Rory McIlroy will have to go the extra mile if he's to be crowned the 2025 Players Champion after a long and dramatic Sunday at Sawgrass.
McIlroy's closing 68 left him tied with overnight leader JJ Spaun on 12-under-par but - with the tournament interrupted by a four-hour weather delay - there was no time for a play-off so the pair will have to come back on Monday morning to find a winner.
The Players uses a three-hole stroke play format for its playoff. The duo will play the treacherous closing stretch of holes 16, 17 and 18 in an effort to separate them.
The play-off gets underway just after lunchtime, Irish time, on St Patrick's Day. You'll get all your updates right here on rte.ie/sport.
"It's been a long day. I got off to a great start, then play was called," McIlroy said afterward. "We got back out there and off to a perfect start again with birdie on 12. I felt like I gave myself chances to win this golf tournament but didn't take them. Now I'm going to have to do it all again tomorrow.
"[After the delay], I just tried to break it down to playing a really good six holes. It wasn't quite enough but I'm looking forward to my head hitting the pillow tonight and getting a good night's sleep.
"A second Players would mean an awful lot. There's not many multiple Players Champions. It would be nice to get two like Scottie and two like Tiger as well.
"Just have to try play three good holes in the morning and hopefully that's enough."
