Whether you buy the “fifth major” hype for THE PLAYERS Championship or not, there’s no denying the prestige of this week’s PGA TOUR stop at TPC Sawgrass. It’s a great field on a great course with great history, and of course, DraftKings Sportsbook has some great ways to get involved. One of my personal favorite ways to get in on the action is with some 3-ball picks, so let’s take a look at my Golf Best Bets for THE PLAYERS Championship from the tournament trios on the board this week.
If you’re not familiar with the 3-ball matchups, let’s quickly review the ground rules. In the matchup section of the tournament page, there are seven Tournament Trios that match up three players head-to-head for the duration of the tournament. I find 3-balls to be a perfect balance of risk and reward. They are a great way to get plus odds but still have a manageable matchup to attack.
Last week at the API, I hit on two of my three picks for the second straight week, getting wins from Jason Day and Corey Conners after a great weekend and came just short of a clean sweep since Ludvig Aberg lost to Tommy Fleetwood. Since 3-balls are always more than +150, hitting two of three is a very successful week. Let’s keep it rolling this week!
Looking at this week’s 3-balls, here are my three golf best bets:
Shane Lowry (+140)
Lowry is a strong favorite in this group, but because it’s a trio he’s still at plus-money. He’s matched up with Sungjae Im (+190) and one of my personal favorites Keegan Bradley (+190). Lowry has been playing the best of this bunch by far, and he has a strong track record at TPC Sawgrass.
Let’s start with form–Lowry finished runner-up at Pebble Beach in a Signature Event, T11 two weeks ago at PGA National, and then fell just short last week and finished solo seventh at Bay Hill. Im finished T19 last week but had missed the cut in his three previous events. He may be turning things around, but isn’t in great form yet. Bradley just about matches Lowry’s form with a T5 last week and three top-20’s from earlier in the year.
However, the reason I’m going with Lowry over Bradley is course history. Keegan has missed the cut the last two years at TPC Sawgrass after two top-10 finishes in his first four tournaments. Lowry, on the other hand, has made the cut in four straight years since the event was canceled in 2020 and posted three top-20 finishes in those four years.
Bradley has form, Im has history, but Lowry brings a great blend of both and comes in playing very well to what I think will be another strong week for the Irishman, which seems appropriate with St. Patrick’s Day on Monday.
Jason Day (+165)
Another Day play; another dollar pay (we hope). Day takes on Si Woo Kim (+165) and Aaron Rai (+180) this week after getting me a win last week over Wyndham Clark and J.J. Spaun.
Day has been very consistent this season, posting three top-15 finishes in his last five events, including last week when he finished T8 at Bay Hill. He struggled in the Final Round but ranked still fifth in Strokes Gained: Putting for the week. Over the last 20 rounds, he ranks in the 15 in Total Strokes Gained and has the kind of well-balanced game it takes to succeed at TPC Sawgrass.
In his 14 trips to TPC Sawgrass, he has six top-25 finishes and four top-10 finishes including his win back in 2016. After that win, Day made the cut in six of his seven appearances (not counting the cancellation) with two more top-10 finishes.
While I’m taking Day, the other two players in this trio are no slouches. Si Woo Kim has made the cut in all nine of his career appearances except for the cancellation and a withdrawal in 2022. He finished T6 last year after a final round 64 and won in 2017. He also has four top-25 finishes in his last four events, so you can see why he’s the co-favorite with Day.
Don’t get too focused on those two players though, since Aaron Rai also has the ball-striking prowess to succeed at Sawgrass. He posted T19 and T35 in his two previous career appearances and finished T11 last week at Bay Hill, giving him some nice momentum.
Day is my pick of these three, but this should be a thrilling threesome to track all week long.
Min Woo Lee (+180)
Min Woo Lee goes up against Sam Burns (+165) and Adam Scott (+180) in this Tournament Trio. Lee performed well for me in my golf best bets earlier this season and will look to bounce back from his first down week in a while as he takes on TPC Sawgrass.
Lee missed the cut last week, which may be why his odds are longer this week. He opened with a 78 at Bay Hill and couldn’t climb back over the cut line on Friday. He had been on a good roll before that with three top-20 finishes in four PGA TOUR events this season, including a T11 at the Cognizant Classic at PGA National.
Historically, Lee does well in Florida and especially at THE PLAYERS, where he made the cut in both his appearances, highlighted by a T6 in 2023 when he was right in the mix before fading with a 76 in the Final Round.
Burns made the cut in all seven of his 2025 tournaments and finished T48 in his first Florida event of the year. Similarly, he finished T45 last year at this event and did make the cut in each of the last three years at Sawgrass.
Scott has also been consistent this year, with five made cuts in five events, although he has only cracked the top 35 twice. He is the only previous champion in this group, but that victory came 21 years ago in 2004. He made the cut in 19 of his 23 appearances with an impressive 10 top-25 finishes. However, he finished T45, 71, MC and T48 in the last four years since the cancellation in 2020.
While both Scott and Burns are steady, they haven’t shown the high ceiling that Min Woo Lee offers. Especially where he has had success, I expect the 26-year-old Lee to bounce back and put up a high finish this week.
