The Players Championship: Three players to watch at TPC Sawgrass

Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Thomas are good bets to win the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass.

Justin Thomas (Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports)

Justin Thomas

Thomas is the only player to average five or more birdies per round at the Players over the last decade. And with maturity has come fewer mistakes: Thomas ranked 134th on the PGA Tour in bogey avoidance in 2016, and he was 16th last season.

Strokes gained tee to green: Thomas has ranked in the top five each of the previous three seasons on the Tour in this statistic and is in that neighborhood again in 2020.

Consistency: He is one of just five players to make the cut each of the past five years at TPC Sawgrass. 

Birdies or better: Since making his debut at TPC Sawgrass in 2015, Thomas has made more birdies than anyone with 98. Only Sergio Garcia (96) and Adam Scott (91) are within 10 birdies of Thomas in that stretch.