The Players Championship golf tips
Keith Mitchell to be 1st Round Leader
Rickie Fowler to be 1st Round Leader
Keegan Bradley to be Top USA Player
Adam Svensson to be Top Debutant
Sepp Straka Top 30 Finish
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
With our main outright bets all in place for the Players Championship it is now time to take a look at the different speciality markets available and as always Paddy has done us proud by pricing up a wide raft of options for us to choose from.
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Firstly lets look at the First Round Leader market and as always the place to start here is with the weather forecast. At the time of writing Thursday’s forecast shows the winds are set to be slightly stronger in the afternoon.
Add this to the fact that in four of the past ten years we’ve had an outright leader from the AM, while on five other occasions we’ve had joint leaders from both waves and I will focus on the AM starters.
Keith Mitchell to be 1st Round Leader
The first to catch my eye who tee’s off at 7.23am local time is Keith Mitchell. Mitchell has been in fine form this year posting four top 25 finishes in his past five starts including two top fives.
Part of the 31-year-old’s old strengths this campaign have been his ability to get off to a quick start and, in his ten starts this season, he has posted 67 or better on six occasions. In addition he also opened up with a 67 here on day one last year on his way to a 13th place finish.
A lover of Bermuda greens, Mitchell is most at home in Florida and he can get out of the gates quickly here again.
Rickie Fowler to be 1st Round Leader
I will confess I was tempted for my other pick to side with Rory McIlroy here however I do wonder if being paired with the other two members of the ‘big three’, Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler will be a distraction, something which applies of course to the latter two as well.
Instead then for my second pick I will turn to Rickie Fowler who tees off at 7.45am local time on the 10th. Now working again with Butch Harmon there have been clear signs of late that Fowler’s game is very much back on an upward curve and all that he now needs to do is string four rounds together.
He’s a former champion here, due to his poor form Fowler missed out on the event completely last year while also only getting to tee it up in one Major in 2022, so he will be desperate to make up for lost time and having produced strong Thursdays on his last two starts I can see more of the same this week.
Keegan Bradley to be Top USA Player
With only one American in our main team, outsider Ben Martin, there is plenty of scope to get involved in the Top USA Player market and the man for me here is Keegan Bradley. Bradley triumphed at the ZOZO Championship last Fall and he has continued to play really strong golf in his quest for a Ryder Cup spot, notching a top 10 at Bay Hill last week.
Add in the fact that the former PGA Champion has two top 10s in his past four visits here and it is understandable that he’s on many short lists this week. There are obviously plenty of big name threats here, notably Justin Thomas, however the record of many of the others here such as Scheffler, Morikawa and Cantlay is pretty underwhelming and I am happy to take them on with Bradley.
Adam Svensson to be Top Debutant
Another market that interests me is that of Top Debutant and, while Tom Kim is the overwhelming favourite, the one who appeals to me the most at the odds is Adam Svensson. Canadian Svensson bases himself in Florida and he is a player clearly most at home on shorter wind effected tracks where his solid tee to green game can flourish.
A winner at one such type of venue at the RSM Classic last Fall, Svensson has continued to play solidly and I expect him to take to Sawgrass like a duck to water. With Paddy then offering three each way places in this market, Svensson looks worth chancing at this price.
Sepp Straka Top 30 Finish
Finally I will side Sepp Straka to post a top 30 finish. Straka showed his liking for a Pete Dye layout early in his PGA Tour career when finishing fifth at the Amex and he then rubber stamped that with a top ten here 12 months ago.
The Austrian missed the cut last week at Bay Hill however the Orlando track is not one he thrives on and with his game having been in fine fettle the previous week at the Honda where he finished fifth I expect him to bounce back this week.
The Players Championship golf tips
Keith Mitchell to be 1st Round Leader
Rickie Fowler to be 1st Round Leader
Keegan Bradley to be Top USA Player
Adam Svensson to be Top Debutant
Sepp Straka Top 30 Finish
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
MORE GOLF TIPS
- Golf Tips: An 18/1 flutter tops our best bets for The Players Championship
- Golf Tips: Hovland’s the man in our 22/1 shout for The Players Championship
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