THE PLAYERS Championship
Course: TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course (7,352 yards, par 72)
Purse: $25,000,000
Winner: $4,500,000 and 750 FedExCup Points
Tournament Preview
Whether you want to call it the "Fifth Major" or not, it really doesn't matter. The point is that THE PLAYERS Championship is an event that every player really wants on their resume, it has a great history, a great field every year and it is on an iconic golf course. The discussion should really just stop there. You can not be a major and still be an event that players think very highly of. Just look at the Ryder Cup.
Apart from the TOUR Championship, THE PLAYERS Championship features the largest single-event purse in golf at a whopping $25 million. The winning player will bank $4.5 million of that along with 750 FedExCup points (same as the majors) and 80 OWGR points. Safe to say, there is a lot up for grabs by doing well at TPC Sawgrass this week.
Rory McIlroy will be back to defend his title. Last year he was victorious in a playoff over J.J. Spaun. McIlroy became just the the eighth player to win THE PLAYERS Championship on multiple occasions (2019). This year McIlroy comes in with some concerns after he had to withdraw from last week's Arnold Palmer Invitational prior to his third round tee time due to a back injury that he tweaked while warming up. He is expected to be able to tee it up at TPC Sawgrass, but certainly it will be something that people are monitoring throughout the week.
Scottie Scheffler won this event in 2023 and 2024. He was the first player to ever go back-to-back at THE PLAYERS. There are some questions around Scheffler as well after a disappointing T24 showing at Bay Hill. That was his worst finish anywhere since a T25 at the WM Phoenix Open in February of 2025. Scheffler's typically unstoppable approach game has been very mediocre this year. That will certainly be something he wants to get back on track with prior to Thursday's opening round. We've seen a lot of frustration let out by Scheffler since his season-opening victory at The American Express.
Akshay Bhatia was the man the scored the victory at the third Signature Event of the year after a brilliant back-nine comeback. Bhatia carded four straight birdies on holes 10-13 before making a tap-in eagle at the par-5 16th. It was enough to force a playoff with Daniel Berger who had led the entire week to that point. Bhatia's par on the first extra hole was enough to outlast Berger and make him a perfect 3-for-3 in his career on the PGA Tour in playoffs. Bhatia has been trending up and this statement victory has to give him a lot of confidence that he can be one of the best players out here. Berger will have to shake himself off and get ready for TPC Sawgrass.
THE PLAYERS Championship moved back to March from May beginning with the 2019 season. While it does give the golf calendar a nice cadence, it's unclear if that move actually does make THE PLAYERS better or not. That last few years have seen a lot of weather interruptions, something that typically wasn't quite as common in May. The course also has had to use the overseed more, which has created a lot softer conditions. Last year McIlroy and Spaun posted 72-hole scores of 12-under-par, which was the highest winning score since the move back to March. The year prior in 2024, Scheffler won by one stroke over three golfers at 20-under-par.
This year it looks like we could see weather again. The most likely time would be Thursday afternoon into the evening that we could see some thunderstorms. We're also liable to see a scattered shower pop through at some point over the weekend. The course has been drying out, but those storms whipping through could be all the course needs to soften up and let the players attack. The good news is that the wind will be a challenge for these players. It will average between 12-18 mph throughout the tournament with some higher gusts possible. The wind is also forecasted to blow in a few different directions for the four tournament rounds. 12-to-15-under-par seems like the range the winning score will fall in.
Recent Champions
2025 - Rory McIlroy (-12)
2024 - Scottie Scheffler (-20)
2023 - Scottie Scheffler (-17)
2022 - Cameron Smith (-13)
2021 - Justin Thomas (-14)
2020 - No Tournament
2019 - Rory McIlroy (-16)
2018 - Webb Simpson (-18)
2017 - Si Woo Kim (-10)
2016 - Jason Day (-15)
Key Stats to Victory
- SG: Approach/GIR Percentage
- SG: Off-the-Tee/Driving Accuracy
- SG: Around-the-Green/Scrambling
- Par-5 Scoring/Putts per GIR
Champion's Profile
Unlike some of the more recent stops on the PGA Tour, TPC Sawgrass is one of the least predictive courses we go to. There is so much variability that can happen here because of all the trouble that is lurking. If you are a little off, it will only get magnified at this course. You also can play pretty well and just have a bad hole or two, which can completely take you out of contention.
For me I will have a lot of the same keys that I focused on a week ago at Bay Hill. You need to drive it in the fairway, control your distances on approach and be tidy around the greens. The rough has become more penal recently at TPC Sawgrass, so the more holes you can keep it in the short grass the better. That goes both off the tee and approaching the greens. It just will make what happens the next shot a lot more predictable.
These greens also will run a lot smoother than they did a week ago at Bay Hill where it was so glassy players had to just hit it and hope if they were above the hole. You'll see more mid-range putts holed and fewer three-putts for sure. Much like a week ago, the par-3s will play quite challenging, but the par-5s are where you can capitalize. All four of them can be reached in two shots by most players, but you need to put it in the right spot to have the best chance at birdie.
FanDuel Value Picks
The Chalk
Scottie Scheffler ($14,000)
The hope is this narrative around the slow starts and the fact that Scheffler is 88th in SG: Approach, leads to many fading the World No. 1 in favor of some cheaper options. The fact is Scheffler is just finding a way to gain his strokes in different areas. He's second in SG: Off-the-Tee, seventh in SG: Around-the-Green and 29th in SG: Putting. While Scheffler isn't putting it as close to the hole as he would like, he is still top 10 on Tour in GIR percentage. The two-time Players champion has been a little off of late yes, but he's also fully capable of putting all together and dominating again at any point. Fade Scheffler at your own risk at TPC Sawgrass.
Collin Morikawa ($12,600)
Morikawa has now gained strokes across the board in three straight events. It's no surprise his finishes are 1st-T7-5th over that stretch, and all three of those were Signature Events. Morikawa ranks highly in some of the key stats I'll be looking for this week like driving accuracy (9th), SG: Approach (5th), proximity (22nd) and par-5 scoring. He's been solid at TPC Sawgrass with a pair of top-15s in his last three starts.
Cameron Young ($11,500)
Young is coming off one of the best driving weeks of his career. He ranked first in SG: Off-the-Tee, first in driving accuracy and second in driving distance. Young also hit 75 percent of the greens in regulation at Bay Hill, the second-best mark in the field. If he is able to do that again at TPC Sawgrass, look out especially considering how he can heat up with the putter. Young also has a recent T7 finish at Riviera.
Si Woo Kim ($11,100)
I mentioned that TPC Sawgrass is one of the hardest courses to predict on Tour, so I feel quite comfortable taking a player like Kim this week. The 30-year-old has missed just one cut in this event to go along with a trio of top-10s, including a win in 2017. Kim has been on fire so far in 2026 with five top-15 finishes, including last week at Bay Hill. He has such great control of his ball ranking fourth in driving accuracy, second in SG: Approach and first in proximity.
The Middle Tier
Min Woo Lee ($10,000)
Lee is slowly entering the conversation among golf's elite. After a T6 at Bay Hill he now owns eight top-15 finishes in his last 11 starts worldwide. The ball striking has taken some major strides, and the short game and putting remain huge weapons. Lee ranks top 15 this season on the PGA Tour in total driving, SG: Around-the-Green, SG: Tee-to-Green, putts per GIR and par-5 scoring. He's never missed a cut at TPC Sawgrass and has a pair of top-20 finishes the last three years.
Sepp Straka ($9,900)
Straka posted a T13 at the API, which probably should have been better had it not been for a poor showing on Sunday. That was still his third top 20 in his last four starts. Straka also three finishes of T16 or better in his last four starts at TPC Sawgrass. Straka plays well at this course because it fits his strengths. He puts the ball in the fairway and is a great iron player. If he catches a hot putter like we've seen on multiple occasions the last couple years he is fully capable of winning here.
Kurt Kitayama ($9,400)
Another week another masterful ball-striking performance from Kitayama. This is now makes it 6-for-6 this season in gaining strokes both off the tee and on approach. Kitayama has also gained strokes on the greens the last four events. He now ranks top 25 on Tour in SG: Off-the-Tee, SG: Approach, total driving and scrambling. That control should help him at TPC Sawgrass where he placed T19 in 2024.
Sahith Theegala ($9,200)
One of the better stories of 2026 has been how Theegala has been able to bounce back after a disastrous season. It goes to show you what a little time off and getting back to full health can do. Theegala looks like the guy we saw in 2024 when he racked up 10 top-10 finishes. The 28-year-old has made all seven cuts this year with five top-25 results. Theegala was eighth last week in SG: Approach and ranks top 20 on Tour this season in SG: Around-the-Green, scrambling, putts per GIR and par-5 scoring. He finished T9 at TPC Sawgrass in 2024.
The Long Shots
Corey Conners ($8,700)
Conners has been close to playing some good golf this season, but he just needs the putter to cooperate. The good news is that he is going to a place where he has gained strokes on the greens in four of his last five starts. Three of those starts were also top-15 finishes, including each of the last two years at TPC Sawgrass. This is a great price considering how strong Conners is at finding fairways and greens.
Ryan Fox ($8,100)
Fox might not might be my ideal build for a golfer at TPC Sawgrass, but you can't argue with how he has been playing. Fox finished top-25 in his last four starts, and hasn't missed a cut anywhere since last year's Wyndham Championship. He has also gained strokes off the tee, on approach and around the green in four straight. Fox has a pair of top-30 finishes in the last three years at THE PLAYERS where he has putted very well.
Ryo Hisatsune ($8,100)
Hisatsune may have finished outside the top 10 the last two events after posting three such finishes in a row on the West Coast, but he is still hitting the ball extremely well. The 23-year-old is 10th in SG: Tee-to-Green, 17th in driving accuracy, 22nd in GIR percentage and 34th in proximity on the PGA Tour. Hisatsune has also gained strokes around the greens in six of his seven starts in 2026. If he can get the putter warmed up again he should be in the mix on the weekend at TPC Sawgrass.
Patrick Rodgers ($7,700)
Rodgers has perhaps one of the worst course history's I have ever seen. He's missed the cut eight times in nine tries at THE PLAYERS, but if ever there was going to be a venue you could completely turn it around at it would be this one. Rodgers has historically never been a great iron player, which is a big reason why he's gotten in trouble around this place, but this season that has not been the case. Rodgers sits 54th in SG: Approach having gained in five of seven starts. Rodgers has still yet to miss a cut in 2026 and is playing better than every other golfer in the $7K range.
Strategy Tips This Week
Based on a Standard $60K Salary Cap
This is the best field we have seen all year. That combined with the unpredictability for TPC Sawgrass makes this a very tough week to call. The best bet is to lean on traits. Most of the players listed above are driving it very well, gaining a lot of strokes on approach, being sharp around the greens or some combination of the three. They have also all been consistently reliable this season. That means a lot at what will be a difficult cut to make. It'll be a hard week to go 6-for-6, but trusting in the right traits is all we can do when trying to handicap an exceptionally talented field of players to put in our lineups. The good news is that there is strong value all over the board.
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