Is The Players Championship a Major? All you need to know

The Players Championship, sometimes referred to as the "Fifth Major," is a prestigious annual golf tournament. Renowned for featuring a top-tier field and providing the highest purse among regular PGA Tour events, the tournament holds a significant place on the golf circuit. However, it is not officially a Major tournament.

Begun in 1974, The Players Championship consists of a 144-player field. It is played annually at the TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, and is a part of the PGA Tour, unlike other Major tournaments that are part of different tours.

This year, the tournament will celebrate its 50th anniversary, with the event scheduled to run from March 14 to March 17. Just like the four Majors, the event will feature a big prize pool and more world-ranking points up for grabs.

The winner of the event will secure a substantial cash prize of $4.5 million from the $25 million purse and will also earn 80 ranking points. They will also receive additional perks, including a five-year exemption on the PGA Tour, a three-year invitation to The Masters, and three-year exemptions for the PGA Championship, U.S. Open and Open Championship.

To qualify for the event, however, a golfer needs to meet certain criteria. This includes being in the top 50 world rankings, being in the top 125 on the previous season's FedEx Cup points list, or winning any event on the tour since the 2023 Players Championship.

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What is the tee timing for the first round of the Players Championship?

The 2024 Players Championship’s first round is set to kick off at 7:40 am ET on March 14, with Ryan Moore, Chesson Hadley and Zac Blair starting at the first tee, while Troy Merritt, Taylor Pendrith and Taylor Montgomery will begin their round at the tenth tee.

Reigning champion, Scottie Scheffler, is slated to start his round at 1:40 pm ET, joining Rickie Fowler and Justin Thomas on the first tee.

Here is the tee timing and grouping of the golfers for the first round of the 2024 Players Championship:

Tee 1:

• 7:40 a.m. – Ryan Moore, Chesson Hadley, Zac Blair
• 7:51 a.m. – Brandon Wu, Ben Taylor, Carson Young
• 8:02 a.m. – Alex Noren, Thomas Detry, Joseph Bramlett
• 8:13 a.m. – Camilo Villegas, Lee Hodges, Tom Hoge
• 8:24 a.m. – Kurt Kitayama, Chad Ramey, Adam Schenk
• 8:35 a.m. – Vincent Norrman, Sepp Straka, Chez Reavie
• 8:46 a.m. – Brice Garnett, Russell Henley, Steve Stricker
• 8:57 a.m. – Emiliano Grillo, Taylor Moore, Scott Stallings
• 9:08 a.m. – Billy Horschel, Sungjae Im, Webb Simpson
• 9:19 a.m. – Keegan Bradley, K.H. Lee, Adam Hadwin
• 9:30 a.m. – David Lipsky, Justin Lower, Tyson Alexander
• 9:41 a.m. – Robert MacIntyre, Ben Silverman, Ryo Hisatsune
• 12:45 p.m. – Doug Ghim, Hayden Buckley, Kevin Yu
• 12:56 p.m. – Peter Malnati, Beau Hossler, Alex Smalley
• 1:07 p.m. – Cam Davis, Sam Ryder, Stephan Jaeger
• 1:18 p.m. – Jake Knapp, Matthieu Pavon, Nick Dunlap
• 1:29 p.m. – Hideki Matsuyama, Matt Fitzpatrick, Max Homa
• 1:40 p.m. – Scottie Scheffler, Rickie Fowler, Justin Thomas
• 1:51 p.m. – Wyndham Clark, Collin Morikawa, Brian Harman
• 2:02 p.m. – Tony Finau, Will Zalatoris, Shane Lowry
• 2:13 p.m. – Austin Eckroat, Sahith Theegala, Akshay Bhatia
• 2:24 p.m. – Garrick Higgo, S.H. Kim, Andrew Novak
• 2:35 p.m. – Ben Martin, Eric Cole, Harry Hall
• 2:46 p.m. – Charley Hoffman, Sam Stevens, Sami Valimaki

Tee 10:

• 7:40 a.m. – Troy Merritt, Taylor Pendrith, Taylor Montgomery
• 7:51 a.m. – Michael Kim, Aaron Rai, Carl Yuan
• 8:02 a.m. – Joel Dahmen, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Min Woo Lee
• 8:13 a.m. – Jason Day, Si Woo Kim, Matt Kuchar
• 8:24 a.m. – Sam Burns, Xander Schauffele, Tommy Fleetwood
• 8:35 a.m. – Viktor Hovland, Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth
• 8:46 a.m. – Ludvig Åberg, Patrick Cantlay, Adam Scott
• 8:57 a.m. – Nick Taylor, Tom Kim, Justin Rose
• 9:08 a.m. – Erik van Rooyen, Lucas Glover, Brendon Todd
• 9:19 a.m. – C.T. Pan, Kevin Streelman, Ryan Fox
• 9:30 a.m. – Martin Laird, Justin Suh, Greyson Sigg
• 9:41 a.m. – Nate Lashley, Robby Shelton, Ben Kohles
• 12:45 p.m. – Byeong Hun An, Patrick Rodgers, Matti Schmid
• 12:56 p.m. – Denny McCarthy, Matt NeSmith, Nicolai Højgaard
• 1:07 p.m. – Keith Mitchell, Mark Hubbard, Dylan Wu
• 1:18 p.m. – Grayson Murray, Seamus Power, Francesco Molinari
• 1:29 p.m. – Nick Hardy, Matt Wallace, Adam Svensson
• 1:40 p.m. – Nico Echavarria, J.T. Poston, Harris English
• 1:51 p.m. – Davis Riley, Corey Conners, J.J. Spaun
• 2:02 p.m. – Luke List, Gary Woodland, Cameron Young
• 2:13 p.m. – Chris Kirk, Mackenzie Hughes, Andrew Putnam
• 2:24 p.m. – Aaron Baddeley, Ben Griffin, Davis Thompson
• 2:35 p.m. – Tyler Duncan, Maverick McNealy, Callum Tarren
• 2:46 p.m. – Chan Kim, David Skinns, Jimmy Stanger