Inform your Players Championship predictions with insight from Pinnacle odds and analysis.
Dates: March 10-13, 2022
Venue: TPC Sawgrass, Florida, USA
Defending champion: Justin Thomas
Bet: The Players Championship odds
The Players Championship Odds
The tournament often described as the ‘unofficial fifth major’ takes place this week, with the world’s top golfers heading to TPC Sawgrass.
Justin Thomas will look to defend the title he won 12 months ago, something nobody has been able to do since the tournament began back in 1974. World number one Jon Rahm is at the top of the betting at 14.000*, while Open champion Collin Morikawa is also at the head of the outright market at 15.990*.
Rory McIlroy, who finished T13 at last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, won this tournament in 2019 and can be backed at 25.190*.
Meanwhile, Scottie Scheffler is looking for his third PGA Tour victory in 2022 and is available at 26.000* to claim a victory at Sawgrass.
The Players Championship Course
A course designed by the legendary Pete Dye, Sawgrass has hosted the tournament since 1977 and the Stadium Course is 7,245 yards in length. The par 72 Florida course has a course rating of 76.4 and the course record score is 63 – jointly held by nine players, including Hideki Matsuyama, Brooks Koepka, Martin Kaymer, and Fred Couples.
The signature hole is the 137-yard 17th hole, simply known as ‘Island Green’. Most pros only need a pitching wedge but with the slopping green in the middle of a lagoon, there are plenty of balls that end up in the water.
The Players Championship News
World number 12 Bryson DeChambeau has been forced to withdraw from this year’s Players Championship due to injury. The 28-year-old has been hampered by wrist and hip problems and has only made three starts on the Tour since the start of the year.
DeChambeau’s last appearance was at the Saudi International in early February, but the 2020 US Open champion withdrew after the first round of that event. Harris English and Phil Mickelson – who won this title 2007 – will also miss out on this year’s tournament, but 48 of the top 50 stars will be teeing up.
The Players Championship Predictions
Just three of the last seven Players Championship winners have been Americans, with two European, one Korean, and one Australian victory since 2014. There are plenty of European names towards the top of the betting and Viktor Hovland is certainly one to consider when selecting a potential winner this week.
The Norwegian won two events at the end of 2021 and has finished T4 and T2 in his last two tournaments, a run which has seen him move up to third in the world rankings. Hovland missed the cut in his first appearance at Sawgrass last year, but the 24-year-old has stepped up a level since his Ryder Cup experience and could go close this week.
Another European to consider at a bigger price is Shane Lowry, with the Irishman looking to build on his second place finish at the Honda Classic last month. Lowry finished T8 at Sawgrass last year – five shots behind the winner – which could have been different but for a frustrating second round 74.
Talor Gooch is one player that could provide a home winner, with the man from Oklahoma in good form going into this week’s event. A top-seven finish at Bay Hill last week has set Gooch up well for another good Florida tournament, especially when you consider how he did at Sawgrass in 2021.
The 30-year-old, who is now in the top 40 in the world and fourth in the FedEx rankings, finished T5 at last year’s Players Championship and confidence in his game is at a high.
Do you think one of the favourites will win The Players Championship? Get the latest golf odds on the The Players Championship with Pinnacle.