Rory McIlroy got his hands on The Players Championship on Monday at TPC Sawgrass, but it was far from easy for the four-time major champion after some past near-misses
Not even previous heartbreak and playoff nerves could stop an in-form Rory McIlroy from becoming a two-time Players champion at TPC Sawgrass on Monday.
McIlroy got his hands on the PGA Tour’s flagship title for the second time, after overcoming J.J. Spaun in a three-hole playoff that spilled into Monday morning. It capped off another impressive week for the Northern Irishman, who has now won twice on the PGA Tour in 2025.
It was an important step for McIlroy with the Masters just few weeks away. The Northern Irishman has notoriously endured a number of near-misses in recent years, most notably in 2024.
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He came as close as he ever has to ending his wait for a fifth major championship at the US Open last June, but two missed putts from short range down the stretch saw him hand the crown to his LIV Golf rival Bryson DeChambeau. A similar fate then followed at his home event too, after being pipped at the Irish Open two months later.
He was however able to get himself over the line in Florida last week, overcoming the drama of both a final round and a tense Monday playoff. “I’ve had my heart broken a lot over the last few years when I’ve had chances on Sundays and it hasn’t quite materialised,” he told reporters.
“But we all have to go through it, or at least all of us not named Tiger Woods. It’s a part of the process, it’s a part of the learning journey, and ultimately those are the days that make us better.” In the end McIlroy eased past Spaun in the three-hole shootout, stamping his authority with his very first shot in the playoff, which saw him hit a superb 336-yard drive down the fairway.
Despite appearing at ease in the moment, McIlroy admitted later than it was the most nervous he had ever felt. , “Standing over that tee shot on 16 this morning is the most nervous I’ve been in a long time,” he claimed.
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“So I think that will stand to me, feeling like that and being able to hit the golf shots that I need while your stomach is sort of not feeling great and your legs are a little shaky and your heart rate is racing.” Finding his nerve comes at an important time, with the Masters right around the corner.
“To have to go through that today, it’s nice to have that in recent memory for some of the tournaments coming up for sure,” he went on. His failure to win the green jacket constantly looms over the head of McIlroy, especially in the build-up to the annual trip to Augusta.
That will once again be the case this time around, but it appears his game is in a hugely strong spot in the build-up. “I feel like I’m a better player now than I ever have been and it’s nice to see the fruits of my labour paying off,” he said at Sawgrass. “The younger guys coming out are getting better every single year and I need to keep working hard to hang with them. I’m doing a pretty good job of that. I feel like I’ve still got a few years left in the tank.”
