For the largest purse of the season at $25 million, the PGA TOUR is hosting THE PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass (par 72, 7,352 yards, Bermuda/POA greens) in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida this week. This is a field of 144 golfers and there will be a standard top-65 and ties cut after the first 36 holes.
Below, I have featured some head-to-head tournament matchup bets to consider for THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP.
Nick Taylor over Davis Thompson (-110)
Taylor being a slight underdog for this matchup truly doesn’t make sense. Thompson has missed two cuts in a row and has finished T68th and MC in his two appearances at TPC Sawgrass. Taylor on the other hand owns a spotless 7-for-7 record in made cuts this season with four top-25 finishes, including a win at the Sony Open. Furthermore, the Canadian has been rock solid at TPC Sawgrass, making 5-of-7 cuts with two top-30 finishes, one of which is a T26 last year.
For the season, Taylor ranks 15th in total strokes gained, while Thompson ranks 91st. When we look specifically at their ball striking, Taylor has been one of the best on the PGA TOUR, ranking sixth in SG APP, while Thompson has been terrible, ranking 143rd of 188 qualifying players.
Taylor should been heavily favorited for this matchup and he is a must-bet to outperform Thompson at these -110 odds on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Rickie Fowler over Akshay Bhatia (+100)
Fowler and his veteran savviness should outlast the 23-year-old Bhatia at TPC Sawgrass. This venue is one of the most challenging courses on the annual PGA TOUR schedule and having a ton of experience at TPC Sawgrass is a big advantage for Fowler in this matchup. At this par 72, the 36-year-old won in 2015 and he finished runner-up in 2012. Overall, Fowler has made 7-of-13 cuts at TPC Sawgrass. Meanwhile, this will only be Bhatia’s second attempt at the venue after he missed the cut in his PLAYERS debut last season.
As for their current form, Bhatia has two top-10 finishes on his resume this season, but he is on the heels of a missed cut at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, in which he missed the weekend by four shots at Bay Hill. Fowler conversely has made eight cuts in a row and his most recent outing is a T18 at the Cognizant Classic, which is played at another difficult Florida venue in PGA National. In the Sunshine State, Fowler has made eight consecutive cuts, while Bhatia has only made two cuts in six career starts.
Fowler and Bhatia carry the same +10000 outright odds to win the PLAYERS Championship on DraftKings Sportsbook, but Fowler is oddly a +100 underdog to win this matchup. There really isn’t much logic to this and attacking Fowler to win this matchup at this +100 price is a no-brainer this week.
