2026 Players Championship Preview & Fried Egg Stories: Making TPC Sawgrass

About this episode

The episode previews the 2026 Players Championship and discusses the making of TPC Sawgrass.

Andy Johnson is joined by Sean Martin of the PGA Tour to preview the upcoming 2026 Players Championship. Andy and Sean discuss the quest for a third win at TPC Sawgrass for both Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler, breakout players to watch like Jacob Bridgeman and Chris Gotterup, and make their picks for who wins the PGA Tour's premier event. They also preview PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp's Wednesday press conference as rumors swirl regarding the 2027 "Scarcity Schedule." The second half of this episode is a re-airing of Garrett Morrison's "Fried Egg Stories" episode on the making of TPC Sawgrass. Originally airing on March 13, 2020, Garrett tells the story of how commissioner Deane Beman and architect Pete Dye turned that land into a new kind of golf venue—and how the pros reacted when they competed on it for the first time. This episode features interviews with Beman, U.S. Open and Players champion Jerry Pate, architect Tom Doak, TPC Sawgrass project manager Vernon Kelly, and journalists Adam Schupak and Sean Martin. It includes music from Assaf Ayalon, Avi Goldfinger, Maya Johanna, Ian Post, and Swirling Ship, and Kevin McLeod. Thank you to Optum for their support of our Players…

People in this episode

Host: Andy Johnson

Guest: Sean Martin

Topics covered

• 2026 Players Championship
• TPC Sawgrass
• PGA Tour
• golf
• player analysis
• golf course design

Keywords

• Players Championship
• TPC Sawgrass
• Rory McIlroy
• Scottie Scheffler
• golf course design
• Brian Rolapp
• Deane Beman
• Pete Dye

Sponsors

Optum

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: PGA Tour, Cobalt

More episodes of The Fried Egg Golf Podcast

• A Catch-Up with Geoff Shackelford · June 10, 2026 · 1h 30m
• June Pro Golf Check-In: U.S. Women’s Open, Scottie’s One Win, & the Fitzpatrick Brothers · June 3, 2026 · 1h 23m
• All About Shinnecock Hills, Host of the 2026 U.S. Open · May 27, 2026 · 1h 38m
• Takeaways from the 2026 PGA Championship with Trevor Immelman · May 20, 2026 · 1h 24m
• 2026 PGA Championship Preview with Kevin Van Valkenburg & Joseph LaMagna · May 10, 2026 · 1h 13m
• Pro Golf Check-In Ahead of the 2026 PGA Championship · May 6, 2026 · 1h 33m