Rory McIlroy clinched his second Players Championship title on Monday after comfortably outlasting JJ Spaun in a three-hole play-off at Sawgrass.

The pair shared the lead at the end of the fourth round, finishing on 12 under after 72 holes, though a lack of daylight on Sunday forced the play-off to be pushed back to Monday.

McIlroy had turned a four-shot deficit into a three-stroke lead on Sunday, around a four-hour weather delay, but slip-ups on the last six holes gave Spaun, who led after the third round, the chance to close the gap.

The world number two claimed victory over Spaun in the play-off, with a birdie and two bogeys across the three holes, enough for him to clinch the title.

McIlroy took command from the start of the par-five 16th, while Spaun struggled to find his rhythm, with his chances effectively ended on the 17th as he took a triple-bogey six after finding the water.

Though the 18th saw both players scrambling, McIlroy already had a big enough advantage at his disposal, meaning Spaun did not have to complete the hole after McIlroy had tapped in.

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It is six years to the day since McIlroy's first victory at the Players Championship in 2019, while this win also makes him the first two-time winner on the PGA Tour this season – and his 28th overall.

"Watching Scottie [Scheffler] go two in a row last year was unbelievably impressive, and I think the only multiple major champions and multiple Players champions are Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Scottie Scheffler and myself, so it's a pretty nice group to be a part of," McIlroy said at his trophy presentation.

"I feel like I'm a better player now than I ever have been, and it's nice to see the fruits of my labour paying off.

"I'm unbelievably proud. I went home [on Sunday] thinking I should have had this in the bag, but I reset and got it done today.

"I traditionally haven't fared that well on the West Coast of America, but I'm playing well, and I feel like my form has continued from the back end of last year, when I felt like I wasn't getting the wins that I deserved."