Rory McIlroy replacement confirmed in case of Players Championship withdrawal

An official list of replacements has been named in the event that Rory McIlroy is forced to withdraw from the Players Championship before it gets underway on Thursday.

It was reported by Golf Channel's Todd Lewis on Monday that McIlroy was delaying his travel to TPC Sawgrass due to a 'stubborn' back injury.

He had withdrawn from the Arnold Palmer Invitational before the third round after suffering back spasms over the weekend, though Sky Sports claimed that he was still 'expected' to defend his Players Championship title.

As per the PGA Tour's official guidelines, a player can withdraw after the commitment deadline as long as they submit 'written evidence supporting such reason' to the Commissioner.

The 2026 Players Championship is being hosted by TPC Sawgrass (Image: Getty)

The PGA Tour selects alternate and reserve players for the Players Championship based on the current FedEx Cup rankings.

They announced on Monday that Patton Kizzire and Seamus Power had been named as the first two alternates for the 123-player field.

Initially, a 120-player field was confirmed for the event, but Brooks Koepka's return to the PGA Tour - thus making it 121 - meant that Kizzire and Power were added so that 41 groups of three players can compete at TPC Sawgrass.

The leading alternate is now up-and-coming American golfer David Ford, who won the Haskins Award for the most outstanding collegiate player in 2025.

The 23-year-old has competed in several PGA Tour events this year, and made the cut before finishing in a tie for 16th at 10-under-par at the Puerto Rico Open.

David Ford is one of the PGA Tour's top up-and-coming stars (Image: Getty)

Ford topped the PGA Tour university standings in 2025 and has a full-time PGA Tour card up until the end of 2026.

Based at the University of California, he set their career records for most wins, most rounds in the 60s and lowest scoring average.

The next listed alternates are John Parry, Dan Brown, Adrien Dumont de Chassart and Pontus Nyholm.

Billy Horschel, who finished tied for second at the 2024 Open Championship, and won the 2014 FedEx Cup, is also named as an alternate, alongside Will Zalatoris, who finished in the top two across three majors between 2021 and 2022 but has suffered from injury problems in recent seasons.