WHILE most punting eyes will be on Cheltenham this week there is plenty of other top-class sporting action to feast on, with the Champions League heating up and the Six Nations bubbling to a very tasty conclusion.
There is also the small matter of The Players at Sawgrass in northern Florida, which is the subject of another push from within the PGA Tour to be branded as the ‘Fifth Major’.
Certainly this has always been a quality-laden event at an iconic venue, but golf doesn’t really need another Major, and when the likes of Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau are absent, it can’t really be viewed as ‘the best field in golf’ as it once was.
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That’s not to detract from what is a brilliant event, and the Stadium Course at Sawgrass has left almost as many indelible images in the memories of avid followers as Augusta has.
The infamous par-three 17th to an island green is clearly the signature hole of Pet Dye’s masterpiece, but there is so much to like, with the closing stretch in general offering birdie opportunities and the potential for disaster in equal measure.
With water in play almost everywhere, the leading contenders come Sunday night may feel like those coming round the home turn at Cheltenham with a big chance, only to see the daunting hill awaiting them.
Unlike Prestbury Park, or indeed Augusta, Sawgrass doesn’t really tend to throw up the same contenders year after year, with it being a puzzle that nobody has every really found the formula for.
Scottie Scheffler threatened to do that when becoming the first back-to-back champion in 2023 and 2024, but he was in mid-field last year as Rory McIlroy won here for the second time, six years on from his first success.
That pair are among a list of seven players who have won twice over the years but only Jack Nicklaus has made it three, while even the great Tiger Woods had a wait of 12 years between his first Players title and his second.
It is a real head-scratcher to find the Sawgrass victor, and even more so this time around as the top two in the betting come in with question marks over form and fitness.
Scheffler put in a very strange performance at Bay Hill over the weekend, cutting a frustrated figure on his way to 24th, finishing off with two double-bogeys in his last five holes as his normally superb iron play went haywire.
At least he got to play the weekend, as McIlroy was forced to withdraw from the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Saturday morning due to back spasms, which have lingered long enough to delay his arrival at Sawgrass, and if he is fit to play, the world number two will only have some light preparation before day one.
Scheffler has drifted out to 5/1 in places and might tempt a few after his double success here in the past, while at 14s there is an argument to cast aside those fitness concerns and back McIlroy.
That said, their issues mean the door could be open for the next tier of players, and recent history suggests we need not delve too far past the very elite men in the 123-runner field.
Since The Players moved to March from May in 2019 only men who had already won a Major, or have since gone on to claim one, have taken the title, while JJ Spaun, who lost a Monday play-off to McIlroy last term, went on to capture the US Open three months later.
Sawgrass is a strategic rather than overly long course with precision and course management key factors, while debutants have an Augusta-like miserable record here.
Ludvig Aberg did go well on his bow in 2024, finishing eighth, and he is my first pick this week at 25/1 (BetMGM).
The Swede has all the tools to be a Major winner soon, perhaps even next month at Augusta, but this could be great stepping stone to the very top level and he looks a great fit this week, coming in off a tie for third at Bay Hill on Sunday.
Aberg put on a long game clinic at times there, as he was second tee-to-green and third for both approach play and off the tee for the four days, a formula that would work on most tracks, but especially Sawgrass, where the rough has been grown for this week.
Rising Australian star Min Woo Lee has taken a liking to Sawgrass and returns this year in fine form (Malcolm Mackenzie/PA)
Finding fairways will clearly be a huge plus, especially going into rapid greens, and Aberg is better than most in that regard, while another major tick in his box is the fact he lives beside the course in Ponte Vedra and is well versed in how it is set up and how to deal with the gusts that are always is play.
I love his chances at 25s, and also have to flag up another burgeoning star in Min Woo Lee, who may not look an ideal fit on paper due to his aggressive style, but has taken to Sawgrass in the last few years and is in fine form returning to the venue.
The Australian grew up in Perth so has no issues with the wind and played in the final group here alongside Scheffler in 2023 before finishing sixth.
He was 11-under for the first two days last term as well before fading, but he was won in Houston since then and is full of confidence, coming here after sixth at Bay Hill and a runner-up effort at Pebble Beach last month.
Lee will go to the very top of the game in due course and was fifth for approach play and sixth tee-to-green last week so has to be backed at 33/1.
A rather more experienced option is Hideki Matsuyama, who has done more than anyone else at Sawgrass without winning, including making a flying start with a 63 in 2020 before the event was called off due to the spread of Covid.
The Japanese star was sixth in 2024, fifth a year earlier, seventh back in 2017 and eighth in 2019, which is about as consistent as it gets at Sawgrass, and while his last couple of outings have been underwhelming it doesn’t take much to get his juices flowing again.
Hideki Matsuyama has a consistent record at Sawgrass (Matt York/AP)
An elite iron player, Matsuyama should be on the list at 33/1, while I’ll also put up Sahith Theegala at 70s generally.
Another younger player with real star quality, Theegala flew through the field for a share of sixth on Sunday, and while his driving is errant at times, he might be able to leave that club in the bag a bit more here.
Every other facet of his game is working well, and he really found his approach game on Sunday when he led the field, while Theegala has three top-10s in his last six outings and could outrun those big odds, and a ninth here in 2024 is another reason for optimism.
Sawgrass should throw up another memorable renewal to cap off an action-packed week of sport.
THE PLAYERS SELECTIONS
Ludvig Aberg, e/w, 25/1 (BetMGM);
Min Woo Lee, e/w, 33/1 (General);
Hideki Matsuyama, e/w, 33/1 (BetMGM);
Sahith Theegala, e/w, 70/1 (General)