The best golfers in the world will make their way to Ponte Vedra Beach in Florida this week for The Players Championship from TPC Sawgrass. The “fifth major” will feature an absolutely loaded field led by the big three of Jason Day, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy with $10.5 million in prize money on the line including a $1.8 million prize for the winner.
Event Details
Event: The Players Championship
Category: PGA
Date: May 12-15
Location: TPC Sawgrass, Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
Two of the last five Players Championship tournaments have been decided in a playoff, including a year ago when Rickie Fowler delivered one of his two wins on the PGA Tour. Jack Nicklaus remains the only player to win the tournament three times in 1974, 1976 and 1978 and it will be very interesting to see if Fowler can defend his title and win this tournament for the second time against some stiff competition.
Past Five Winners
2015: Rickie Fowler -7 (Playoff)
2014: Martin Kaymer -13
2013: Tiger Woods -13
2012: Matt Kuchar -13
2011: K.J. Choi -13 (Playoff)
What To Know About The Course
TPC Sawgrass was designed and constructed specifically for this tournament. The Bermuda-grass Pete Dye Design is one of the most renowned courses in the world and it’s also considered one of the most balanced as one that doesn’t tend to favor any one type of player. The numbers show that players don’t have to be too long or too straight. Fowler ranked 11th in Driving Distance a year ago but that was the best of any winner since Adam Scott ranked fifth in that category when he won The Players Championship in 2004. Fowler also ranked 11th in Greens in Regulation but two of the last three winners has ranked in the top-five in that category. Putting will certainly be an important aspect as well, while nine of the last 11 winners have ranked inside the top-10 in scrambling.
The Field
Fowler had missed the cut in four of his six starts at The Players Championship before winning a year ago so we won’t look too hard at form figures for this week’s tournament. The defending champion is listed at +2000 to repeat and while he managed to pull through with a victory here last year we aren’t expecting him to repeat. McIlroy will be the betting favorite at +800 followed by Spieth at +1000 and Day at +1200. It will be hard for some to overlook the big three but there are some intriguing plays on the board that should be considered including Adam Scott at +2800 and Dustin Johnson at +3300. Patrick Reed makes for an intriguing sleeper value play at +5500 odds to win the tournament outright.
A Good Matchup To Bet: Jordan Spieth over Rickie Fowler
For as impressive as last year’s victory was we aren’t counting on Fowler repeating this year as neither his form figures nor his course history agree that he can be counted on. Fowler is coming off a fourth-place finish at the Wells Fargo Championship but he missed the cut at the Masters and has struggled with consistency so far this season. His matchup with Spieth represents an intriguing play with the world No. 2 having rested since a second place finish at The Masters a month ago. Spieth should be ready and confident for another strong showing this week and we like him to produce a better result than Fowler this week.
Top Five Pick: Rory McIlroy
McIlroy has figured this course out with three consecutive top-10 finishes and he is in good form following another strong finish at the Wells Fargo Championship where he finished fourth. McIlroy placed fourth at the WGC-Accenture Match Play and then 10th at The Masters at his two previous tournaments so he should enter this week with plenty of confidence. McIlroy has just one win overall over the last 12 months so perhaps this is the week he finally breaks through with a victory at The Players Championship.
Top 10 Odds To Win TPC Sawgrass
Rory McIlroy +600
Jordan Spieth +905
Jason Day +1205
Rickie Fowler +1850
Justin Rose +2250
Adam Scott +2550
Dustin Johnson +3050
Sergio Garcia +2550
Hideki Matsuyama +2250
Henrik Stenson +3050
