# 2018 Players Championship

The 2018 Players Championship was a professional golf tournament, held from May 10–13 at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. The flagship event of the PGA Tour, this was the 45th edition of The Players Championship, and the 37th edition held at the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass. The tournament was won by Webb Simpson, four strokes ahead of three runners-up.
Defending champion Kim Si-woo opened with a five-under 67, but finished 15 strokes back, tied for 63rd place.
This was the twelfth consecutive Players Championship held in May; it returned to March in 2019.

## Venue
### Course layout

The 2018 Players Championship :
| Tee | Rating/Slope | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
| Yards | 76.4 / 155 | 423 | 532 | 177 | 384 | 471 | 393 | 451 | 237 | 583 | 3,651 | 424 | 558 | 302 | 181 | 481 | 470 | 523 | 137 | 462 | 3,538 | 7,189 |
| Par | | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 36 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 36 | 72 |

## Field

The field consisted of 144 players meeting the following criteria. Each player is listed according to the first category by which he qualified with additional categories in which he qualified shown in parentheses.

### 1. Winners of PGA Tour events since last Players

Ryan Armour, Daniel Berger (2,9), Patrick Cantlay (2,9), Austin Cook, Jason Day (2,4,5,7,8,9), Bryson DeChambeau (2,9), Jason Dufner (2,4,8), Brice Garnett, Billy Horschel (2), Dustin Johnson (2,4,7,9,13), Kim Si-woo (2,5,9), Kevin Kisner (2,9), Patton Kizzire (2,13), Satoshi Kodaira (9), Brooks Koepka (2,4,9), Andrew Landry (13), Marc Leishman (2,8,9), Hideki Matsuyama (2,7,9), Rory McIlroy (2,4,6,8,9), Phil Mickelson (2,4,7,9,13), Grayson Murray (2), Pat Perez (2,9), Scott Piercy (2), Ted Potter Jr., Ian Poulter (2,9), Jon Rahm (2,9,13), Patrick Reed (2,4,9,13), Justin Rose (2,4,9,13), Xander Schauffele (2,6,9), Jordan Spieth (2,4,6,9), Kyle Stanley (2,9), Brendan Steele (2,9), Henrik Stenson (2,4,9), Chris Stroud (2), Justin Thomas (2,4,9,13), Jhonattan Vegas (2), Bubba Watson (2,4,9,13), Gary Woodland (2,9)
* Paul Casey (2,9) did not play due to injury.

### 2. Top 125 from previous season's FedEx Cup points list

An Byeong-hun, Blayne Barber, Ryan Blaum, Jonas Blixt, Dominic Bozzelli, Keegan Bradley, Scott Brown, Wesley Bryan, Rafa Cabrera-Bello (9), Chad Campbell, Bud Cauley, Kevin Chappell (9), Stewart Cink, Harris English, Derek Fathauer, Tony Finau (9,13), Martin Flores, Rickie Fowler (5,9), Sergio García (4,9), Robert Garrigus, Brian Gay, Lucas Glover, Branden Grace (9), Cody Gribble, Emiliano Grillo, Bill Haas, Adam Hadwin (9), James Hahn, Brian Harman (9), Russell Henley (9), J. J. Henry, Charley Hoffman (9), J. B. Holmes, Charles Howell III, Mackenzie Hughes, John Huh, Zach Johnson (4), Kang Sung-hoon, Michael Kim, Kim Meen-whee, Chris Kirk, Russell Knox (7), Jason Kokrak, Kelly Kraft, Matt Kuchar (9), Anirban Lahiri, Martin Laird, Danny Lee, David Lingmerth (8), Luke List, Jamie Lovemark, Ben Martin, William McGirt (8), Francesco Molinari (9), Ryan Moore, Kevin Na, Geoff Ogilvy, Sean O'Hair, Louis Oosthuizen (9), Rod Pampling, Pan Cheng-tsung, D. A. Points, Chez Reavie, Patrick Rodgers, Rory Sabbatini, Ollie Schniederjans, Charl Schwartzel, Adam Scott (7), Webb Simpson (9), Cameron Smith (9), Brandt Snedeker, J. J. Spaun, Scott Stallings, Robert Streb, Kevin Streelman, Steve Stricker, Hudson Swafford, Nick Taylor, Vaughn Taylor, Kevin Tway, Tyrone van Aswegen, Harold Varner III, Jimmy Walker (4), Nick Watney, Richy Werenski
* Graham DeLaet, Luke Donald, Brandon Hagy, Jim Herman, Morgan Hoffmann, and Camilo Villegas did not play.
* Noh Seung-yul was unable to compete due to a military obligation in South Korea.

### 3. Top 125 (medical)

Ryan Palmer, Michael Thompson

### 4. Major champions from the past five years

Martin Kaymer (5), Danny Willett

### 5. Players Championship winners from the past five years

Tiger Woods

### 7. World Golf Championship winners from the past three years

Shane Lowry

### 9. Top 50 from the Official World Golf Ranking

Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Ross Fisher, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton, Alexander Lévy, Li Haotong, Alex Norén

### 10. Senior Players champion from prior year

Scott McCarron

### 11. Web.com Tour money leader from prior season

Chesson Hadley (12)

### 14. Remaining positions and alternates filled through current year FedEx Cup standings

Brandon Harkins, Tom Hoge, Beau Hossler, Keith Mitchell, Trey Mullinax

## Round summaries
### First round

Thursday, May 10, 2018
Kim Si-woo shot 67 (−5), the lowest first round score by a defending champion since the event moved to Florida; six players were a shot better at 66.
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| T1 | Patrick Cantlay | 66 | −6 |
| T1 | Chesson Hadley | 66 | −6 |
| T1 | Dustin Johnson | 66 | −6 |
| T1 | Matt Kuchar | 66 | −6 |
| T1 | Alex Norén | 66 | −6 |
| T1 | Webb Simpson | 66 | −6 |
| T7 | Kim Si-woo | 67 | −5 |
| T7 | Andrew Landry | 67 | −5 |
| T7 | Keith Mitchell | 67 | −5 |
| T7 | Rory Sabbatini | 67 | −5 |
| T7 | Steve Stricker | 67 | −5 |
| T7 | Jhonattan Vegas | 67 | −5 |
Source:

### Second round

Friday, May 11, 2018
Webb Simpson tied the course record with a round of 63 (−9) to open up a five-shot lead. Simpson had six consecutive birdies on holes 11–16 which also tied a tournament record. He was 11-under on his round until his tee shot found the water on the par-3 17th and made double bogey. His score of 129 (−15) after 36 holes tied Jason Day (2016) for the tournament record, while his five-shot lead set a new record.
For the second consecutive year, at least eighty players made the 36-hole cut, which invoked a 54-hole cut.
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| 1 | Webb Simpson | 66-63=129 | −15 |
| T2 | Patrick Cantlay | 66-68=134 | −10 |
| T2 | Danny Lee | 68-66=134 | −10 |
| T2 | Charl Schwartzel | 68-66=134 | −10 |
| T5 | Chesson Hadley | 66-69=135 | −9 |
| T5 | Charles Howell III | 68-67=135 | −9 |
| T5 | Alex Norén | 66-69=135 | −9 |
| T8 | Jason Day | 69-67=136 | −8 |
| T8 | Xander Schauffele | 68-68=136 | −8 |
| T8 | Steve Stricker | 67-69=136 | −8 |
Source:

### Third round

Saturday, May 12, 2018
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| 1 | Webb Simpson | 66-63-68=197 | −19 |
| 2 | Danny Lee | 68-66-70=204 | −12 |
| 3 | Dustin Johnson | 66-71-69=206 | −10 |
| T4 | Jason Day | 69-67-71=207 | −9 |
| T4 | Jason Dufner | 72-69-66=207 | −9 |
| T4 | Xander Schauffele | 68-68-71=207 | −9 |
| T4 | Charl Schwartzel | 68-66-73=207 | −9 |
| T4 | Jimmy Walker | 69-68-70=207 | −9 |
| T9 | Patrick Cantlay | 66-68-74=208 | −8 |
| T9 | Tommy Fleetwood | 69-71-68=208 | −8 |
| T9 | Matt Kuchar | 66-71-71=208 | −8 |
| T9 | Ian Poulter | 70-69-69=208 | −8 |
| T9 | Jordan Spieth | 75-68-65=208 | −8 |
| T9 | Harold Varner III | 71-67-70=208 | −8 |
| T9 | Tiger Woods | 72-71-65=208 | −8 |
Source:

### Final round

Sunday, May 13, 2018
* Champion
* (c) = past champion
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) |
| 1 | Webb Simpson | 66-63-68-73=270 | −18 | 1,980,000 |
| T2 | Xander Schauffele | 68-68-71-67=274 | −14 | 821,333 |
| T2 | Charl Schwartzel | 68-66-73-67=274 | −14 | 821,333 |
| T2 | Jimmy Walker | 69-68-70-67=274 | −14 | 821,333 |
| T5 | Jason Day (c) | 69-67-71-68=275 | −13 | 418,000 |
| T5 | Jason Dufner | 72-69-66-68=275 | −13 | 418,000 |
| T7 | Keegan Bradley | 69-69-72-66=276 | −12 | 331,375 |
| T7 | Tommy Fleetwood | 69-71-68-68=276 | −12 | 331,375 |
| T7 | Danny Lee | 68-66-70-72=276 | −12 | 331,375 |
| T7 | Harold Varner III | 71-67-70-68=276 | −12 | 331,375 |
Leaderboard below the top 10 :
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) |
| T11 | Chesson Hadley | 66-69-75-67=277 | −11 | 225,500 |
| T11 | Brooks Koepka | 70-70-74-63=277 | −11 | 225,500 |
| T11 | Ian Poulter | 70-69-69-69=277 | −11 | 225,500 |
| T11 | Adam Scott (c) | 69-68-72-68=277 | −11 | 225,500 |
| T11 | Justin Thomas | 73-70-68-66=277 | −11 | 225,500 |
| T11 | Tiger Woods (c) | 72-71-65-69=277 | −11 | 225,500 |
| T17 | Rafa Cabrera-Bello | 71-71-67-69=278 | −10 | 148,866 |
| T17 | Charles Howell III | 68-67-74-69=278 | −10 | 148,866 |
| T17 | Dustin Johnson | 66-71-69-72=278 | −10 | 148,866 |
| T17 | Matt Kuchar (c) | 66-71-71-70=278 | −10 | 148,866 |
| T17 | Jamie Lovemark | 76-67-68-67=278 | −10 | 148,866 |
| T17 | Alex Norén | 66-69-77-66=278 | −10 | 148,866 |
| T23 | Scott Brown | 70-71-69-69=279 | −9 | 92,714 |
| T23 | Patrick Cantlay | 66-68-74-71=279 | −9 | 92,714 |
| T23 | Ryan Palmer | 74-67-69-69=279 | −9 | 92,714 |
| T23 | Justin Rose | 68-72-73-66=279 | −9 | 92,714 |
| T23 | Henrik Stenson (c) | 68-70-71-70=279 | −9 | 92,714 |
| T23 | Steve Stricker | 67-69-73-70=279 | −9 | 92,714 |
| T23 | Richy Werenski | 70-71-68-70=279 | −9 | 92,714 |
| T30 | An Byeong-hun | 71-70-69-70=280 | −8 | 65,371 |
| T30 | Kiradech Aphibarnrat | 71-71-71-67=280 | −8 | 65,371 |
| T30 | Cody Gribble | 68-71-72-69=280 | −8 | 65,371 |
| T30 | Ryan Moore | 71-70-73-66=280 | −8 | 65,371 |
| T30 | Grayson Murray | 72-68-69-71=280 | −8 | 65,371 |
| T30 | Chez Reavie | 71-71-69-69=280 | −8 | 65,371 |
| T30 | Rory Sabbatini | 67-71-71-71=280 | −8 | 65,371 |
| T37 | Bryson DeChambeau | 70-67-73-71=281 | −7 | 50,600 |
| T37 | Emiliano Grillo | 69-71-72-69=281 | −7 | 50,600 |
| T37 | Billy Horschel | 68-70-73-70=281 | −7 | 50,600 |
| T37 | Nick Watney | 70-72-72-67=281 | −7 | 50,600 |
| T41 | Brice Garnett | 69-69-73-71=282 | −6 | 40,700 |
| T41 | Ted Potter Jr. | 70-70-72-70=282 | −6 | 40,700 |
| T41 | Patrick Reed | 72-68-70-72=282 | −6 | 40,700 |
| T41 | Jordan Spieth | 75-68-65-74=282 | −6 | 40,700 |
| T41 | Jhonattan Vegas | 67-72-70-73=282 | −6 | 40,700 |
| T46 | Austin Cook | 72-70-71-70=283 | −5 | 27,980 |
| T46 | Matt Fitzpatrick | 72-70-70-71=283 | −5 | 27,980 |
| T46 | Branden Grace | 69-71-73-70=283 | −5 | 27,980 |
| T46 | Beau Hossler | 70-69-73-71=283 | −5 | 27,980 |
| T46 | Chris Kirk | 70-71-70-72=283 | −5 | 27,980 |
| T46 | Jason Kokrak | 72-69-71-71=283 | −5 | 27,980 |
| T46 | Shane Lowry | 75-68-69-71=283 | −5 | 27,980 |
| T46 | Kevin Na | 69-71-72-71=283 | −5 | 27,980 |
| T46 | Pan Cheng-tsung | 68-70-76-69=283 | −5 | 27,980 |
| T46 | Chris Stroud | 70-70-72-71=283 | −5 | 27,980 |
| T46 | Kevin Tway | 70-72-72-69=283 | −5 | 27,980 |
| T57 | Daniel Berger | 74-68-72-70=284 | −4 | 24,310 |
| T57 | Tony Finau | 70-72-71-71=284 | −4 | 24,310 |
| T57 | Adam Hadwin | 72-68-71-73=284 | −4 | 24,310 |
| T57 | Mackenzie Hughes | 76-67-68-73=284 | −4 | 24,310 |
| T57 | Martin Laird | 72-71-70-71=284 | −4 | 24,310 |
| T57 | Bubba Watson | 68-71-73-72=284 | −4 | 24,310 |
| T63 | Kim Si-woo (c) | 67-72-74-72=285 | −3 | 23,320 |
| T63 | Marc Leishman | 71-71-67-76=285 | −3 | 23,320 |
| T63 | Jon Rahm | 68-70-77-70=285 | −3 | 23,320 |
| 66 | Tyrone van Aswegen | 74-68-70-74=286 | −2 | 22,880 |
| T67 | Brandon Harkins | 75-68-73-71=287 | −1 | 22,440 |
| T67 | J. J. Henry | 72-71-69-75=287 | −1 | 22,440 |
| T67 | Andrew Landry | 67-75-71-74=287 | −1 | 22,440 |
| 70 | Sergio García (c) | 68-69-75-76=288 | E | 22,000 |
| 71 | Ross Fisher | 70-73-73-73=289 | +1 | 21,780 |
| T72 | Brian Gay | 72-71-74=217 | +1 | 21,780 |
| T72 | Lucas Glover | 68-71-78=217 | +1 | 21,780 |
| T72 | Tom Hoge | 70-69-78=217 | +1 | 21,780 |
| T75 | Zach Johnson | 71-69-78=218 | +2 | 20,790 |
| T75 | Ollie Schniederjans | 68-71-79=218 | +2 | 20,790 |
| T77 | Ryan Blaum | 71-72-77=220 | +4 | 20,350 |
| T77 | Keith Mitchell | 67-75-78=220 | +4 | 20,350 |
| T79 | Brendan Steele | 72-69-81=222 | +6 | 19,910 |
| T79 | Nick Taylor | 69-74-79=222 | +6 | 19,910 |
| CUT | Jonas Blixt | 75-69=144 | E | |
| CUT | Wesley Bryan | 71-73=144 | E | |
| CUT | Kevin Chappell | 72-72=144 | E | |
| CUT | John Huh | 69-75=144 | E | |
| CUT | Anirban Lahiri | 69-75=144 | E | |
| CUT | Alexander Lévy | 73-71=144 | E | |
| CUT | Luke List | 70-74=144 | E | |
| CUT | J. J. Spaun | 71-73=144 | E | |
| CUT | Rickie Fowler (c) | 74-71=145 | +1 | |
| CUT | Robert Garrigus | 75-70=145 | +1 | |
| CUT | James Hahn | 73-72=145 | +1 | |
| CUT | Russell Henley | 72-73=145 | +1 | |
| CUT | Martin Kaymer (c) | 71-74=145 | +1 | |
| CUT | Rory McIlroy | 71-74=145 | +1 | |
| CUT | Kyle Stanley | 75-70=145 | +1 | |
| CUT | Robert Streb | 73-72=145 | +1 | |
| CUT | Kevin Streelman | 70-75=145 | +1 | |
| CUT | Ryan Armour | 73-73=146 | +2 | |
| CUT | Bud Cauley | 73-73=146 | +2 | |
| CUT | Tyrrell Hatton | 75-71=146 | +2 | |
| CUT | Charley Hoffman | 71-75=146 | +2 | |
| CUT | Russell Knox | 74-72=146 | +2 | |
| CUT | Kelly Kraft | 74-72=146 | +2 | |
| CUT | Francesco Molinari | 73-73=146 | +2 | |
| CUT | Pat Perez | 76-70=146 | +2 | |
| CUT | Scott Piercy | 77-69=146 | +2 | |
| CUT | Hudson Swafford | 75-71=146 | +2 | |
| CUT | Gary Woodland | 74-72=146 | +2 | |
| CUT | Stewart Cink | 75-72=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | J. B. Holmes | 75-72=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | Kim Meen-whee | 75-72=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | Kevin Kisner | 77-70=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | Patton Kizzire | 72-75=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | Satoshi Kodaira | 74-73=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | David Lingmerth | 75-72=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | William McGirt | 73-74=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | Trey Mullinax | 72-75=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | Vaughn Taylor | 72-75=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | Blayne Barber | 76-72=148 | +4 | |
| CUT | Chad Campbell | 74-74=148 | +4 | |
| CUT | Harris English | 77-71=148 | +4 | |
| CUT | Martin Flores | 80-68=148 | +4 | |
| CUT | Bill Haas | 74-74=148 | +4 | |
| CUT | Hideki Matsuyama | 79-69=148 | +4 | |
| CUT | Louis Oosthuizen | 78-71=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | D. A. Points | 75-74=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | Patrick Rodgers | 73-76=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | Scott Stallings | 75-75=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Michael Thompson | 76-74=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Dominic Bozzelli | 77-74=151 | +7 | |
| CUT | Ben Martin | 78-73=151 | +7 | |
| CUT | Cameron Smith | 76-75=151 | +7 | |
| CUT | Danny Willett | 74-77=151 | +7 | |
| CUT | Scott McCarron | 79-73=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | Phil Mickelson (c) | 79-73=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | Geoff Ogilvy | 78-74=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | Derek Fathauer | 77-76=153 | +9 | |
| CUT | Brian Harman | 74-80=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | Michael Kim | 78-76=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | Rod Pampling | 74-80=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | Brandt Snedeker | 82-72=154 | +10 | |
| CUT | Kang Sung-hoon | 78-77=155 | +11 | |
| CUT | Li Haotong | 76-80=156 | +12 | |
| WD | Sean O'Hair | 79 | +7 | |
Source:

#### Scorecard

Final round
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| Par | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 |
| Simpson | −19 | −19 | −19 | −19 | −19 | −19 | −20 | −19 | −19 | −18 | −19 | −19 | −19 | −19 | −19 | −20 | −20 | −18 |
| Schauffele | −9 | −10 | −10 | −11 | −11 | −11 | −10 | −10 | −11 | −11 | −12 | −13 | −13 | −13 | −13 | −13 | −13 | −14 |
| Schwartzel | −9 | −10 | −9 | −9 | −9 | −9 | −10 | −10 | −10 | −10 | −10 | −11 | −12 | −12 | −12 | −13 | −13 | −14 |
| Walker | −9 | −10 | −10 | −10 | −10 | −11 | −11 | −11 | −11 | −11 | −12 | −13 | −14 | −14 | −14 | −14 | −14 | −14 |
| Day | −9 | −10 | −10 | −11 | −11 | −11 | −11 | −11 | −13 | −13 | −13 | −13 | −13 | −13 | −13 | −13 | −13 | −13 |
| Dufner | −10 | −11 | −11 | −11 | −11 | −12 | −13 | −12 | −13 | −13 | −14 | −14 | −14 | −14 | −14 | −14 | −14 | −13 |
| Lee | −12 | −13 | −14 | −14 | −14 | −14 | −14 | −14 | −14 | −14 | −14 | −13 | −13 | −13 | −13 | −12 | −12 | −12 |
| Woods | −8 | −8 | −9 | −10 | −11 | −11 | −11 | −11 | −12 | −12 | −13 | −14 | −14 | −13 | −13 | −13 | −11 | −11 |
Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par
    Eagle Birdie Bogey Double bogey
    Source: