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If Scheffler ends up winning the tournament, he'll certainly earn a place in Players Championship history. He won the 2023 tournament by five strokes over Tyrrell Hatton and now has a chance to do something that no other golfer has ever accomplished.

In its storied 50-year history, the Players Championship has never had a back-to-back winner.

Only six golfers have even won the Players more than once: Jack Nicklaus, Fred Couples, Steve Elkington, Hal Sutton, Davis Love III and Tiger Woods. Woods was the last to earn a repeat victory, and that happened in 2013.

Scheffler has a very real chance to buck the trend this year. He's playing at an extremely high level—hence, his world ranking at No. 1—and is fresh off a dominant performance at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

The 27-year-old won the Arnold Palmer by five strokes over Wyndham Clark and with an impressive final score of 15-under.

"He's best player in the world right now," Clark said of Scheffler, per CNN's Jack Bantock.

Scheffler certainly feels like the one to beat this weekend, though golfers like McIlroy are sure to make it interesting. McIlroy opened Thursday's action extremely hot, shooting three-under through the first three holes.

If Scheffler does manage to defend his title, he'll have battled to do it.

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