The 2026 The Players Championship format remains unchanged this year, with the PGA Tour event played at TPC Sawgrass' Players Stadium Course in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
The 2026 The Players Championship field is 123 players.
The The Players Championship field is made up of a variety of players, namely nearly 47 top-50 players in the world and the top of this season's FedEx Cup standings.
The Players Championship format
The Players Championship format is a 72-hole event. The field is divided into morning and afternoon waves for the first two rounds, with players competing in threesomes each day. The same groups play together in each of the first two rounds, with morning and afternoon windows.
A cut is made after 36 holes to the top 65 players and ties. All players who make the field and make the cut are eligible to finish the event.
For the third and fourth rounds, the pairings and tee times are made based on each player's total score through two and three rounds, respectively. Players with the highest total score go first, then in descending order until the two players with the lowest total score in the final group.
The player with the lowest total score after 72 holes is the winner and will earn the 2026 The Players Championship winner's share of the purse.
The winning player will get a five-season PGA Tour exemption. The winner is exempt into the four major championships for three years as well. The winner earns 750 FedEx Cup points and 80 Official World Golf Ranking points.
The Players Championship playoff format
A playoff to settle any ties after 72 holes will be played under PGA Tour rules. The The Players Championship playoff format is an aggregate-score format, with playoff holes being 16, 17 and 18, played by any qualifying players. The players compete for those three holes, and the player with the lowest score wins. In the event of a tie, the players compete hole-by-hole until a winner is determined by a player scoring the lowest among the remaining players.
