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2026 The Players Championship: Preview, Props & Best Bets

A C Gazette
By A C Gazette
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PGA: Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard - First RoundMar 5, 2026; Orlando, Florida, USA; Collin Morikawa plays his shot from the seventh tee during the first round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images
The PGA Tour has toned down the rhetoric around promoting this week’s event as the “fifth major,” but nearly every player would agree that a win at TPC Sawgrass is right behind the majors as the most coveted trophy of the year.

Rory McIlroy will be a game-day decision as to whether he’ll defend his title, while fellow two-time Players champion Scottie Scheffler also eyes joining Jack Nicklaus as the event’s only three-time winners. History shows the cream rises to the top at TPC Sawgrass, and 47 of the top 50 players in the world are in this week’s field.

Our golf experts preview The Players, and provide their favorite prop picks along with best bets to win this week.

THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

Location: Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., March 12-15

Course: TPC Sawgrass (Par 72, 7,352 Yards)

Purse: $25M (Winner: $4.5M)

Defending Champion: Rory McIlroy

FedEx Cup Leader: Collin Morikawa

HOW TO FOLLOW

TV: Thursday-Friday: 1-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday: 2-7 p.m. (NBC); Sunday: 1-6 p.m. (NBC)

Streaming (ESPN+): Thursday-Friday: 7:30 a.m.-7 p.m. ET; Saturday: 8 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sunday: 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m.

X: @ThePlayers

PROP PICKS

–Robert MacIntyre to Beat Brooks Koepka (-190 at DraftKings): Koepka’s best finish in six previous appearances was a T-11 in 2018 and his track record at TPC Sawgrass is far from stellar. MacIntyre is quietly ranked eighth in the world and while he has one top-20 in his past four starts overall, he did finish solo ninth here last year.

–Tournament Ends in Playoff (+350 at BetMGM): Five of the past six Players were decided by no more than one shot, and the final stretch at TPC Sawgrass creates plenty of drama for players just trying to reach the finish line.

–Over 37.5 Balls in Water on 17th Hole (-265 at DraftKings): There have been 1,068 balls hit in the water on 17 since 2003. The most during that span was 93 in 2007, while the past two years have each seen 39. With the smallest field in tournament history, we’re not getting overly aggressive with one of the most popular prop specials on the tournament calendar.

BEST BETS

–Scottie Scheffler (+450 at BetMGM) won at TPC Sawgrass in 2023-24 and seeks to join Jack Nicklaus as the only three-time winners of The Players. Scheffler has struggled in opening rounds over his past four events but still owns the longest streak on tour with 69 consecutive made cuts. Scheffler opened at +400 but has seen his odds lengthen a bit despite being backed by the most overall bets at 9.7%.

–Rory McIlroy (+1600) is also a two-time winner of The Players, but did not arrive at TPC Sawgrass until Wednesday after withdrawing from the Arnold Palmer due to back spasms. He will decide Thursday morning whether to tee off on the first hole.

–Collin Morikawa (+1600) leads the FedExCup standings following his T-7 at the Genesis and solo fifth at the Arnold Palmer in addition to his win at Pebble Beach. He is the book’s biggest liability, having been backed by 8.2% of the total bets while leading the field with 12.6% of all money wagered on this week’s winner. Morikawa’s odds have shortened significantly since opening at +2200.

–Ludvig Aberg (+2000) is coming off a T3 at Bay Hill and finished solo eighth here in 2024 before missing the cut last year. The young Swedish star, who opened at +2800, is the second biggest liability and is third in the field in both total bets (6.6%) and total money (7.5% backing him)

–Chris Gotterup (+4500) offers intriguing odds for the only two-time winner on tour so far this season. The public has taken notice, making Gotterup the third biggest liability by supporting him with 4.4% of the action in both markets.

–Sepp Straka (+4500) provides longshot odds despite entering the week ranked ninth in the world. He had a T-2 at Pebble Beach and finished T-13 last week.

NOTES

–Each of the past six winners of The Players entered the week inside the top 10 in the Official World Golf Ranking.

–This is the first of five events this season that offer 750 FedExCup points to the winner, and the winner earns a five-year PGA Tour exemption.

–Seven of the first nine events have been won by players in their 20s.

–Joel Dahmen, Taylor Moore, Seamus Power and Andrew Putnam qualified for the field through their FedExCup ranking through the Cognizant Classic.

–Only three players have converted the 54-hole lead/co-lead into a victory at The Players since 2016: Jason Day (2016), Webb Simpson (2018) and Scottie Scheffler (2023).

–Brooks Koepka is in the field as part of his return to the PGA Tour via the Returning Member Program. To round out threesomes, the field was expanded to 123 with the addition of Patton Kizzire and Seamus Power. It still marks the smallest field in tournament history.

–2021 Players champion Justin Thomas will make his second start in his return from November back surgery.

–Fourteen players are making their tournament debut, including seven tour rookies.

–Greg Norman holds the tournament scoring record of 264 set in 1994.

–Field Level Media

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