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NBC Sports
17-03-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Varying vibes as J.J. Spaun and Rory McIlroy head to Monday Players playoff
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Well, obviously, this thing was over. In a span of seven minutes Sunday at The Players Championship, J.J. Spaun went from one shot behind to three back after a bogey-birdie flip with Rory McIlroy up ahead. It was a nice run for Spaun, wasn't it? A 34-year-old journeyman type who had played his way into the biggest spot of his career. Claimed the 54-hole lead. Impressed fans with his grit and game, with his likable demeanor, with his relatable daily struggle. But now that story, his story, was predictably coming to an end – after a four-hour weather delay, he made a mess of the par-5 11th and seemed too far behind, with too few holes left, to catch the No. 2 player in the world. 'I kind of went with the odds,' Spaun said. 'I had nothing to lose.' And so Spaun started committing to his shots. Trusting his swing. Too many times in his career, he admits, he has lacked the necessary self-belief and conviction to challenge for the biggest titles in the game. 'I've just kind of been afraid of being in that spotlight, being in that pressure, being worried about failure,' he said. It's something that recent PGA Tour winner Thomas Detry admitted, too. That he was so afraid of getting into the lead and failing that he decided he'd rather not even be in that spot at all. It wasn't until Detry proved himself last month at the WM Phoenix Open, ripping off four birdies in a row to win, that he truly understood just how flawed that logic was. Spaun is starting to come to grips with that, too. On the par-4 14th, the hardest hole on the course – the same hole that, in the previous group, McIlroy had sailed his drive way right and taken bogey – Spaun began to fight back, taking dead aim and knocking his approach to a foot for a kick-in birdie. One back. Brentley Romine, On 16 – the same hole that, in the previous group, McIlroy had settled for par after a so-so chip – Spaun hit a perfect drive around the corner, missed in the correct spot left of the green and pitched to a foot. Now, he was tied. Two consecutive pars to close, in near darkness, helped propel Spaun into an unlikely spot: a three-hole aggregate playoff with McIlroy. The overtime period, beginning at 9 a.m. ET on Golf Channel, will cover three of the most daunting holes in golf, Nos. 16-18 on the Stadium Course, and Spaun just proved that he's up for the challenge. 'I showed myself that I don't have to shy away from the moment,' he said. Afterward, McIlroy seemed to be wondering how he even found himself in the playoff to begin with. No, he didn't play perfectly down the stretch – his drive on 14 was miles right, and he twice was fooled by reads over the final hour in the fading daylight. But he also didn't get many breaks. A foot further left, his tee shot on 13 easily could have caught the ridge and funneled down toward the cup. His tee shot on the par-5 16th barely found the right rough. His wedge on 17 came to rest against the collar and made for an awkward 13-footer up the hill. After taking a three-shot lead, he played the remaining six holes in 1 over par. 'I feel like I had a chance to go home with the trophy tonight,' he said. 'But I'll get a good night's sleep and reset and try to win it tomorrow.' It's just five full swings, and McIlroy should have every conceivable advantage. With his powerful draw, McIlroy should be able to sling it 30 yards past Spaun on the reachable par-5 16th and require less club off the tee on the watery 18th. He's been significantly tighter with his approach play this week. He holds a 5-0 advantage in the number of Tour playoffs contested, and he has more than a decade of match-play experience to hold over his opponent. Fans who show up for the Monday morning restart will almost certainly be rooting for one of the game's most popular players. 'Everyone expects him to win. I don't think a lot of people expect me to win,' Spaun said. 'But I expect myself to win. That's all I care about.' Rory McIlroy describes how he feels after finishing in a tie at the top of The Players Championship leaderboard and whether he was paying attention to the final stretch of J.J. Spaun's fourth round.
USA Today
16-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Office in the sky: My crash course as a camera operator 125 feet above TPC Sawgrass' 17th green
Office in the sky: My crash course as a camera operator 125 feet above TPC Sawgrass' 17th green Show Caption Hide Caption Check out this view of the 17th island green at TPC Sawgrass Golfweek's Adam Schupak gets an incredible view of the 17th island green at TPC Sawgrass for The Players Championship. Wargo operates a camera positioned off the 16th fairway that is raised above the course by a crane. The camera is frequently used during golf broadcasts because it provides a birds-eye view of the course and can cover multiple holes at once. While drones are becoming more common in golf broadcasts, they are not able to zoom in like the crane-operated camera. PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Before covering the second round of the 2025 Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass, I forgot to do three things: renew my life insurance policy, update my last will and testament or tell my wife that I was about to go 125 feet in the air on a 6-foot diameter platform on a stick with Darren Wargo, a 54-year-old camera operator, who may be a wee bit crazy. After all, Darren's job is to operate a camera positioned just off the 16th fairway and raised above the birds by a crane where he'll stand still for upwards of more than 6 hours. This job ought to come with a warning: this job may be hazardous to your health and cause vertigo-inducing views to die for, so, whatever you do, try not to die in the . What's the job like, I asked? 'You wanna go up?' he replied. 'It's the only way to find out.' And so we did. He strapped me into a safety harness — make sure it clicks, he said, it's a long way down — in case I got the urge to go bungee jumping or sky diving – too close to sky dying for me – and I wasn't about to start now. My queasy stomach did back flips, my legs locked and my back stiffened. But the birds-eye view of 17 is to die for and no one questions that the shots add value to the broadcast. Best that Darren or the crane operator, the man who held my life in his hands, could recall, there's been a camera in the sky on golf broadcasts since the late 1980s. The height gives the broadcast the ability to cover more than just one hole. We could see Nos. 15-18, the eighth green and No. 9. Drones are gaining in popularity and use but they can't zoom in (yet), which gives Wargo some job security for now. Once he ascends into the air, Darren rarely comes down because the crane makes a loud whine that could disturb golfers. So, he packs a lunch and snacks in his backpack along with his rain gear and plenty of water. Bathroom breaks, you ask? Everyone does. He goes up with an empty bottle and comes down with a full one. Darren admitted he was scared, too, the first time he went up to his office in the sky but now he doesn't even think about falling, even when the wind whips and makes the platform shake. I, on the other hand, have never felt so flat-footed and glued to the ground. About the time the morning wave of players made it to 16, I started to feel comfortable and we watched Doug Ghim slap his approach in the water. I pressed a button to zoom in on the right handle and another button on the left to focus. There were two more buttons on the hand grip: one to see what's on air and the other to show the leaderboard. Tracking the ball took a little practice but I zoomed the camera in on a near ace by Ghim whose ball sniffed the holes while spinning back to within 8 feet. Glad I could confirm that I don't suffer from vertigo but if I stayed for too many more groups, I was going to have to borrow a bottle. Darren, your job is safe. I'll stick to writing.
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Camilo Villegas and Lucas Glover among those sharing Players Championship lead on wild day
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Camilo Villegas was on the phone the day before The Players Championship trying to sort out his swing with a coach who is in Singapore caddying at a LIV Golf event. He wound up tied for the lead, a peculiar twist in a tournament filled with them. Thursday was no exception. Lucas Glover had nine birdies in his round of 6-under 66, leaving him tied with Villegas and J.J. Spaun, who managed to get around the TPC Sawgrass without a bogey. Max McGreevy, who tied the tournament record for the highest score two years ago with an 89, had a chance to join them. He was at 5 under and faced a 15-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole when play was suspended by darkness. Rory McIlroy made four birdies from tee shots that found the rough or the pine straw, including the 18th hole when he punched a shot off the pine straw and out of the trees to 7 feet, putting him in the group at 67. 'You're just hoping for a backswing and a gap, and I had both of those,' McIlroy said. 'Just trying to chip-and-run a 5-iron up around the front of the green and make 4 and get out of there. It was a bonus to get it up on the green and hole the putt was a lovely way to finish.' Two-time defending champion Scottie Scheffler figures he left a few shots out there — two birdie chances were in the 8-foot range — but was satisfied enough with a 69. Taylor Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont., and Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., were tied with Scheffler for 20th after 3-under 69 rounds. Corey Conners (71) of Listowel, Ont., was tied for 47th, Mackenzie Hughes (73) of Dundas, Ont., was tied for 83rd, Nick Taylor (74) of Abbotsford was grouped at 99th, Adam Svensson (75) of Surrey, B.C., was tied for 112th and Ben Silverman (78) of Thornhill, Ont., was tied for 134th. Villegas was on the verge of losing his card two years ago when he connected with Jose Luis Campra, a respected Argentine professional who caddies on the side. He currently is looping for Sebastian Munoz on LIV, which is in Singapore this week. 'It was 9 a.m. here, it was 9 p.m. there,' Villegas said. 'We worked for a couple hours. He's a very, very hard worker. Very few guys give more golf lessons than Jose Campra, and he's always available for me. So it's great.' It was a small tweak on the downswing, and Villegas took that to the dangerous Stadium Course and promptly made five birdies on the back nine to start his round. There were a few mistakes, typical for most players. That's what this course does. Slight misses can turn into big numbers. Chandler Phillips experienced both. He set a Players Championship record with three eagles. He also had four birdies, an astonishing performance wiped out by a triple bogey on the par-3 eighth hole that started with a tee shot into a palmetto bush. Justin Lower had the best par of all. He was one of 10 players to hit their tee shots into the water on the island green at the par-3 17th. He was the only player to walk away with par, going to the drop zone and holing his wedge. Max Greyserman wasn't so fortunate. He put two in the water and had to make a 12-foot putt for his quadruple bogey. Glover isn't sure what to make of his record at the TPC Sawgrass, 10 times missing the cut with only two top 10s. But there was no big secret on this day. He hit it where he was aiming and made putts, with birdies on his final four holes. It stood out amid some surprising scores on a gorgeous day. Justin Thomas hit four tee shots into the water and had to birdie the last two holes for a 78. Viktor Hovland had three double bogeys in his round of 80. Jordan Spieth had an eagle, birdie, par, bogey and double bogey in his opening six holes. He played far boring golf — which he prefers — with seven pars, a birdie and a bogey on the back nine and it added to a 70. 'That's the thing about this place,' Glover said. 'There's always some really good scores and always some really bad scores. The margins are razor thin here, akin to say Augusta or Bay Hill. You get off just a little, you can make big numbers in a hurry. 'I happened to have a bunch of good numbers today and a bunch of good yardages and was able to be aggressive and I putted great.' Glover was not immune. He was too aggressive on the par-5 11th with a wedge and wound up in a pot-shaped bunker for bogey. He dropped another shot on the next hole. But it was the finish that set him apart — an approach to 5 feet on the 15th, a chip to tap-in range on the par-5 16th, an 18-foot birdie putt on the island green par-3 17th and a shot that caught the slope and fed down to 8 feet for birdie on the 18th. The 45-year-old former U.S. Open champion is having a late resurgence in his career, particularly impressive from having overcome the putting yips about a decade ago. He never gave up the grind and finally cashed in by winning the Wyndham Championship and the opening FedEx Cup playoff event in consecutive weeks in 2023. 'Just don't want to be done at 45, honestly,' Glover said. 'I deep down believe I can still compete out here at 45 and I don't want to stop any time soon.' McGreevy was among five players who didn't finish before darkness. He was to resume at 8 a.m., and then everyone gets to do it all over again. ___ AP golf: Doug Ferguson, The Associated Press
NBC Sports
14-03-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Camilo Villegas among trio of co-leaders with Rory McIlroy one back at The Players
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Camilo Villegas was on the phone the day before The Players Championship trying to sort out his swing with a coach who is in Singapore caddying at a LIV Golf event. He wound up tied for the lead, a peculiar twist in a tournament filled with them. Thursday was no exception. Lucas Glover had nine birdies in his round of 6-under 66, leaving him tied with Villegas and J.J. Spaun, who managed to get around the TPC Sawgrass without a bogey. Max McGreevy, who tied the tournament record for the highest score two years ago with an 89, had a chance to join them. He was at 5 under and faced a 15-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole when play was suspended by darkness. Rory McIlroy made four birdies from tee shots that found the rough or the pine straw, including the 18th hole when he punched a shot off the pine straw and out of the trees to 7 feet, putting him in the group at 67. 'You're just hoping for a backswing and a gap, and I had both of those,' McIlroy said. 'Just trying to chip-and-run a 5-iron up around the front of the green and make 4 and get out of there. It was a bonus to get it up on the green and hole the putt was a lovely way to finish.' Two-time defending champion Scottie Scheffler figures he left a few shots out there — two birdie chances were in the 8-foot range — but was satisfied enough with a 69. Villegas was on the verge of losing his card two years ago when he connected with Jose Luis Campra, a respected Argentine professional who caddies on the side. He currently is looping for Sebastian Munoz on LIV, which is in Singapore this week. 'It was 9 a.m. here, it was 9 p.m. there,' Villegas said. 'We worked for a couple hours. He's a very, very hard worker. Very few guys give more golf lessons than Jose Campra, and he's always available for me. So it's great.' It was a small tweak on the downswing, and Villegas took that to the dangerous Stadium Course and promptly made five birdies on the back nine to start his round. There were a few mistakes, typical for most players. That's what this course does. Slight misses can turn into big numbers. Chandler Phillips experienced both. He set a Players Championship record with three eagles. He also had four birdies, an astonishing performance wiped out by a triple bogey on the par-3 eighth hole that started with a tee shot into a palmetto bush. Justin Lower had the best par of all. He was one of 10 players to hit their tee shots into the water on the island green at the par-3 17th. He was the only player to walk away with par, going to the drop zone and holing his wedge. Max Greyserman wasn't so fortunate. He put two in the water and had to make a 12-foot putt for his quadruple bogey. Glover isn't sure what to make of his record at the TPC Sawgrass, 10 times missing the cut with only two top 10s. But there was no big secret on this day. He hit it where he was aiming and made putts, with birdies on his final four holes. It stood out amid some surprising scores on a gorgeous day. Justin Thomas hit four tee shots into the water and had to birdie the last two holes for a 78. Viktor Hovland had three double bogeys in his round of 80. Ryan Lavner, Jordan Spieth had an eagle, birdie, par, bogey and double bogey in his opening six holes. He played far boring golf — which he prefers — with seven pars, a birdie and a bogey on the back nine and it added to a 70. 'That's the thing about this place,' Glover said. 'There's always some really good scores and always some really bad scores. The margins are razor thin here, akin to say Augusta or Bay Hill. You get off just a little, you can make big numbers in a hurry. 'I happened to have a bunch of good numbers today and a bunch of good yardages and was able to be aggressive and I putted great.' Glover was not immune. He was too aggressive on the par-5 11th with a wedge and wound up in a pot-shaped bunker for bogey. He dropped another shot on the next hole. But it was the finish that set him apart — an approach to 5 feet on the 15th, a chip to tap-in range on the par-5 16th, an 18-foot birdie putt on the island green par-3 17th and a shot that caught the slope and fed down to 8 feet for birdie on the 18th. The 45-year-old former U.S. Open champion is having a late resurgence in his career, particularly impressive from having overcome the putting yips about a decade ago. He never gave up the grind and finally cashed in by winning the Wyndham Championship and the opening FedEx Cup playoff event in consecutive weeks in 2023. Rex Hoggard, 'Just don't want to be done at 45, honestly,' Glover said. 'I deep down believe I can still compete out here at 45 and I don't want to stop anytime soon.' McGreevy was among five players who didn't finish before darkness. He was to resume at 8:50 a.m., and then everyone gets to do it all over again.
Washington Post
12-03-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
The secret to Sawgrass for The Players Championship: Play well and stay out of trouble
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — The 24 newcomers to The Players Championship probably won't take much solace in hearing that only one player — Craig Perks in 2002 — has conquered the diabolical Stadium Course at the TPC Sawgrass in his debut over the last four decades. Just as curious is the case of Scottie Scheffler. Last year he became the first player in the history of this championship to win in consecutive years .
