Golf Glance: Elite field for The Players’ $25M purse; LIV returns to Singapore

The smallest field in the history of The Players Championship tackles the iconic TPC Sawgrass with the PGA Tour’s largest purse at stake, while Jon Rahm looks to keep his red-hot LIV Golf streak going in Singapore.

PGA TOUR

THIS WEEK: The Players Championship, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., March 12-15

Course: TPC Sawgrass (Par 72, 7,352 Yards)

Purse: $25M (Winner: $4.5M)

Defending Champion: Rory McIlroy

FedEx Cup Leader: Collin Morikawa

HOW TO FOLLOW

TV: Thursday-Friday: 1-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday: 2-7 p.m. (NBC); Sunday: 1-6 p.m. (NBC)

Streaming (ESPN+): Thursday-Friday: 7:30 a.m.-7 p.m. ET; Saturday: 8 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sunday: 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m.

X: @ThePlayers

NOTES: Each of the past six winners of The Players entered the week inside the top 10 in the Official World Golf Ranking, and this week’s field includes 46 of the top 50 players. … This is the first of five events this season that offer 750 FedExCup points to the winner, and the winner earns a five-year PGA Tour exemption. … Seven of the first nine events have been won by players in their 20s. … Five of the past six Players were decided by no more than one shot. … Joel Dahmen, Taylor Moore, Seamus Power and Andrew Putnam qualified for the field through their FedExCup ranking through the Cognizant Classic. … Only three players have converted the 54-hole lead/co-lead into a victory at The Players since 2016: Jason Day (2016), Webb Simpson (2018) and Scottie Scheffler (2023). … Brooks Koepka is in the field as part of his return to the PGA Tour via the Returning Member Program. To round out threesomes, the field was expanded to 123 with the addition of Patton Kizzire and Seamus Power. It still marks the smallest field in tournament history. … 2021 Players champion Justin Thomas will make his second start in his return from November back surgery. … Fourteen players are making their tournament debut, including seven tour rookies… Greg Norman holds the tournament scoring record of 264 set in 1994.

BEST BETS: Scottie Scheffler (+435 at DraftKings) won at TPC Sawgrass in 2023-24 and seeks to join Jack Nicklaus as the only three-time winners of The Players. … Rory McIlroy (+1475) is also a two-time winner of The Players, but did not arrive at TPC Sawgrass until Wednesday after withdrawing from the Arnold Palmer due to back spasms. … Collin Morikawa (+2050) leads the FedExCup standings following his T-7 at the Genesis and solo fifth at the Arnold Palmer in addition to his win at Pebble Beach. … Ludvig Aberg (+2900) is coming off a T3 at Bay Hill and finished solo eighth here in 2024 before missing the cut last year. … Chris Gotterup (+4700) offers intriguing odds for the only two-time winner on tour so far this season. … Sepp Straka (+5600) provides longshot odds despite entering the week ranked ninth in the world. He had a T-2 at Pebble Beach and finished T-13 last week.

Last Tournament: Arnold Palmer Invitational (Akshay Bhatia)

Next Tournament: Valspar Championship, Palm Harbor, Fla. (March 19-22)

LIV GOLF LEAGUE

THIS WEEK: LIV Golf Singapore, March 12-15

Course: Sentosa Golf Club (Par 71, 7,406 Yards)

Purses: Individual: $30M (Winner: $4M); Team: $10M (Winners: $3M)

Defending Champions: Individual: Joaquin Niemann; Team: Fireballs GC

2026 Season Leaders: Individual: Jon Rahm; Team: Ripper GC

HOW TO WATCH

TV: Wednesday: 9-11 p.m. ET (Fox Sports app), 11 p.m.-2 a.m. (FS1); Thursday: 9-11:30 p.m. (Fox Sports app), 11:30 p.m.-2 a.m. (FS1); Friday: 9:30-10:30 p.m. (FS2), 10:30 p.m.-2:30 a.m. (FS); Saturday: 9 p.m.-2 a.m. (FS1)

X: @livgolf_league

NOTES: This is the fourth of 14 events this season as LIV Golf returns to Singapore for the fourth consecutive year. … Rahm has four runner-ups and a win in his past five LIV events. … HyFlyers GC captain Phil Mickelson will miss his fourth consecutive event due to an undisclosed family matter and will be replaced by Wade Ormsby. … The daily shotgun start includes 13 teams and 57 total players, including five wild cards. … Thomas Detry (No. 61) and Elvis Smylie (No. 73) have two events remaining to climb into the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking and earn a spot into the Masters.

Last Event: LIV Golf Hong Kong (Individual: Rahm; Team: 4Aces GC)

Next Event: LIV Golf South Africa, Steyn City, March 19-22

LPGA TOUR

THIS WEEK: OFF.

Race to CME Globe Leader: Jeeno Thitikul

Last Tournament: Blue Bay LPGA (Mi Hyang Lee)

Next Tournament: Fortinet Founders Cup, Menlo Park, Calif., March 19-22

DP WORLD TOUR

THIS WEEK: OFF.

Race to Dubai Leader: Patrick Reed

Last Tournament: Joburg Open (Dan Bradbury)

Next Tournament: Hainan Classic, Hainan Island, China, March 19-22