THE PLAYERS Championship, the flagship event of the PGA TOUR, begins this week with the odds board headlined by the men who have combined to win each of the last three titles at TPC Sawgrass.

Scottie Scheffler (+380) solved TPC Sawgrass in his third attempt in 2023 and then made history by becoming the first player to successfully defend the title in 2024. He’s unsurprisingly listed as the betting favorite among a 123-man field at FanDuel Sportsbook. Only Jack Nicklaus has won this event three times, but nobody has lifted the golden trophy three times at the Pete Dye masterpiece, which took over hosting duties in 1982. The Texan won his first event of the season, The American Express, but seven of his last 16 rounds have posted 70 or worse, including all four last week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, where he earned T24 money. Strangely, he lost almost three shots on approach, and his putter didn’t cooperate (35th Strokes Gained: Putting).

Rory McIlroy (+1300) is still the second choice despite not being able to play the weekend at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. The defending champion won for the second time in six events last year in a Monday playoff, defeating J.J. Spaun (+7500) over a three-hole aggregate format. His next victory on TOUR will be his 30th, and if it is this week, he would beat Scheffler to the punch to join Nicklaus at that perch. McIlroy, who has not won worldwide since the Amgen Irish Open last September, will make his 16th start at TPC Sawgrass.

Collin Morikawa (+1900) will attempt to add his name to the list of players who have won at TPC Sawgrass after winning an event prior in the same season. McIlroy (AT&T Pebble Beach) and Scheffler (2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational; 2023 WM Phoenix Open) both followed that road map to the trophy. Morikawa, an expectant father, won the AT&T Pebble Beach and will make his seventh start at THE PLAYERS. The average number of attempts needed before winning at TPC Sawgrass? Just over seven. Already a two-time major champion, the California native possesses the same fantastic tee-to-green play as the two favorites. He followed his win at Pebble Beach with a T7 at The Genesis Invitational and a solo fifth-place payday, which included a three-putt bogey at No. 18, at Bay Hill last week. His putter, otherwise, was fantastic, and that will play again on quick TifEagle Bermuda greens this week.

When Xander Schauffele (+2500) broke his winless streak in October at the Baycurrent Classic in Japan, he earned his 10th victory on the PGA TOUR. Missing the cut in his first start of 2026 at his hometown event, the Farmers Insurance Open, he ended a streak of qualifying for the weekend at 72 events. Somewhere in the middle lies the answer. Making his sixth start of the season, his only top-10 result was three weeks ago when he earned T7 money at The Genesis Invitational. Twice a runner-up at TPC Sawgrass, including his 2018 debut and 2024, the Californian makes his ninth start and has qualified for the weekend in his previous three visits. Like everyone hoping to contend, this is not the course or the week to be fighting your swing. With water on 17 of the 18 holes, four inches of overseeded rye grass off the fairways, and gusty conditions likely, players who are mentally tough, like Schauffele, will have an advantage.

Defeating an elite field at the 2025 TOUR Championship at East Lake to win the FedExCup Playoffs, Tommy Fleetwood (+2500) erased the final doubts on whether he could win on U.S. soil. Making the cut in eight of his previous nine starts at TPC Sawgrass, his ability to grind out targets from tee to green shines. With one of the top scoring averages in the field of players who have made more than three starts (70.63), he knows how to get it around in all conditions.

The curious case of Ludvig Åberg (+2500) continues to baffle investors. Based on his swing and cool demeanor, the 26-year-old should contend weekly. Beginning the season with a WD, he followed by missing the cut on a course where he won an event in 2025. Since his truncated start, he picked up T37 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, closing with 69-66-67 and followed it with T20 at The Genesis Invitational, closing with 68-69-66. Last week at Bay Hill, he opened with 66 and closed with 67 and earned a share of third place, his first podium finish on TOUR since February of 2025. Sitting fourth in Proximity, his ability to fire at flags will help on the below-average-sized greens at TPC Sawgrass.

Cameron Young (+3000) steams into Ponte Vedra Beach on the back of top-10 results on two of the toughest tracks used on TOUR in 2026. The first-time winner at the Wyndham Championship last August earned T7 at The Riviera Country Club and followed with a T3 last week at Bay Hill. Making his fifth appearance at TPC Sawgrass, his next appearance in the top 50 will be his first. Only one of his 14 previous loops resulted in the 60s, and his best payday is T51. Now, the good news is that he has made the cut in the previous three years. There’s a reason why the average winning attempt is over seven tries! Ranked sixth in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee, that is step one in solving Pete Dye.

Si Woo Kim (+3300) is the exception to the rule at TPC Sawgrass. The youngest winner ever of the event, albeit in the May edition, at 21 years old, the Korean has cashed a check in all eight visits where he has completed the first two rounds (WD after Round 1 in 2022). He also won on just his second visit. Only Craig Perks (2002) has won this event on debut. Now 30, his last victory was the 2023 Sony Open in Hawaii, but he is a perfect seven-for-seven in 2026, including five paydays of T13 or better. Ranking second in both SG: Tee-to-Green and SG: Approach, not many are more comfortable on one of the most uncomfortable tracks on TOUR.

Akshay Bhatia (+4000), who trailed by five shots on the back nine on Sunday at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, defeated Daniel Berger (+5500) in a playoff to don the red cardigan sweater at Bay Hill on Sunday. Bhatia will attempt to join Scheffler in winning the week before THE PLAYERS and lifting the gold trophy on Sunday at TPC Sawgrass.

THE PLAYERS Championship past winners entered (not listed above):

• 2021: Justin Thomas (+10000)
• 2016: Jason Day (+10000)
• 2015: Rickie Fowler (+5500)
• 2004: Adam Scott (+6500)

Here's a look at the odds for other notable players, with odds via FanDuel:

• +4000: Russell Henley, Min Woo Lee, Chris Gotterup, Viktor Hovland, Hideki Matsuyama
• +4500: Sepp Straka, Matt Fitzpatrick, Jake Knapp, Patrick Cantlay
• +5000: Brooks Koepka, Shane Lowry, Robert MacIntyre
• +5500: Jordan Spieth
• +6000: Sam Burns, Maverick McNealy, Ben Griffin, Harris English, Kurt Kitayama
• +6500: Justin Rose
• +7000: Jacob Bridgeman
• +8000: Alex Noren, Aaron Rai, Nicolai Hojgaard, Sahith Theegala, Harry Hall

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