Will Scottie Scheffler make extra historical past at The Gamers? Can Rory McIlroy’s membership swap assist him to a different PGA Tour victory? 5 storylines to comply with forward of this week’s occasion at TPC Sawgrass, dwell on Sky Sports activities…
McIlroy made a number of adjustments to his bag forward of final week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, switching his driver, woods and changing a wedge with a three-iron, solely to desert these plans mid-tournament after a irritating week off the tee.
The Northern Irishman has reverted again to the TaylorMade Qi10 driver, three-wood and five-wood that he utilized in his early-season victory on the AT&T Pebble Seaside Professional-Am for his closing spherical on Sunday, with McIlroy set to make use of these golf equipment once more this week.
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We glance again on the highlights from Rory McIlroy’s dwell Watchalong on Sky Sports activities, the place he relived his 2019 win at The Gamers with Nick Dougherty and Brandel Chamblee
“He had them Ubered from his house, which is pretty extraordinary – to have those shipped up – as it’s about a two-and-a-half-hour drive,” Brad Faxon, McIlroy’s placing coach, revealed on the Sky Sports activities Golf Podcast. “He came back to use clubs that he’s a little bit more comfortable with and he’ll use again at The Players.
“These golf equipment have barely extra spin for him and, as we all know, Rory does not want extra velocity. You want a bit bit extra management, significantly at a course like The Gamers.
“His draw appears to be like prefer it’s again and there is nothing prettier in golf than seeing Rory hammer a draw down a fairway or right into a inexperienced. His placing numbers, after spherical one, obtained excellent once more. I really like his confidence on the greens. Across the greens, he is chipped very nicely.
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Rory McIlroy appears to be like again by his ‘rocky historical past’ with the PGA Tour’s most iconic event, The Gamers
“Finding fairways at The Players is essential because the rough is going to be thick, like it was at Bay Hill. These greens are small and your iron game has to be precise, and I think what Rory did at Pebble Beach – that has the smallest greens on the PGA Tour – can bode well for him at The Players.”
Scheffler has been unable to match final 12 months’s successful streak this marketing campaign, with the world No 1 nonetheless looking for his first victory of 2025 after registering 9 worldwide titles over the earlier 12 months.
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Scottie Scheffler claimed a dramatic victory on the 2024 Gamers Championship at TPC Sawgrass, changing into the primary participant in historical past to defend the title
He missed the beginning of the season by damage however has opened with 4 consecutive top-25 finishes, together with a share of third on the Genesis Invitational, suggesting a return to the winner’s circle is probably not far-off.
“He drove the ball spectacularly well last week at Bay Hill, having not driven it well early in the season,” Faxon mentioned. “We all know that he had to have a little time off because of the incident in the kitchen with the knife and the ravioli, but he seems to be getting on form.
“He hit the ball nicely along with his irons final week. He is an underrated scrambler, despite the fact that you all the time consider how good he’s tee to inexperienced. For him, like plenty of gamers, it is about whether or not you possibly can hold holing the putts it’s good to.
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Check out how Scottie Scheffler overcame damage points in 2024 at The Gamers Championship to defend his title. He’ll be concentrating on an historic three-peat at TPC Sawgrass this week
“He’s made huge improvements from Bay Hill last year with the putting changes, the work he’s done with the extraordinary putting coach Phil Kenyon.
“If he does get off to a quick begin, get some confidence with the brief stick straight away, he’ll be the person to beat.”
Scheffler and McIlroy have been grouped with two-time major champion Xander Schauffele for the first two rounds, with the world’s top three immediately being thrown into extra spotlight by going head to head against each other.
“I might wish to see them unfold out all through the week so that you could watch completely different teams,” Faxon admitted. “I do not know if these three guys need all this consideration straight away. It makes for a protracted week emotionally to play with these guys.
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“I don’t think they really care who they’re playing with but the focus will be on them. It’s like the entire gallery will follow those groups the first two days. TV is going to show every shot, every step every player takes.
“I hate to see these guys take away from the remainder of the gamers, as you recognize that different gamers are going to get off to fast begins there. The scores typically are fairly low, except there’s extraordinary winds or situations.
“I’d rather see those guys play together the final round than the first two rounds.”
Though 48 of the world’s prime 50 are scheduled to tee it up at The Gamers, LIV Golf gamers are ineligible for a 3rd consecutive 12 months – together with reigning US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau – and there is no instant signal of an finish within the divide on the prime of the lads’s recreation.
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Forward of the 2025 Gamers Championship at TPC Sawgrass, we check out each televised hole-in-one on the iconic seventeenth, one of the vital well-known holes on the PGA Tour
“This whole conversation of reunification of the game has been annoying now,” Faxon added. “It’s got to the point where you’re just shaking your head because every time you think there might be some sort of optimism, it gets quashed.
“I do know within the final discussions with Jay Monahan and Yasir [Al-Rumayyan] and even President Trump and Adam Scott, it appeared like there may be an answer. I actually really feel now that it is by no means been farther away.
“It hurts not having these prime gamers like Jon Rahm, like Bryson [DeChambeau], like Brooks [Koepka] and you recognize so many others, like Sergio [Garcia], like Joaquin Niemann. How do you not wish to see these guys play?
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“You might have said, ‘hey a simple solution is Jay [Monahan], just invite several players to play at The Players’ Championship’. I think he might die on the cross after he first said, ‘you’ll never play in a PGA Tour event again if you go to the LIV tour’. I don’t know how this ends.”
Why is selecting a winner of The Gamers so exhausting?
Scheffler’s back-to-back victories made him simply the seventh participant in historical past to win The Gamers on a number of events and the primary since Tiger Woods in 2013, with the event producing all types of winners since changing into a part of the PGA Tour schedule.
“There’s not one type of player that is dominant,” Faxon defined. “You may be the longest hitter on the planet and that does not provide you with a bonus. You generally is a brief, regular participant like a Russell Henley or a Collin Morikawa and nonetheless have an opportunity.
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“The par fives are all reachable – in the right conditions – for the entire field, but if you miss, particularly the second shots, you can get in all kinds of trouble around the greens. Usually you’re rewarded there from hitting the ball into the fairway and you can’t go crazy low from the rough.
“There’s probabilities for climate to alter the wind course so pictures change into completely different every day.
“These final three holes all the time present drama. The sixteenth gap is a reachable par-five, then there’s the notorious seventeenth gap and I believe the 18th tee shot is the scariest tee shot in golf.
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Tim Sherwood and Paul Merson be part of Sky Sports activities Golf within the shot centre to tackle the long-lasting par-three seventeenth at TPC Sawgrass
“When it means so much, the exemptions you get, the money you get, the FedExCup points you get, the world ranking points you get, there’s so much The Players Championship has to offer.”
Sky Sports activities is providing prolonged dwell protection of The Gamers, with over 60 hours of dwell content material and motion to get pleasure from from Tuesday to Sunday of event week.
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TV instances
Protection additionally begins at 11.30am on Friday and follows the motion from earlier than the opening tee shot till after the shut of play, with the motion then dwell from 1pm on each days over the weekend.
The PGA Tour’s fundamental feed, marquee teams, featured teams and featured holes feeds can be accessible all 4 rounds on Sky Sports activities+, together with six bonus teams, whilst you can obtain the Sky Sports activities app to get dwell scores, textual content commentary and highlights all through the week.
Who will win The Gamers? Watch dwell all through the week on Sky Sports activities. Reside protection of the opening spherical begins on Thursday at 11.30am. Get Sky Sports activities or stream with no contract on NOW.
