“A perfect start to St. Patrick’s day. It’s only March, but it feels like Rory’s year.” – Rich Lerner on Live From THE PLAYERS
“Rory McIlroy doesn’t have to win with his ‘A’ game anymore. This was his ‘B’ game.” – Paul McGinley on Live From
“Nightmare on 17. The first ball in the water on this course all week for J.J. Spaun.” – Terry Gannon
“He probably slept on it a little different than Rory who had won 27 times.” – Kevin Kisner on J.J. Spaun
“This is going to be one of the hardest shots that any player has played all week long… they’re going to have to take a lot more club and flight it down. The risk is flying it over the green.” – Brad Faxon prior to the 17th hole
STAMFORD, Conn. – March 17, 2025 – Rory McIlroy won the 2025 PLAYERS Championship on GOLF Channel and Peacock on Monday morning, defeating J.J. Spaun in a three-hole aggregate playoff on holes 16, 17, and 18 at The Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., to earn the second PLAYERS Championship of his career. Golf Central Live From THE PLAYERS followed with post-round coverage on GOLF Channel.
Dan Hicks and Terry Gannon handled play-by-play duties, while Kevin Kisner and Brad Faxon served as analysts. Jim “Bones” Mackay followed Spaun while Smylie Kaufman followed McIlroy. Cara Banks handled the winner’s interview with McIlroy.
Rich Lerner, Brandel Chamblee, Paul McGinley, Johnson Wagner, and Todd Lewis, anchored Live From THE PLAYERS post-round coverage on GOLF Channel. Following are notes and quotes from this morning’s playoff.
ON RORY MCILROY (CHAMPION)
Hicks: “Rory McIlroy is setting the stage for what could be a monster 2025 season.”
Lerner on Live From: “A perfect start to St. Patrick’s day. It’s only March, but it feels like Rory’s year.”
McGinley on Live From: “The fact that Rory had the honor I think that was significant. I’ve hit shots behind Rory McIlroy and trying to follow him is not easy. I think that was an intimidation…Rory McIlroy doesn’t have to win with his ‘A’ game anymore. This was his ‘B’ game.”
Faxon: “You look at the greatest players in the world, like Jack and Tiger, as they got older, they said they were better and smarter players. When Rory was younger, he won it by driving the ball so much better than everyone else. He had a poor driving day in round one, he had a poor putting round on Saturday – Rory can now do it in many different ways.”
Kisner: “I love what Rory talked about with those iron shots. Even when I played with Rory, I always thought he struggled to take a lot of yardage off of his irons, and those two he hit on the 17th and 18th were absolute seeds, taking 20 and 30 yards off of iron shots and flighting them down. He had major control and was playing golf the way it should be played in that amount of wind.”
Faxon on McIlroy’s tee shot and bogey on 17th hole: “That was an outstanding shot. Exactly what he had to do. All week long on the range, Rory was practicing those three-quarter shots…he did what he needed to do. He hit first and he had to put it on the green, so mission accomplished.”
ON J.J. SPAUN (RUNNER-UP)
Hicks: “Even though this is a bitterly disappointing playoff for J.J. Spaun, what he can get out of this week is immeasurable, when he hadn’t even had a top-20 in a big event – a major or a PLAYERS.”
Kisner: “I think J.J. would have benefitted the most by playing this playoff last night. In that situation, you want to keep going when you have the momentum and the adrenaline on your side. He probably slept on it a little differently than Rory who had won 27 times.”
Spaun to Kaufman following the playoff on his tee shot on the 17th hole: “I was committed to the club and committed to the shot shape that I was trying to hit. We were getting numbers on the range with Trackman and literally the same wind direction it was flying 128 yards. It was the perfect club and I guess I just hit it too good and it went right through the wind. I almost was telling it in my head to get up because it looked like it was floating…I hit a great shot and did what I needed to do, it just didn’t work out.”
Faxon on Spaun hitting into the water on the 17th hole: “He’s shocked…absolute disbelief…you’re expecting the wind to pull that ball back so much.”
Kisner: “That was a beautiful flight on that ball. I think he thought he flagged it.”
Gannon: “The first ball in the water on this course all week for J.J. Spaun.”
Faxon: “It never looked like J.J. Spaun was comfortable at any moment (on the 17th tee). Rory brought that 9-iron out…”
Gannon: “Do you think that confused him?”
Faxon: “Without a doubt. You saw him looking in his bag, they had 8-iron and 9-iron out. Spaun doesn’t hit his 9-iron as far as Rory and he flushed it over the back of the green.”
Mackay: “One word we haven’t talked too much about is adrenaline. I think on the 17th at this amazing, iconic golf course, this is one of those holes that you get to like one or two others around the world that you hit a half club further because its No. 17 at THE PLAYERS.”
Gannon: “Nightmare on 17.”
ON CONDITIONS AT TPC SAWGRASS FOR MONDAY MORNING’S PLAYOFF
Kaufman: “This is easily the hardest this wind has blown the entire week.”
Faxon: “These players were trying to find an angle on the range to simulate the distance and the wind they would have on 17. This is going to be one of the hardest shots that any player here at the PLAYERS Championship has played all week long… they’re going to have to take a lot more club and flight it down. The risk is flying it over the green.”
–NBC SPORTS–
