Scottie Scheffler remains in contention for a historic third consecutive title at The PLAYERS Championship. The current World No. 1 is tied for 16th place with a score of 5 under par, trailing the leaders by six strokes. After two rounds at TPC Sawgrass, Scheffler must elevate his game over the weekend to make a serious push for the championship.
At the top of the leaderboard, Min Woo Lee and Akshay Bhatia lead the tournament at 11 under par. Just behind them, JJ Spaun sits one stroke back, while Rory McIlroy, Alex Smalley, and Collin Morikawa are two strokes behind the leaders. A total of 72 players made the cut after finishing at 1 under par or better.
Xander Schauffele extended his impressive streak of consecutive cuts made to 59, the longest active streak since Tiger Woods’ record-setting 142, which ended in 2005. While Schauffele has a long way to go before reaching Woods’ mark, he will aim for a strong showing in the final two rounds to challenge for the title.
Round 3 Tee Times and Pairings
All players will begin their rounds from Tee No.1, with times listed in Eastern Standard Time:
8:25 AM – Shane Lowry, Danny Walker
8:35 AM – C.T. Pan, Justin Lower
8:45 AM – Tom Kim, Marc Meissner
8:55 AM – Daniel Berger, Xander Schauffele
9:05 AM – Rico Hoey, Jesper Svensson
9:15 AM – Aaron Rai, Sungjae Im
9:25 AM – Russell Henley, Corey Conners
9:35 AM – Matt Kuchar, Joel Dahmen
9:50 AM – Austin Eckroat, Keegan Bradley
10:00 AM – Matthieu Pavon, Camilo Villegas
10:10 AM – Byeong Hun An, Kurt Kitayama
10:20 AM – Ryan Fox, Denny McCarthy
10:30 AM – Hayden Springer, Will Chandler
10:40 AM – J.T. Poston, Chris Kirk
10:50 AM – Jordan Spieth, Tom Hoge
11:00 AM – Ryan Gerard, Joe Highsmith
11:15 AM – Jhonattan Vegas, Trey Mullinax
11:25 AM – Chandler Phillips, Si Woo Kim
11:35 AM – Isaiah Salinda, Sami Valimaki
11:45 AM – Sahith Theegala, Davis Thompson
11:55 AM – Davis Riley, Justin Thomas
12:05 PM – Cameron Young, Carson Young
12:15 PM – Robert MacIntyre, Bud Cauley
12:25 PM – Matt McCarty, Stephan Jaeger
12:40 PM – Max McGreevy, Beau Hossler
12:50 PM – Patrick Cantlay, Sam Ryder
1:00 PM – Taylor Moore, Rickie Fowler
1:10 PM – Taylor Pendrith, Scottie Scheffler
1:20 PM – Sepp Straka, Charley Hoffman
1:30 PM – Harris English, Billy Horschel
1:40 PM – Jacob Bridgeman, Emiliano Grillo
1:55 PM – Tommy Fleetwood, Jake Knapp
2:05 PM – Lucas Glover, Will Zalatoris
2:15 PM – Collin Morikawa, Alex Smalley
2:25 PM – J.J. Spaun, Rory McIlroy
2:35 PM – Min Woo Lee, Akshay Bhatia
Notable Players Who Missed the Cut
Several high-profile players failed to advance past the first two rounds. Among the most surprising eliminations was Ludvig Åberg, who struggled on Friday, recording three double bogeys to finish at 2 over par for the tournament—three strokes above the cut line.
Hideki Matsuyama and Justin Rose narrowly missed out, finishing even par after two rounds. Matsuyama struggled on day one with a 2 over par round, while Rose had a tough second day, finishing 1 over par.
Max Homa and Viktor Hovland were unable to recover from poor starts in the opening round. Homa finished the first day at 7 over par, while Hovland was even worse at 8 over par, leaving both players with an uphill battle that they ultimately could not overcome. Homa missed the cut by seven shots, and Hovland by five.
The Battle for the $4.5 Million Prize
With big names like Scheffler, McIlroy, and Schauffele still in contention, the final two rounds promise intense competition. The winner of the tournament will take home a significant $4.5 million prize, making every shot count in the closing stages.
As the weekend unfolds, all eyes will be on Scheffler to see if he can make up ground and secure an unprecedented third consecutive victory at The PLAYERS Championship.