Anyone catch their breath, yet? It was a wild week at THE PLAYERS Championship, extending into Monday and crowning a fitting champion in Rory McIlroy. The last month has been a build-up to TPC Sawgrass and now we transition to the final event of the Florida Swing – the Valspar Championship – and begin to look forward to the first major of the year next month.

There’s much about the next three weeks to unpack. As we get ready to tee off at the Valspar and the busy stretch ahead, here’s a look at the five biggest post-PLAYERS storylines to follow.

1. Xander Schauffele’s progress

Xander Schauffele was blunt about his form after making the cut at THE PLAYERS.

“Really bad,” Schauffele said. “Yeah, just not very good.”

What’s been bad?

“Everything,” he said.

Then Schauffele shot 77-81 and finished last of those who made the cut at TPC Sawgrass. The world No. 3 is not on the trajectory he hoped through two weeks of his comeback. The one silver lining? He feels healthy enough to play this week and continues to work through his issues.

Schauffele is in the field at Valspar, which was far from a guarantee when he returned at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. He’s been operating on a week-to-week basis, just hoping to feel good enough by the entry deadline to play again the next week.

But the time for moral victories is dwindling. Schauffele has high expectations and wants to see results sooner than later, especially with the Masters three weeks away.

So what does Schauffele look like at Innisbrook? Can he flip the switch this quickly? He said he’s likely going to play in one of the Texas tournaments as well, meaning he has more than a week to figure it out. But time is running out if Schauffele hopes to be a contender at Augusta next month.

2. Masters on the mind

There are only two ways left to play your way into the Masters over the next couple of weeks: Win or crack the top 50 in the world. That’s on the top of everyone without a spot at Augusta National's mind.

The top-50 exemption will lock into place after next week’s Texas Children’s Houston Open. Here’s a look at those currently on the bubble trying to earn a spot.

• No. 41: Daniel Berger
• No. 44: Stephan Jaeger
• No. 52: Ben Griffin
• No. 53: Michael Kim
• No. 60: Alex Noren
• No. 63: Si Woo Kim
• No. 66: Eric Cole
• No. 67: Mackenzie Hughes
• No. 69: Patrick Rodgers
• No. 73: Max McGreevy

Another name to watch is Rickie Fowler, currently No. 102 in the OWGR.

“I'm not in Augusta so I need to play better on the real golf course to work on that,” Fowler said after winning a TGL semifinal match with New York Golf Club. “Maybe a win next week might give me some momentum to go win a tournament.”

Fowler is not in the field at Valspar, but he's set to play in both Texas tournaments ahead of the Masters. For those further outside the top-50 bubble, like Fowler, winning is the only path for a Masters invite.

3. Rory McIlroy-Scottie Scheffler showdown in Houston

The world Nos. 1 and 2 have both committed to the Texas Children’s Houston Open next week, as they make final preparations ahead of the Masters.

For McIlroy, he’s just hoping to stay fresh and keep the same mojo that has yielded two PGA TOUR victories in his first four starts of the season.

Scheffler, meanwhile, is trying to regain his swagger. At this point last year, Scheffler was a runaway train heading downhill toward the Masters. He had won his previous two events – Bay Hill and TPC Sawgrass – then finished second without his best stuff in Houston.

With those precursors, it was no surprise to see Scheffler lap the field at Augusta National for his second Masters victory. More than most, he’s a player who stays hot once he gets hot, and he has yet to find his highest gear this season.

With both McIlroy and Scheffler in the field, the tournament will prove to be a great measuring stick for how each of them stack up against their top competition. If McIlroy blows Scheffler away again, maybe this is finally the year McIlroy completes the grand slam. If Scheffler shows signs of his 2024 form and outpaces McIlroy in Houston, it adds another endlessly compelling wrinkle to the first major of the season.

4. Will Akshay Bhatia continue to ascend?

Akshay Bhatia will rue a pair of missed opportunities late Sunday afternoon at TPC Sawgrass. Bhatia missed a 5-foot birdie putt at 16 and a 9-foot birdie putt at 18 and finished two shots out of the playoff with McIlroy and J.J. Spaun at THE PLAYERS.

With that baggage in mind, Bhatia likely feels he should have made the playoff, where anything was possible Monday morning with the high winds and the volatility of the three-hole aggregate.

How Bhatia closed the tournament may have silenced some of the hype around the 23-year-old, who put together the most complete week of his career at a high-end TOUR event. But don't count a Bhatia breakout out over the next month. The American will defend his title at the Valero Texas Open in two weeks before making his second start at Augusta National, where he became the first to compete at both the Drive, Chip & Putt Finals as a kid and then compete in the Masters as an adult.

Bhatia has shown remarkable and steady improvement in his time on TOUR, gaining around 0.5 more strokes on the field every year. Thus far in 2025, that’s made Bhatia a fringe top-20 player, worthy of Ryder Cup consideration and respect as a possible major championship contender.

Much of the improvement can be traced back to his putting, which outside of the closing holes Sunday at TPC Sawgrass, has become an incredible asset to Bhatia. After being one of the worst putters on TOUR in 2023, Bhatia switched to a broomstick-style putter and immediately notched a well above-average statistical putting season in 2024. And in 2025, he’s been elite on the greens. Year to date, Bhatia ranks 13th in Strokes Gained: Putting.

So as Bhatia returns to a tournament he’s already won in great form, watch out for another leap.

5. Can any rookies gain their footing?

At this time a year ago, three rookies had already won Full-Field Events on the PGA TOUR: Nick Dunlap, Matthieu Pavon and Jake Knapp.

Karl Vilips’ victory at the Puerto Rico Open, an Additional Event, represents the only win by a rookie thus far this season. So, can anyone else emerge from the pack?

Seven rookies are currently in the top 100 of the FedExCup, projected to keep their card for 2026. Aldrich Potgieter is ranked the highest at No. 45, three spots ahead of Vilips. He nearly won at the Mexico Open at Vidanta, losing to Brian Campbell in a playoff, and he has put himself into contention numerous times this season. Danny Walker broke through at THE PLAYERS, playing in the third-to-last grouping and finishing T5, a career-high. Isaiah Salinda and Rasmus Højgaard have also put themselves in the mix.

In short: It’s a bunched group without a clear next tier behind Vilips. The next three weeks leading into the Masters is the perfect proving ground. All eligible rookies are in the field at Valspar.

Time for a fresh face to make his move.