Defending FedExCup champion and world No. 1 Dustin Johnson leads 49 of the world's top 50 into THE PLAYERS Championship after a one-year hiatus due to the pandemic. All but one of the current FedExCup top 30 will be in action, and Rory McIlroy will be the defending champion of sorts as he won in 2019, the last time all four rounds were played. PGA TOUR LIVE, which will be free for Thursday's first round, will offer exclusive early-round coverage of the action at TPC Sawgrass (Stadium Course). The field has been expanded from 144 to 154 to accommodate those who finished in the top 125 of last season's FedExCup standings. Johnson, Collin Morikawa, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Jon Rahm and Patrick Reed are among those who will be in the Featured Groups. To get you ready for LIVE's coverage, we convened our experts for a roundtable discussion on the groups released so far. Enjoy. HOW TO FOLLOW (All times ET) Television: Thursday-Friday, 12 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. (NBC) Every Shot Live: Live streaming of every shot hit at THE PLAYERS Championship will get underway Thursday morning from TPC Sawgrass. Nearly 100 cameras will capture roughly 31,000 strokes taken over approximately 430 rounds played. It will be available free through PGA TOUR LIVE on NBC Sports Gold on Thursday. See schedule below. PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 6:30 a.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Groups), 8 a.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Holes), 6:40 a.m.-8 p.m. (Every Shot Live). Saturday, 7:45 a.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Groups), 12 p.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Holes), 7:50 a.m.-8 p.m. (Every Shot Live). Sunday, 7:45 a.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Groups), 12 p.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Holes), 7:50 a.m.-6 p.m. (Every Shot Live) Radio: Thursday-Friday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, 12 p.m.-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio). TOURCast: Get shot-by-shot info in real time with shot tracks and video with TOURCast. TOUR Pulse: Get the PGA TOUR app to utilize TOUR Pulse, which provides users the ability to experience a mix of content, such as video highlights, written hole summaries and stat graphics on every player after every hole they complete. Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Collin Morikawa One of these, Morikawa, is not like the others, Johnson and DeChambeau. What role does distance play at TPC Sawgrass? CAMERON MORFIT: It's certainly not insignificant; Davis Love III won the tournament twice. But I'll go out on a limb and say Morikawa, who comes in hot after winning the World Golf Championships-Workday Championship at The Concession, will win this group. He's long enough, and his iron play is just too good. Combine it with his new "saw" putting grip and he's going to be plenty dangerous, even if he does only have one competitive round there. BEN EVERILL: When we moved from May to March in 2019, I remember a bunch of talk about how it would benefit the bombers more than had previously been the case. While there may have been some truth to that with Rory McIlroy winning and Johnson even getting his first PLAYERS top-10 finish, I would be remiss not to point out that 48-year-old Jim Furyk was runner-up. TPC Sawgrass doesn't benefit any specific type - it benefits whoever is on his game across the spectrum. I can certainly see Morikawa winning on this cerebral layout, but part of me thinks Johnson is ready to add another huge title to his resume. JEFF BABINEAU: Distance plays a role on any golf course - long and straight is always a strong mix - but I think it is less of a factor at TPC Sawgrass than other venues. To its credit, THE PLAYERS is one of the most democratic tournaments on the planet, and by that, I mean there is a wide variety of styles and games in its long roster of champions. Power players and shorter-hitting grinders have won the event. For every Rory McIlroy, or Tiger Woods, or Davis Love III, there is a Fred Funk, or Matt Kuchar, or Tim Clark - competitors who won despite giving up length to the field. Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed Rahm looked great through 54 holes of THE PLAYERS before suffering a minor meltdown on the second hole of the final round in 2019, and finishing well back. Does a moment and a day like that make you more or less inclined to put a player on your fantasy team? CAMERON MORFIT: It depends on how old the player is when he has the close call. For a guy in his late 30s or 40s, there can certainly be an element of, "If he hasn't won it by now, he never will." But Rahm is too young for that kind of thinking. He'll be on my fantasy team for sure. BEN EVERILL: One swallow doesn't make a summer. Rahm isn't the only player to have meltdowns in his career - the important thing is he's shown the ability to close strong against quality fields as well. Pretty good chance the Spaniard makes my team... if there is room after I slot in my favorite Aussies! JEFF BABINEAU: Jon Rahm's closing 76 at THE PLAYERS and T12 finish two years ago would seem more an aberration than something to make you shy away from picking him. For three rounds, he played beautifully, shooting 69-68-64 as he headed to Sunday. Rahm is where he is in the World Ranking (No. 2, behind only Dustin Johnson) because he all the tools to win anywhere, at any time.
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