J.J. Spaun Benefits From Wild, But Legal, Drop in Final Round of Players Championship

J.J. Spaun had a terrible lie in the rough on the par-5 9th, then two sprinkler heads helped him get relief into the fairway en route to tying Rory McIlroy's Players Championship lead.

J.J. Spaun turned a tough lie into a birdie to tie the lead in the final round of the Players Championship. / Jeff Swinger-Imagn Images

Sometimes, the rules of golf can be a life savior. 

In the final round of the Players Championship, J.J. Spaun hit his second shot on TPC Sawgrass’s par-5 9th in the right rough, 45 yards short of the hole. 

The lie was terrible, but when he walked up to his ball, Spaun was standing on a sprinkler head, so he took relief. Then, he purposely dropped his ball on another sprinkler within the club length and got relief again, this time in the fairway. 

Here’s NBC Sports’s on-course analyst Jim “Bones” Mackay explaining the situation (NBC didn’t show the drop sequence): 

Here’s Bones describing it. pic.twitter.com/sQgGwsfIuR

— Kyle Porter (@KylePorterNS) March 16, 2025

Spaun would hit his third shot to 6 feet en route to a birdie that at the time tied him for the lead with Rory McIlroy. 

If Spaun comes away with the victory, it’s partially because he used golf’s perplexing rules to his advantage.