Players Championship 2024: Favorites, Sleepers and Tournament Preview
Since 1974, there have been 49 editions of the Players Championship, an event that has frequently been dubbed the "fifth major tournament." During that time, a lot of different golfers have won the title—42, to be exact.
Will another unique champion emerge at the 2024 tourney (the 50th iteration of the event)? We'll soon find out, as this year's Players Championship will take place this week at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., beginning on Thursday and wrapping up on Sunday.
Only six golfers are a multiple-time winner at the event. Jack Nicklaus won the Players Championship three times, while Fred Couples, Steve Elkington, Hal Sutton, Davis Love III and Tiger Woods have all won twice.
Several golfers will have an opportunity to try to join that exclusive club this weekend.
Here's a breakdown of some participants to keep an eye on at TPC Sawgrass this week.
Players Championship Odds
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Scottie Scheffler: +500 (bet $10 to win $50)
Rory McIlroy: +1200
Xander Schauffele: +2000
Justin Thomas: +2000
Viktor Hovland: +2200
Patrick Cantlay: +2200
Will Zalatoris: +2500
Hideki Matsuyama: +2800
Wyndham Clark: +3000
Sam Burns +3000
Max Homa: +3000
Collin Morikawa: +3000
Ludvig Aberg: +3000
Shane Lowry: +3500
Jordan Spieth: +3500
Tommy Fleetwood: +4000
Jason Day: +4000
Complete odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook
Top Favorites
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Scottie Scheffler (+500)
There's never been a golfer to win the Players Championship in consecutive years. Not even Nicklaus, who won three of the first five editions of the tournament. So Scheffler has an opportunity to make history after winning the 2023 title.
Scheffler, who is at No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking, has played exceptionally well so far in 2024. The 27-year-old is coming off a win at this past weekend's Arnold Palmer Invitational, and he has five top-10 finishes in the six tourneys he's played in this year.
Rory McIlroy (+1200)
McIlroy is another former winner of the Players Championship, as he won the event in 2019. The 34-year-old hasn't fared quite as well at TPC Sawgrass in recent years, missing the cut at this tournament in both 2021 and 2023 and finishing 33rd in 2022.
But McIlroy could get back on track at this year's tourney. Although he hasn't placed higher than 21st in any of his past four tournaments, he's always a candidate to break through with a strong performance at any given time.
Xander Schauffele (+2000)
A strong candidate to win the Players Championship for the first time is Schauffele, who tied for second at the tournament in 2018. The 30-year-old missed the cut at the event in 2019, 2021 and 2022, but he placed 19th last year by shooting a 69 in the third round and a 68 in the final round.
Schauffele has finished in the top 10 at four of the six tournaments he's played in this year. Expect him to keep that momentum going at TPC Sawgrass.
Sleepers to Watch
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Sam Burns (+3000)
Burns doesn't have a ton of past Players Championship experience. He missed the cut in his TPC Sawgrass debut in 2021, then finished 26th and 35th in 2022 and 2023, respectively.
The 27-year-old is playing well of late, though, notching four top-10 finishes in his six tournaments played in 2024. This could be the year that Burns ascends closer to the top of the Players Championship leaderboard.
Ludvig Aberg (+3000)
Nobody knows how Aberg is going to fair this week, because he has never played in a tournament at TPC Sawgrass before. The 24-year-old, who turned pro just last year, is a great sleeper pick for that reason.
Aberg has flashed his potential this year, tying for ninth at the Farmers Insurance Open in January and making the cut at every tournament he's participated in. He could have a strong showing in his Players Championship debut.
Si Woo Kim (+5500)
Kim hasn't finished better than 12th at any tournament this year, but he also hasn't missed any cuts. The 28-year-old is a past Players Championship winner, though, having captured the title in 2017, so he could have his best showing of 2024 thus far this weekend.
After finishing ninth at this tournament in 2021 and 27th in 2023, Kim is poised for another great performance at TPC Sawgrass.
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