The Players Championship: The Lowest Single-Round Score at TPC Sawgrass

Getty A general view of The Players Championship logo at TPC Sawgrass.

Since 1982, the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass has been home to The Players Championship, the PGA Tour’s flagship event. It has long been one of the most revered courses in golf, no doubt partly thanks to the iconic 17th hole. 

But while Pete and Alice Dye’s 7,275-yard, par-72 layout can play quite difficult at times, golf fans have certainly seen plenty of low rounds at TPC Sawgrass during The Players Championship over the last four-plus decades. 

For years, the low round on the Stadium Course was a 9-under 63, first shot in 1992 by Fred Couples. Eight others have matched the number in the years since, most recently Dustin Johnson in 2022 in one of his final PGA Tour starts before making the move to LIV Golf. 

However, at the 2023 edition of The Players Championship, the mark finally fell as Tom Hoge fired a 10-under 62 in the third round to set a new tournament record. 

Tom Hoge Owns the Lowest Single Round at TPC Sawgrass During The Players Championship

Golf Channel

@GolfChannel · Follow

Tom Hoge sets a NEW COURSE RECORD at TPC Sawgrass with a sensational round of 62! 🔥

📺: #THEPLAYERS | @NBC and @peacock

Watch on X

5:20 pm · 11 Mar 2023

200 Reply Copy link
Read 9 replies

What’s wild about the lowest single-round score at TPC Sawgrass is that Hoge nearly didn’t even get the opportunity to shoot it as he nearly missed the cut. 

In his first round at the 2023 edition of The Players Championship on Thursday, March 9, the TCU alum struggled to a 6-over round of 78, which tied for the fourth-worst score of the opening 18 holes. Thankfully for Hoge, he bounced back nicely in the second round with a 4-under 68 to make the cut on the number at 2-over. 

On Saturday, March 11, Hoge began his third round on the back nine and made his first birdie of the day on the par-5 11th. He then birdied the short par-4 12th and was off and running from there, making a record-tying 10 birdies, the last of which came on the par-5 ninth with a 10-foot, one-inch putt to give him the record. 

Hoge, who had zero bogeys on his card, said afterward that he wasn’t even aware he’d made Players Championship history until his round had ended. 

“I didn’t even know it was a course record until after we got done in the scoring there,” Hoge said. “Today was going to be the day to do it if you were going to out here because it was soft with little wind, so you felt like you could make birdies and keep trying to make birdies.”

Hoge vaulted up the leaderboard and ultimately tied for third at 10-under following a final-round 70, finishing seven strokes back of winner Scottie Scheffler.

The 10 Lowest Single-Round Scores at TPC Sawgrass During The Players Championship

As mentioned, prior to Hoge’s record-setting 62, nine players had shot a 9-under 63 at TPC Sawgrass during The Players Championship.

That number would actually be 10, but Hideki Matsuyama‘s 63 in the first round of the 2020 event isn’t considered an official score as the tournament was canceled after just 18 holes due to COVID-19.

Here’s a look at the official list of those who’ve shot 63 or 62 and where each finished after 72 holes. Of the 10 players on the list, four went on to win The Players Championship.