How to watch Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass live online, TV schedule, radio and more

It’s that one week of the year when we all get really philosophical about how many major championships there are in golf and what, exactly, makes a major. That means it’s Players Championship week at TPC Sawgrass, host of the game’s unofficial “fifth major.” There are, of course, only four majors in golf but if there were five, this would totally be next in line.

Whatever criticisms you may have of The Players and the many reasons you list for why it is explicitly not a major, it’s hard to argue that it’s not a fantastic golf event for TV. The course is instantly recognizable. There are disasters not lurking, but conspicuously standing right in front of you on every tee. The field is the deepest of the year -- every superstar shows up and wants to win. And the Stadium Course is just that, designed as an amphitheater stadium on so many holes that the crowd is lathered up and wild for each birdie and/or disaster.

All this history, familiarity and potential for drama came together perfectly last year in what was probably the greatest finish ever at The Players. It was the most dramatic hour or two of golf on TV all year, including Jordan Spieth’s history-making runs at the majors. That closing stretch, the island green and Rickie Fowler’s absurd 5-under in four-hole finish made it the most gripping block of televised golf in 2015. The playoff on the island hole and Rickie’s repeated darts into that famous par-3 then took it to another level. You needed to exhale and go for a walk to wind down after just sitting on your couch and watching.

It will be hard (probably impossible) to match last year’s finish, but all the top players are back again this year, many with plenty to prove. The coverage will be expansive, per usual -- there are no Augusta National-esque pretensions about limiting TV coverage because it’s tradition. NBC and its Comcast sister network, Golf Channel, are the traditional TV partners and they’re back again this year, but with one big addition. This is the first time David Feherty will ever call The Players. So what is already an entertaining broadcast will certainly have a little more flavor, and should be a warmup for Feherty before getting to do the Open and the Ryder Cup with his new NBC crew later in the year.

This being the PGA Tour’s marquee event, it’s also the biggest week for their newer over-the-top streaming service, PGA TOUR LIVE. The service did not exist at last year’s Players, so this is their biggest test yet and they’ve got all the top names to spotlight in their featured groups stream each of the first two rounds. Those groups will include Spieth, Jason Day, Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson and Fowler, as you might expect. Then on the weekend, they will do more featured groups streams in the mornings -- which is above and beyond the usual setup of those streams ending by Saturday.

The featured groups stream requires that OTT subscription fee, but there is a 7-day free trial you can burn if you want in this week. The featured holes streams, however, are free and those will be running all four days. The Tour has also added a second stream for their biggest week of the season. When the featured groups coverage ends, the usual switch to a featured holes stream focusing on Nos. 12 and 16 will kick in. Buuuut, all day, there will be a second stream devoted to the island 17th, with mixed-in coverage of the 13th when the TV coverage begins in the afternoon. So you have at least one free option all day in the first two rounds. Got all that?

Oh, and also, all the TV coverage will be simulcast all week via Golf Channel and NBC’s Live Extra service. So there are options everywhere and plenty of ways to ignore your work and watch golf at one of the sport’s most recognizable venues.

This is a good tournament and golf has been sleepy ever since Spieth put those two balls in the water at Augusta’s 12th hole. Here are all your coverage options for the week at TPC Sawgrass (all times Eastern):

9a.m.-1 p.m. -- Golf Channel “Live From” The Players
1-7 p.m. -- Golf Channel

7:30 a.m. -- PGA Tour Live starts with coverage from range and opening holes

Featured Groups (PGA Tour Live subscription required)

1-7 p.m. -- PGA Tour Live featured holes coverage -- Nos. 12 & 16 (No subscription required)

1-7 p.m. -- Golf Channel simulcast stream

9 a.m.-1 p.m. -- Golf Channel “Live From” The Players
1-7 p.m. -- Golf Channel

7:30 a.m. -- PGA Tour Live starts with coverage from range and opening holes

Featured Groups (PGA Tour Live subscription required)

9 a.m.-2 p.m. -- Golf Channel “Live From” The Players
2-7 p.m. -- NBC

11:30 a.m. -- PGA Tour Live starts with coverage from range and opening holes

Featured Groups (PGA Tour Live subscription required)

9 a.m.-2 p.m. -- Golf Channel “Live From” The Players
2-7 p.m. -- NBC

8:30 a.m. -- PGA Tour Live starts with coverage from range and opening holes

Featured Groups (PGA Tour Live subscription required)