The 2025 Players Championship is over, so what did we learn? A lot.
I really felt sorry for J.J. Spaun (Srixon Z-Star Diamond), who lost to Rory McIlroy (TaylorMade TP5x) in three-hole, aggregate playoff on Monday.
Spaun gave it his all but came up inches short on a lengthy birdie putt on the 18th hole to clinch it on Sunday, forcing the playoff.
His chances effectively ended when his tee shot on the Island Green 17th hole went into the water.
Unless your are heartless – or a McIlroy fan – you had to feel sorry for Spaun.
He is 34, 15 months younger than McIlroy, but there is a staggering difference between the two. Spaun has only one PGA Tour win – the 2022 Valero Texas Open. McIlroy has two victories already in only four PGA Tour tournaments this year.
Wouldn’t it have been nice to see the underdog win, a David slay Goliath finish?
It was not to be.
You give McIlroy a chance to win, and most times he will.
As I mentioned in my blogpost last week, McIlroy has become the single thread running through the first three seasons of Netflix’s Full Swing series. On and off the course, McIlroy is drama.
And the focus will clearly be on him going into the Masters, the one tournament that has eluded him in the guest for his personal career Grand Slam.
He continues to turn back the clock.
THIS BUD’S FOR YOU: Speaking of Netflix, you have to think it will include a segment on Bud Cauley (Titleist Pro V1), who tied for fifth in The Players. He only got in as an alternate. He was born and raised in Florida and played TPC Sawgrass numerous times. He came into Sunday’s final round, which happened to be his 35th birthday, one shot behind Spaun.
Cauley has been playing on an injury exemption for the last 13 months stemming from a car accident in 2018 that left him with six broken ribs, a collapsed lung and fractured left leg. He was quoted as saying he was “thankful to be alive.”
He tried playing without much success in 2019 and 2020 and then took four years off to rehab.
By virtue of his top-10 finish, he has earned his PGA Tour card for the rest of the season.
Amazing.
GOLF’S TRICKY RULES: Though it may be a footnote in the historical retelling of the tournament, Spaun managed to gain relief twice in the final round on the ninth hole because of sprinkler heads. He purposely dropped his ball on a second sprinkler hole after getting relief when his shot landed close to another sprinkler.
It was a clever/shrewd manipulation of the rules. This was one of those occasions when a rules official employed by a TV network had to provide an explanation. Far too often these days, a rules official is used in the broadcast of an event. Golf, in particular, has some of the most arcane rules in all of sports and an argument could be made they should be changed.
SCOTTIE GETS TOO HOTTIE: Long before he established himself as the premier golfer in the world, Scottie Scheffler (Titleist Pro V1) had a temper. Through his relationship with caddy Ted Scott, he tempered his outbursts. But Scheffler is clearly struggling this year, perhaps a result of the hand injury and subsequent surgery he had in the off-season.
Scheffler’s putting is clearly off, and it’s worth noting he had trouble with that aspect of game before McIlroy suggested he switch from a blade to a mallet putter last year at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
For purposes of handicapping tournaments, Scheffler’s struggles make it more interesting trying to predict winners. Going for his third consecutive win in The Players, he was the betting favorite at 7-1. He finished tied for 20th and was never a factor. McIlroy was second at 7-1 odds.
XANDER’S PLAY SO FAR: While he was not a factor in The Players, finishing last overall with a score of 13-over par, Xander Schauffele (Callaway Chrome Tour) at least made the cut, continuing a lengthy streak. He has now made 59 consecutive cuts. After off-season surgery to his right hand, Schauffele has posted a T30, T40 and a 72 so far this season. He blew up on the weekend, so it’s hard to judge whether he was a victim of the crazy conditions and/or he is still trying to find his game.
BRADLEY’S ACES SHOT: Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley (Srixon Z-Star) had a hole-in-one on Sunday. It will be interesting to see if he chooses himself to play on the team. Still plenty left in the season to judge himself.
As for his mustache, I’m not sold on it.
