PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — The Players Championship felt like it was over on multiple occasions Sunday at TPC Sawgrass, with Rory McIlroy quickly erasing a four-shot deficit and taking the solo lead on the 11th hole just before a four-hour weather delay started.
When the weather finally settled, McIlroy looked like he was about to hit the gas and cruise to his second Players title. He stuck his approach on No. 12 to 14 feet and poured in the birdie putt. When J.J. Spaun made bogey behind him, McIlroy’s lead was three on a back nine that he has ripped apart in recent years.
It was starting to feel like the final six holes would be a coronation for McIlroy and that Spaun would fade as the weight of the moment ratcheted up.
Instead, the opposite happened.
McIlroy bogeyed 14 while Spaun birdied it behind him. McIlroy then missed a 7-foot birdie putt at 15 and followed that with birdie misses of 12 and 11 feet at 16 and 17, respectively. When Spaun birdied 16, he had tied McIlroy at 12 under.
On 18, McIlroy two-putted from 73 feet for par, with his 4-foot, 4-inch par try curling in on the right edge. Spaun found the pine straw off 18 tee but hit his approach to 31 feet. His birdie attempt came up three revolutions short, sending him to a three-hole aggregate playoff (holes 16, 17 and 18) with McIlroy on Monday.
“I showed myself that I don’t have to shy away from the moment,” Spaun said afterward. “I think in the past I’ve done that, just kind of been afraid of being in that spotlight, being in that pressure, be worried about failure. But it’s hard to win, and you have to fail multiple times in order to win. That’s kind of what I’ve learned throughout my career, and it paid off today.”
The juxtaposition of Monday’s 9 a.m. playoff couldn’t be more stark.
On one end: a generational talent with a Hall of Fame resume that includes 27 career PGA Tour wins, four majors and one Players. On the other: a 34-year-old self-proclaimed journeyman with one career win in 227 starts. A win for McIlroy means two wins in four starts to begin the season and fuel for the hype train as the Masters approaches.
For McIlroy, the $4.5 million winner’s check would be a drop on top of his $95 million in career PGA Tour earnings.
For Spaun, a win would be life-changing. His name would forever be etched in history alongside the likes of McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Scottie Scheffler, all of whom have conquered the Stadium Course and won the PGA Tour’s flagship title.
Monday’s duel is a bout between legacy and opportunity. For Spaun, a win would mean everything. For McIlroy, it would be ephemera.
“I’d like to think that I can fall back on my experience and maybe have a little bit more than J.J., but then at the same time, tomorrow is all just about execution and getting up there and making five good swings,” McIlroy said after his round.
