World No. 1 and defending champion Scottie Scheffler is listed as the favorite to win THE PLAYERS Championship which begins on Thursday at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Scheffler is coming off a dominating win last week in the Arnold Palmer Invitational, winning by five shots. All of the world’s top players except those in LIV are in the field for this week’s tournament. Scheffler is listed as the golf betting favorite with odds of +500 at Caesars. World No. 2 Rory McIlroy is the second choice in golf betting odds at +1200. THE PLAYERS Championship odds are very top heavy, as after McIlroy there is a big drop to Justin Thomas, Xander Schauffele and Viktor Hovland at odds of +2200. Let’s look at THE PLAYERS Championship odds and picks.

Check out the latest THE PLAYERS Championship odds at Caesars.

Venue: TPC Sawgrass (Stadium) is a par 72 that measures 7,275 yards. It was built by Pete Dye in 1980 and features the 17^th island green.

Last Year: Scottie Scheffler dominated this event a year ago, winning by five shots. He made five straight birdies on Sunday and led by six shots at one point. He was just the third player in history to win at TPC Sawgrass with all four rounds in the 60’s. Tyrell Hatton finished second, while Tom Hoge and Viktor Hovland tied for third.

TV Coverage: NBC and Golf Channel

Arnold Palmer Invitational Odds

Scottie Scheffler +500

Rory McIlroy +1200

Justin Thomas +2200

Xander Schauffele +2200

Viktor Hovland +2200

Will Zalatoris +2500

Patrick Cantlay +2500

Hideki Matsuyama +2800

Sam Burns +2800

Collin Morikawa +3000

Ludvig Aberg +3000

Max Homa +3000

Wyndham Clark +3000

Jordan Spieth +3500

Shane Lowry +3500

Sahith Theegala +4000

Cameron Young +4000

Jason Day +4500

Russell Henley +5000

Tommy Fleetwood +5000

Min Woo Lee +5500

Brian Harman +6000

Tony Finau +6000

Corey Conners +6000

Si Woo Kim +6000

Sungjae Im +6500

Byeong Hun An +7000

Tom Hoge +7000

Harris English +7500

Matt Fitzpatrick +7500

Keegan Bradley +8000

Adam Hadwin +8000

Tom Kim +8000

Chris Kirk +8500

Jake Knapp +8500

Adam Scott +9000

Keith Mitchell +9000

Cam Davis +9000

All other players are listed with odds of +10000 or more

Favorite

Scottie Scheffler +500

The losing streak for golf betting favorites finally ended last week when Scheffler won the Arnold Palmer Invitational. I said last week that I like the game of Scheffler and that he can win any time he tees it up, but that was the first win for Scheffler since last year’s PLAYERS. Scheffler is without a doubt the top player in the world and he could definitely win again this week, but golf favorites are still a losing proposition overall and I can’t back Scheffler as the favorite, at least not yet.

Golf Picks

Will Zalatoris +2500

Zalatoris is starting to look like the player he was before his injury. He looked really good last week before faltering a bit on Sunday. If someone is going to post a low score and give Scheffler a run it might be Zalatoris and we get 25-1 this week.

Hideki Matsuyama +2800

You may have noticed that Matsuyama is playing better lately. He won The Genesis Invitational and he was right in the mix last week at Bay Hill. He has played well in this event in the past and it would not surprise me to see him contend this week.

Brian Harman +6000

Harman is a live longshot this week. He played well last week even after a tough Saturday and finished in 12^th. He led the field in GIR which is a big stat for this week. He has played well on Pete Dye designed courses in the past and he can definitely be in the mix this week.

Corey Conners +6000

Conners seems to be rounding into form and he ranked second in Shots Gained: Approach last week at Bay Hill. He is capable of getting hot with the putter and that is what is needed to post low scores this week.

Tom Hoge +7000

My under the radar player of the week is Hoge. He led the field last week in Shots Gained: Approach. He actually leads that stat on the PGA Tour for the season. I think Hoge is definitely undervalued and that he can make a run at the title this week.

Byeong Hun An +7000

An has been on a lot of leaderboards this year with five finishes of 21^st or better in seven starts. I know he has yet to win on the PGA Tour, but his only win on the European Tour came in a big event, the BMW PGA Championship.

Erik Van Rooyen +12500

I’ll throw a couple of bombs in here and first go with van Rooyen. He has played well this year and his overall stats are really good. I know he doesn’t match up with Scheffler but not many players do. Van Rooyen should not be 125-1.

Billy Horschel +15000

Horschel is 150-1 and he is not without a chance. He is a big-name player who knows how to win and he really wants to do well in this tournament. He lives nearby and practices all the time on this course. Maybe this is his week.

Check out the latest THE PLAYERS Championship odds at Caesars.