Our golf betting expert offers up his three best betting tips and predictions ahead of the Players Championship which starts at Sawgrass on Thursday.
The big names on the PGA Tour will assemble at Sawgrass this week for the prestigious Players Championship, where there will be plenty of hopefuls looking to get the better of world number one Scottie Scheffler, who is going for his third successive triumph at this tournament.
Players Championship Betting Tips
- Sepp Straka to win the Players Championship (each-way) @ 35/1 with bet365
- Hideki Matsuyama to win the Players Championship (each-way) @ 25/1 with bet365
- Shane Lowry to win the Players Championship (each-way) @ 40/1 with bet365
Straka heads to Sawgrass in strong form
Sepp Straka has already tasted glory on the PGA Tour this year having won January’s American Express, but he has not rested upon his laurels and he could make a strong challenge for what would be the biggest prize of his career.
Since that success, the Austrian has finished seventh at Pebble Beach, 11th at the Cognizant Classic and fifth in last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, where he recovered well from an opening 77 to finish four shots behind Russell Henley.
He also has some good Sawgrass form with a ninth in 2022 and 16th last year, so he could make a strong push to claim a fourth PGA Tour title.
Players Championship Bet 1: Sepp Straka to win the Players Championship (each-way) @ 35/1 with bet365
Matsuyama equipped to put in a bold bid
Quality ball-striking can make all the difference from tee-to-green at this Florida track and that should work to the strengths of former Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama.
The Japanese star won The Sentry, the opening PGA Tour tournament of the year in Hawaii, and has played solidly since, finishing with a 69 to take 22nd spot at Bay Hill last week.
Matsuyama has four Sawgrass top-ten finishes, including in each of the last two years, and his confidence will have been boosted by the fact he has carded six successive rounds in the 60s at the Ponte Vedra track heading into this year’s tournament.
Players Championship Bet 2: Hideki Matsuyama to win the Players Championship (each-way) @ 25/1 with bet365
Consistent Lowry is knocking on the door
Shane Lowry will have been disappointed to have allowed a 36-hole lead at the Arnold Palmer slip away last week, but he was still seventh and a victory is probably not too far away for the former Open champion.
Lowry has now posted nine top-20 finishes in 11 tournaments since September’s Tour Championship and he has some decent Sawgrass memories, with an eighth spot secured in 2021 and then a hole-in-one at the famous 17th island-green par-three, so he should be spurred on to make another strong challenge.
Players Championship Bet 3: Shane Lowry to win the Players Championship (each-way) @ 40/1 with bet365
