Which golfer won The Players Championship in a playoff before Rory McIlroy?

The Players Championship is no stranger to high-stakes tension, but few moments can ever match the electric atmosphere of a playoff shot from 2015. The game was played from May 7-10. Fans were waiting for a finish, biting their nails while Rickie Fowler solidified his place in the tournament in a big way.

The 2015 Players Championship provided one of the most exciting finishes the tournament has ever seen. Rickie Fowler made a stunning late charge in the final round, shooting six-under-par over the last six holes of regulation. Not afraid to take chances, he made some important birdies as well as an eagle to head into 12-under-par with Sergio Garcia and Kevin Kisner in a three-way ball sharing the lead.

What happened next was a test of nerves. The playoff started as a three-hole aggregate, over the 16th, 17th, and 18th holes at the notoriously challenging TPC Sawgrass. All those shots had to be perfect, and after those tense holes, Kisner was jettisoned, leaving Fowler and Garcia to duke it out in sudden death.

And what better place to settle it than the 17th hole, famous for its Island Green? Rickie Fowler came up clutch, keeping his composure under pressure. His tee landed inches from the pin. He calmly made the birdie putt to win it.

Since the Players Championship was moved to the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass in 1982, there have been five playoffs till now. These events occurred in:

• 1987 won by Sandy Lyle known as the steady competitor
• 2008 won by Sergio Garcia
• 2011 won by K.J. Choi
• 2015 won by Rickie Fowler
• 2025 won by Rory McIlroy

---

Why Fowler’s Victory at Player Championship still stands out

In 2015 the Players Championship had the most thrilling ending in tournament history when Rickie Fowler won. He was five strokes behind with just six holes left but made a strong comeback.

Fowler had that stretch of holes at six-under, with birdies on 13, 15, 17, and 18, and a vital eagle on the par 5 16th. The charge led to a three-way playoff with Kevin Kisner and Sergio Garcia, for the first time.

Fowler exhibited that same knack for mastering the island green at the par-3 17th hole throughout the tournament. He birdied it five times in six tries, including once in regulation and twice in the aggregate playoff. Back at the 17th for a third time in less than an hour, Fowler knocked his tee shot within five feet of the hole before rolling his birdie putt for the win.

His precision and poise under pressure made his 2015 performance one of the best finishes in Players Championship history. No player before him or since has so dramatically owned the famed 17th hole, ensuring that Fowler’s victory stands as an indelible memory in golf history.