Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy head to The Players as the top three players in the world and have been grouped for the first rounds at TPC Sawgrass; Watch the opening round live Thursday from 11.30am on Sky Sports Golf
By Ali Stafford at TPC Sawgrass
Last update: 23/03/08 20:14
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World No. 2 Scottie Scheffler says he can’t wait to watch Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm after it was announced that the top three golfers in the world would be paired up in the Players Championship.
World No. 2 Scottie Scheffler says he can’t wait to watch Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm after it was announced that the top three golfers in the world would be paired up in the Players Championship.
Scottie Scheffler is relishing the chance to resume the rivalry at the top of the men’s game after receiving a star-studded group with Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy at The Players.
Scheffler briefly held the No. 1 spot in the world after winning the WM Phoenix Open last month, only to have Rahm overtake him a week later with the Genesis Invitational victory – a fifth title in nine world starts.
McIlroy is also a PGA Tour winner this season and completes the world top three, with all three having the chance to end the week at the top of the world rankings based on their performances at TPC Sawgrass.
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Paul McGinley believes Jon Rahm will have the edge over Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler as the three are bundled together in the first round of the Players Championship.
The trio have been grouped together for the first two rounds of the PGA Tour’s flagship event, starting at 7:56 a.m. local time (12:56 GMT) on Thursday and 12:56 p.m. (17:56 GMT) the following day, with Scheffler eager to be alongside his fellow world No. 1 contenders.
“The way I approach it is I think it’s going to be a lot of fun,” Scheffler said in his pre-tournament press conference. “Rory [McIlroy] and Jon [Rahm] are very talented golfers. I just can’t wait to go out there and watch them play and have a good time out there and compete together.
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“I’m sure the fans will be there to watch us, and it will be a lot of fun. Hopefully we can birdie and give them some roars. It should be a lot of fun.
“I hope we all keep playing good golf. I think it’s fun to have three guys jostling for world number 1 and I’m very happy to be one of them. Rory and Jon are both such talented players that anytime I can speak in the same breath as those guys, that’s special to me.
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“Especially growing up watching a guy like Rory play golf for a long time. So hopefully we continue to play well and can compete for a long time here.”
Scheffler ’50/50′ on PGA Tour changes
The PGA Tour announced last week that eight designated events on the 2024 schedule will have limited fields of 70-78 players and no cuts, as well as high purses, with Scheffler understanding why the decision has generated a mixed view of the golf world.
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“Cuts are tough because I don’t have a strong opinion anyway,” Scheffler added. “I’m 50/50 on that because as a player I think a cut is good. I think when you go to the other side and you go to the sponsors a cut is probably bad. .
“From a player’s perspective sometimes there’s value in making cuts. Like we’re going to have a high event the week before a major and there’s no cut and I’m present and I play two horrible rounds, sometimes you’d rather be like, okay, kick me out of the tournament, let me regroup and get ready for next week.
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Rory McIlroy suggests innovation for the PGA Tour schedule is something that will benefit all of professional golf
“From a sponsor’s and a fan’s point of view, it’s probably not very good. So for me, I’m not being too hard on one side of the fence about it. I’m not not the guy running the company. I’m the one here trying to play.
“All I can do is go out there and address those events. But maybe that’s something we’ll play with in the future. I’m not sure exactly what the format of each event will be. next year, but we’ll see.”
Watch The Players throughout the week live on Sky Sports. Live coverage of the opening round begins Thursday from 11.30am on Sky Sports Golf!