Rory McIlroy holds off J.J. Spaun to win second Players Championship

McIlroy and Spaun returned to TPC Sawgrass after a rain-soaked final round forced the PGA Tour to delay the playoff until Monday morning. Spaun had a 30-foot putt to win the tournament on Sunday evening, but his roll came to a halt right in the jaws of the hole. That set up a playoff against McIlroy with both players finishing at 12 under par. 

McIlroy wasted no time sending a message in the three-hole playoff. The World No. 2 nuked his first drive on the par-5 16th hole 336 yards down the middle. He hit a solid shot to the middle of the green and two-putted for birdie to put the pressure on Spaun, who missed the fairway and ended up with a par. 

After McIlroy safely found the island green 17th, Spaun tried to get aggressive and sailed his tee shot into the watery grave beyond the hole. The American took a drop and ended up with a triple bogey. It was just a formality from there, as McIlroy closed out the championship with a bogey on the par-4 18th hole. 

With the victory, McIlroy joins Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Fred Couples, Steve Elkington, Hal Sutton, Davis Love III and Scottie Scheffler as the only golfers in PGA Tour history to win multiple Players Championships. He's now won twice in just four PGA Tour starts this year, putting him on top of the FedEx Cup standings for the 2025 season.