Rory McIlroy looks to defend his title at the 2020 Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass as the No. 1 golfer in the Golfweek/Sagarin world rankings. McIlroy is the No. 1 betting favorite among the 144-man field at BetMGM this week. Below, we look at McIlroy’s outright and prop betting odds and look for the best value plays for the world’s top golfer at The Players Championship.
Rory McIlroy’s history at TPC Sawgrass
McIlroy ranks 11th in this week’s field in average strokes gained per round at TPC Sawgrass among those with at least 10 rounds played, according to Data Golf. He has gained 1.68 strokes per round across 32 career rounds on the Stadium Course. Last year, he led the field with 3.32 Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green per round while ranking third in SG: Off the Tee.
Last year’s victory followed a missed cut at the 2018 Players Championship. He previously finished T-8 in 2015, T-12 in 2016 and T-35 in 2017. His finishing score of 16-under par last year matched the second-lowest four-round score of the last decade.
ALSO SEE:
- The Players Championship odds, predictions, picks and PGA Tour best bets
- Fantasy Golf Power Rankings for the 2020 Players Championship
Rory McIlroy’s key stats for The Players Championship
Based on historical tournament data from Fantasy National, my key stats for the week are:
- Strokes Gained: Ball Striking
- Strokes Gained: Around the Green
- Opportunities Gained
- Greens in Regulation Gained
- Proximity from 125-150 Yards
McIlroy leads my stat model, which measures the last 36 rounds for each golfer in the field on courses shorter than 7,200 yards. While he’s one of the longest hitters on Tour, much of his career success has come on these shorter tracks.
He’s second in the field in SG: Ball Striking, third in Opportunities Gained and fourth in SG: Around the Green. Each of the last 11 champions at TPC Sawgrass finished 10-under par or below, and nine of his 16 PGA Tour rounds in 2020 have been scored in the 60s.
Rory has been struggling with his putter of late, preventing him from reaching the winner’s circle, but he gained a total of just 0.7 strokes putting last year and needs to be little more than average with the flat stick at this venue. He putts best on the Bermuda greens featured here.
Outright odds for The Players Championship
Odds provided by BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Tuesday at 12 p.m. ET.
As noted above, McIlroy is the No. 1 favorite to win the 2020 Players Championship at +700. He enters this week with seven consecutive top-five finishes with his first win of the 2019-20 PGA Tour season coming at the WGC-HSBC Champions in November. He has racked up three straight fifth-place results, nearly mirroring his form entering last year’s tournament:
| EVENT | 2019 | 2020 |
| Farmers Insurance Open | T-5 | T-3 |
| Genesis Open/Invitational | T-4 | T-5 |
| WGC-Mexico Championship | 2 | 5 |
| Arnold Palmer Invitational | T-6 | T-5 |
| The Players | 1 | ? |
Rory is a very chalky golf bet as the No. 1 favorite in the field and the only player priced lower than +1200, but he has enjoyed a similar build-up as last year, and he already has his first win of the season under his belt. He’s worth a multi-unit wager in his quest to repeat.
Best Props on Rory McIlroy to win The Players Championship
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Who’ll finish in the Top 10? (+100)
Even money for a top-10 result is an easy choice, as the odds for a top-5 finish are just +190. McIlroy hasn’t finished outside the top-10 in a PGA Tour event since his T-19 showing at last year’s BMW PGA Championship one week prior to his victory at the Tour Championship.
Lowest Score Over 72 Holes – Group A (+160)
PASS on this prop bet. If Rory is not going to win this week, it’s likely the winner will come from this group including Jon Rahm (+300), Justin Thomas (+400), Tommy Fleetwood (+700) and Bryson DeChambeau (+600). Take his more profitable outright odds, instead.
Top European Player (+225)
While Rory faces tough competition from Rahm (+350) and Fleetwood (+700) in this group, it does weed out the strong American contingent playing this week. It’s a good hedge against the outright bet.
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