THE PLAYERS Championship Round 4: McIlroy and Spaun Tie at 12 Under, Playoff Pushed to Monday

Seventy-two holes, a four-hour storm delay and one putt that stopped about three inches short were not enough to settle THE PLAYERS Championship. It is going to Monday.

Rory McIlroy shot 4-under 68 and J.J. Spaun shot 72 on Sunday at TPC Sawgrass to finish tied at 12-under 276. Darkness arrived before their three-hole aggregate playoff could begin, so the two will return Monday morning to play the par-5 16th, the island-green 17th and the 18th for a $4.5 million first prize, with the playoff set to start at 9 a.m. ET. Tom Hoge (66), Akshay Bhatia (70) and Lucas Glover (71) tied for third at 10 under.

McIlroy Charges Early

McIlroy started the day four shots behind Spaun, and he wasted no time making that number feel small. He rolled in an 8-foot birdie, then hit a long iron to 10 feet at the par-5 2nd and made the eagle putt. When Spaun bogeyed the 7th, McIlroy had the lead.

He kept pushing. A 12-foot birdie at the par-5 11th got him to 12 under, and then the horn sounded. Thunderstorms rolling across north Florida stopped play for about four hours, and roughly a quarter inch of rain softened the greens. The 15 mph wind nearly disappeared with it.

McIlroy came back out and holed a 15-footer for birdie at the 12th to open a three-shot lead. With six holes to play, the 2019 champion looked ready to cruise to a second PLAYERS title.

The Door Swings Open

It did not play out that way. McIlroy pushed his drive well right at the 14th, could not reach the green and made bogey. He then missed a birdie putt from inside 6 feet at the 15th, left a chip 12 feet short at the 16th and missed that, too. On the 17th, an awkward stab from the collar left him with a 15-footer that he did not convert. At the last, he two-putted from 75 feet, holing a nervy 4-footer for par, and signed for 68. McIlroy played his final six holes in 1 over.

"I'm standing here feeling like I should be going home with the trophy today," McIlroy said, per the AP.

Spaun Refuses to Go Away

Spaun's day looked like it might get away from him early. After the bogey at 7, he needed a break at the 9th, where his second shot settled in the collar of deep rough. He took relief from a sprinkler head, his drop also came to rest on a sprinkler head, and the second drop left him a clean lie. He chipped to 6 feet and made birdie.

The bigger blow came after the delay. Spaun three-putted from about 70 feet at the 12th, and he missed 12-foot birdie chances on consecutive holes. He was three back. Then he went to work. At the 14th, Spaun hit a 170-yard approach to about a foot and tapped in for birdie. At the 16th, he chipped close and made another to tie for the lead.

"Once that bogey kind of hit me, I just tried to just fight back," Spaun said.

Both players found the island at 17 and made par. On 18, Spaun had a 30-footer to win THE PLAYERS outright. It stopped inches short of the cup.

The Underdog Mentality

The matchup could not be more lopsided on paper. McIlroy is No. 2 in the world with 27 PGA TOUR titles and a win already this season at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Spaun is No. 57, a former college walk-on with one TOUR win in 227 starts, and less than a year ago was outside the top 180 in the FedExCup with his card in jeopardy. None of that seems to bother him.

"Everyone expects him to win," Spaun said. "I don't think a lot of people expect me to win. I expect myself to win. That's all I care about."

McIlroy, for his part, sounded ready to keep it simple. "You've got to make five good swings. That's all it is," he said.

The Rest of the Board

Hoge had the best round among the contenders with a 66. He stood over a 15-foot birdie putt at the 18th when play was stopped, waited out the storm, came back and missed it. Glover rallied from a rough front nine for a 71, and Bhatia shot 70. Each of the three earned $1,325,000 from the $25 million purse.

Bud Cauley, who started the day one back, shot 74 and tied for sixth with Corey Conners and Danny Walker at 9 under. Cauley, who suffered crushing injuries in a 2018 car crash, earned enough points to fulfill his medical exemption for the rest of the year. Scottie Scheffler's run at a third straight title ended with a 73 and a tie for 20th. He made one birdie Sunday. "At the end of the day, I just didn't have what it took this week," Scheffler said.

Monday Morning at Sawgrass

This is the first Monday finish at THE PLAYERS since Cameron Smith won in 2022 and the first playoff since Rickie Fowler won the last aggregate playoff here 10 years ago. Three holes. Sixteen offers a birdie chance, 17 offers disaster and 18 offers no place to hide. Either a 34-year-old grinder lands the biggest win of his life, or one of the game's biggest stars adds another big title. Monday morning decides it.

For the full week, read our Round 1, Round 2 and Round 3 recaps. Full scoring is on the official PGA TOUR leaderboard (opens in a new tab), and the TOUR's final-round story (opens in a new tab) has more.

Sources: PGA TOUR (final-round story, playoff preview, leaderboard), AP. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.