The season’s “fifth major” gets underway this week as the best and brightest from the PGA Tour travel to TPC Sawgrass for the 2025 Players Championship. Representing the 51st playing of the event, this week at the famous Pete Dye design will test every aspect of one’s game — physically and mentally.
It comes as no surprise that world No. 1 and two-time defending champion Scottie Scheffler tops the odds board at 9/2. Scheffler came into this tournament a year ago at a similar price but with one win already under his belt having captured the Arnold Palmer Invitational just one week prior.
Scheffler has yet to enter the winner’s circle this season, but Rory McIlroy has already hoisted a trophy. The world No. 2 is listed closely behind Scheffler at 7-1 as the two have combined to win three of the last the five Players with McIlroy’s title coming in 2019.
Justin Thomas joins the fun at 20-1 following a strong start to his season. Meanwhile, names like Wyndham Clark, Russell Henley, Sepp Straka and Jordan Spieth find themselves further down the odds board. They may be worthy of a wager considering their recent form.
Let’s take a look at the betting odds for the 2025 Players Championship via FanDuel Sportsbook.
2025 Players Championship odds, picks
Favorites
- Scottie Scheffler: 9/2
- Rory McIlroy: 7-1
- Ludvig Åberg: 14-1
- Collin Morikawa: 16-1
- Xander Schauffele: 18-1
- Justin Thomas: 18-1
Four of the last five Players Championships belong to this group with the outlier being Cameron Smith. Scheffler, McIlroy and Thomas have shown the ability to get the job done at TPC Sawgrass while Schauffele came agonizingly close last season. Morikawa brings the most intrigue, however, as he is in great form after a runner-up finish at Bay Hill and has a number of solid rounds at TPC Sawgrass.
Contenders
Before the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Hideki Matsuyama was the only player in the below group to have won on the PGA Tour since the start of the 2024 season. With his win at Arnie’s Place, it was Russell Henley who joined the man from Japan and has our attention as the 35-year-old has been sensational to start the year. He has his entire game clicking right now and continues to put himself into weekend contention. Could he follow in Scheffler’s footsteps and go back-to-back at the Arnold Palmer and Players? There are a few contenders from last season’s championship including Wyndham Clark and Maverick McNealy. The latter missed the cut at the API but remains in fine form having finished runner-up at the Genesis Invitational and inside the top 10 at the WM Phoenix Open.
- Hideki Matsuyama: 22-1
- Patrick Cantlay: 22-1
- Sungjae Im: 29-1
- Russell Henley: 29-1
- Shane Lowry: 29-1
- Tommy Fleetwood: 29-1
- Sam Burns: 33-1
- Sungjae Im: 37-1
- Sepp Straka: 41-1
- Will Zalatoris: 41-1
- Viktor Hovland: 41-1
- Corey Conners: 45-1
- Maverick McNealy: 45-1
- Tom Kim: 50-1
- Keegan Bradley: 50-1
- Wyndham Clark: 50-1
- Jason Day: 50-1
- Daniel Berger: 50-1
Sleepers
Weird things can happen at TPC Sawgrass, so why not look in the direction of Jordan Spieth? The three-time major champion has two top-10 finishes in his first four starts since returning from offseason wrist surgery. He continues to drive the ball beautifully, and most importantly, he is making putts like vintage Spieth. If the iron play cooperates, he can be a factor.
- Min Woo Lee: 60-1
- Taylor Pendrith: 65-1
- Robert MacIntyre: 65-1
- Jordan Spieth: 65-1
- Sahith Theegala: 65-1
- Tony Finau: 65-1
- Thomas Detry: 65-1
- Harris English: 70-1
- Adam Scott: 70-1
- Byeong Hun An: 80-1
- Cameron Young: 80-1
- Aaron Rai: 80-1
- Akshay Bhatia: 80-1
- Max Homa: 80-1
- Davis Thompson: 80-1
- Si Woo Kim: 80-1
- Rickie Fowler: 90-1
Longshots
- Nick Taylor: 100-1
- Matt Fitzpatrick: 100-1
- Billy Horschel: 100-1
- Lee Hodges: 100-1
- J.J. Spaun: 100-1
- Harry Hall: 100-1
- Brian Harman: 100-1
- Max Greyserman: 100-1
- Keith Mitchell: 100-1
- Austin Eckroat: 100-1
- Stephan Jaeger: 100-1
- Justin Rose: 120-1
- Christiaan Bezuidenhout: 120-1
- Denny McCarthy: 120-1
- Jhonattan Vegas: 120-1
- Rasmus Hojgaard: 120-1
- Charley Hoffman: 120-1
- Nico Echavarria: 120-1
- Niklas Norgaard: 120-1
- Beau Hossler: 120-1
- Lucas Glover: 120-1
- Nick Dunlap: 120-1
- Cam Davis: 120-1
- J.T. Poston: 120-1
- Kurt Kitayama: 120-1
Despite approaching 45 years of age, Rose can still keep up with the big boys on golf courses that require a solid strategy to navigate. TPC Sawgrass fits into that category and seems to fit the Englishman’s eye. He has five top 25s in the last nine Players Championships including a T6 just a couple seasons ago. Rose arrives off a solid performance at Bay Hill.
Rest of the field
One player jumps off the page at this range with that being Doug Ghim. He may have zero PGA Tour victories, but he does have his fair share of success at TPC Sawgrass. Ghim will need to find his putter (and likely some luck) to contend, but we have seen him do it before. A top 10 or top 20 play may ultimately be the prudent option.
- Taylor Moore: 150-1
- Patrick Fishburn: 150-1
- Kevin Yu: 150-1
- Tom Hoge: 150-1
- Matt Wallace: 150-1
- Alex Noren: 150-1
- Mark Hubbard: 150-1
- Mackenzie Hughes: 150-1
- Chris Kirk: 150-1
- Doug Ghim: 180-1
- Ryan Fox: 180-1
- Thorbjorn Olesen: 180-1
- Victor Perez: 180-1
- Eric Cole: 180-1
- Justin Lower: 180-1
- Laurie Canter: 180-1
- Jesper Svensson: 210-1
- Matteo Manassero: 210-1
- Jordan Smith: 210-1
- Matt McCarty: 270-1
- Max McGreevy: 270-1
- Romain Langasque: 270-1
- Erik van Rooyen: 270-1
- Mattieu Pavon: 270-1
- Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen: 270-1
Who will win The Players Championship, and which longshots will stun the golfing world? Visit SportsLine now to see the projected leaderboard and best bets, all from the model that’s nailed 13 golf majors and is up nearly $9,000 since June 2020.
Read the full article here
