Rory McIlroy birdied the first hole of the three-hole aggregate playoff for The Players Championship title while J.J. Spaun bogeyed.
“It was incredible,” said McIlroy. “I was walking up 16 fairway, and I turned to my caddie Harry, and I was like, I can’t believe how many people are here.
“It was amazing. I didn’t expect there to be so many people out there today. It created a great atmosphere. Certainly J.J. and I really appreciated that.”
McIlroy hit the green at the par-3 17th and parred while Spaun found the water and ended his bid for victory with a triple bogey 6.
“It feels amazing. Someone just asked me there how was my morning, and I said, it was stressful. But yeah, no, I’m super happy, super proud to win this event for a second time. Not a lot of people have done that over the 51 years of The Players.
“I go back to 2009 when I first set eyes on this golf course, and it certainly wasn’t love at first sight. I’ve had to learn to play this golf course and adapt my game to it in some ways. Yeah, to win for a second time is awesome.”
This is McIlroy’s 28th PGA Tour win in his 261st start and his his second win of the 2025 season in his fourth start following the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
The Northern Irishman becomes the eighth multiple winner of The Players Championship in his 15th appearance having previously won in 2019. He joins join Jack Nicklaus (3), Steve Elkington (2), Hal Sutton (2), Fred Couples (2), Davis Love III (2), Tiger Woods (2) and Scottie Scheffler (2).
At 35 years old, McIlroy is the oldest winner of Tiger Woods won in 2013 at the age of 37 years.
