ESPN viewers fume ‘fix it’ as problems plague The | Golf News

The Players Championship is often regarded as golf’s unofficial fifth major, but the match’s opening spherical was primarily marked by important tech glitches that impacted viewers.

The initial hours of the 2026 PGA Tour event at TPC Sawgrass have been marred by online points as golf lovers discovered themselves grappling with ESPN’s streaming platforms, very like Maverick McNealy’s climb up the early leaderboard. ESPN+ and the ESPN app have been inundated with complaints from customers experiencing crashes, error messages, and lacking options during the opening spherical.

The annoyance was evident on social media as followers congregated to troubleshoot and decide if they have been the only ones affected. One viewer straight appealed to the community, tagging ESPN on X, and pleaded, “Please fix your app so I can watch the Players.”

The broadcast also skilled interruptions due to storms that followers did not imagine have been extreme enough to halt play. Another golf fanatic reported being unable to access any of the motion at Ponte Vedra Beach. A 3rd chimed in, “Fix your app! Doing everything I can to stream the Players Championship, and your app sucks.”

Additional viewers on Reddit reported being fully unable to access the coverage due to distribution adjustments. One fan griped that DirecTV had beforehand eradicated channels devoted to ESPN+ coverage, forcing viewers to rely solely on the inconsistent ESPN+ app.

Forum customers reported that the ESPN app crashed within minutes of initiating a stream on gaming systems, including PlayStation 5, and on cell phones, displaying an unavoidable pop-up message stating, “Something Went Wrong,” before mechanically shutting down.

Some Apple TV customers famous that the same old Multiview characteristic was solely absent, leaving them with basic split-screen choices that lagged, instead of the usual three- or four-window view that permits for simpler monitoring of a number of competing teams concurrently.

All these points left a bitter style during the first spherical, which noticed McNealy setting the early tempo at 5 under par after a 67, while Justin Thomas and Russell Henley trailed intently behind the chief with opening scores of 68.

Scottie Scheffler, the No. 1-ranked participant, began with an even-par 72, a rating matched by Brooks Koepka and 11 other opponents in the sector. Collin Morikawa withdrew from the match after just one gap due to a back injury.

Defending champion Rory McIlroy stood at one over through seven holes as he continued to handle the back injury that led him to withdraw from the Arnold Palmer Invitational days earlier.

The golfer from Northern Ireland made par for his first three holes, bogeyed consecutively on 4 and 5, and birdied on the next to kick off the competitors.

McIlroy’s participation was a game-time resolution due to back tightness, but he believed it would not worsen by enjoying. He described the feeling as tightness fairly than pain, main to fast fatigue.