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2023 Players Championship
US PGA Tour
TPC Sawgrass
Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, USA
9-12 March 2023
Rory McIlory will be looking to make history by becoming the first European golfer to win the
Players Championship twice.
What to know about McIlroy
The man nicknamed Rors is the 2019 Players Champion and reigning FedExCup Champion having began the current season the same way he ended the last one – lifting a trophy.
Rors successfully defended his title at the CJ cUP in South Carolina in October 2022 to reclaim number one spot on the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR).
Therefore, the Northern Irish superstar became the first player since Tiger Woods in 2008 to win in his season debut after claiming the FedExCup.
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The 33-year-old is placed third on the OWGR coming into the 2023 Players Championship having narrowly missed out on the recent 2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational on March 6.
McIlroy finished one shot back of winner Kurt Kitayama and Rors will now return to action in Ponte Vedra Beach.
Why McIlory is among favourites
McIlroy will be back to a comfortable venue in TPC Sawgrass where he won in the Players Championship's return to March in 2019 after being cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The defining moment that day for the accomplished golfer came at the 15th hole, where after a drive that landed in the fairway bunker, McIlroy blasted his approach to 13 feet to set up an unlikely birdie.
Rors will be confident of winning this year's Players Championship which would see him boost his ranking on the OWGR.
Quotes
“Disappointment. Obviously I feel like I gave myself a great chance after the birdie on 13, and then to play the final five holes in one-over par is not, with this jam-packed leaderboard, is not really going to get it done," McIlory said after finishing second at the 2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational.
“I think I’ll rue the tee shot on 14, especially. I didn’t know where I was in the tournament. I birdied 13 and thought maybe I was one or two behind because Jordan was making a run, but as I was walking up to the green on 14, I looked back and I saw I was one ahead.
"And if I had known that, I probably would have hit a different shot into 14, instead of trying to hit a perfect golf shot over that bunker. But anyways, it was a battle all day.”
Last five PGA Championship winners
2017 - Kim Si-Woo - South Korea
2018 - Webb Johnson- USA
2019 - Rory McIlroy - Northern Ireland
2021 - Justin Thomas - USA
2022 - Cameron Smith - Australia
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