The 2020 Players Championship will see a stacked field of 144 of the world’s best golfers tee off Thursday morning at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. Below, I look at my favorite tournament props for the 2020 Players Championship, with PGA Tour betting picks, tips and best bets.
Tiger Woods is the top-ranked golfer from the Golfweek/Sagarin world rankings not in attendance, as world No. 1 Rory McIlroy prepares to defend his 2019 title.
2020 Players Championship: Leader after Round 1
Odds provided by BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Wednesday at 6:20 p.m. ET.
Scottie Scheffler (+8000)
Scheffler is making his Players Championship debut, but the 2019 Korn Ferry Tour Player of the Year has made a seamless transition to the PGA Tour. He has missed the cut in just two of 13 events since A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier, and he has four top 10s in that time, along with a T-15 finish last week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
He’s third on Tour in the 2019-20 season in Round 1 scoring average at 68.15. His 13 measured rounds are more than anyone else in the top five. The rookie scores low on short courses and he doesn’t have any glaring weaknesses right now.
Nick Taylor (+12500)
Taylor tied for 16th here last year for his best result at The Players, and he’ll make his first appearance as a PGA Tour champion following his breakout win at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
The Canadian ranks 12th on Tour this year in Round 1 scoring average, and he finished 2019 ranked 16th. He opened with a first-round 73 last year, but he scored in the 60s each of the final three rounds.
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2020 Players Championship: 3-ball match
Tyrrell Hatton/Paul Casey (+160)/Max Homa
Casey is the first-round bet to back in this trio. Hatton is coming off a win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational but missed the cut at this event each of the last two years. Homa will be making his TPC Sawgrass debut. Casey missed the cut last year, but the veteran had a T-22 in 2017 and a T-23 in 2016. He’s the safest bet in this trio with the second-best odds.
Viktor Hovland/Collin Morikawa (+125)/Matthew Wolff
All three youngsters are making their professional debuts at TPC Sawgrass, but all three already have a win in their young PGA Tour careers. Wolff finished outside the top 50 in each of his last two events, and Hovland has an MC and a T-42 in two events since winning the Puerto Rico Open. Morikawa hasn’t missed a cut in 21 events as a pro.
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2020 Players Championship: Tournament head-to-head
Tommy Fleetwood (-112) vs. Dustin Johnson
Johnson has slipped to No. 9 in the Golfweek world rankings, while Fleetwood enters the week sixth following a third-place finish at The Honda Classic, though he missed the cut last week. No one in the field with a minimum of 10 rounds played at TPC Sawgrass has gained more strokes per round than Fleetwood’s 2.34, according to Data Golf.
Xander Schauffele vs. Webb Simpson (-112)
Simpson, the 2018 Players champion, gets paired up against Schauffele for the tournament head-to-head. Schauffele debuted with a T-2 in 2018, but he missed the cut in his follow-up attempt last year. Simpson hasn’t played since a disappointing T-61 finish at the WGC-Mexico Championship, but he already has a win in 2020 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open to cap a stretch of five straight top 10s.
Also see:
- Fantasy Golf Power Rankings for the 2020 Players Championship
- Betting the 2020 Players Championship: Outright bets to fade
- How to bet Rory McIlroy at The Players Championship: Outright odds & props
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