One of the most anticipated tournaments of the year begins in Florida, with The PLAYERS Championship getting underway. All of the top PGA players in the world will be in the field and they will attempt to win “golf’s fifth major.” The battle for the No. 1 spot in the World Rankings will continue between current No. 1 Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy. Somewhat surprisingly, no one has ever defended their PLAYERS Championship successfully and there will not be a successful title defense this year either, as defending champion Cameron Smith is now playing on the LIV Tour. Jon Rahm is listed as a slight favorite in golf betting odds at BetRivers. Let’s look at The PLAYERS Championship picks.
Venue: TPC Sawgrass (Stadium) is a par 72 that measures 7,275 yards. The Pete Dye designed course is known for the famous island green 17th hole.
Last Year: Cameron Smith had a final round 66 to win by one shot over Anirban Lahiri. It was the fifth PGA Tour win for Smith. Paul Casey finished in third place, while Kevin Kisner and Keegan Bradley rounded out the top five.
TV Coverage: NBC & Golf Channel
The PLAYERS Championship Odds
Rahm, Jon +800
McIlroy, Rory +850
Scheffler, Scottie +1100
Cantlay, Patrick +1600
Homa, Max +1800
Thomas, Justin +2000
Schauffele, Xander +2200
Finau, Tony +2500
Hovland, Viktor +2800
Morikawa, Collin +2800
Day, Jason +2800
Spieth, Jordan +3300
Hatton, Tyrrell +3300
Fitzpatrick, Matthew +3300
Zalatoris, Will +3300
Sungjae Im +3300
Young, Cameron +4000
Tom Kim +4000
Bradley, Keegan +5000
Lowry, Shane +5500
Mitchell, Keith +6000
Fowler, Rickie +6000
Conners, Corey +6600
Burns, Sam +7000
Kim, Si-Woo +7000
Theegala, Sahith +7000
Fleetwood, Tommy +8000
Kirk, Chris +8000
Matsuyama, Hideki +8000
Scott, Adam +9000
Power, Seamus +9000
Noren, Alexander +9000
English, Harris +9000
All other players are listed with odds of +10000 or more
Favorite
Jon Rahm +800
The favorite in golf betting has been a losing proposition over the years, but earlier this season Rahm was making people think twice, as he won three times. Rahm has cooled off a bit and failed as the favorite recently. I almost never back golf favorites and I am not taking Rahm this week.
Value Picks
McIlroy, Rory +850
There is a chance that McIlroy may end up as the betting favorite by the end of the week. Not only has McIlroy played well in this event in the past, he can take over the No. 1 world ranking by winning this week. McIlroy won this event in 2019 and he finished in the Top 12 in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016. Rory easily could have won last week at the Arnold Palmer but he just didn’t put it altogether in time. Rory has won eight times in his career on Bermudagrass greens and he might just get number nine this week.
Cantlay, Patrick +1600
Another player who started to round into form late last week was Cantlay. He is still looking for that signature win in his career and winning The PLAYERS would qualify. Cantlay has done well on Pete Dye courses in the past and there is no reason he can’t contend this week.
Max Homa +1800
Did you know that Homa actually led the field last week in iron play at the Arnold Palmer Invitational? Homa simply couldn’t make any putts and fell out of contention. He finished in a tie for 13th in this event a year ago and there is no doubt that Homa is a better player now.
Tom Kim +4000
I know that players who are playing TPC Sawgrass for the first time can sometimes struggle, but Kim has proven he can go to new courses and win. Kim already has two PGA Tour wins, so he learns very quickly on new courses. He rarely makes mistakes and avoiding mistakes on this course is critical.
Bradley, Keegan +5000
Bradley made a big move last week and finished strongly at the Arnold Palmer and he could be poised for a big week at The PLAYERS. You might not even realize that Bradley is now ranked in the Top 20 in the latest World Golf Rankings. Bradley normally plays well in Florida and he could be in the mix this week.
Francesco Molinari +12500
Did you noticed that Molinari made a nice run last week to finish 14th at the Arnold Palmer? He has played well on Florida courses in the past including strong finishes in this tournament. We saw Justin Rose win last month at Pebble Beach at big odds. Why not Molinari at huge odds this week?
Check out The PLAYERS Championship odds at BetRivers.
