It’s Showtime.
This week’s PGA Tour stop, The Players Championship, may not be one of the four majors but don’t tell that to the 144 golfers in this week’s field.
This title is one of the most prestigious every year and looking at the strength of this tournament -- 85 of the world’s top 100 golfers -- shows it’s a must-play event. The field for the 50th playing of this event includes golfers that represent 23 countries.
The tournament site is almost as famous as the players who will be teeing it up: The Stadium Course at TPC in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., with its famous (or is it infamous?) par-3 17th hole with the island green.
Now the question that is on a lot of minds, especially bettors: Is Tiger Woods playing.
Sadly for most fans, and for Tiger, the answer is no. He is eligible to play and has said he wants to play one event per month.
That’s not happening so far. In his only start in 2024, he withdrew because of illness from the tournament he hosts, the Genesis Invitational in February.
That means the next time bettors may get the chance to back Woods at the betting windows may be the Masters, but, we’ll see.
While we won’t have Woods in the field, the star-power is impressive and deep this week.
And there are plenty of reasons for that: It’s life-changing for the winner.
The Players Championship has got the top purse on the PGA Tour at $25 million with $4.5 million going to the winner. There’s also 750 FedEx Cup points and a five-year exemption.
Let’s take a look at who just might make noise this week and solidify his work schedule for the next five years.
Related: Top-rated online sports betting sites | Best sportsbook promos and bonuses
The Players odds: Time to back Scheffler again
OK, Scottie Scheffler, the world’s No. 1 ranked player, gave everyone a head start this season in the race to be the best in the world.
After all, he hadn’t won in the first five events of 2024 that he played in.
That streak ended last week when he got his groove back in winning last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational by five strokes.
We had the Scheffler bandwagon in neutral as we waited for him to figure out his putting woes that have plagued him in the early going.
Consider them figured out and now the field is on notice to watch out any week he tees it up.
He’s the favorite this week at . That’s not great money by any stretch of the imagination but when you’re dealing with someone of Scheffler’s talent -- and add in the fact that he’s the defending champion here -- sometimes you’ve got to bite the bullet.
And bettors need to get on this number ASAP as it’s sure to go down, if it hasn’t already.
Need we say more?
All right, we will.
We say we’re back driving the bandwagon for the simple fact that now that Scheffler has won in 2024, the dam may burst.
He’s had plenty of chances as he is six-for-six in cuts made with five top 10s. In fact, his worst finish in this calendar year is T-17 at The American Express.
Scheffler basically has started the 2024 season striking the ball better than anyone but he’s also putting it better than almost no one.
With a new putter in the bag, he got back in form last week.
That sets him up for a double back-to-back choice for us.
He’s the defending champ from last year so he can go back-to-back in this tournament.
And he won last week so he can also win tournaments in back-to-back weeks.
That’s great news for him, and bad news for the rest of the field.
More: Best online sportsbooks to bet on golf
Will Zalatoris has favorable Players Championship odds
He’s not the longest of longshots, but Will Zalatoris at is worth a look.
He’s still recovering from back surgery that cost him the last nine months of the 2023 season.
Since he’s come back, he’s made three of four cuts in 2024 and has a best finish of T-2 at The Genesis Invitational.
His T-4 last week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational was another step in the right direction and also earned him a spot in the 2024 Open Championship.
Things certainly seem to be trending in the right direction for his comeback so why not cash in with his second PGA Tour victory.
Longshot bet for The Players Championship
Homa is one of those players that is tough to figure out.
Homa, down the list this week at , came into 2024 following a 2023 season where he had two victories to go along with 13 top 10s in 21 made cuts.
A solid year.
Fast forward to 2024 and he’s made five of six cuts.
That’s the good news.
The bad news is that last week’s T-8 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational was his first top 10 finish of the year.
He has had three top-20 finishes but he wasn’t able to close out tournaments.
Last week appeared to be more of the same as he was solid through the first three rounds before he was three-over-par through his first two holes (double bogey and a bogey) before rebounding for a one-over-par round and his T-8 finish.
Now he comes to an event where he also has good memories as he was T-6 here last year.
No one may have a better attitude on the golf course, win or lose, than Homa.
But we’re betting when he wins, that attitude goes sky-high.
The Players Championship prop odds picks
We’re going to stay with a golfer who has been so close to cashing for us: Shane Lowry to be the top Great Britain/Ireland golfer.
Lowry is the second choice at a hefty (behind Rory McIlroy at ).
Lowry was a sponsor invite into last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational and made the most of it with a solo third.
We’re betting he rides that momentum and comes out on top in this category.
A longshot prop bet: Take a look at the bet that the winner birdies the 72nd hole.
At +750 it’s a great price, especially if someone steps on that final hole knowing he needs a birdie to change his life.
If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Learn more >