Players Championship Golf Tips
Collin Morikawa
Sepp Straka
Sungjae Im
Joel Dahmen (each-way)
Doug Ghim (each-way)
*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.
Spring is in the air, Cheltenham is upon us, and the year’s first Major, The Masters, is only a month away. All of this can only mean one thing: it’s time to head to TPC Sawgrass for the PGA Tour’s flagship event, The Players Championship.
One of the most iconic courses played all year, the Pete Dye design never fails to deliver its share of drama, particularly on the signature hole, the par three 17th, with its famous island green.
Over the years, it has become most apparent that experience and past course form are key, with the winner more often than not having played the event on five or six occasions.
The man who has bucked this trend over the past couple of years, though, is world number one Scottie Scheffler. He first triumphed here in 2023, despite two previous poor efforts in the event, before going on to defend the trophy last year.
Scheffler arrives then looking to create history by landing a ‘threepeat’. It would be a surprise were he not in the hunt come Sunday. However, he has yet to win this year, and with the pressure all on him and on the back of an uncharacteristically poor week with his approach play at Bay Hill, I am happy to pass at the odds.
Behind Scheffler in the market we find Rory McIlroy.
As the Northern Irishman builds up to another crack at landing that elusive Green Jacket, he has started 2025 really strongly. He has struggled to seriously contend here, though, in his four visits since winning, and seeing him tinkering with his equipment last week hardly inspired confidence.
Ludvig Aberg and Collin Morikawa are battling it out for third favourite in the market.
Aberg returned to the winners’ enclosure recently at the Genesis, and having played well here on debut to finish eighth last year, he is sure to be on many people’s shortlist.
He was scrappy at Bay Hill last week, though, after starting well, and despite his strong showing here last year, this doesn’t strike me as a great course fit for him.
Instead, then I will turn to Morikawa to lead our team off as our headline pick.
The two-time Major Champion looks back to his best this year, posting two runner-up finishes and two further top-20s in four starts. Last week at Bay Hill, he looked all over the winner; however, he played the final five holes in one over, opening the door for Russell Henley to pick his pocket.
Despite this, Morikawa produced some superb stuff at Bay Hill, ranking fourth off the tee, fifth in approach and first in driving accuracy.
This will be Morikawa’s fifth visit to Sawgrass, and with a best of 13th, he has built up a perfect bank of course form. With his trademark tee-to-green game firing again, I expect him to produce a big performance.
One player who I can’t ignore this week is Sepp Straka.
The Austrian landed the trophy at the American Express in January. That event featured the Pete Dye Stadium Course, which mirrors TPC Sawgrass, so he should relish the week ahead.
If you add in four other top fifteen’s this year, including a fifth last week at Bay Hill, along with a previous best of ninth here, his credentials are obvious.
Next up for me is Sungjae Im.
There is no doubt the Korean does not win as much as he should, with his last triumph coming in Las Vegas in 2021.
A big-time player, though, with Presidents Cup experience and a best of sixth in five previous visits here, he has the identikit profile of many previous winners.
Arriving here after a top-20 finish at Bay Hill, I can see him going really well.
Finally, in an event where Paddy are paying to ten each-way places, I will take a couple of longer price selections in the shape of Joel Dahmen and Doug Ghim.
Dahmen produced a Houdini act to salvage his tour card at the back end of last year and he has rolled that momentum into two top-ten finishes already this year.
With two top-12 finishes in four previous visits here, he clearly enjoys the layout and I can see him going well at big odds.
Ghim, meanwhile, has shown a big liking to Pete Dye’s layouts, including playing really well to finish sixth here in 2022.
Having found his form last time out at the Cognizant to finish 11th, he could well be a factor here again.
Players Championship Golf Tips
Collin Morikawa
Sepp Straka
Sungjae Im
Joel Dahmen (each-way)
Doug Ghim (each-way)
*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.
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