Often referred to as the fifth Major, THE PLAYERS Championship attracts the world’s best golfers thanks in part to its enormous prize pool and cool $2.7 million to the winner, which also adds plenty of incentive. The top-10 players in the OWGR are scheduled to tee off at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach this week with a chance to claim the most lucrative payout in professional golf. Defending champion and world No. 1 Rory McIlroy is the betting favorite at online sportsbooks, but keep in mind that in the 46-year history there has never been a successful title defense. The top players will make for some interesting matchups this week. Visit BookMaker.eu for a complete list of matchup betting odds when you’re ready to place a wager.
Billy Horschel -210 vs. Jordan Spieth +165
Gary Woodland -101 vs. Collin Morikawa -129
Rickie Fowler -140 vs. Brooks Koepka +110
Henrik Stenson +120 vs. Daniel Berger -150
Xander Schauffele -130 vs. Webb Simpson +100
Rory McIlroy -133 vs. Jon Rahm +103
Bryson Dechambeau -130 vs. Tommy Fleetwood +100
Jon Rahm -159 vs. Justin Thomas +127
Patrick Cantlay -107 vs. Hideki Matsuyama -123
Bryson Dechambeau -155 vs. Dustin Johnson +124
Tommy Fleetwood -139 vs. Dustin Johnson +109
Patrick Cantlay -112 vs. Sungjae Im -118
Rory McIlroy -188 vs. Justin Thomas +149
Sungjae Im -109 vs. Hideki Matsuyama -121
Adam Scott -111 vs. Patrick Reed -119
Matt Kuchar -116 vs. Paul Casey -114
Tony Finau -122 vs. Justin Rose -108
Marc Leishman +105 vs. Tyrrell Hatton -135
Louis Oosthuizen -108 vs. Sergio Garcia -122
Shane Lowry +107 vs. Abraham Ancer -140
Byeong Hun An -126 vs. Joel Dahmen -104
Brandt Snedeker -110 vs. Ian Poulter -120
Kevin Na -121 vs. Kevin Kisner -109
Scottie Scheffler -128 vs. Viktor Hovland -102
Need to Know
TPC Sawgrass has hosted every year since 1982 so there aren’t a lot of surprises. With the exception of the iconic island green on No. 17, it’s a stock track that measures short by Tour standards at less than 7,200 yards. Moving the event to March from May last year brought out more drivers and the field seemed to have an easier time. But by no means is this an easy course. Numerous water hazards and strategically placed bunkers situated throughout the layout have big numbers hiding around every corner. Sawgrass has a way of evening the playing field making course management more important than anything else. It is Florida and wind can play a role like we saw last week at the API. And speaking of the API it was another good week on the matchup picks with three wins against a pair of setbacks moving the ledger to 8-6-1 in the last three tournaments.
THE PLAAYERS Championship Matchup Picks
Rory McIlroy -133 vs. Jon Rahm
How’s this for a matchup right out of the chute. Rahm is the only player that comes close to matching McIlroy’s success over the last six months, and he’s still off the pace. If someone is to repeat at THE PLAYERS it’s going to be Rory. I’m not counting on McIlroy to win the thing, but seven straight top-5s coming in is pretty damn impressive. Avoiding big numbers is a key and McIlroy has done that ranking T2 on Tour in bogey avoidance. Until he shows otherwise it’s hard to layoff McIlroy even at his current price.
Matt Kuchar -116 vs. Paul Casey
Very few are as familiar with Sawgrass as Kuchar, and that knowledge has resulted in some impressive showings. A win here in 2012 is one of seven top-20s in his 15 career starts. He’s played the tournament in May and March, in good weather and bad. In otherwords he’s seen pretty much everything. Recent form is strong, too, with a win in Singapore and a runner-up tie at the Genesis. The veteran has game right now and Casey is in his way.
Adam Scott -111 vs. Patrick Reed
Conditions are expected to be better this week, which will benefit Scott. He was a casualty of Mother Nature last week at the API and two additional stress-free days will do him wonders. Based on his body of work at Sawgrass I’m leaning toward Scott in this matchup. On top of a win here in 2004 he also has four straight finishes of T12 or better while going 15 of 18. Tack on a win last month when he tamed Riviera and I’ll throw down on him against a player who’s finished outside the top-25 four times in six starts.
Patrick Cantlay -112 vs. Sungjae Im
Cantlay took a few weeks off for a medical procedure and has played just three events this year, so he’s refreshed. That’s quite the opposite of his counterpart in this matchup. It seems as though Im plays every week and fatigue will be a factor. When he did play Cantlay was pretty good. He snared solo fourth at the Sentry TOC in January and followed that with a T11 at Pebble Beach and a T17 at the Genesis. He also has a pair of top-25s in three starts at Sawgrass.
Webb Simpson +100 vs. Xander Schauffele
As much as I like the X-man, Simpson has a lot going on right now and that T61 at the WGC Mexico seems more like an outlier. He already has a win in Phoenix and a solo third at the Sony Open this year among his six podium finishes since July. His win here in 2018 was sandwiched between a pair of T16s, so he certainly knows his way around Sawgrass.
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