The biggest event on the PGA Tour schedule outside of the majors is officially underway.
of The Players Championship 2026 begins Thursday at TPC Sawgrass, where one of the strongest fields in golf will take on the iconic Pete Dye Stadium course. Often, and controversially, called the “fifth major,” the tournament features nearly all of the top male players in the world competing for one of the largest purses in golf.
If you’re planning to watch the opening round, here’s everything you need to know about Thursday’s TV coverage, streaming options and match times.
Golf Channel will carry television coverage of first round of the 2026 Players Championship on Thursday.
Thursday’s TV Time (ET)
Thursday, March 12
- 10:00-13:00 – Live from the Players (Golf Channel)
- 13:00 – 19:00 – Round 1 coverage (Golf Channel)
- 19:00 – 21:00 – Live from the Players (Golf Channel)
Golf Channel will handle the main broadcast window for the first two rounds. NBC takes over weekend coverage.
If you want to view previous coverage or follow specific groups, PGA Tour live on ESPN+ is the best option.
Broadcast schedule
Thursday, March 12
- 7:30 am — Early coverage starts on PGA Tour live via ESPN+
- Multiple supplies are available, including:
- The main stream
- Separate groups
- Marquee band coverage
- Separate holes
2026 Players Championship in the first round of groups
Tea no. 1
7:40 – Mark Hubbard, Thorbjørn Olesen, Mac Meissner
07:52 – Bud Cauley, Vince Whaley, Chandler Phillips
08:04 – Emiliano Grillo, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Max Grayserman
08:16 – Kevin Yu, Cam Davis, Gary Woodland
08:28 – Ricky Castillo, Ryan Gerard, Patrick Cantlay
08:40 – Adam Schenk, Garrick Higgo, Matt McCarty
08:52 – Brian Harman, Maverick McNealy, Davis Riley
09:04 – Sami Valimaki, Lucas Glover, Matt Fitzpatrick
09:16 – Michael Brennan, Harris English, JT Poston
9:28 – Haotong Li, Zecheng Dou, Jordan Smith
12:30pm – Lee Hodges, Andrew Putnam, Sam Stevens
12:42pm – Erik van Rooyen, Keith Mitchell, Michael Kim
12:54pm – Taylor Moore, Joel Dahmen, Ryo Hisatsune
1:06pm – Jacob Bridgeman, Ben Griffin, Adam Scott
13:18 – JJ Spaun, Sepp Straka, Shane Lowry
1:30pm – Sahith Theegala, Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth
1:42pm – Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy, Hideki Matsuyama
1:54pm – Chris Gotterup, Justin Rose, Min Woo Lee
2:06 pm – Brian Campbell, Karl Vilips, Aaron Rai
14:18 – Matti Schmid, Max McGreevy, Takumi Kanaya
2:30pm – Zach Bauchou, Sudarshan Yellamaraju, AJ Ewart
Tee no. 10
7:40 – Mackenzie Hughes, Eric Cole, Rico Hoey
7:52 a.m. – Max Homa, Daniel Berger, Michael Thorbjornsen
08:04 – Rasmus Højgaard, Danny Walker, Kristoffer Reitan
08:16 – Jonathan Vegas, Taylor Pendrith, Alex Noren
08:28 – Akshay Bhatia, Brooks Koepka, Tony Finau
08:40 – Collin Morikawa, Ludvig Åberg, Si Woo Kim
08:52 – Scottie Scheffler, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Thomas
09:04 – Victor Hovland, Russell Henley, Robert MacIntyre
9:16 – Aldrich Potgieter, Jake Knapp, Sungjae Im
9:28 – Patton Kizzire, Seamus Power, Johnny Keefer
12.30pm – Tom Hoge, Denny McCarthy, Nicolai Højgaard
12:42pm – Patrick Rodgers, Kevin Roy, Marco Penge
12:54 pm – Chad Ramey, Alex Smalley, Pierceson Coody
1:06 PM – Kurt Kitayama, Harry Hall, Stephan Jaeger
1:18pm – Keegan Bradley, David Ford, Chris Kirk
1:30pm – Andrew Novak, Nick Taylor, Wyndham Clark
1:42pm – Steven Fisk, William Mouw, Joe Highsmith
1:54pm – Cameron Young, Davis Thompson, Sam Burns
2:06 pm – Nico Echavarria, Jason Day, Corey Conners
2:18 pm – Matthieu Pavon, SH Kim, Austin Smotherman
What to watch for Thursday
Winning the Players Championship once is tough. Making it multiple times at TPC Sawgrass is rare.
Since the tournament moved permanently to the Stadium Course in 1982, only six players have won the Players Championship twice in the iconic place. No player has won it three times at Sawgrass.
That could change this week.
World number 1 Scottie Scheffler looks set to make history after winning back-to-back Players Championships in 2023 and 2024. His bid for a three-peat ended last year when Rory McIlroy claimed the title, but Scheffler now has another opportunity to do something no player has ever accomplished at TPC Sawgrass—win the tournament three times.
A win would give Scheffler three player titles in four yearsfurther cementing his dominance on the PGA Tour. The four-time major champion has already taken a win in his first start of the season and a win this week would make him an overwhelming favorite heading into next month’s Masters.
McIlroy’s status, meanwhile, remains uncertain. The Northern Irishman is dealing with a back injury and is expected to make one game time decision if he will do it on Thursday.
