The PGA TOUR heads to TPC Sawgrass (par 72, 7,352 yards, Bermuda/POA greens) in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, for THE PLAYERS Championship this week. This is the largest purse of the season at $25 million and there will be 144 golfers competing. After the first two rounds, there will be a top-65 and ties cut.
Below, I have featured some finishing position bets to consider for THE PLAYERS Championship.
Xander Schauffele for a Top-20 finish including ties (+105)
Very rarely is Schauffele going to carry plus money odds to finish inside the top-20 and he needs to be attacked at this +105 price on DraftKings Sportsbook. The No. 3 ranked player in the world has been dealing with a rib injury, but Schauffele just made his return from a two-month absence last week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and posted a T-40 finish. While it is underwhelming by his standards, Schauffele closed the event on a strong note. The 31-year-old posted a 3-under 69 on Sunday and he gained strokes across the board in that closing round.
Looking to build off this, Schauffele now heads to TPC Sawgrass, where he finished runner-up to Scottie Scheffler last year. Not only did Schauffele almost win at TPC Sawgrass last season, he also finished runner-up in his debut at the track in 2018. Schauffele has finished inside the top-20 in three of his six starts at TPC Sawgrass and he ranks fifth in strokes gained per round at the course among the players in this week’s field that have teed it up more than once at TPC Sawgrass.
Schauffele is a two-time major champion and gold medalist winner that has always had a knack for playing his best golf in the strongest of fields. With all of the best players on the PGA TOUR competing for the largest prize of the season at TPC Sawgrass this week, Schauffele should rise to the occasion and finish inside the top-20.
Joel Dahmen for a Top-40 finish (+150)
Dahmen has handled the difficult conditions of TPC Sawgrass very well throughout his career. The bucket hat-wearing veteran has finished inside the top-40 in three of his five starts at the Florida venue, including a T-12 in 2019 and a T-11 last year. Among the players in this week’s field that have competed at TPC Sawgrass more than once, Dahmen ranks eighth in strokes per round, which is very impressive considering this is one of the strongest fields of the season.
Dahmen now returns to TPC Sawgrass playing his best golf in quite some time. The 37-year-old has finished T-9, MC, T-6 and T-32 in his last four starts while gaining strokes on approach at all these events. Dahmen ranks 12th in SG APP this season and if he can find some life with his putter to combine with his excellent ball striking, Dahmen has a great chance to finish in the top-40 this weekend. In his last eight starts in Florida, Dahmen has made seven cuts and produced five top-40 finishes.
