The Players 2026: TV coverage, TPC Sawgrass schedule, Featured Groups and how to watch or stream PGA Tour event on Sky Sports
Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy are the pre-tournament favourites at The Players; schedule, key TV times, featured groups, bonus coverage and how to watch the PGA Tour's flagship event live on Sky Sports
Sunday 15 March 2026 23:10, UK
The stars of the PGA Tour head to TPC Sawgrass this week for The Players, with extended coverage throughout the week live on Sky Sports Golf.
Rory McIlroy returns as defending champion after last year's play-off win over JJ Spaun, with the world No 2 - who withdrew mid-tournament from the Arnold Palmer Invitational due to a back injury - now looking to win the PGA Tour's flagship event for a third time.
McIlroy can become the first back-to-back winner since Scottie Scheffler, who has finished inside the top 10 in his last two PGA Tour events but is pre-tournament favourite to win The Players for a third time in four years.
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FedExCup leader Collin Morikawa aims to build on a strong start to the PGA Tour season and Tommy Fleetwood bids to become the first English winner of The Players, while Xander Schauffele and Ludvig Åberg are among the others chasing victory.
Five-time Brooks Koepka features at The Players for the first time since leaving LIV Golf and is part of a strong field at the PGA Tour's flagship event, offering a $25million £18.7m) purse, where 47 of the world's top 50 are scheduled to feature.
Sky Sports will once again have round-the-clock coverage from this year's event, with over 60 hours of live programming across tournament week and the opening round live on Thursday from 11.30am on Sky Sports Golf.
The Players 2026: Key TV coverage times and Sky Sports Golf schedule
Sky Sports Golf unless stated; *means also on Sky Sports Main Event
Tuesday
1pm: Live from The Players*
Wednesday
11.30am: Live from The Players*
Thursday
11.30am: The Players - R1 live!*
11.30am: Marquee Group (Sky Sports+)
Featured Groups, Featured Holes and bonus groups on Sky Sports+
Friday
11.30am: The Players - R2 live!*
11.30am: Marquee Group (Sky Sports+)
Featured Groups, Featured Holes and bonus groups on Sky Sports+
Saturday
1pm: The Players - R3 live!*
Featured Groups, Featured Holes and bonus groups on Sky Sports+
Sunday
1pm: The Players - R4 live!*
Featured Groups, Featured Holes and bonus groups on Sky Sports+
What are the Featured Groups and what extra coverage is available?
A special 'Live from The Players' show will offer eight hours of live build-up on both Tuesday and Wednesday, while extra coverage of all four tournament days will be available on Sky Sports+.
The main feed covers the best action from across the course and marquee group focuses on each shot from the player in the group, while the traditional featured groups feed shows two groups in one stream and an extra option focuses purely on the 17th hole.
All extra streams are part of Sky Sports+ on Sky TV, streaming service NOW and the Sky Sports app, which will also have a rolling live blog and near-live highlights.
Thursday/Friday's featured groups
Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Hideki Matsuyama
Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas, Tommy Fleetwood
There will be daily highlights available each morning, along with an extended programme of Paul McGinley and Brandel Chamblee debating the biggest storylines ahead of the tournament.
The Players venue and past winners at TPC Sawgrass
The Players has been part of the PGA Tour calendar since its launch in 1974, where Jack Nicklaus became the inaugural winner, with the tournament held at its current venue - The Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass - since 1982.
TPC Sawgrass is located at PGA Tour's global home at Ponte Vedra Beach, with the par-72 layout offering one of the most iconic holes in sport with the par-three 17th.
The 137-yard "Stadium Hole" sees players hitting towards a hole surrounded by water on all sides, with huge crowds watching from either hospitality tents or spectator banks. The hole is regularly referred to as having an "island green", despite having a narrow peninsula at the back of the putting surface.
Nicklaus is the only three-time winner of The Players, with McIlroy, Scheffler, Fred Couples, Steve Elkington, Hal Sutton, Davis Love III and Tiger Woods the others to win the event on multiple occasions.
How to watch The Players in the UK and Ireland
Got Sky?
TV: Sky Customers can watch on Sky Sports Golf, with coverage available at various points throughout the week on Sky Sports Main Event.
App: Sky Customers can also watch on the Sky Sports app - with extra feeds including Featured Groups, Featured Holes and bonus groups.
Not got Sky?
Stream: Non-Sky Customers can stream the action with no contract with a NOW Day or a cancel-anytime Month pass
Live blog: Anyone on the move can follow live coverage of The Players in a dedicated live blog throughout the week.
FREE Highlights: Watch near-live clips and post-round highlights on the Sky Sports app
How to watch The Players with the Sky Sports app
Sky Sports Subscribers can:
- Download or open the Sky Sports app
- Head to the 'Watch' section
- Tap on the Sky Sports Golf channel
- Sign in with your Sky iD (*you'll only need to do this once)
*Sky iD help: How to find or create your Sky iD
What is NOW?
NOW is an instant streaming service offering access to all 12 Sky Sports channels, every Sky Sports+ stream, and much more.
It's an app, so customers can sign up and stream instantly across over 60 devices. It offers contract-free membership options, so customers can cancel anytime!
You can choose between a Month or Day Membership. See the latest NOW membership prices.
More information about NOW can be found here.
Who will win The Players? Watch throughout the week live on Sky Sports. Live coverage of the opening round begins on Thursday from 11.30am on Sky Sports Golf. Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract.
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