Career-changing phone call brings rookie to tears at Players

When pro Danny Walker arrived at TPC Sawgrass on Thursday morning, he didn’t have a tee time for the Players Championship. But shortly thereafter that would change and leave the PGA Tour rookie tearing up in his car.

Walker, a 29-year-old Florida native, finished 28th on the Korn Ferry Tour last year to earn his PGA Tour card for the first time. But a PGA Tour card does not automatically earn you a spot in the Players, the PGA Tour’s flagship event.

After playing in four smaller events to start the 2025 season, Walker was on the outside looking in for the Players. But just a bit outside. He arrived in Ponte Vedra Beach on Monday as the first alternate. If one player withdrew before the first round, he’d be in the field.

An early-morning Players phone call

On Thursday morning, Walker still didn’t have a tee time, but he woke up early and prepared for the round just in case. Then at 7 a.m. ET his phone buzzed. It was the competitions committee. Former major champion Jason Day had withdrawn at the last minute due to illness, and now Walker would be taking his spot in the 8:46 a.m. ET tee time.

“It was probably around 7:00 a.m. so I had plenty of time. I was planning on being on the range around 7:20 anyway, so I just shifted everything back like 20 minutes, so yeah, it worked out pretty well, like timing-wise,” Walker told reporters Thursday night.

The monumental news hit Walker hard, so after warming up, he went back to his car to let it all sink in, and he admitted to shedding a tear in the moment.

“It meant the world to me. Wanted to play in this event since I was a little kid, especially living here locally,” Walker shared. “Watched it a bunch of times the last few years, so yeah, I couldn’t have been more excited. Like, honestly, I went and sat in my car for a few minutes afterwards and just kind of let it hit me a little bit, maybe let a tear out. But, no, it was all great. I was just excited.”

It turns out that sitting in his car before a round is a standard part of Walker’s routine, but this time it felt different for obvious reasons.

“Yeah, I usually like to do a few minutes of quiet meditation beforehand, but I just — in that moment I tried to just reflect on, you know, just who I was when I was a kid, just always wanting to play in this event and finally actually playing in it,” he said. “So, yeah, but I tried to let the emotion out early so then I can relax and go play.”

He went on to detail why he became emotional upon earning his spot in the tournament.

“Some of it was just a little bit of shock, because I wasn’t really expecting to get in. Like I made sure I was prepared to, but I wasn’t really expecting it either,” Walker said. “Then to have to go play with two major champions as well, that was like, oh, like we’re here (laughing).”

Walker’s star-studded grouping

The two major champions Walker was referring to are Jordan Spieth and Wyndham Clark. As if the pressure of a last-minute tee time at the Players wasn’t enough, Walker would have to play alongside two top pros whom he had never met before Thursday.

But he didn’t let the star power shake his confidence.

“They were nice guys to talk to,” Walker said of meeting Spieth and Clark on the tee. “So it was pretty normal after that.”

So how did he do on his first day of the Players? Walker’s opening round was an adventurous one. The highlights included five birdies, including a memorable 2 at the island-green 17th hole. He countered that with four bogeys and a double bogey for a one-over 73.

Walker will still be within striking distance of the cut line when he tees off for Round 2 on Friday at 1:51 p.m. ET.