Seamus Power drafted into PLAYERS Championship field

Seamus Power is a late addition to The Players Championship field this week and he will join defending champion Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry at TPC Sawgrass.

Power and Patton Kizzire have been handed opportunities this week as late entries from the reserve list as the PGA Tour rounds out the tournament field to 123 players to round out threesomes.

Both players have benefited from Brooks Koepka’s return to the PGA TOUR as the $25m field was increased from the original 120 players to 121.

The West Waterford man missed the cut at the Puerto Rico Open last week and that looked to have ended his hopes of qualifying for the dubbed ‘fifth major.’

Power had been in good form previously having finished 11th at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines before his chances at the Cognizant fizzled out over the weekend a fortnight ago.

Power missed the cut at the Players Championship last year and has missed out on weekend golf twice in four starts at Sawgrass with finishes of T64 and T33 in his other two appearances.

Despite his indifferent record, this week presents a huge opportunity for Power to secure crucial FedEx Cup points and climb up the world rankings.

Power currently ranks at 157 in the world and 88th in the FedEx Cup.

McIlroy who was forced to withdraw from the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Saturday is due to face the media on Wednesday as he looks to retain his title and ease fears over a niggle in his back ahead of his Masters defence next month.

Lowry couldn’t bounce back from his Cognizant Classic heartache and missed the cut at Bay Hill courtesy of a closing bogey as Akshay Bhatia clinched the biggest win of his career.

The Offaly man is making his fifth straight PGA TOUR appearance as he ramps up his pre-Masters preparation.

Announced earlier on Sunday, defending champion McIlroy will be joined by Xander Schauffele and Hideki Matsuyama for the first two rounds at TPC Sawgrass while world number one Scottie Scheffler will play alongside FedExCup winner Tommy Fleetwood and past champion Justin Thomas.

Lowry will play the opening two rounds alongside with US Open champion JJ Spaun and Sepp Straka. Power plays with Kizzire and Johnny Keefer.

Other notable groupings include:

• Collin Morikawa, Ludvig Åberg, Si Woo Kim: FedExCup leader Morikawa tees it up alongside Åberg, with both players coming off top-five finishes last week at Bay Hill. They’re joined by 2017 THE PLAYERS champion Si Woo Kim.
• Akshay Bhatia, Brooks Koepka, Tony Finau: Bhatia arrives as a strong contender after his come-from-behind victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and a T3 finish at TPC Sawgrass last year. He’s joined by fan favourites Finau and Koepka, who will make his first start at THE PLAYERS since 2022.
• Viktor Hovland, Russell Henley, Robert MacIntyre: Hovland, Henley and MacIntyre form a trio ranked inside the top 20 of the OWGR. All three competed in the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, with Hovland owning the best finish at TPC Sawgrass among them (T3 in 2023).
• Sahith Theegala, Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth: Three in-form fan favorites headline this Thursday afternoon group, with each recording a T11 or better finish last week at Bay Hill. Look for past champion Fowler to try to rekindle some of his Island Green magic from his 2015 playoff victory.
• Chris Gotterup, Justin Rose, Min Woo Lee: Between Gotterup and Rose, this group already has three TOUR victories in 2026. Lee adds extra flair as he looks to build on three straight finishes of T12 or better.
• Max Homa, Daniel Berger, Michael Thorbjornsen: A mix of established names and rising talent, this group features Homa and Berger continuing their climb back toward the top of the PGA TOUR, while Thorbjornsen continues his emergence as one of the game’s most promising young players.