Players 2025: Rory McIlroy faces J.J. Spaun in Monday playoff at TPC Sawgrass

A long day at the Players Championship on Sunday got extended into Monday when J.J. Spaun’s 30-foot birdie bid for victory at the 72nd hole stopped two inches short, setting up a three-hole aggregate playoff with World No. 2 Rory McIlroy.

The two men return at 9 a.m. Monday for a playoff at the famed closing stretch at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

Winner earlier this year at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, McIlroy overcame a four-stroke deficit to Spaun, the 54-hole leader, by shooting a final-round 68 on the Stadium Course to post 12-under 276. The Northern Irishman actually pulled ahead by as many as three strokes before Spaun, who has one victory in nine years on the PGA Tour, rallied back to forge a tie with a tap-in birdie at the par-five 16th hole. The California native shot even-par 72 despite hitting 16 greens in regulation, best in the field.

McIlroy, 35, figures to be the heavy favorite as he seeks his 28th tour title and second win in the Players following his victory in 2019. Spaun, 34, at least locked up his 24th top-10 finish in 228 starts. He already has a runner-up and third-place finish this season. His lone tour title came in the 2022 Valero Texas Open.

“Everyone expects him to win. I don't think a lot of people expect me to win,” Spaun said. “I expect myself to win. That's all I care about.”

The conclusion of the 51st Players was pushed into an extra day after play was suspended by thunderstorms for four hours.

McIlroy led by a shot when the horn sounded at 1:15 p.m. ET. When play resumed, he promptly hit a wedge to 13 feet at the par-4 12th and buried the birdie to go two ahead of Spaun. That lead soon grew to three when Spaun three-putted the par-five 11th for bogey.

A wayward drive at 14 resulted in a bogey for McIlroy, and moments later Spaun birdied the same hole after a brilliant approach from 169 yards that checked up a foot away. The tie was made possible when McIlroy could not get up and down for birdie from left of the green at reachable the par-five 16th hole. Spaun executed the up and down from nearly the same spot.

Each made par on the final two holes, with McIlroy two-putting from 73 feet at the last, his second a testy four-footer that found the right edge. That set the stage for Spaun’s chance to win in regulation only to see his effort that was heading straight for the cup run out of gas.

“I showed myself that I don't have to shy away from the moment,” said Spaun, who finished T-3 to begin the year at the Sony Open in Hawaii and finished T-2 two weeks ago at the Cognizant Classic. “I think in the past I've done that, just kind of been afraid of being in that spotlight, being in that pressure, be worried about failure. But it's hard to win, and you have to fail multiple times in order to win. That's kind of what I've learned throughout my career, and it paid off today.”

McIlroy has a chance for another Players title despite struggling most of the weekend with his driver. Yet he also felt that a win was in hand if he had executed down the stretch. He has to settle for a chance at delayed gratification. The winner receives $4.5 million from the $25 million purse.

“I'm happy to be in the position that I am, but also, I feel like I had chances there on the back nine to close the door, and I didn't quite do that,” said McIlroy, who has suffered several disappointing finishes in major events the last few years. “But I'm excited for the opportunity tomorrow.”

Bhatia shared the lead with McIlroy at 11 under heading to the back nine after rolling in a 16-foot birdie at the ninth, but he promptly bogeyed the 10th and missed several good chances coming in. He had to settle for a closing 70 and tie for third at 10-under 278 with Lucas Glover and Tom Hoge.

The 45-year-old Glover closed with a 71. Hoge, who saw Justin Thomas tie his course record of 62 in the second round, had to mark a 17-footer for birdie that would get him to 11 under par when the horn sounded, but he couldn’t convert when he finally got a chance to hit it. His final-round 66 tied Rico Hoey for low round of the day.

Two-time defending champion and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler failed to mount a challenge in the final round, closing with a 73 to finish at 284, tied for 20th.