Golf
The Players Championship 2025 Preview – Odds, Tips & Predictions
The waiting is nearly over! On Thursday, March 14, one of the most iconic events on the PGA Tour will be staged – The Players Championship. Held at the picturesque TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, the field will be vying for a title that is often described as the game’s fifth unofficial Major. Sportsboom.com is in the know for online golf betting, and we have shared value odds from the best golf bookmakers to guide our golf tournament preview.
Scottie Scheffler of the United States//Getty Images
Tournament Preview
One of the most storied tournaments on the PGA Tour, The Players Championship will help the field fine-tune their preparations for the first major of the season – the Masters - which is only a few weeks away.
The Peter-Dye-designed course underwent a renovation in 2016, and in 2023, a fresh tee box was placed on the par-5 ninth hole, stretching the yardage past the 600 mark.
A par-72 course (7,352 yards), the 17th at TPC Sawgrass, a par-3, is the most famous. It has seen numerous aces over the years, and it has always created lots of excitement. The pin looks like it is on a mini island as it is flanked by water, but it is arguably one of the most daunting holes on the PGA Tour.
Last weekend saw Russell Henley clinch his first win as he scooped the Arnold Palmer Invitational. In the next section, we have assessed the pre-tournament odds.
Pre-Tournament Odds and Win Availability
Excitement always ramps up for The Players Championship, especially among the best golf betting sites.
If you like to stay in the loop with online betting sites, make sure to check out the odds that have been plugged by our recommended partners.
Apart from supplying odds and golf betting tips, these operators will also have plenty of inviting golf betting offers that punters can unlock to enhance their wagering experience.
The prices that are available will give a clear indicator of the mood of the bookies heading into TPC Sawgrass. If you’re new to golf betting, this is the perfect time to explore the free signup bonus offers available at various sportsbooks.
- Scottie Scheffler – 9/2 (5.50) – 18.2%
- Rory McIlroy – 17/2 (9.50) – 10.5%
- Odds courtesy of Betway, subject to change
Key Player Updates
Form is everything in golf, although some players go through more lean spells than others. However, golf betting odds only tell part of the story.
Before any given tournament, it’s always worth carrying out research and diving into the stats to see how players are faring with their short games and driving. We have run through some of the most important numbers and presented them in a table, which in turn, could help with executing your golf betting strategies.
Key Player Updates
| Attribute | Scottie Scheffler | Rory McIlroy | Hideki Matsuyama |
| Age | 28 | 35 | 33 |
| World Ranking | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| Recent Wins | Hero World Challenge | AT&T Pebble Beach | The Sentry |
| Driving Accuracy | 57.14% | 56.25% | 51.76% |
| Greens in Regulation | 69.91% | 70.83% | 68.06% |
| Putting Average | 1.695 | 1.716 | 1.731 |
Contender News
To influence your golf tournament predictions, we have shone the light on three contenders that travel well this week.
Scottie Scheffler
Who else? We’re fast running out of superlatives to describe Scottie Scheffler. Yes, he may be searching for his first win of the campaign, and he faded on Sunday to finish T11 at Bay Hill, but the American is ready and lurking.
Last year, the World No.1 fired a scintillating round of 64 to become back-to-back champion at TPC Sawgrass, and he was the first player in 50 years to lift the title two years on the trot.
A victory at The Players Championship would give Scheffler a springboard, but trying to achieve a three-peat is notoriously tough in any tournament.
Rory McIlroy
At times, Rory McIlroy is the nearly man of golf. That is despite the fact he has accumulated 27 PGA Tour titles and counting during an amazing career.
The Ulsterman will have taken some positives from his Arnie Palmer Invitational outing, but he needs to get his putter firing if he’s going to be in the mix come Sunday.
Yes, McIlroy won at AT&T Pebble Beach, and a second triumph at The Players Championship would mean the world to him. The best betting sites for golf will always carry shortish odds for McIlroy, and it would be a mistake to overlook him.
Hideki Matsuyama
With one win already safely stowed away at the start of 2025, Hideki Matsuyama hasn’t missed a cut from any of his six events, and he’s often been hovering around the top 20.
He has one of the most measured drives in the game, but perhaps he has paid the price at times for slow starts. A 74 in the opening round at the Genesis Invitational underlined this.
However, the Japanese star can turn on the style, and golf betting sportsbooks have taken a shine to him over the years.
Suggested Bets
Shane Lowry to finish in the top 10: The popular Irishman has found his groove over the past few weeks, and last weekend, he came home in T7 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. A final round of 70 steadied the ship after a dismal round of 76 on the Saturday. Most facets of his game are in good working order, and we think a top-10 finish is a solid shout. (15/4 with Betway)
Tommy Fleetwood to be the top Englishman: We’re waiting for things to take off for Tommy Fleetwood this term. Spoken of as a potential major champion for some time, Fleetwood has been solid and not spectacular this season. A T11 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational shows he’s heading in the right direction, and his iron play is often spot on. In terms of specials offered by golf bookmakers, Fleetwood to be the highest-placed Englishman is worth exploring further. (19/10 with Stake)
Ludvig Aberg to be the leader after Round 2: Ludvig Aberg invariably catches the eye, and his most recent win came just a few weeks ago at the Genesis Invitational. Some of his performance metrics make for impressive reading, such as Approaches from 200 yards (second), and the Swede could well stake his case after Friday. (20/1 with Sportsbet.io)
Tournament Prediction
Outside of the majors, The Players Championship is the flagship PGA Tour event, and the one that the field would most love to win. Given the way things have panned out on the PGA Tour with all the different, and arguably surprising winners, such as Russell Henley last weekend, there are no guarantees.
Scheffler would seem the obvious choice given his pedigree, and he is chasing a place in the history books. That said, golf doesn’t always pan out in the way you might hope, and the American could fall just short.
Matsuyama, however, has played himself into form over the past weeks, and he’s always box office viewing. The Japanese star’s game appears to be well suited for TPC Sawgrass, and he previously held the joint record for the lowest round shot (63 in 2020) which was then broken a few years later by Tom Hoge. He’s our pick to land the title this weekend.
Charles Perrin is a highly experienced sports betting content writer with over six years of working with some of the leading sportsbooks in the UK, including bet365 and William Hill.
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