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Posted Wed, May 10 at 12:00 PM EST 

Cutoff time to place bets is THURSDAY at 7:10 AM EST at Pinnacle and 6:50 AM EST at Bet365

The Player's Championship

Few non-majors get the adrenaline pumping quite like THE PLAYERS Championship. It has the prestige of being a long-serving PGA TOUR event – over 25 years and serves up a massive prize pool to boot. It is the lure of taming the legendary TPC Sawgrass against an elite field that must surely drive on the players at the upper echelons of the game. The last three winners here are either major champions or, you suspect, one day major winners and that brings with it its own level of intrigue. Once again the iconic status of THE PLAYERS Championship has brought together an outstanding field. You won’t find many players in the world’s top 50 that haven’t made the trip and that brings with it plenty of intriguing options and narratives.

What superlatives can be bestowed upon TPC Sawgrass that haven’t already been given? It all began in the 1970s when then PGA TOUR commissioner Deane Beman wanted a permanent home for THE PLAYERS Championship and Pete Dye was tasked with constructing a course with the specific aim of devising a stretch that a) didn’t favor a single style of play, and b) requires players to play a variety of shots. From those blueprints, TPC Sawgrass was born. Today, TPC Sawgrass is a 7,215 yard stretch that remains steadfast to Beman’s original vision. Bombers have no advantage here and instead it is those who are accurate off the tee – and can navigate their way from fairway to green in a creative and precise way, who tend to prosper. The greens are minuscule by PGA TOUR standards, and approximately half the holes are wood or iron off the tee. Hitting tons of dancefloors and putting well on speedy surfaces is a must this week.

This is a tough field but once again, we’re not interested in any golfer under 30-1 because there are too many others that are higher and that have a great chance to be on the first page of the leaderboard on Sunday. We’re seeing logjams at the top quite frequently so once again, we’re hoping that one or more of our choices will be close on Sunday with a chance to win it.

Unless otherwise stated, the following bets to win outright will be placed at Bet365 because of their cash-out option during the event. Unless otherwise stated, the head-to-head match-ups will be bet at Pinnacle 

To win outright plus head-to-head matchups:

Martin Kaymer +66-1

The general consensus is that Kaymer is slowly returning to the kind of form that saw him become a two-time major champion, and on a course he has triumphed on before, the good vibes should keep on coming this week. The German won this event in 2014, and that’s no major surprise given that he is one of the best players around from about 150 yards to the hole. Stick a short iron or wedge in Kaymer’s hands and watch the magic unfold. His form is easy to like too. Ignoring the WGC Match Play, Kaymer has gone six-for-six this term with four top-25s in among those and a T32 last time out at RBC Heritage was rather spoiled by a third round of 74. One of the most accurate drivers around, Kaymer also scrambles really well and at his best, putts rather nicely too. He’s a contender this week that figures to give us a solid run for our money (risking 0.2 units to 13.2 units)

Head to head matchup:

#7050 M. Kaymer -126 over K Chappell (Risking 1.26 units to win 1).

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Wesley Bryan 125-1

This will be Wes Bryan’s first look at TPC Sawgrass as a PGA TOUR pro, and hence why both DFS sites and the sportsbooks are quite skeptical about his chances but what’s not to like? The RBC Heritage champion has a fantastic short game – his knack of getting up and down from around the 150-yard mark is outstanding – and that skill set should stand him in very good stead here. His form since February onwards has been outstanding too with four top-10s in eight starts confirming that Bryan is a cut above the rest of the most recent Web.com graduates. Actually, whisper it, but Bryan could well be a major contender one day at a US Open or PGA Championship. A missed cut at Wells Fargo is something of a worry, although the 27-year-old has already confirmed his love of Pete Dye designs so this test should suit him much better. Major overlay here that should be bet and should also be included in your DFS entries.

Head to head matchup:

#7085 W. Bryan +101 over R. Fisher (Risking 1 unit to win 1.01)

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Russell Knox 100-1

While the numbers don’t always stack up, Knox is one of the finest players on the planet on short courses – anything under 7,300 yards is where he comes alive. That’s proven by his best results this season: third in the OHL Classic at Mayakoba, T10 at the CIMB Classic, and T11 at Harbour Town. It’s also easy to forget that Knox won twice on the PGA TOUR last season and finished second twice; further evidence that the Scot can get in the mix. Accurate off the tee and a decent green hitter, Knox has all the tools to win this week and that proven championship form puts him in a better place than many above him in the betting. Coming from Inverness, the windy conditions in Florida certainly won’t faze him and could actually be the catalyst for a return to form. Another big overlay because of the strong field, Knox ranks 10th ON TOUR in Driving Accuracy, 36th in Greens in Regulation and 17th in Birdie Average (risking 0.2 units to win 20)

Head to head matchup:

#7077 R. Knox -107 over S. Lowry (Risking 1.07 units to win 1) 

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Adam Hadwin 90-1

Hadwin has no real form in this event to speak of – a best of T39 a year ago tells us that, but that was before the Canadian announced himself to world golf with a leap into the winners’ circle at the Valspar Championship. Since that maiden victory his form has held up reasonably well: T6 at the Arnold Palmer and T22 at the RBC Heritage suggesting that Hadwin is much more than a flash in the pan. Excellent off the tee, the 29-year-old is a brilliant putter too and boasts the all-round game to mount a serious challenge at Sawgrass. The dust has settled too after Hadwin won his first event, played in the Masters a week later and went on his honeymoon a week after that. He’s now ready to get back to doing what he does best. Hadwin ranks 32nd ON TOUR in SG (shots gained) putting, 13th in SG Total and 21 st in SG - Approach the Green – 21st

Head to head matchup:

#7072 A. Hadwin -118 over M. Fitzpatrick   (Risking 1.07 units to win 1)

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The TOTAL RISK for this event is 5.20 units and we'll update it when the tournamnet is officially over. 

DAILY FANTASY

We started this feature last week to give DFS players some guidance into making selections. We always like to pick one top-tier player or “horse” to use and last week’s top-tier choice was Dustin Johnson. This week we’re choosing Rory McIlroy as our horse, Often it’s easy to overlook McIlroy in big contests like this in favor of more ‘zeitgeist’ players such as Dustin Johnson or Hideki Matsuyama, but what the Irishman guarantees is an excellent run for your money. He’s played in four strokeplay events this season and finished top-10 in all of them: two T4s at the WGC HSBC Champions and Arnold Palmer Invitational, plus a pair of T7s at the WGC Mexico and The Masters. Since the latter, he has gotten married and we can presume that McIlroy is happy in his home life at the moment and that can translate to excellence out on the course. Most pleasing is his form at TPC Sawgrass, with a string of 12-8-6-8 in the past four years, which you will struggle to see equalled in terms of consistency. That T12 last year came despite his SG: Putting stat reading -0.914; if he had putted better in conjunction with his SG: Tee-to-Green of +3.153, clearly he would have gone very close to besting Jason Day. McIlroy played some great golf at times at Augusta in his last start, and with so many other boxes ticked this week, he has to be our main pick for DFS glory.

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Wagers LOST:

4 golfers to win outright at 0.2 units each = -0.8 units

M. Kaymer -126 over K Chappell (Risking 1.26 units to win 1) = -1.26

Wagers WON

W. Bryan +101 over R. Fisher (Risking 1 unit to win 1.01) = +1.01 units

#7072 A. Hadwin -118 over M. Fitzpatrick (Risking 1.07 units to win 1) + +1 unit

#7077 R. Knox -107 over S. Lowry (Risking 1.07 units to win 1) + +1 unit

Therefore:

3.01 units - 2.06 units = a net profit of 0.95 units

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