The PGA Tour's elite players are preparing to compete at The Players Championship this week. Rory McIlroy is the current champion, having won the title for a second time after defeating JJ Spaun in a play-off 12 months ago.

The 123-strong field at TPC Sawgrass features top-ranked professionals, former winners and emerging talents, all aiming to claim the prestigious trophy come Sunday. Competition from the likes of two-time victor Scottie Scheffler, FedExCup holder Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Thomas will make McIlroy's title retention a challenging proposition. The champion will pocket a substantial £3.35million in prize money, with an overall purse of £18.59m on offer. Express Sport examines three of the major news developments ahead of the tournament in Florida.

McIlroy health update

McIlroy has postponed his journey to The Players Championship following an injury complication last week. The Northern Irishman pulled out of the Arnold Palmer Invitational prior to his third round on Saturday, having experienced a "small twinge" in his lower back during his warm-up routine, before suffering "muscle spasms" on the range.

Reports ahead of Thursday's opening round suggested the world No. 2 intends to arrive at the venue on Wednesday at the earliest. His choice to remain at home longer than expected is to allow for additional treatment, although it means he could miss all the practice rounds.

Last week marked only the second occasion in his career that McIlroy had withdrawn during a tournament, though it was largely a precautionary step to ensure he could manage the 72-hole challenge at TPC Sawgrass. He travelled back to his South Florida residence for intensive physical therapy.

In a message to Golf Channel's Todd Lewis on Monday afternoon, McIlroy said: "The back is being a bit more stubborn than we thought, so I'm staying at home today and tomorrow to continue treatment in South Florida with the hope to travel to Ponte Vedra on Wednesday at some point."

The tee times were confirmed for the opening two rounds of the 52nd edition of The Players Championship on Sunday. Defending champion McIlroy is due to tee off at 1.42pm local time (5.42pm UK time) on Thursday alongside two-time major winner Xander Schauffele and 2021 Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama.

Meanwhile, world No. 1 Scheffler will compete alongside Fleetwood and former champion Thomas at 8.52am (12.52pm GMT). Collin Morikawa, Ludvig Aberg and Si Woo Kim start play at 8.40am (12.40pm GMT) in a group featuring exceptional ball-striking talent.

Akshay Bhatia, Brooks Koepka and Tony Finau tee off at 8.28am Eastern Time (12.28pm GMT). Another group worth watching is Chris Gotterup, Justin Rose and Min Woo Lee at 1.54pm local time (5.55pm GMT).

Scheffler's Masters Champions Dinner plans

Scheffler recently disclosed he will not be seated beside Jack Nicklaus or Tiger Woods at this year's Masters Champions Dinner. One of golf's most hallowed traditions sees previous Masters champions gather for an annual meal.

However, the American maintains there is an unwritten etiquette governing where individuals sit, despite the absence of assigned seating. Speaking ahead of next month's Masters, two-time Augusta winner Scheffler outlined how golfers congregate in groups, with Jordan Spieth and Zach Johnson among those who remain together year after year.

Scheffler's first experience of the occasion was back in 2023, following his maiden triumph 12 months earlier. The American prevailed again at Augusta National in 2024.

Scheffler approached Johnson for seating advice, as he doesn't trust Spieth not to play tricks on him. He revealed during a press conference at the Arnold Palmer Invitational: "Zach and Jordan always sat next to each other and I definitely didn't ask Jordan to sit by him, because he would have done something to make sure that I didn't have a place to sit!

"So I kind of looked at Zach, I was like, 'Hey, where are you sitting this year?' And he told me and he was nice and let me join him. But I definitely wasn't going to ask Jordan for that because he would have messed with me."

When asked about any existing protocol, Scheffler responded: "There's a little protocol. Guys have, like, I would say, sections where they sit. But you move around a little bit.

"There are no necessarily assigned seats, but I'm definitely not going to sit in the area where Tiger and Jack sit. Like, there are kinds of spots where you feel you'll naturally flow into."