# 2015 Players Championship

The 2015 Players Championship was a golf tournament in Florida on the PGA Tour, held May 7–10 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 five feet (1.5 m) 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 7,215 yards (6,597 m).

### Course layout

The 2015 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 | 76.8 / 155 | 423 | 532 | 177 | 384 | 471 | 393 | 442 | 237 | 583 | 3,642 | 424 | 558 | 358 | 181 | 481 | 449 | 523 | 137 | 462 | 3,573 | 7,215 |
| 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:

### 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)

### 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

### 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
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| T1 | David Hearn | 67 | −5 |
| T1 | Charley Hoffman | 67 | −5 |
| T1 | Hideki Matsuyama | 67 | −5 |
| T1 | Kevin Na | 67 | −5 |
| T5 | Derek Fathauer | 68 | −4 |
| T5 | Billy Horschel | 68 | −4 |
| T5 | Charles Howell III | 68 | −4 |
| T5 | Ben Martin | 68 | −4 |
| T5 | Troy Merritt | 68 | −4 |
| T5 | Brendon Todd | 68 | −4 |

### Second round

Friday, May 8, 2015
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| T1 | Jerry Kelly | 71-65=136 | −8 |
| T1 | Kevin Na | 67-69=136 | −8 |
| T3 | Rickie Fowler | 69-69=138 | −6 |
| T3 | Branden Grace | 71-67=138 | −6 |
| T3 | David Hearn | 67-71=138 | −6 |
| T3 | Chris Kirk | 70-68=138 | −6 |
| T7 | Scott Brown | 72-67=139 | −5 |
| T7 | Bill Haas | 72-67=139 | −5 |
| T7 | Zach Johnson | 71-68=139 | −5 |
| T7 | Ben Martin | 68-71=139 | −5 |
| T7 | Troy Merritt | 68-71=139 | −5 |
| T7 | Chris Stroud | 70-69=139 | −5 |

### Third round

Saturday, May 9, 2015
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
| 1 | Chris Kirk | 70-68-68=206 | −10 |
| T2 | Bill Haas | 72-67-68=207 | −9 |
| T2 | Kevin Kisner | 73-67-67=207 | −9 |
| T2 | Ben Martin | 68-71-68=207 | −9 |
| T5 | Scott Brown | 72-67-69=208 | −8 |
| T5 | Sergio García | 69-72-67=208 | −8 |
| T5 | David Hearn | 67-71-70=208 | −8 |
| T5 | Jerry Kelly | 71-65-72=208 | −8 |
| T5 | Kevin Na | 67-69-72=208 | −8 |
| T5 | Justin Thomas | 73-70-65=208 | −8 |

### Final round

Sunday, May 10, 2015
* Champion
* (c) = past champion
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) |
| T1 | Rickie Fowler | 69-69-71-67=276 | −12 | Playoff |
| T1 | Sergio García (c) | 69-72-67-68=276 | −12 | Playoff |
| T1 | Kevin Kisner | 73-67-67-69=276 | −12 | Playoff |
| T4 | Bill Haas | 72-67-68-70=277 | −11 | 440,000 |
| T4 | Ben Martin | 68-71-68-70=277 | −11 | 440,000 |
| T6 | Kevin Na | 67-69-72-71=279 | −9 | 347,500 |
| T6 | Rory Sabbatini | 70-71-69-69=279 | −9 | 347,500 |
| T8 | Jamie Donaldson | 70-72-71-67=280 | −8 | 270,000 |
| T8 | Brian Harman | 71-69-70-70=280 | −8 | 270,000 |
| T8 | Ryo Ishikawa | 71-69-69-71=280 | −8 | 270,000 |
| T8 | Rory McIlroy | 69-71-70-70=280 | −8 | 270,000 |
| T8 | John Senden | 73-70-67-70=280 | −8 | 270,000 |
Leaderboard below the top 10 :
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) |
| T13 | Billy Horschel | 68-72-69-72=281 | −7 | 187,500 |
| T13 | Zach Johnson | 71-68-71-71=281 | −7 | 187,500 |
| T13 | Chris Kirk | 70-68-68-75=281 | −7 | 187,500 |
| T13 | David Toms | 73-71-68-69=281 | −7 | 187,500 |
| T17 | Derek Fathauer | 68-72-69-73=282 | −6 | 130,857 |
| T17 | Jerry Kelly | 71-65-72-74=282 | −6 | 130,857 |
| T17 | Russell Knox | 72-70-72-68=282 | −6 | 130,857 |
| T17 | Hideki Matsuyama | 67-74-72-69=282 | −6 | 130,857 |
| T17 | George McNeill | 73-70-69-70=282 | −6 | 130,857 |
| T17 | Pat Perez | 71-70-68-73=282 | −6 | 130,857 |
| T17 | Henrik Stenson (c) | 72-69-73-68=282 | −6 | 130,857 |
| T24 | Chesson Hadley | 71-72-66-74=283 | −5 | 81,000 |
| T24 | Russell Henley | 70-70-72-71=283 | −5 | 81,000 |
| T24 | Marc Leishman | 69-71-74-69=283 | −5 | 81,000 |
| T24 | Geoff Ogilvy | 72-72-69-70=283 | −5 | 81,000 |
| T24 | Patrick Reed | 72-70-69-72=283 | −5 | 81,000 |
| T24 | Justin Thomas | 73-70-65-75=283 | −5 | 81,000 |
| T30 | Bae Sang-moon | 72-68-73-71=284 | −4 | 58,125 |
| T30 | Scott Brown | 72-67-69-76=284 | −4 | 58,125 |
| T30 | Erik Compton | 74-70-72-68=284 | −4 | 58,125 |
| T30 | James Hahn | 70-73-72-69=284 | −4 | 58,125 |
| T30 | Charley Hoffman | 67-74-71-72=284 | −4 | 58,125 |
| T30 | Ian Poulter | 71-69-70-74=284 | −4 | 58,125 |
| T30 | Robert Streb | 70-73-72-69=284 | −4 | 58,125 |
| T30 | Bo Van Pelt | 70-72-69-73=284 | −4 | 58,125 |
| T38 | Martin Flores | 73-71-67-74=285 | −3 | 44,000 |
| T38 | Stephen Gallacher | 72-70-70-73=285 | −3 | 44,000 |
| T38 | Adam Scott (c) | 72-69-69-75=285 | −3 | 44,000 |
| T38 | Steve Stricker | 69-75-69-72=285 | −3 | 44,000 |
| T42 | K. J. Choi (c) | 70-74-70-72=286 | −2 | 31,400 |
| T42 | Matt Every | 74-70-70-72=286 | −2 | 31,400 |
| T42 | Branden Grace | 71-67-73-75=286 | −2 | 31,400 |
| T42 | Pádraig Harrington | 71-73-75-67=286 | −2 | 31,400 |
| T42 | David Hearn | 67-71-70-78=286 | −2 | 31,400 |
| T42 | Freddie Jacobson | 70-74-70-72=286 | −2 | 31,400 |
| T42 | Chris Stroud | 70-69-76-71=286 | −2 | 31,400 |
| T42 | Jhonattan Vegas | 75-69-66-76=286 | −2 | 31,400 |
| T42 | Bubba Watson | 71-70-69-76=286 | −2 | 31,400 |
| T51 | Luke Guthrie | 74-69-69-75=287 | −1 | 23,680 |
| T51 | J. B. Holmes | 70-71-73-73=287 | −1 | 23,680 |
| T51 | Joost Luiten | 71-70-71-75=287 | −1 | 23,680 |
| T51 | Charl Schwartzel | 71-72-72-72=287 | −1 | 23,680 |
| T51 | Brendon Todd | 68-72-75-72=287 | −1 | 23,680 |
| T56 | Robert Allenby | 70-72-73-73=288 | E | 22,200 |
| T56 | Graham DeLaet | 75-69-70-74=288 | E | 22,200 |
| T56 | Jim Furyk | 70-70-73-75=288 | E | 22,200 |
| T56 | Charles Howell III | 68-72-71-77=288 | E | 22,200 |
| T56 | Martin Kaymer (c) | 69-72-71-76=288 | E | 22,200 |
| T56 | Graeme McDowell | 73-70-74-71=288 | E | 22,200 |
| T56 | Cameron Tringale | 69-71-72-76=288 | E | 22,200 |
| T63 | Brendon de Jonge | 73-71-71-74=289 | +1 | 21,200 |
| T63 | Bryce Molder | 72-71-75-71=289 | +1 | 21,200 |
| T63 | Vijay Singh | 71-72-76-70=289 | +1 | 21,200 |
| T66 | Ernie Els | 73-70-76-71=290 | +2 | 20,600 |
| T66 | Scott Langley | 72-72-71-75=290 | +2 | 20,600 |
| T66 | Webb Simpson | 69-74-78-69=290 | +2 | 20,600 |
| T69 | Dustin Johnson | 72-72-75-72=291 | +3 | 20,000 |
| T69 | Louis Oosthuizen | 70-73-75-73=291 | +3 | 20,000 |
| T69 | Tiger Woods (c) | 73-71-75-72=291 | +3 | 20,000 |
| 72 | Troy Merritt | 68-71-76-77=292 | +4 | 19,600 |
| 73 | Nick Taylor | 72-70-72-79=293 | +5 | 19,400 |
| 74 | Alex Čejka | 69-73-79-78=299 | +11 | 19,200 |
| 75 | Scott Stallings | 71-72-82-76=301 | +13 | 19,000 |
| CUT | Daniel Berger | 71-74=145 | +1 | |
| CUT | Jason Bohn | 71-74=145 | +1 | |
| CUT | Keegan Bradley | 77-68=145 | +1 | |
| CUT | Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño | 74-71=145 | +1 | |
| CUT | Morgan Hoffmann | 76-69=145 | +1 | |
| CUT | Brooks Koepka | 78-67=145 | +1 | |
| CUT | Jason Kokrak | 69-76=145 | +1 | |
| CUT | Matt Kuchar (c) | 73-72=145 | +1 | |
| CUT | Spencer Levin | 70-75=145 | +1 | |
| CUT | Ryan Moore | 73-72=145 | +1 | |
| CUT | Michael Putnam | 72-73=145 | +1 | |
| CUT | Justin Rose | 71-74=145 | +1 | |
| CUT | Brendan Steele | 73-72=145 | +1 | |
| CUT | Bernd Wiesberger | 77-68=145 | +1 | |
| CUT | Ricky Barnes | 69-77=146 | +2 | |
| CUT | Jason Dufner | 73-73=146 | +2 | |
| CUT | Harris English | 75-71=146 | +2 | |
| CUT | Billy Hurley III | 74-72=146 | +2 | |
| CUT | Bernhard Langer | 73-73=146 | +2 | |
| CUT | Danny Lee | 73-73=146 | +2 | |
| CUT | Justin Leonard (c) | 73-73=146 | +2 | |
| CUT | Jeff Overton | 69-77=146 | +2 | |
| CUT | Andrew Svoboda | 71-75=146 | +2 | |
| CUT | Jimmy Walker | 71-75=146 | +2 | |
| CUT | Boo Weekley | 73-73=146 | +2 | |
| CUT | Lee Westwood | 76-70=146 | +2 | |
| CUT | Danny Willett | 72-74=146 | +2 | |
| CUT | Steven Bowditch | 77-70=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | Ben Crane | 71-76=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | John Huh | 74-73=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | Shane Lowry | 73-74=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | Hunter Mahan | 72-75=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | Scott Piercy | 73-74=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | Brandt Snedeker | 69-78=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | Jordan Spieth | 75-72=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | Shawn Stefani | 77-70=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | Michael Thompson | 73-74=147 | +3 | |
| CUT | Stewart Cink | 76-72=148 | +4 | |
| CUT | Thongchai Jaidee | 73-75=148 | +4 | |
| CUT | Anirban Lahiri | 76-72=148 | +4 | |
| CUT | William McGirt | 75-73=148 | +4 | |
| CUT | Noh Seung-yul | 73-75=148 | +4 | |
| CUT | Andrés Romero | 72-76=148 | +4 | |
| CUT | Kevin Chappell | 77-72=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | Brian Davis | 75-74=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | Adam Hadwin | 75-74=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | Phil Mickelson (c) | 73-76=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | Ryan Palmer | 77-72=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | Kevin Streelman | 75-74=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | Nick Watney | 78-71=149 | +5 | |
| CUT | Jason Day | 69-81=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Will MacKenzie | 75-75=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Tim Wilkinson | 73-77=150 | +6 | |
| CUT | Brice Garnett | 76-75=151 | +7 | |
| CUT | Retief Goosen | 78-73=151 | +7 | |
| CUT | Matt Jones | 75-76=151 | +7 | |
| CUT | Sean O'Hair | 76-76=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | Camilo Villegas | 78-74=152 | +8 | |
| CUT | Luke Donald | 77-76=153 | +9 | |
| CUT | Robert Garrigus | 75-78=153 | +9 | |
| CUT | Brian Stuard | 74-79=153 | +9 | |
| CUT | Daniel Summerhays | 75-78=153 | +9 | |
| CUT | Gary Woodland | 79-74=153 | +9 | |
| CUT | Aaron Baddeley | 78-77=155 | +11 | |
| CUT | Jonas Blixt | 77-80=157 | +13 | |
| WD | Ángel Cabrera | 75 | +3 | |
| WD | Carl Pettersson | 77 | +5 | |
| WD | Paul Casey | 79 | +7 | |
| WD | Darren Clarke | | | |
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 |
| 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
    Eagle Birdie Bogey 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.
| Place | Player | Three-hole | Three-hole | Sudden-death | Sudden-death | Money ($) |
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Score | To par | Money ($) |
| 1 | Rickie Fowler | 5-2-4=11 | −1 | 2 | −1 | 1,800,000 |
| T2 | Kevin Kisner | 5-2-4=11 | −1 | 3 | E | 880,000 |
| T2 | Sergio García | 5-3-5=13 | +1 | | | | 880,000 |
* 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

| Hole | 16 | 17 | 18 | 17 |
| Par | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| Fowler | E | −1 | −1 | −2 |
| Kisner | E | −1 | −1 | −1 |
| García | E | E | +1 | |
Cumulative playoff scores, relative to par
    Birdie Bogey
Source: