Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler have held the Players Championship for the past three years. The PGA Tour’s premier event hasn’t had a “winner” since Cameron Smith’s victory in 2022 catapulted him to the world stage and set the stage for his Open Championship win later that summer.
But the 2026 edition is set to have a different kind of winners after three years of the world’s best players lifting the trophy.
26-year-old Ludvig Åberg entered Sunday at TPC Sawgrass with a three-shot lead over 24-year-old Michael Thorbjornsen. Åberg captured the Players Championship title with a 9-under 63 on Friday, and backed that up with a 71 on Saturday to put himself on course for the biggest win of his young career.
“I think about winning a lot,” Åberg said on Saturday, “I think a lot about what it’s going to look like, how it’s going to feel. I think a lot about the different situations that could happen, and I did that in college, when I turned pro, and I still do. I think I try to accept it. I try to be fair with all those things that come with it, a lot of time playing golf, that makes us play golf. training, preparation, why wouldn’t we think about what it would actually mean to win, naturally that’s what I’m going to do at night But am I not thinking about that tomorrow?
Åberg won last year’s Genesis Invitational, but a win at the Players will be a “Hello world!” the victory we expected from the swede who skates well.
It would be Thorbjornsen’s first win on the PGA Tour. He will become the first player since Tim Clark in 2010 to earn his first win at the Players.
A host of accomplished players, including major champions Xander Schauffele and Matthew Fitzpatrick, hope to race down Åberg on Sunday and add the Players’ title to their run once again.
Regardless of who is the last man standing at TPC Sawgrass, they will leave Pete Dye’s legendary track with a career-boosting win and a $4.5 million winner’s check. The total fund is $25 million.
How much money every player has made in the 2026 Players Championship
Editor’s note: Payments will be updated when the game ends
1st: $4,500,000
Second: $2,725,000
Third: $1,725,000
Fourth: $1,225,000
Fifth: $1,025,000
6: $906,250
7: $843,750
8: $781,250
9: $731,250
10: $681,250
11: $631,250
12: $581,250
13th: $531,250
14: $481,250
15th: $456,250
16: $431,250
17: $406,250
18th: $381,250
19: $356,250
20: $331,250
21st: $306,250
22: $281,250
23rd: $261,250
24th: $241,250
25th: $221,250
26th: $201,250
27th: $193,750
28th: $186,250
29th: $178,750
30th: $171,250
31st: $163,750
T32. Jordan Spieth, $128,350
Eric Cole, $128,350
Bud Cauley, $128,350
Patrick Cantlay, $128,350
Alex Noren, $128,350
Andrew Putnam, $128,350
Max Homa, $128,350
Mr Woo Lee, $128,350
Maverick McNealy, $128,350
Sahith Theegala, $128,350
T42. Rickie Fowler, $91,250
Wyndham Clark, $91,250
Nick Taylor, $91,250
Joe Highsmith, $91,250
T46. Rory McIlroy, $72,125
Taylor Pendrith, $72,125
Keith Mitchell, $72,125
Matt Schmidt, $72,125
T50. Si Woo Kim, $61,083
Keegan Bradley, $61,083
JT Poston, $61,083
Taylor Moore, $61,083
Max McGreevy, $61,083
Zach Bauchoi, $61,083
T56. Adam Scott, $58,000
Chris Gotterup, $58,000
58. Sam Stevens, $57,250
T59. Jason Day, $56,250
Kevin Roy, $56,250
Lee Hodges, $56,250
T62. Danny Walker, $54,500
Steven Fisk, $54,500
Rico Hoey, $54,500
Stephan Jaeger, $54,500
