Which Past Champions Are Not In The 2026 Players Championship Field?

The Players Championship has seen a host of huge names win the event since it began in 1974.

In the 51 editions of the PGA Tour’s flagship event, the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Raymond Floyd, Fred Couples, Greg Norman, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia, Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler have all won at least once.

For some of those names, their playing days are long behind them, while others will be teeing it up in 2026, hoping to lift the trophy once again on Sunday evening.

There are some notable active pros with a Players Championship title on their resume who won’t be competing at TPC Sawgrass this week, though. Here are the details...

Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods has won The Players Championship twice, first in 2001, when he got the better of great rival Vijay Singh by one, and then in 2013, when he saw off the challenges of three players by two strokes.

He won’t be playing in 2025, though, and not just because he has yet to make his comeback after undergoing back surgery in October.

Woods’ win at the 2019 Masters guaranteed his place at The Players Championship for the next five editions.

It wasn’t played in 2020 because of COVID-19, meaning he was still eligible for the 2025 event, although he didn’t compete.

Now, that eligibility has lapsed, and because he currently doesn’t meet any other qualifying criteria, it means he is among the big names missing The Players in 2026.

Cameron Smith

Cameron Smith claimed the biggest win of his career to that point when he won the 2022 Players Championship, beating Anirban Lahiri by one.

It got even better for the Australian four months later when he won the 150th Open at the Old Course, St Andrews.

While each of those victories gave him a five-year exemption to the tournament, he hasn’t been seen in it since, and it’s purely because of his decision to join LIV Golf shortly after securing his maiden Major title.

That earned him a PGA Tour suspension, which has yet to be lifted, as he still plays on the rival circuit.

Phil Mickelson

Mickelson beat Sergio Garcia by two to win the title in 2007 and he didn't miss another edition until 2022.

His absense that year was because he'd stepped away from the game following controversial comments about the PGA Tour amid rumors he was set to join the breakaway league that became LIV Golf.

As we now know, Mickelson did join the rival, leading to his suspension from the PGA Tour.

Had he not done that, he would still be eligible for the event thanks to his win in the 2021 PGA Championship. Whether or not he would have played is another matter, as he has yet to compete on LIV Golf this season after citing a family health matter for his absence in January.

Sergio Garcia

Despite his defeat to Mickelson in 2007, Garcia wasn't to be denied the title, returning a year later to beat Paul Goydos in a playoff.

Four more top-10 placings came in the years that followed, with his most recent appearance in 2022 culminating in a T26.

The Spaniard joined LIV Golf soon after and was suspended by the PGA Tour, but resigned anyway and hasn't appeared in The Players Championship since.

It doesn't look like he'll return to the TPC Sawgrass event anytime soon, either, as he signed a new multi-year deal with LIV Golf in 2025.

Henrik Stenson

Just one year after Garcia, it was Stenson's turn to take the honors at TPC Sawgrass.

The Swede beat Ian Poulter by four on that occasion, 13 years before he would team up with the Englishman as a co-captain of Majesticks GC on LIV Golf.

Like Smith, Mickelson and Garcia, that move meant his PGA Tour career came to an abrupt halt and, as a result, we have not seen him at The Players Championship since 2022, when he withdrew after the first round.

Stenson was relegated from LIV Golf in 2025, and since then, he has not played a professional event.

It was confirmed in November that he had applied for membership of the DP World Tour, having initially resigned from it in 2023.

However, it appears we'll need to wait some time yet to see when, or even if, Stenson works his way back to the PGA Tour and a potential return at The Players.

Matt Kuchar

Kuchar beat four players to the title by two in 2012, and he came relatively close to a second victory in 2016, eventually finishing third as Jason Day lifted the trophy.

In fact, Kuchar hasn't missed The Players Championship since 2007, but he'll play no part in 2026 after failing to qualify.

His best bet would have been a finish in the top 100 of the 2025 FedEx Cup standings, but instead he could only manage 118th.

Webb Simpson

Simpson eased to a four-shot win in 2018, a result that gave him a five-year exemption to the tournament, but that expired after the 2024 edition, where he missed the cut.

By then, he was in the midst of a steep decline in form, and it continued into 2025, meaning he couldn't force his way into the field.

It's now almost six years since Simpson last won a PGA Tour event, and he has been unable to arrest the slide in the last 12 months, meaning that he won't play in the 2026 tournament either.

Martin Kaymer

Kaymer's victory at TPC Sawgrass in 2014, when he beat Jim Furyk by one, kicked off a glorious year for the German, who also won that year's US Open for his second Major title.

Incredibly, Kaymer hasn't won an event since, but that's not the reason he's not in the 2026 Players Championship field.

Rather, it's because he joined LIV Golf in 2022, where a similar fate awaited him as Smith, Mickelson, Garcia and Stenson: suspension from the PGA Tour.

In fact, Kaymer hasn't played in the tournament since placing 71st in 2019, and this year, while the action is playing out at TPC Sawgrass, he will be teeing it up at LIV Golf Singapore.

KJ Choi

The South Korean beat David Toms in a playoff 15 years ago to take the title, but he hasn't appeared at the tournament since 2017, when he missed the cut.

Nowadays, Choi is more active on the PGA Tour Champions and KPGA Tour than the PGA Tour, and one notable moment in recent years came in 2024, when he won the Senior Open at Carnoustie.

That earned him a place at the 2025 Open at Royal Portrush - his first start at the Major for 11 years - although he missed the cut, while he hasn't played a world ranking event so far in 2026.