Yes, Bulldogs are headed to Duval but not for the Coctail Party. One of the biggest week’s on the golf calendar, and we’ve got some ‘Dawgs in the field. But first a quick recap of what went down at Arnie’s place at Bay Hill for the big bucks and elevated FedEx points:
Brian Harman never got anything going, blew up Saturday, and finished last of those making the cut. Chris Kirk wasn’t much better, and he tied for 47th. Keith Mitchell both opened and closed with solid 68’s, but Friday and Saturday rounds
took him out of serious contention (T33).
Harris English also started strong yet did not recapture any magic and tied for 24th. Sepp Straka improved every day and started the final round in the top 6, but a bad Sunday bumped him back down to T13. And Russell Henley, who was the defending champion, hung around until a 4 under par final round got him into the top 10 at 6th.
So that’s 3 former Bulldogs in the top 25, 2 in the top 15, and a top 10. Let’s see if we can make a little more headway as the Tour heads up the Florida coast to St. Augustine and the PGA Tour’s signature, signature event.
Tournament: The Players Championship, March 12-15, 2026
Course: TPC Sawgrass (Stadium Course), 7,352 yards, par 72. A former swamp outside of Jacksonville turned into some of the priciest golf real estate in the country.
Purse: $25 big ones. As in the richest purse in golf. The winner gets a cool $4.5 million. This is frankly ridiculous, but it does make for some drama.
Defending Champ: Rory McIlroy. JJ Spaun led going into Sunday, but was just able to hang on with an even par 72. McIlroy charged from a little further back, shooting a 68 and forcing Spaun to make some crucial putts coming in just to make the playoff. The early sunset pushed the 4 hole playoff to Monday morning and a sparse crowd. And McIlory was comfortable enough to not make mistakes, Spaun the opposite, and the Irishman captured the Players as a prelude to what would happen in Augusta 4 weeks later.
In 2024, Brian Harman captured 2nd place, and Kevin Kisner forced a playoff in 2014 but eventually lost to Rickie Fowler. Other than that, there haven’t been too many high finishes from our boys, but we said the same thing about the British Open.
TV Times: The Golf Channel will have live coverage Thursday and Friday from 1:00 – 7:00 pm ET. But they also have live look-ins almost all day. NBC will have extended coverage Saturday from 2-7pm ET, and Sunday from 1:00 pm ET to end of coverage. PGA Tour Live via ESPN+ is essentially all day (roughly 7-7 ET all four rounds).
Dawgs in the Field: 7. Harman, English, Henley, Kirk, Mitchell, Straka, Thompson.
Whethere this is a “5th major” or not, it is quantifiably the toughest field in golf, with 123 of the top players (outside of Jon Rahm and a couple of other LIV members). It is also the richest purse in golf. And on one of the toughest tests in terms of course setup. Add that up, and it’s a big week for everyone in the golf world.
Rory McIlroy is a game time decision (little after 1:30 pm ET Thursday) with a bad back, Scheffler is coming off his worst finish in forever (a top 25, but consecutive non-top 10s – poor guy), and plenty of other storylines. You might be distracted with the SEC basketball tournament or other items of March Madness. At least Georgia plays at 7 pm tonight, hopefully after the golf coverage concludes.
Whatever you’re watching, have yourself a day. And as always…
GO ‘DAWGS!!!
