The Players Championship Best Bets and top DFS Picks
The Players Championship is returning once again to the iconic stage of TPC Sawgrass, a masterpiece carved out by the legendary architect Pete Dye. His design is renowned for its strategic complexity and the premium it places on precision. As the world's best golfers converge upon Ponte Vedra Beach, they are met with a course that demands respect at every tee, fairway, and green.
Dye's courses are famous for their psychological challenge as much as their physical demands. At TPC Sawgrass, players can expect narrow fairways, vast water hazards, and treacherous bunkering that will test their nerve. The iconic 17th hole, the notorious "Island Green," is the epitome of Dye's design philosophy: it's a hole where fortunes can turn with a single swing, and it embodies the need for precision and composure.
Skills required to conquer this course align well with the Statsational model's allocations for a winning formula: Driving Distance (19%), Putting (15%), Around The Green (15%), Approach (26%), and Fairways Gained (26%). The model suggests that while power off the tee is important, it is the golfer's accuracy with the driver that may provide the greatest advantage. Approach shots and recovery play are equally vital, accounting for over a quarter of the performance factor each. An ability to recover from off the green will be crucial, especially on a course where the greens are often well-guarded by bunkers and water. Consistent putting will also be key, as the undulating greens of Sawgrass can confound even the most experienced players.
Thus, the tournament likely won't be won by power alone; the players must showcase finesse and strategic course management. It will be the golfer who combines distance with direction, who can navigate the tricky approaches and who possesses a steady hand on the greens that will raise the trophy at the end of what is sure to be a gripping competition. As the field takes on Dye's enduring challenge, the thrill of The Players Championship is set to unfold once more.
- Shane Lowry
- Salary: $9,100
- Model Rank: 1
- Dr Dist: 80
- SG: P: 90
- SG: ARG: 26
- SG: APP: 5
- Fwys Gained: 7
2. Xander Schauffele
- Salary: $11,300
- Model Rank: 2
- Dr Dist: 19
- SG: P: 65
- SG: ARG: 11
- SG: APP: 6
- Fwys Gained: 55
3. Scottie Scheffler
- Salary: $12,800
- Model Rank: 3
- Dr Dist: 62
- SG: P: 111
- SG: ARG: 4
- SG: APP: 2
- Fwys Gained: 81
4. Doug Ghim
- Salary: $6,800
- Model Rank: 4
- Dr Dist: 90
- SG: P: 72
- SG: ARG: 32
- SG: APP: 18
- Fwys Gained: 11
5. Austin Eckroat
- Salary: $6,500
- Model Rank: 5
- Dr Dist: 83
- SG: P: 87
- SG: ARG: 33
- SG: APP: 14
- Fwys Gained: 14
6. Billy Horschel
- Salary: $6,600
- Model Rank: 6
- Dr Dist: 74
- SG: P: 7
- SG: ARG: 82
- SG: APP: 54
- Fwys Gained: 18
7. Viktor Hovland
- Salary: $10,100
- Model Rank: 7
- Dr Dist: 29
- SG: P: 16
- SG: ARG: 127
- SG: APP: 21
- Fwys Gained: 48
8. Alex Noren
- Salary: $7,200
- Model Rank: 8
- Dr Dist: 102
- SG: P: 50
- SG: ARG: 30
- SG: APP: 48
- Fwys Gained: 20
9. Steve Stricker
- Salary: $5,200
- Model Rank: 9
- Dr Dist: 134
- SG: P: 56
- SG: ARG: 25
- SG: APP: 61
- Fwys Gained: 5
10. Max Homa
- Salary: $9,600
- Model Rank: 10
- Dr Dist: 22
- SG: P: 40
- SG: ARG: 27
- SG: APP: 46
Fwys Gained: 83
11. Aaron Rai
- Salary: $6,400
- Model Rank: 11
- Dr Dist: 112
- SG: P: 113
- SG: ARG: 95
- SG: APP: 38
- Fwys Gained: 2
- Harris English
- Salary: $7,800
- Model Rank: 12
- Dr Dist: 54
- SG: P: 11
- SG: ARG: 28
- SG: APP: 111
- Fwys Gained: 29
- Sam Burns
- Salary: $9,200
- Model Rank: 13
- Dr Dist: 15
- SG: P: 6
- SG: ARG: 121
- SG: APP: 59
- Fwys Gained: 73
- Ludvig Aberg
- Salary: $9,300
- Model Rank: 14
- Dr Dist: 11
- SG: P: 13
- SG: ARG: 88
- SG: APP: 51
- Fwys Gained: 87
- Tom Hoge
- Salary: $7,800
- Model Rank: 15
- Dr Dist: 106
- SG: P: 77
- SG: ARG: 131
- SG: APP: 1
- Fwys Gained: 56
- Corey Conners
- Salary: $8,300
- Model Rank: 16
- Dr Dist: 78
- SG: P: 134
- SG: ARG: 110
- SG: APP: 4
- Fwys Gained: 17
- C.T. Pan
- Salary: $5,600
- Model Rank: 17
- Dr Dist: 110
- SG: P: 24
- SG: ARG: 6
- SG: APP: 80
- Fwys Gained: 41
- Akshay Bhatia
- Salary: $6,200
- Model Rank: 18
- Dr Dist: 68
- SG: P: 89
- SG: ARG: 61
- SG: APP: 82
- Fwys Gained: 12
- Wyndham Clark
- Salary: $9,700
- Model Rank: 19
- Dr Dist: 8
- SG: P: 18
- SG: ARG: 47
- SG: APP: 26
- Fwys Gained: 126
- Will Zalatoris
- Salary: $9,900
- Model Rank: 20
- Dr Dist: 39
- SG: P: 107
- SG: ARG: 81
- SG: APP: 7
- Fwys Gained: 69