in the lead, but only a shot ahead of Fowler, who converts for his eagle, and Martin, who follows his birdies at 10 and 11 with par at 12.
-11: Garcia (13)
-10: Fowler (16), Martin (12)
-9: Sabbatini (F), Na (14), Kirk (11), Kisner (11)
Sabbatini doesn’t quite hit his birdie putt, the ball sailing off to the right. He settles for a par, and that’ll be a final round of 69. He’s the new clubhouse leader at -9, taking over from the long-standing Jamie Donaldson, and Rory McIlroy and Brian Harman. But, of course, for how long? Birdie for Kevin Na at 14. He’s -9 too. Meanwhile Thomas overclubs at the par-three 13th. He’s through the back of the green, with the pin tucked away at the front. Sergio finds the heart of the dancefloor, his ball guiding in from right to left, and close to the cup. He’ll have a 12-footer for birdie! He might need it, because the field are closing in.
The shot of the day at 16! Rickie Fowler lashes a fairway wood towards the green. He screams in hope, as it’s dicing with the water down the right. But it bounces on the shoulder of the green, the ball breaking towards the cup, and resting 18 inches from the hole! That wasn’t luck, that was sheer bravery, the dice rolled, coming up six! He’ll have a tap-in eagle to move to -10!
Sergio’s playing partner Thomas joins the group at 9, by the way, having sent a gorgeous second shot over the flag, then polishing it off for birdie. Up on 18, Sabbatini belts his drive down the left, flirting with the water, but it’s dry, and he hits his second pin high to 12 feet. He’ll have a good chance to post a score of -10.
Martin’s eagle putt at 11 is a wee bit timid, but no matter. That’s two birdies in a row, and he’s one shot off Garcia’s lead. He might be sharing it, too, because the leader’s just come up short with his wedge from 85 yards into 12. He’ll be left with a tricky up and down. Sergio very nearly bounces it in, bumping up a lovely right-to-left curler, but that’s another par on a course offering a lot of birdie chances.
-11: Garcia (12)
-10: Martin (11)
-9: Sabbatini (17), Kirk (10), Kisner (10)
Brian Harman is the width of one ball dimple from a birdie at the last hole. It’d have given him the clubhouse lead at -9, but no. He’s forced to sign for a 70, and joins Donaldson and his playing partner Rory McIlroy, who also cards 70 today after a common-or-garden par down 18. His putter let him down badly today, and indeed all week. But even when he’s playing averagely, he’s right up there. See also the Masters. It’s not exactly a bad place to be. On to Wentworth, then, and the defence of the British PGA.
Martin appears to be hitting a rich vein of form. He splits the 11th fairway, then fizzes a hybrid over the water and into the heart of the par-five’s green. He’s got an uphill putt for eagle from 20 feet that’d give him a tie of the lead! On 15, another birdie for Fowler. He’s -8! Three birdies over the closing holes, and you never know. And what’s this? It’s Rory Sabbatini, nearly whistling his tee shot at the island 17th through the green and into the drink, then draining a 50-foot snaker into the cup for a monster birdie! He’s three under for his round today, and -9! A birdie up the last - this scenario’s much more realistic, isn’t it - and you never know.
Thomas can only flop his chip over a bunker and onto another grassy bank. He chips up to six or seven feet, but he’s got some work to do for his par. He doesn’t hit the putt, which dies off to the right. He drops back to -8. Sergio splashes from the bunker to 12 feet, then fails to hit the uphill birdie putt. Par. And another par at a par five that’ll feel like a bogey. He remains two clear of those in second spot, though. Meanwhile Na knocks his second at 12 to six feet, but misses the birdie putt and stays at -8. He’s had chances.
Sergio’s second to the par-five 11th only just gets over the water running in front of the green. It’s in sand, though, so in theory there’s a great chance of getting up and down for birdie. His playing partner Thomas is even closer to plonking his ball in the briny, but it squeaks over the creek. He’ll have a hell of a chip from a tight lie, though. A brief lull in action, so time for a leaderboard. Whyever not?
-11: Garcia (10)
-9: Thomas (10), Martin (10), Kirk (9), Kisner (9)
Rory’s birdie effort at 17 dies to the right, just before it reaches the cup. It’s not working on the greens for the world No1 this week. He stays at -8. Ben Martin, who had been going along quite quietly, bogeyed the par-five 9th, but looks like snatching the shot straight back with his second shot at 10 arrowed to three feet. And he knocks it in, to rejoin the group at -9. His playing partner Haas rolls in a 20-footer for a much needed birdie, some precious succour; he’s back to -8. “I think Sergio coasting to victory without drama would be akin to Murray beating Nadal on clay. Ain’t gonna happen.” Sports satirist Simon McMahon there, ladies and gentlemen.
What an up and down this is from Sergio! He finds himself in a divot, as well as thick rough, and can only bump out to ten feet past the hole, spin not an option. But he rattles in the par saver! He stays at -11 - and he’s still two clear of the field, because Thomas misreads his birdie effort, the ball always staying out on the left. Meanwhile Kisner races a birdie putt six feet past the hole at 9, but keeps his head to knock in the return. He remains at -9, having reached the turn in level-par 36.
Zach Johnson clips his tee shot at 17 to four feet, then yips the birdie putt. He stays at -7, any slim chance of making an unlikely claim for the title gone. McIlroy, coming after him, smacks his tee shot pin high to 12 feet. If he finishes birdie-birdie, to post a clubhouse total of -10 ... well, you never know.
We could have new co-leaders in a minute. On 10, both Garcia and Thomas cream drives down the middle. Thomas sends his second to four feet, but Sergio puts his up on a bank to the right of the green, and there’s not much putting surface to play with. Chance of birdie for one, bogey for the other. We’ll see. Rory escapes with his par at 15, blasting out of the sand to three feet and tapping in. What a bunker shot. He stays at -8, but really needed something there. And Rickie Fowler’s not quite out of it yet. He’d dropped a shot at 10, but has just birdied 13 and moves to -7.
The par-five 16th has been playing easy this week - the most generous hole on the course - but Rory’s making an unholy mess of it. A perfect drive, but his second shot’s pulled into filth down the left, forcing him to scoop his third up and over a tree. That one goes into sand down the left. He’ll do well to save par here. Meanwhile Haas misses another short putt, this time on 9 from three feet. His putting mechanism’s gone. And his mental mechanism too, by the looks of it. He’s back to -7, his shoulders slumping as he scuttles off. It’ll be some effort to battle his way back from three bogeys in a row. Out in 38.
David Toms ended up with a double bogey at 17, but it’s good to see the old boy bouncing back with a birdie at 18, to sign for a three-under 69. What a weekend the 2001 PGA champion has had, today’s card following up yesterday’s 68! He ends the week at -7, one behind Jamie Donaldson in the clubhouse, and assured of a very decent finish. He’s currently tied for 13th.
Kisner plays a magnificent power-flop out of the deep rough to get his ball to eight feet. That’s magical from where he was, 40 yards wide. He’s still faced with a tricky downhill dribbler, but taps it in adroitly. What an up and down! He stays at -8. Kirk makes do with par. Up on 15, McIlroy is a dimple away from sinking a 30-foot birdie putt, but another chance goes begging. He stays at -8, but the putter’s just not working for him. On the par-five 9th, Sergio finds the bunker to the left of the green with his second, but hits his splash-out straight past the pin and off the other side. Two putts from the fringe, and that’s a par, but from where he was in the bunker, and being so good from the sand, that’ll feel like a dropped shot. Or a missed opportunity at least. He’s still two clear of his playing partner Thomas, who pars, as well as Kirk, Kisner and the steady Ben Martin, who is hanging in there without making much noise. He birdied 2, dropped that shot at 5, and the rest have been pars.
Haas pulls his tee shot at 8 into the bunker on the left, and takes too much sand with his escape. He’ll be left with a 15-footer for his par. He can’t make it, the ball staying up on the left, never looking like dropping. Another bogey, and he’s back to -8. Kirk rattles in a 20-footer on 7, though, a birdie that moves him up to -9. Then on the next hole he finds the heart of the green, while his playing partner Kisner almost hits his 4-iron straight right! His ball ends up in utter nonsense to the side of the green, and he’s shortsided too.
The veteran Toms plays it safe on 17, aiming for the heart of the green. But he overcooks it, the ball bounding straight through like an over-eager pup and into the water for a nice swim. He’s out of it now, but he’ll always have the Atalanta Athletic Club, huh. Garcia and Thomas both find the middle of the dangerous par-three 8th, and both leave missable par putts. But both knock them in. Harman bogeys 14. Back on 7, Haas can’t get up and down, dropping back to -9. Sergio’s suddenly two in the lead, and the leaderboard has a very different look to it...
-11: Garcia (8)
-9: Thomas (8), Martin (7), Haas (7), Kisner (6)
Kirk and Kisner respond well to their recent travails, peppering the flag at 6. Both left with makeable 12-footers for birdies. Kirk can’t make his, but Kisner does, and he’s back to -9. Toms is a dimple’s width away from birdie at 16, but stays at -8. Senden whips his second, a long iron, into the water at 11. Haas drives into pine needles down the right of 7, and can only punch out back onto the fairway. He’ll be faced with an up and down from 50 yards or so.
McIlroy pulls his birdie putt at 13, the ball sailing past the left lip. He stays at -8, but he’s running out of holes to put pressure on the leading pack. That really had to drop. He tosses the ball away with a face on, which suggests he knows the jig could soon be up. Sergio and his playing partner Thomas both find the heart of 7 and take two putts for their pars. Neither Kirk nor Kisner can salvage their pars at 5. The final pairing are slipping away. Going in the other direction, John Senden, who could post a clubhouse lead of note if he keeps going like this. He opened Sergio-style, with a bogey, but birdies at 2, 4, 6 and now 10 have whizzed him up the leaderboard to -9 and a share of third place.
You’ll have noticed Kevin Na’s name on that leaderboard again. That double bogey at 4 looked to have killed his chances, but back to back birdies at 6 and 7 have hauled him into contention again. No Billy Horschel, whose birdies at 2 and 5 have been cancelled out by bogeys at 6 and now 9. He’s back in the pack at -7.
Suddenly this Players is really hotting up. Rory’s on the move! He knocks in another birdie putt, this time at 12, and he’s -8. Also moving in the right direction, Ryo Ishikawa, with birdie at 9 to move to -8. David Toms rattles one in from 20 feet at 15, and he’s -8 too! And then on 13, Rory hits a tantalising, teasing tee shot onto the front of the green, using the slope to slowly, slowly, slowly send his ball crawling to 12 feet. He’ll have a good look at another birdie!
-11: Garcia (6)
-10: Haas (5)
-9: Harman (12), Thomas (6), Martin (5), Kirk (4), Kisner (4)
-8: Donaldson (F), McIlroy (12), Sabbatini (11), Senden (9), Ishikawa (9), Na (7), Kelly (7)
Sergio is suddenly the sole leader of the Players! He creams his second into 6, landing it five feet from the flag, and makes no mistake with the birdie putt! He really does look in the mood. Who’d have thought this, after he played the opening hole so abysmally? That’s three birdies in a row, and four in his last five holes! When he’s hot, he’s hot. And when players are not, they’re not. Kirk shortsides himself with a dismal approach to 5, while Kisner comes up a club short. At the moment, the final pairing are all over the shop. Meanwhile on 17, the defending champion Martin Kaymer, down at -3, plonks his tee shot in the water, then his second ball pin high to four feet. He should escape with a bogey there!
Harman has an uphill birdie effort from ten feet on 11. It’d give him a share of the lead, but he doesn’t hit it. A poor effort. Kisner misses the fairway on 4, and is always out of position. He bogeys, and drops back to -9. Kirk three putts for bogey at 4, and flings his ball into the water in anger. He’s back to -9 too. Martin on 5 finds a fairway bunker with his tee, rough with his second, and chunks his third, leaving himself a 15-foot par putt. He can’t make it, and he’s back to -9! Haas nearly makes it four out of five leaders losing it, but he knocks in a testing five-footer for his par. He stays at -10. And on 11, McIlroy somehow birdies, having whistled his second onto the top of a thickly covered hillock, engineering a bump-and-run to ten feet, and rolling in the putt. He’s -7, and not out of this quite yet!
Sergio joins the leaders at -10! He knocks in a huge birdie putt on 5, a gentle left-to-right uphill slider from 35 feet! He pumps his fist in a mix of determination and restrained glee. Meanwhile other big birdie putts: the 22-year-old prospect Justin Thomas on 5, to move to -9, and Rory Sabbatini, quietly getting involved. He’s just drained a 40-footer on 10 for another birdie, and suddenly he’s -8!
-10: Garcia (5), Martin (4), Haas (4), Kirk (3), Kisner (3)
-9: Harman (10), Thomas (5)
-8: Donaldson (F), Sabbatini (10), Senden (9), Horschel (8)
Martin and Haas both give themselves chances for birdie at 4, with second shots that flop in the heart of the green and turn left towards the hole. Lovely approaches, but neither of the following putts are much cop, Martin’s staying high on the right, Haas underhitting once again. And up on 18, Jamie Donaldson’s excellent round comes to a happy end. He found the trees down the right, and could only hack out to the fringe at the front of the green, but took two putts from the longer grass, and escapes with a par! Yet again! That round could very easily have fallen apart, but he battled to save himself over the closing holes, and ends up signing for a five-under 67! That’s equalled Padraig Harrington’s best of day. And the Welsh Ryder Cup star is in the clubhouse at -8! It’s too much to expect the entire field to come crashing down, but he’ll be assured of a high finish, and he looks very happy with his day’s work.
Sergio begins to make a move. He strokes his second at 4 pin high to five feet, and knocks the birdie putt into the heart of the cup. He’s -9. Kirk nearly drains a 30-footer for birdie at 3. Par, and that’s what Kisner settles for after a makeable right-to-left curler from 12 feet stays up. Rickie Fowler birdies 7, and slides a 12-foot birdie chance at 8 millimetres to the left of the hole. He stays at -7.
Donaldson really is trying his luck right now. His tee shot at the iconic 17th very nearly slamdunks into the water. It snags on the fringe, though, and he gets up and down to remain at -8. Horschel misses a four-footer for par at 6, and he’s back to -8. He slaps his putter in frustration, his palm stinging as he stomps off the green. Haas makes up for that awful miss on 2 with a 15-footer for birdie at 3. Kirk makes a meal of the par-five 2nd, finding rough down the right with his hybrid, then flopping a wedge into a greenside bunker. But he gets up and down for his par. Meanwhile his playing partner Kisner quietly birdies to join him in a large group at the top. In the mood to watch a play-off tonight? You’d better be!
-10: Haas (3), Martin (3), Kirk (2), Kisner (2)
-9: Harman (9)
On 2, Martin birdies to join Kirk at -10. He should be joined by Haas, but Haas yips a birdie putt from two feet. Oh my! That’s an awful prod to the right of the hole. That’s going to hurt all day, if he doesn’t close this out. And perhaps for a lot longer. Donaldson can’t make his birdie at 16, which on the easiest hole on the course, is effectively a shot dropped to the field. It could have been worse, though, as having sent his second into rough down the left, he fizzed a hot chip straight through the green and nearly into the water. It snagged up on the fringe, though, from where he got up and down for par. He stays at -8.
Na ends up with a double-bogey on 4, and he’s back to -6. Old Slowhand may have already played himself out of this tournament. Kirk and Kisner meanwhile fizz their drives down 2. No mean feat, because the overhanging trees near the tee box has caused some of the top pros all manner of bother this week. Rory hit one travelling only 137 yards. Tiger 105. It’s lovely when some of the best players ever to pick up a club do stuff like that.
Kevin Na finished in unconvincing fashion last night, and it’s going wrong early doors today. He finds a fairway bunker on 4, and plonks his next in the water. Kisner knocks his second shot at 1 to six feet, but his birdie effort is dismal, never hit firmly enough, and dying to the left. Kirk does will to take two putts from off the front of 1 to save his par.
Much good that perfect drive does Kirk. He hits a fat wedge, and it drops short of the green, kicking off to the front right of the putting surface. He’ll do well to get up and down to save his par. Birdie for Sergio at 2, wiping out the memory of that opening hole nightmare. He’s back to -8. His playing partner Thomas birdies too, and he’s -9. Harman birdies 9 to move to within a shot of the lead. There’s probably going to be quite a lot of shoogling about on the leaderboard. Stay with it! (I’ll give it a go, too.)
The leader Kirk hits only his 21st fairway of the week with his opening drive. Pars for Martin and Haas up on the green. Another birdie for Horschel, curling in a right-to-left 20-footer at 5, and the FedEx champion is -9, one off the lead. Bubba nearly drains a 30-footer at 7 but must settle for par. Sangmoon Bae clips a lovely 8-iron to six feet at the treacherous par-three 17th, and makes back-to-back birdies; he’s -5. And Scott Brown makes a 50-footer on 3 to move back to -8, having dropped a shot at the opening hole.
Jamie Donaldson’s having to scrap a bit right now. After his staunch save at 14, another at 15, powering out from rough to bump his ball onto the green from distance. Another par, and he’s still very nicely placed at -8. “My earliest memory of Sawgrass is from the late 80s when I used to shoot 63 there regularly on the Sega Megadrive golf game,” recalls Simon McMahon, 78. “I can still recall the tension on the 17th tee if I was in with a chance of shooting a low score and ‘winning’ the Players Championship. And this was just a computer simulation. Imagine how Sergio’s going to feel in a few hours!” I’d imagine he’ll be fairly calm, on account of it not mattering any more, if that start is anything to go by. Computer golf’s got too complicated, though, hasn’t it? Over-engineered. The swing mechanism on the Super Nintendo PGA game, a couple of buttons, press press, was pretty much all anyone needed. Sheer perfection. God, the hours I wasted.
Sergio’s out! And he’s hoicked his opening tee shot into the thick Bermuda grass down the left. He whips a wedge into the heart of the green, but from the rough can’t make it bite. It bounds off into a swale, from which he can’t get up and down for par. A Sergioesque start. Bogey. The 2008 champ’s back to -7. Meanwhile Harman sees a long putt at 8 stop just short, just like his playing partner McIlroy before him. He stays at -8, nicely placed.
McIlroy leaves himself a 45-foot putt on the long par-three 8th, and hits it 44-and-a-bit. A decent par on a difficult hole, but he really needs something more, he needs something quickly. He’s -6 still. Back on 6, Bubba is one millimetre away from registering back-to-back birdies, but his putt from eight feet, following up a delightfully crisp approach, decides to turn left at the very last. How did that not go in?! He stays at -7.
Donaldson finds the trees off the tee at 14, but gets up and down from 80 yards, a lovely wedge into the green pinged to four feet below the hole. He stays at -8. Rory Sabbatini birdies 6 to move to -7. And a sad end to Henrik Stenson’s round: a bogey at 18, though he’s still signing for a four-under-par 68. He’s the current clubhouse leader at -6, but of course it can’t last. Still, a fine week’s work by the Swede, who needs to work his way back into form and fitness after those bouts of illness he suffered around the Masters. He could be a good shout for the US Open if he gets his chops up in time.
Birdie for Bubba on 5, and he moves to -7. After five pars, that’s nice and steady. Hey, it can’t be Bubbagolf all the time. A long birdie putt for McIlroy on 6, meanwhile. It’s a decent effort from 40 feet, given a chance to drop, but trundles three feet past. He knocks in the par putt, but his ball wheechs round the entire circumference of the hole before dropping. His confidence with the putter just isn’t there this week. He’d be right up there at the top if it was.
A birdie for Billy Horschel on 2, and he joins the pack at -8. David Toms meanwhile has made the turn in 33, with birdies at 4, 6 and 9. The 2001 PGA champion is -7. Meanwhile here’s a shocking stat for Rory McIlroy, one which explains why he’s only got an outside chance of winning tonight, and better get his skates on quickly if he wants to: he’s first in the rankings this week for driving, and first in proximity to the hole, but has only made three putts from outside 10 feet! His flat stick is stone cold. If you want sweet ball striking and dead-eyed putting, this week perhaps we’d better look to Sergio. You can read that bit again if you like.
On the hour, then, here’s where we are at the top:
-10: Kirk
-9: Kisner, Martin, Haas
-8: Donaldson (12), Harman (5), Fathauer (2), Thomas, Garcia, Brown, Hearn, Na, Kelly
-7: Stenson (17), McNeill (9), Ishikawa (1), Horschel (1), Hadley (1), Perez (1)
Look at all those names! And there are another 16 players just a couple of shots further out. I have a feeling these leaderboards could tire me out this evening. What did Ringo scream at the end of Helter Skelter again?
Jamie Donaldson’s bubbling away nicely, too. Another birdie for the Welsh star, at 12, and he’s -8. He’s five under for his round already; if he pars his way home, he’ll match Harrington’s best-of-day scorecard. But he’ll be aiming for something very, very special here.
Henrik Stenson is hot today. Yet another birdie, his sixth of this final round, and he’s up the leaderboard as high as -7. This one came at the par-five 16th, which has been playing as the easiest hole all week, but still. His performance - along with those of Padraig Harrington, and Erik Compton - suggests that this title will be won by someone posting a very competitive under-par score today. If you’re starting a few shots off the lead, you’d better get going quickly. Which is bad news for Rory McIlroy, who failed to get up and down from the side of 5 and has dropped back to -6.
Jamie Donaldson is not letting this lie. He went out in 33, though his momentum was slowed a little with bogey at 8. But he’s reclaimed that shot at 11. He’s four under par for his round today, and in the big group at -7. Bo Van Pelt has moved alongside him, with back-to-back birdies at 4 and 5. A shot behind on the leaderboard at -6: the Scot, Russell Knox. He’s birdied 2, 6, 9, 12 and now 14, dropping just the one stroke so far today, after finding water at the par-five 11th. Knox is surely too far behind to make a serious tilt for the big prize, but a high finish could be the start of a stellar month for Inverness sport, with Caley Thistle in the cup final in three weeks’ time.
McNeill’s charge slows a little. He’s dropped a shot at the par-three 8th, after sending his tee shot into the thick stuff to the right of the green, and is back to -7. His place up nearer the top of the leaderboard is taken by Brian Harman, who responds to his bogey at 3 with another birdie at 4. No pars yet for the 28-year-old, who is exactly 100th in the world, and had decent enough showings at last year’s Open and PGA (tying for 26th and 40th respectively). He’s -8, and the leading player out on the course right now. Only Kirk, Kisner, Martin and Haas are above him on the actual leaderboard.
It’s not happening for the defending champion Martin Kaymer. It took him a couple of shots to escape from a greenside bunker at 3, and the resulting double bogey dropped him back to -2 for the tournament. His chances were slim, but now they’re non-existent. Ah well, he’ll always have the memory of that stunning 40-foot par-saving putt on 17 last year to keep him warm at night. And of course the US Open triumph at Pinehurst, too. The joint runner-up behind Kaymer in North Carolina, Erik Compton, has carded a mighty impressive 68 today. He ends his tournament at -4, currently tied for 38th, whatever that’ll mean come the end of the day. The other runner-up at last year’s US Open, Rickie Fowler, is in with a great shout of winning this championship, starting his final round three off the lead. But he’s missed the first green to the right by some distance, and could have a job getting up and down. He can’t afford any early calamities. God speed, young man.
Some more movement at the top of the leaderboard. McIlroy birdied the par-five 2nd, and is now -7 through 3, three strokes off the lead. But that’s nothing compared to the start made by his playing partner Brian Harman: the American birdied 1 and 2, only to fail to get up and down from the left-hand bunker at 3 to hand one of those precious shots straight back. Having been momentarily tied for fifth at -8, he’s now alongside McIlroy in the large group at -7. George McNeill is making his move, meanwhile. The 39-year-old Floridian is 108th in the world, and his best finish in a major is a tie for 62nd at the 2012 PGA at Kiawah Island. But he’s after his first big title, and only his third Tour victory. He’s birdied another, this time the 7th, to rise to -8. And Henrik Stenson’s birdied 14, to move into the top 20 at -6. There are birdies out here today. It promises to be a very, very exciting day of golf. Picking a winner from this lot is nigh-on impossible. The fever’s rising.
But before we get any further into this, a word on Tiger Woods. He had quite the round today, a level-par 72, but that doesn’t tell the half of it. Through the turn in level-par 36, he exploded into life, with birdies at 10, 11 and 12. That all went on 14, when he pulled his tee shot into the drink down the left, and then sent his second ball skittering this way and that as he traipsed up the hole in the weekend leisure-seeker’s fashion. Triple bogey, and back to where he started the day, +3. There was still time for more fun: a gorgeous long iron at 16 from 230 yards to eight feet, though the eagle putt was spurned. And a stunning tee shot at 17, where the pin’s tucked behind the bunker on the right, to six feet. Plenty of contenders will be praying for one like that. They might pass on the putt, though; the birdie effort was misread, dribbling off apologetically to the left of the hole. Finally, a bogey at 18, his 3-wood from the tee sent whistling into the trees down the right. Tiger signed for his rollercoaster 72, and ends the tournament down near the basement at +3 alongside Dustin Johnson and Louis Oosthuizen, with only Troy Merritt (+4), Alex Cejka (+11) and Scott Stallings (+13) propping him up. And yet... and yet... there were signs that the still-rusty Tiger is slowly emerging from his slumber. Not ever to become the force he once was, obviously, but a serious contender again one day. A couple of those irons were simply sumptuous. And if Tiger’s fans really want to dream ... the Open’s at St Andrews this year. He couldn’t. Could he?!
A good chance that Harrington’s 67 will be beaten today, though. Plenty of players have flown out of the blocks. Jamie Donaldson, Europe’s Ryder Cup hero, was the first to make a mark towards the top of the leaderboard. Birdies at 2, 4, 6 and 7 shot him up to -7 overall, just three off Chris Kirk’s lead, but a dropped shot at the par-three 8th has queered that momentum slightly. He’s -6. The US journeymen George McNeill and Luke Guthrie both have three birdies to their name today already, McNeill picking his up at 2, 4 and 5, Guthrie carding three in a row between 2 and 4. They’re both up to -7. And Henrik Stenson responded well to dropping a shot at 5: birdies at 6, 9, 10 and now 12 have taken the Swede as high as -5 overall.
Here we are, then, at the business end of the unofficial fifth major: the Players. We’re hoping for quite a few early moves, with the sun beating down on the course, and the scoring expected to be low. And it looks like it might be quite a shootout, if the early signs are anything to go by. Padraig Harrington has set the tone with a five-under 67, the best round of the day by far, though of course only a few players are in the clubhouse at the moment. His blemish-free, five-birdie card has fizzed the three-time major winner up the standings to a very respectable -2 overall. Quite a few of the lads mentioned in the preamble would pay cash money for a round like that today.
Welcome to the fourth round of the 42nd edition of the Players Championship!
It promises to be a sensational final day’s play, for all the usual reasons.
- The stunning Pete and Alice Dye designed TPC at Sawgrass course, with the famous island 17th hole a double or triple bogey waiting to happen, and the treacherous water-lined 18th, a double or triple bogey waiting to happen.
- A field which is the equal of, and possibly even better than, any of the majors.
- This tournament has produced its fair share of dramatic denouements in recent times. Sergio melting down at 17 in the face of pressure from Tiger in 2013, a quadruple-bogey, double-bogey finish sinking his hopes; Martin Kaymer toughing it out in the gloaming last year, raking in a monster on 17 just as all looked lost after a double bogey at 15 and a duffed chip at the island par-three.
- It’s the unofficial fifth major.
- Forgive us for being crass, but the purse is huge, $10m, the biggest in tournament golf.
But this year could be even more manic and extreme. For there are currently 25 players within four shots of third-round leader Chris Kirk at -10. However 54-hole leaders have not always fared well at the Players in recent years: Alex Cejka shot a 79 on the final day in 2009, Graeme McDowell did the same in 2011, while Kevin Na shot 76 in 2012. So if you factor Kirk out of the equation, just for argument’s sake, that brings another tranche of players to within striking distance. Hey, there’s defending champ Kaymer at -4, currently tied for 31st. It’s not beyond the realms.
The chasing pack is a lovely mix of the usual suspects and a few relative unknowns. Some of the lesser renowned: Kevin Kisner and Ben Martin a shot behind at -9, Justin Thomas, Scott Brown and David Hearn at -8, Chesson Hadley and Derek Fathauer at -7. And then here are some of the more well-known players in that top 25, and with the scent of another big victory in their nostrils: Bill Haas, Sergio, Na, Ryo Ishikawa, Billy Horschel, Rickie Fowler, Bubba Watson, Adam Scott, Ian Poulter, Zach Johnson - and the world number one, Rory McIlroy, who at -6 could have done with making his short birdie putt on 18 last night, but what a drive he boomed down there, you can’t have everything.
The Players, first won by Jack Nicklaus in 1974, has a distinguished roll of honour. Here are some of the other names on it: Lee Trevino, Ray Floyd, Jerry Pate, Hal Sutton, Freddie Couples, Calvin Peete, Sandy Lyle, Tom Kite, Davis Love III, Nick Price, Greg Norman, David Duval, Tiger Woods, Adam Scott, Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia, Matt Kuchar and Martin Kaymer. Among other stars. Who’ll be the latest to join that stellar list? We’ll find out tonight! After a play-off, I’ll be bound.
We’ll get this blog going at 1pm Florida time, 6pm over in Blighty. Join us then, when the weather is expected to be delicious, and the scoring low, especially early on if yesterday’s action was any sort of guide. And in the meantime, happy Mothers Day, everyone!
The third round leader board:
-10: Kirk
-9: Kisner, Martin, Haas
-8: Thomas, Garcia, Brown, Hearn, Na, Kelly
-7: Hadley, Perez, Ishikawa, Horschel, Fathauer, Fowler
-6: Vegas, Senden, B Watson, Scott, Sabbatini, Poulter, McIlroy, Harman, Z Johnson
And today’s tee times:
- 8.30am EDT (1.30pm BST): Scott Stallings
- 8.35am EDT (1.35pm BST): Webb Simpson, Alex Cejka
- 8.45am EDT (1.45pm BST): Ernie Els, Vijay Singh
- 8.55am EDT (1.55pm BST): Tiger Woods, Dustin Johnson
- 9.05am EDT (2.05pm BST): Louis Oosthuizen, Padraig Harrington
- 9.15am EDT (2.15pm BST): Graeme McDowell, Bryce Molder
- 9.25am EDT (2.25pm BST): Chris Stroud, Erik Compton
- 9.35am EDT (2.35pm BST): Brendon Todd, Troy Merritt
- 9.45am EDT (2.45pm BST): Charl Schwartzel, Robert Allenby
- 9.55am EDT (2.55pm BST): James Hahn, Robert Streb
- 10.05am EDT (3.05pm BST): Scott Langley, Brendon de Jonge
- 10.15am EDT (3.15pm BST): Henrik Stenson, Marc Leishman
- 10.25am EDT (3.25pm BST): Nick Taylor, J.B. Holmes
- 10.35am EDT (3.35pm BST): K.J. Choi, Russell Knox
- 10.45am EDT (3.45pm BST): Graham DeLaet, Matt Every
- 10.55am EDT (3.55pm BST): Sangmoon Bae, Freddie Jacobson
- 11.05am EDT (4.05pm BST): Hideki Matsuyama, Jim Furyk
- 11.15am EDT (4.15pm BST): Geoff Ogilvy, Jamie Donaldson
- 11.25am EDT (4.25pm BST): Russell Henley, Steve Stricker
- 11.35am EDT (4.35pm BST): Charley Hoffman, Cameron Tringale
- 11.45am EDT (4.45pm BST): Joost Luiten, Martin Kaymer
- 11.55am EDT (4.55pm BST): George McNeill, Stephen Gallacher
- 12.05pm EDT (5.05pm BST): David Toms, Luke Guthrie
- 12.15pm EDT (5.15pm BST): Charles Howell III, Branden Grace
- 12.25pm EDT (5.25pm BST): Bo Van Pelt, Patrick Reed
- 12.35pm EDT (5.35pm BST): Zach Johnson, Martin Flores
- 12.45pm EDT (5.45pm BST): Rory McIlroy, Brian Harman
- 12.55pm EDT (5.55pm BST): Rory Sabbatini, Ian Poulter
- 1.05pm EDT (6.05pm BST): Bubba Watson, Adam Scott
- 1.15pm EDT (6.15pm BST): Jhonattan Vegas, John Senden
- 1.25pm EDT (6.25pm BST): Derek Fathauer, Rickie Fowler
- 1.35pm EDT (6.35pm BST): Ryo Ishikawa, Billy Horschel
- 1.45pm EDT (6.45pm BST): Chesson Hadley, Pat Perez
- 1.55pm EDT (6.55pm BST): Kevin Na, Jerry Kelly
- 2.05pm EDT (7.05pm BST): Scott Brown, David Hearn
- 2.15pm EDT (7.15pm BST): Justin Thomas, Sergio Garcia
- 2.25pm EDT (7.25pm BST): Ben Martin, Bill Haas
- 2.35am EDT (7.35pm BST): Chris Kirk, Kevin Kisner
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