Rory McIlroy hits a tee shot on hole No. 18 at TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course during The Players … [+] Championship in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)
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The stakes are rising and this week it’s the 51th edition of THE PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass. The big money event in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida carries a $25 million purse for the third straight year with the strongest field in golf. That includes 2-time defending champion and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who will be challenged by 12 top players and many capable contenders from the 144-player field navigating the Pete Dye-designed Stadium Course.
Two of those contenders are the winner and runner-up in the recent Arnold Palmer Invitational, with Russell Henley rallying past Collin Morikawa in the closing holes Sunday of a stacked leaderboard of elite players and major champions.
The champion of The Players Championship earns much more status than the money and $4.5 million. The winner also receives a five-year Tour exemption as well as exemptions into all the majors for the next three years with major championship odds available for early betting action including for next month’s Masters at Augusta National.
The Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass features water on 17 holes including the famous short par 3 island shot at No. 17. Whoever can navigate the course and hazards while controlling their emotions and displaying precise iron and approach play combined with strong around the green, scrambling and short game skills will position themselves among the leaders come Sunday.
Top Golfers And Trends To Bet On At The Players Championship
“It’s such a good golf course because when you execute shots the right way you get very rewarded for it. When you don’t, you get punished for it pretty severely with holes like 16, 17, and 18 and there are a ton on the front end too,” Scheffler said ahead of winning The Players Championship last year for the second consecutive time.
Golf Odds to Win The Players Championship
Golf odds from BetOnline and leading online sportsbooks refresh periodically and are subject to change, including on futures, props and live betting. Players Championship golf odds updated Monday as provided by sportsbooks, and adjust during and following each round. Additional finishing position odds and tournament matchups available Tuesday-Wednesday.
+550: Scottie Scheffler
+1200: Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa
+1800: Ludvig Aberg
+2500: Justin Thomas
+2800: Xander Schauffele, Tommy Fleetwood
+3000: Hideki Matsuyama, Russell Henley
+4000: Patrick Cantlay, Shane Lowry, Sepp Straka
+4500: Aaron Rai
+5000: Corey Conners
+6000: Wyndham Clark, Keegan Bradley, Jordan Spieth
+6000: Sungjae Im, Jason Day, Si Woo Kim, Daniel Berger
+6500: Robert MacIntyre
+7500: Maverick McNealy, Tom Kim
+8000: Sam Burns, Tony Finau, Viktor Hovland, Michael Kim
+9000: Will Zalatoris, Denny McCarthy
+10000: Min Woo Lee, Adam Scott, Akshay Bhatia
+11000: Brian Harman, Taylor Pendrith, J.T. Poston, Ben Griffin
+11000: J.J. Spaun, Matt Fitzpatrick, Nick Taylor, C. Bezuidenhout
+12500: Sahith Theegala, Davis Thompson, Rickie Fowler
+12500: Doug Ghim, Thomas Detry, Justin Rose, Lucas Glover
+13500: Kurt Kitayama, Max Greyserman, Byeong Hun An
+15000: Rasmus Hojgaard, Keith Mitchell, Billy Horschel
+15000: Alex Smalley, Joe Highsmith, Austin Eckroat
72-Hole Winning Score: Over/Under TBD (Par 72)
Balls in Water on 17th Hole: O/U TBD (last year 53.5, and 36 balls were hit into water after 58, 64 and 66 balls ended up in the wager in the 2023, 2022 and 2021 events)
Types Of Bets And Wagering Terms
Top online sportsbook and Panama-based BetOnline has been a market leader in providing more betting options for fans. That’s especially the case for people in the most populated states that currently don’t offer betting at U.S. sportsbooks – California, Texas and Florida, where some of golf’s biggest events are played this month including The Players Championship, Arnold Palmer Invitational and next week’s Valspar Championship.
Golf Picks, Props and Stats
Golf picks are updated weekly Tuesday and Wednesday as selected golf analysts, handicappers and noted golf media provide contributors picks to win, props and additional information you can bet on.
Tournament Matchups
Tournament matchup offerings and moneyline odds below are from BetOnline, and odds vary from top online sportsbooks. BetOnline also offers bettors to lay or take 1.5 strokes with adjusted odds on matchups, which we did with a pick and winning bet on Tommy Fleetwood in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
More updated Tuesday and Wednesday along with any select picks, which went 2-0 in the Pebble Beach Pro-Am with tournament winner Rory McIlroy over Scottie Scheffler. Phoenix Open followers of FairwayJay and Forbes went 1-0 with T6 finish by Justin Thomas over Hideki Matsuyama and 1-0 in the Mexico Open at VidantaWorld.
Tournament attendees and sports fans in Florida are not able to bet at U.S. Sportsbooks, but top online sportsbooks like BetOnline and the biggest and best sportsbooks in Las Vegas provide fans more great watch and wager options. Learn more about golf rules, match-ups, futures and dead heats.
Scheffler (-190) vs. McIlroy (+157)
Morikawa (-169) vs. Aberg (+140) – Bet Aberg
Fleetwood (-140) vs. Matsuyama (+117)
Henley (-140) vs. Cantlay (+117)
Thomas (-120) vs. Schauffele (+100) – Bet Thomas
Straka (-132) vs. Bradley (+110)
Conners (-129) vs. Day (+108)
McNealy (-115) vs. Finau (-105)
Burns (-129) vs. Clark (+108)
Hovland (-120) vs. Spieth (+100)
Zalatoris (-138) vs. Min Woo Lee (+115)
McCarthy (-120) vs. Tom Kim (+100)
Bhatia (-144) vs. Theegala (+120)
Spaun (-115) vs. A. Scott (+105)
Fitzpatrick (-120) vs. Fowler (+100)
Ghim (-132) vs. Pendrith (+110)
Griffin (-144) vs. Greyserman (+120)
Rose (-110) vs. Horschel (-110)
Poston (-132) vs. Detry (+110)
Mitchell (-120) vs. Jaeger (+100)
Responsible Gambling
Laying bets can be fun, exciting and add to the enjoyment of sporting events. But just as top golfers evaluate their games and identify strengths and weaknesses, it’s important for fans that enjoy watching and wagering on sports and events to have the right approach and resources for problem gambling if signs of trouble or hazards are ahead.
How To Watch The Players Championship
The Players Championship tee times and featured groups are updated as provided by the PGA Tour Tuesday and Wednesday. All times Eastern (ET).
Thursday-Friday: 1-7 p.m. (Golf Channel/NBC Sports App)
Saturday: 2-7 p.m. (NBC/Peacock)
Sunday: 1-7 p.m. (NBC/Peacock)
Featured Groups
ESPN BET brings unprecedented betting coverage and analysis to PGA Tour Live on ESPN+ for Thursday and Friday (11 a.m.-1 p.m.), Saturday (12-2 p.m.) and Sunday (11 a.m.-1 p.m.).
Featured holes: No. 3 & 17 (Par 3), No. 12 (Par 4), No. 16 (Par 5)
Update from top trends and players to bet and win The Players Championship.
9 of the last 10 winners were of age in their 20’s.
The last five winners since the event was moved back to March were ranked top-10 in the world.
9 of the last 11 winners were ranked top 16.
11 of the last 12 winners have had a top 20 finish in their previous two starts ahead of The Players.
9 of the last 11 winners had won a major championship.
11 of the last 12 winners had a top-25 finish in the Players prior to winning (only Scheffler in 2023).
9 of the last 12 winners had posted a top-15 finish in the event.
Check out more golf stats and coverage of The Players Championship and weekly PGA Tour events along with how golf courses are leading the way in technology and sustainability. The top online sportsbooks are leading the way in wagering options as betting on golf continues to be most popular with fans firing for more fairways and green when watching, wagering and live betting on their favorite players and events.
You can bet on it.
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