The 2015 Players Championship was a golf tournament in Florida on the PGA Tour, held at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, southeast of Jacksonville. It was the 42nd Players Championship.

Rickie Fowler won the tournament, beating Kevin Kisner and Sergio García in a playoff.

Trailing by five shots with six holes to play, Fowler played them at six-under-par, going birdie-par-birdie-eagle-birdie-birdie to force a playoff. After the three-hole aggregate playoff (holes 16–18) ended with Kisner and Fowler still tied, they returned to the 17th for sudden-death. Fowler put his tee shot to on the island green 17th, and made birdie to win.

Defending champion Martin Kaymer finished twelve strokes back at even par, tied for 56th place.

Venue

This was the 34th Players Championship held at the TPC at Sawgrass Stadium Course and it remained at .

Course layout

Field The field consisted of 144 players meeting the following criteria:

1. Winners of PGA Tour events since last Players Bae Sang-moon (2), Ángel Cabrera (2), Alex Čejka, Ben Crane (2), Jason Day (2,6,8,12), Matt Every (2,8), Jim Furyk (2,8), Bill Haas (2,8), James Hahn (2), Brian Harman (2), Pádraig Harrington, Charley Hoffman (2,8,12), J. B. Holmes (2,8,12), Billy Horschel (2,7,8), Dustin Johnson (2,6,8,12), Martin Kaymer (2,4,5,8), Chris Kirk (2,8), Brooks Koepka (8), Hunter Mahan (2,8), Ben Martin (2), Hideki Matsuyama (2,8,12), Rory McIlroy (2,4,6,8), Ryan Moore (2,8,12), Geoff Ogilvy (2), Patrick Reed (2,6,8,12), Justin Rose (2,4,8), Adam Scott (2,4,8), Brandt Snedeker (2,7,8), Jordan Spieth (2,4,8,12), Robert Streb (2), Kevin Streelman (2), Nick Taylor, Brendon Todd (2,8), Camilo Villegas (2), Jimmy Walker (2,8,12), Bubba Watson (2,4,6,8,12) Tim Clark (2,5) did not play.

2. Top 125 from previous season's FedEx Cup points list Robert Allenby, Aaron Baddeley, Ricky Barnes, Jonas Blixt, Jason Bohn, Steven Bowditch, Keegan Bradley (4,6,8), Scott Brown, Paul Casey (8), Kevin Chappell, K. J. Choi (5), Stewart Cink, Erik Compton, Brian Davis, Brendon de Jonge, Graham DeLaet, Luke Donald, Jason Dufner (4), Ernie Els (4), Harris English, Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño, Martin Flores, Rickie Fowler (8), Sergio García (8), Brice Garnett, Robert Garrigus, Retief Goosen, Luke Guthrie, Chesson Hadley, David Hearn, Russell Henley (8), Morgan Hoffmann, Charles Howell III, John Huh, Billy Hurley III, Ryo Ishikawa, Freddie Jacobson, Zach Johnson (8), Matt Jones, Jerry Kelly, Kevin Kisner, Russell Knox, Jason Kokrak, Matt Kuchar (5,6,8), Scott Langley, Danny Lee, Marc Leishman, Justin Leonard, Will MacKenzie, Graeme McDowell (4,8), William McGirt, George McNeill, Troy Merritt, Phil Mickelson (4,8), Bryce Molder, Kevin Na (8), Noh Seung-yul, Louis Oosthuizen (4,8), Jeff Overton, Ryan Palmer (8), Pat Perez, Carl Pettersson, Ian Poulter (6,8), Michael Putnam, Andrés Romero, Rory Sabbatini, Charl Schwartzel (4,8), John Senden, Webb Simpson (4,8), Vijay Singh, Scott Stallings, Brendan Steele, Shawn Stefani, Henrik Stenson (7,8), Steve Stricker, Chris Stroud, Brian Stuard, Daniel Summerhays, Andrew Svoboda, Michael Thompson, David Toms, Cameron Tringale, Bo Van Pelt, Jhonattan Vegas, Nick Watney, Boo Weekley, Lee Westwood (8), Tim Wilkinson, Gary Woodland Stuart Appleby, Justin Hicks, and Kevin Stadler did not play.

3. Top 125 from current season - Medical Extension Spencer Levin, Scott Piercy

4. Major champions from the past five years Darren Clarke

5. Players Championship winners from the past five years Tiger Woods (6)

6. WGC winners from the past three years

7. The Tour Championship winners from the past three years

8. Top 50 from the Official World Golf Ranking Jamie Donaldson, Stephen Gallacher, Branden Grace, Thongchai Jaidee, Anirban Lahiri, Shane Lowry, Joost Luiten, Bernd Wiesberger, Danny Willett Victor Dubuisson did not play.

9. Senior Players champion from prior year Bernhard Langer

10. Web.com Tour money leader from prior season Adam Hadwin

11. Money leader during the Web.com Tour Finals Derek Fathauer

12. Top 10 current year FedEx Cup points leaders

13. Remaining positions and alternates filled through current year FedEx Cup standings Daniel Berger, Sean O'Hair, Justin Thomas

Round summaries First round Thursday, May 7, 2015 PlacePlayerScoreTo parT1 David Hearn 67 −5 Charley Hoffman Hideki Matsuyama Kevin NaT5 Derek Fathauer 68 −4 Billy Horschel Charles Howell III Ben Martin Troy Merritt Brendon Todd

Second round Friday, May 8, 2015 PlacePlayerScoreTo parT1 Jerry Kelly 71-65=136 −8 Kevin Na 67-69=136T3 Rickie Fowler 69-69=138 −6 Branden Grace 71-67=138 David Hearn 67-71=138 Chris Kirk 70-68=138T7 Scott Brown 72-67=139 −5 Bill Haas 72-67=139 Zach Johnson 71-68=139 Ben Martin 68-71=139 Troy Merritt 68-71=139 Chris Stroud 70-69=139

Third round Saturday, May 9, 2015 PlacePlayerScoreTo par1 Chris Kirk 70-68-68=206 −10T2 Bill Haas 72-67-68=207 −9 Kevin Kisner 73-67-67=207 Ben Martin 68-71-68=207T5 Scott Brown 72-67-69=208 −8 Sergio García 69-72-67=208 David Hearn 67-71-70=208 Jerry Kelly 71-65-72=208 Kevin Na 67-69-72=208 Justin Thomas 73-70-65=208

Final round Sunday, May 10, 2015 Champion(c) = past champion PlacePlayerScoreTo parMoney ($)T1 Rickie Fowler 69-69-71-67=276 −12 Playoff Sergio García (c) 69-72-67-68=276 Kevin Kisner 73-67-67-69=276T4 Bill Haas 72-67-68-70=277 −11 440,000 Ben Martin 68-71-68-70=277T6 Kevin Na 67-69-72-71=279 −9 347,500 Rory Sabbatini 70-71-69-69=279T8 Jamie Donaldson 70-72-71-67=280 −8 270,000 Brian Harman 71-69-70-70=280 Ryo Ishikawa 71-69-69-71=280 Rory McIlroy 69-71-70-70=280 John Senden 73-70-67-70=280 Leaderboard below the top 10PlacePlayerScoreTo parMoney ($)T13 Billy Horschel 68-72-69-72=281 −7 187,500 Zach Johnson 71-68-71-71=281 Chris Kirk 70-68-68-75=281 David Toms 73-71-68-69=281T17 Derek Fathauer 68-72-69-73=282 −6 130,857 Jerry Kelly 71-65-72-74=282 Russell Knox 72-70-72-68=282 Hideki Matsuyama 67-74-72-69=282 George McNeill 73-70-69-70=282 Pat Perez 71-70-68-73=282 Henrik Stenson (c) 72-69-73-68=282T24 Chesson Hadley 71-72-66-74=283 −5 81,000 Russell Henley 70-70-72-71=283 Marc Leishman 69-71-74-69=283 Geoff Ogilvy 72-72-69-70=283 Patrick Reed 72-70-69-72=283 Justin Thomas 73-70-65-75=283T30 Bae Sang-moon 72-68-73-71=284 −4 58,125 Scott Brown 72-67-69-76=284 Erik Compton 74-70-72-68=284 James Hahn 70-73-72-69=284 Charley Hoffman 67-74-71-72=284 Ian Poulter 71-69-70-74=284 Robert Streb 70-73-72-69=284 Bo Van Pelt 70-72-69-73=284T38 Martin Flores 73-71-67-74=285 −3 44,000 Stephen Gallacher 72-70-70-73=285 Adam Scott (c) 72-69-69-75=285 Steve Stricker 69-75-69-72=285T42 K. J. Choi (c) 70-74-70-72=286 −2 31,400 Matt Every 74-70-70-72=286 Branden Grace 71-67-73-75=286 Pádraig Harrington 71-73-75-67=286 David Hearn 67-71-70-78=286 Freddie Jacobson 70-74-70-72=286 Chris Stroud 70-69-76-71=286 Jhonattan Vegas 75-69-66-76=286 Bubba Watson 71-70-69-76=286T51 Luke Guthrie 74-69-69-75=287 −1 23,680 J. B. Holmes 70-71-73-73=287 Joost Luiten 71-70-71-75=287 Charl Schwartzel 71-72-72-72=287 Brendon Todd 68-72-75-72=287T56 Robert Allenby 70-72-73-73=288 E 22,200 Graham DeLaet 75-69-70-74=288 Jim Furyk 70-70-73-75=288 Charles Howell III 68-72-71-77=288 Martin Kaymer (c) 69-72-71-76=288 Graeme McDowell 73-70-74-71=288 Cameron Tringale 69-71-72-76=288T63 Brendon de Jonge 73-71-71-74=289 +1 21,200 Bryce Molder 72-71-75-71=289 Vijay Singh 71-72-76-70=289T66 Ernie Els 73-70-76-71=290 +2 20,600 Scott Langley 72-72-71-75=290 Webb Simpson 69-74-78-69=290T69 Dustin Johnson 72-72-75-72=291 +3 20,000 Louis Oosthuizen 70-73-75-73=291 Tiger Woods (c) 73-71-75-72=29172 Troy Merritt 68-71-76-77=292 +4 19,60073 Nick Taylor 72-70-72-79=293 +5 19,40074 Alex Čejka 69-73-79-78=299 +11 19,20075 Scott Stallings 71-72-82-76=301 +13 19,000CUT Daniel Berger 71-74=145 +1 Jason Bohn 71-74=145 Keegan Bradley 77-68=145 Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño 74-71=145 Morgan Hoffmann 76-69=145 Brooks Koepka 78-67=145 Jason Kokrak 69-76=145 Matt Kuchar (c) 73-72=145 Spencer Levin 70-75=145 Ryan Moore 73-72=145 Michael Putnam 72-73=145 Justin Rose 71-74=145 Brendan Steele 73-72=145 Bernd Wiesberger 77-68=145 Ricky Barnes 69-77=146 +2 Jason Dufner 73-73=146 Harris English 75-71=146 Billy Hurley III 74-72=146 Bernhard Langer 73-73=146 Danny Lee 73-73=146 Justin Leonard (c) 73-73=146 Jeff Overton 69-77=146 Andrew Svoboda 71-75=146 Jimmy Walker 71-75=146 Boo Weekley 73-73=146 Lee Westwood 76-70=146 Danny Willett 72-74=146 Steven Bowditch 77-70=147 +3 Ben Crane 71-76=147 John Huh 74-73=147 Shane Lowry 73-74=147 Hunter Mahan 72-75=147 Scott Piercy 73-74=147 Brandt Snedeker 69-78=147 Jordan Spieth 75-72=147 Shawn Stefani 77-70=147 Michael Thompson 73-74=147 Stewart Cink 76-72=148 +4 Thongchai Jaidee 73-75=148 Anirban Lahiri 76-72=148 William McGirt 75-73=148 Noh Seung-yul 73-75=148 Andrés Romero 72-76=148 Kevin Chappell 77-72=149 +5 Brian Davis 75-74=149 Adam Hadwin 75-74=149 Phil Mickelson (c) 73-76=149 Ryan Palmer 77-72=149 Kevin Streelman 75-74=149 Nick Watney 78-71=149 Jason Day 69-81=150 +6 Will MacKenzie 75-75=150 Tim Wilkinson 73-77=150 Brice Garnett 76-75=151 +7 Retief Goosen 78-73=151 Matt Jones 75-76=151 Sean O'Hair 76-76=152 +8 Camilo Villegas 78-74=152 Luke Donald 77-76=153 +9 Robert Garrigus 75-78=153 Brian Stuard 74-79=153 Daniel Summerhays 75-78=153 Gary Woodland 79-74=153 Aaron Baddeley 78-77=155 +11 Jonas Blixt 77-80=157 +13WD Ángel Cabrera 75 +3 Carl Pettersson 77 +5 Paul Casey 79 +7 Darren Clarke

Scorecard Final round Hole123456789101112131415161718Par453444435 454344534 Fowler −6−6−6−6−6−6−7−7−7−6−6−6−7−7−8−10−11−12 García −7−8−8−9−10−11−11−11−11−11−11−11−11−10−10−11−12−12 Kisner −9−10−10−9−8−9−9−9−9−9−9−10−10−10−10−11−12−12 Haas −9−9−10−10−10−10−9−8−7−8−8−8−8−9−10−11−11−11 Martin −9−10−10−10−9−9−9−9−8−9−10−10−10−9−10−11−12−11 Na −8−8−8−6−6−7−8−8−8−8−8−8−8−9−9−10−10−9 Sabbatini −6−6−6−6−6−7−7−7−7−8−8−8−8−8−8−8−9−9 Kirk −10−10−10−9−8−8−9−9−9−9−9−9−9−8−7−7−7−7 Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par {|class="wikitable" span = 50 style="font-size:85%; |- |style="background: Red;" width=10| |Eagle |style="background: Pink;" width=10| |Birdie |style="background: PaleGreen;" width=10| |Bogey |style="background: Green;" width=10| |Double bogey |} Source:

Playoff The playoff was the first at The Players to use the three-hole aggregate format, adopted the prior year, which began at par-5 16th hole. After the three holes, Fowler and Kisner were tied, but García missed his birdie putt on 18 to continue and was eliminated. The same three holes were scheduled for sudden-death, but started at the par-3 17th, which both had birdied twice Sunday. Fowler birdied it again (his fifth on the 17th hole in six attempts for the week) to win the title. The birdies were a first for the Players; its four previous playoffs, all sudden-death, had no under-par scoring.

PlacePlayerThree-holeSudden-deathMoney ($) Score To par Score To par1 Rickie Fowler 5-2-4=11 −1 2 −1 1,800,000T2 Kevin Kisner 5-2-4=11 −1 3 E 880,000 Sergio García 5-3-5=13 +1   After a failed birdie putt on 18 to remain in the playoff, García missed an attempted one-handed tap-in, so his score for the hole was recorded as a bogey. Source:

Scorecard Hole16171817Par5343 Fowler E−1−1−2 Kisner E−1−1−1 García EE+1  Cumulative playoff scores, relative to par {|class="wikitable" span = 50 style="font-size:85%; |- |style="background: Pink;" width=10| |Birdie |style="background: PaleGreen;" width=10| |Bogey |} Source:

References

External links The Players Championship website