This year will mark the 52nd playing of The PLAYERS Championship, as well as the 25th anniversary of the famous Tiger Woods putt at the 17th hole. While those are remarkable milestones, 2026 will offer some exciting innovations sure to grab a great deal of the fans’ attention.
On Thursday, Jan. 8, Executive Director Lee Smith made his annual presentation at the joint luncheon meeting of the St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce and the JAX Chamber, which was held at the Marsh Landing Country Club. He reviewed the year and gave attendees a glimpse of things to come.
The big news in 2025 was the PGA Tour’s World Feed, which was produced at the newly opened PGA Tour Studios and debuted at The PLAYERS Championship. Using six dedicated cameras and four commentary talents, the tournament was able to provide more focused coverage to international fans.
“That’s really, really important because, in the past, if you were Hideki Matsuyama and you wanted to be seen in Asia … or you were Viktor Hovland and you wanted to be seen in Norway, we were sending basically a modified version of our U.S. broadcast, which, as you can imagine, tends to focus on U.S. players,” Smith said.
But this innovation allows coverage to be tailored to fans watching from different countries.
Smith said the tournament had a $234-million economic impact on Northeast Florida. It generated $125,000 for local hotel rooms, 90% of which were occupied during that week. Visitor spending was about $152 million.
This year, the field of players will be reduced from the previous 144 to 120 so to better ensure that play can be kept on schedule. There will also be an expanded military ticket program, with 50% more complementary tickets.
One of the biggest innovations this year will be a new wayfinding app, PAM, which will allow visitors to easily find their way around the course, using their cell phones. Fans will be able to find not only vendors and amenities, but also specific players.
A new steakhouse, Iron and Wedge, is planned for members of The Players Club, located near the 18th hole.
“We’re really, really excited about bringing just another element of hospitality to The PLAYERS Championship,” said Smith.
The Fan Shop will open Friday, March 6, giving shoppers complementary entry for three days and access to food trucks onsite. Twenty different men’s brands will create custom shirts this year. Eight different women’s brands will do the same. Juniors and kids will be able to get custom prints to match the shirts worn by their parents.
Facial recognition, launched last year, will be added at more locations, gates and hospitality venues so that fans won’t have to rely on their phones to get access.
In addition to the annual Military Appreciation Day concert, The PLAYERS will partner with the newly re-opened Ponte Vedra Concert Hall to “activate some programming and some concerts,” said Smith. Shuttles will take fans to the venue from the golf course.
