The 2026 Players Championship is being held at TPC Sawgrass, but before Round 3, a shooting incident occurred near the golf course. At about 10:30 p.m. on Friday, 911 calls were reportedly received concerning shots heard in the neighborhood. Later investigations found that two people were shot at the Walgreens parking lot near the golf course.
St. Johns County Sheriff Rob Hardwick is currently investigating this crime, and Christian Barrios is the primary suspect in this shooting. Barrios is accused of committing the crime and then fleeing to the TPC Sawgrass, where he made contact with a few of the PGA Tour employees before stealing a dark BMW and driving north.
Christian Barrios is a convicted criminal who is now on probation for another severe felony. According to News4Jax, Sheriff Hardwick said about Barrios,
“This thug’s criminal history is embarrassing, embarrassing. We’re tracking around 27 arrests, and two more victims tonight. He’s not from St. Johns County, our victims aren’t from St. Johns County… He is out of prison again, on probation, committing another violent felony. And here we are dumping all these resources, and families are gonna mourn two people who were shot and killed in a parking lot over a domestic violence issue. It’s embarrassing, it makes me sick to my stomach.”
ActionNewsJax reported that the suspect had been arrested.
“🚨ℹ️⛳️ FULL DETAILS — Two people were shot and killed in a Walgreens parking lot directly across the street from TPC Sawgrass last night, delaying fan entry to THE PLAYERS. The suspect has NOW been arrested, per @ActionNewsJax”
Following this occurrence, some minor adjustments were made before Round 3 of the Players Championship.
How was the Players Championship Round 3 affected by the shooting incident?
Following the catastrophic double shooting incident, the 2026 Players Championship Round 3 was solely impacted for the fans who planned to watch the event live at TPC Sawgrass. According to Flushing It Golf, throngs of spectators were queuing as tournament management delayed their admittance following the incident. The course’s gates reportedly opened a few hours late, around 9 a.m. local time.
While the fans arrived late at the golf course, the tee times for the round stayed the same. Flushing It Golf reported on this via an X post that read,
“The Players Championship has delayed entry for thousands of fans after 2 people were killed nearby in a double shooting last night…Gates open at 9 am local time and tee times remain the same.”
After 36 holes, Ludvig Aberg leads the Players Championship with a score of 12 under par. He has a two-shot lead over second-place Xander Schauffele, who has a total score of 10 under par.
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