The biggest event on the PGA Tour schedule outside of the majors is officially underway.
The 2026 Players Championship begins Thursday at TPC Sawgrass where one of the strongest fields in golf will take on Pete Dye’s iconic Stadium Course. Often, and controversially, called the “fifth major,” the tournament features nearly all of the top male players in the world competing for one of the largest purses in golf.
If you’re planning to watch the opening round, here’s everything you need to know about TV coverage, streaming options and Thursday tee times.
How to watch the Players Championship on TV
Golf Channel will carry television coverage of the first round of the 2026 Players Championship on Thursday.
Thursday TV Schedule (ET)
Thursday, March 12
- 10 a.m.–1 p.m. — Live From The Players (Golf Channel)
- 1 p.m.–7 p.m. — Round 1 coverage (Golf Channel)
- 7 p.m.–9 p.m. — Live From The Players (Golf Channel)
Golf Channel will handle the primary broadcast window for the first two rounds. NBC takes over the weekend coverage.
How to watch the Players Championship online (Streaming)
If you want to watch earlier coverage or follow specific groups, PGA Tour Live on ESPN+ is the best option.
Streaming Schedule
Thursday, March 12
- 7:30 a.m. — Early coverage begins on PGA Tour Live via ESPN+
- Multiple feeds available, including:
- Main broadcast stream
- Featured groups
- Marquee group coverage
- Featured holes
2026 Players Championship Round 1 tee times
Tee No. 1
7:40 a.m. – Mark Hubbard, Thorbjørn Olesen, Mac Meissner
7:52 a.m. – Bud Cauley, Vince Whaley, Chandler Phillips
8:04 a.m. – Emiliano Grillo, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Max Greyserman
8:16 a.m. – Kevin Yu, Cam Davis, Gary Woodland
8:28 a.m. – Ricky Castillo, Ryan Gerard, Patrick Cantlay
8:40 a.m. – Adam Schenk, Garrick Higgo, Matt McCarty
8:52 a.m. – Brian Harman, Maverick McNealy, Davis Riley
9:04 a.m. – Sami Valimaki, Lucas Glover, Matt Fitzpatrick
9:16 a.m. – Michael Brennan, Harris English, J.T. Poston
9:28 a.m. – Haotong Li, Zecheng Dou, Jordan Smith
12:30 p.m. – Lee Hodges, Andrew Putnam, Sam Stevens
12:42 p.m. – Erik van Rooyen, Keith Mitchell, Michael Kim
12:54 p.m. – Taylor Moore, Joel Dahmen, Ryo Hisatsune
1:06 p.m. – Jacob Bridgeman, Ben Griffin, Adam Scott
1:18 p.m. – J.J. Spaun, Sepp Straka, Shane Lowry
1:30 p.m. – Sahith Theegala, Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth
1:42 p.m. – Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy, Hideki Matsuyama
1:54 p.m. – Chris Gotterup, Justin Rose, Min Woo Lee
2:06 p.m. – Brian Campbell, Karl Vilips, Aaron Rai
2:18 p.m. – Matti Schmid, Max McGreevy, Takumi Kanaya
2:30 p.m. – Zach Bauchou, Sudarshan Yellamaraju, A.J. Ewart
Tee No. 10
7:40 a.m. – Mackenzie Hughes, Eric Cole, Rico Hoey
7:52 a.m. – Max Homa, Daniel Berger, Michael Thorbjornsen
8:04 a.m. – Rasmus Højgaard, Danny Walker, Kristoffer Reitan
8:16 a.m. – Jhonattan Vegas, Taylor Pendrith, Alex Noren
8:28 a.m. – Akshay Bhatia, Brooks Koepka, Tony Finau
8:40 a.m. – Collin Morikawa, Ludvig Åberg, Si Woo Kim
8:52 a.m. – Scottie Scheffler, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Thomas
9:04 a.m. – Viktor Hovland, Russell Henley, Robert MacIntyre
9:16 a.m. – Aldrich Potgieter, Jake Knapp, Sungjae Im
9:28 a.m. – Patton Kizzire, Seamus Power, Johnny Keefer
12:30 p.m. – Tom Hoge, Denny McCarthy, Nicolai Højgaard
12:42 p.m. – Patrick Rodgers, Kevin Roy, Marco Penge
12:54 p.m. – Chad Ramey, Alex Smalley, Pierceson Coody
1:06 p.m. – Kurt Kitayama, Harry Hall, Stephan Jaeger
1:18 p.m. – Keegan Bradley, David Ford, Chris Kirk
1:30 p.m. – Andrew Novak, Nick Taylor, Wyndham Clark
1:42 p.m. – Steven Fisk, William Mouw, Joe Highsmith
1:54 p.m. – Cameron Young, Davis Thompson, Sam Burns
2:06 p.m. – Nico Echavarria, Jason Day, Corey Conners
2:18 p.m. – Matthieu Pavon, S.H. Kim, Austin Smotherman
What to watch for Thursday
Winning the Players Championship once is difficult. Doing it multiple times at TPC Sawgrass is rare.
Since the tournament moved permanently to the Stadium Course in 1982, only six players have won the Players Championship twice at the iconic venue. No player has ever won it three times at Sawgrass.
That could change this week.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler looks to make history after winning back-to-back Players Championships in 2023 and 2024. His bid for a three-peat ended last year when Rory McIlroy claimed the title but Scheffler now has another opportunity to do something no player has ever accomplished at TPC Sawgrass—win the tournament three times.
A victory would give Scheffler three Players titles in four years, further cementing his dominance on the PGA Tour. The four-time major champion already picked up a win in his first start of the season and a victory this week would make him an overwhelming favorite heading into the Masters next month.
McIlroy’s status, meanwhile, remains uncertain. The Northern Irishman is dealing with a back injury and is expected to make a game-time decision on whether he will tee it up Thursday.
The post How To Watch The 2026 Players Championship: Thursday TV Coverage, Streaming Info And Round 1 Tee Times appeared first on MyGolfSpy.