Ahead of the Players Championship this weekend, we've previewed the PGA Tour's unofficial "fifth major" as the world’s leading players compete for glory as well as a $25million purse, of which the winner will receive $4.5m at Sawgrass Golf Course in Florida.
Tournament Details
Tournament Details
Tournament details: The Players Championship, Mar 12-15
Course: TPC Sawgrass, Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
Par: 72
Yardage: 7352
Defending Champion: Rory McIlroy
Purse : $4.5m.
Betting Odds
2026 Player's Championship Winner Odds
Player | Odds |
|---|---|
Scottie Scheffler | 4/1 |
Rory Mcllroy | 14/1 |
Colin Morikawa | 14/1 |
Ludvig Aberg | 16/1 |
Bar | 18/1 |
Rory Mcllroy
Can ailing McIlroy go back-to-back?
Rory McIlroy will hope the back issue that forced him out of the Arnold Palmer Invitational will not derail his Players Championship title defence as he bids to become only the second three-time winner of the prestigious event. The world number two dropped out just ahead of his third round at Bay Hill on Saturday after suffering spasms in his lower back while warming up.
McIlroy , who was four under after an impressive 68 on Friday, had only withdrawn midway through a PGA tournament once before - pulling out of the 2013 Cognizant Classic due to wisdom teeth pain - and he is fighting to be fit to take his place at Sawgrass , where he remains second-favourite for victory but has seen his odds drift to 12/1.The five-time major winner has delayed his arrival in Ponte Vedra Beach until Wednesday as he continues to receive treatment on a “stubborn” injury, and it remains to be seen how he will fare.
Should he successfully defend his crown, the Northern Irishman will join Jack Nicklaus as the only man to win three Players Championships although world number one Scottie Scheffler is chasing the same goal.
Scottie Scheffler
Scheffler yet to hit top gear
Scheffler was champion here in 2023 and 2024 and is favourite with BOYLE Sports to take the honours again in north Florida @ 4/1. The US superstar has had a mixed season so far, winning his 20th PGA Tour title at The American Express but also being hamstrung by a string of slow starts in tournaments, including last time out.
The 29-year-old ended up having to settle for a share of 24th place at the Arnold Palmer Invitational after failing to break 70 in any of his rounds - the first time he has done so since last year’s US Open - as he finished 13 shots adrift of winner Akshay Bhatia .
The Chasing Pack
Morikawa odds trimmed as top two struggle
Rising star Bhatia overturned a five-shot deficit on the final day to beat fellow American Daniel Berger in a play-off to win his third PGA Tour title - all of them in play-offs. Victory in the year’s third ‘Signature Event’ saw the 24-year-old climb into the world’s top 20, and he is 33/1 to add the Players to his growing trophy collection next weekend.
Expectant father Collin Morikawa continued his decent start to the season, which saw him end his near-three year winless streak with victory at Pebble Beach in February, with a fifth-placed finish at Bay Hill and his odds of victory this Sunday have been trimmed to 14/1.
Ludvig Aberg has also seen his odds come in to 18/1 - the same as 2017 champion Kim Si-woo of South Korea - while the Swede’s victorious European Ryder Cup team-mates Tommy Fleetwood and Matt Fitzpatrick are 25/1, along with world number three Xander Schauffele.
