The Americans love the idea of a ‘three-peat’ – so they are getting very excited at the possibility of Scottie Scheffler making it three in a row at the Players Championship
That obviously depends on the world No 1 rediscovering last year’s sparkle, and there was little sign of that happening at Bay Hill last week.
Scheffler, the 5-1 favourite this week, finished in a tie for eleventh – not too shabby – but his woeful performance with the putter did little to inspire confidence.
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Players Championship betting tips
Second favourite Rory McIlroy is not a big fan of Sawgrass, so this could be a good week to avoid both of the Big Two – and the list of players who could step up is headed by Justin Thomas.
Thomas is looking much more like the player who won two USPGA titles despite a pretty mediocre performance at the Arnold Palmer Invitational last week.
I’m willing to overlook that, as Bay Hill is not a course that Thomas has looked comfortable on in the past. But you cannot say the same thing about Sawgrass.
Thomas won here in 2021, and also has a share of third among some close calls here. So at 25-1, he looks to be the best value among those near the top of the market.
Shane Lowry looked like doing us a favour at similar odds when he led after 36 holes at Bay Hill, before slipping back to finish solo seventh.
He still rewarded each way support, and could do the same thing this week, at around 40-1.
The Irishman has clocked up three top 20s here in the last four years without really threatening the leaders – but in his current mood he should take a step forward.
The Players looks wide open this year, so it could also be worth taking a chance with a couple of longshots. And one who makes plenty of appeal is in-form Englishman Aaron Rai, who is 66-1 with some bookies.
The Wolverhampton golfer now lives across the road from Sawgrass, and plays a ton of practice rounds here. So he knows the course better than a lot of the home golfers.
Rai has been easing his way back towards the sort of form that brought him his breakthrough PGA Tour victory at the Wyndham Championship last year, finishing fourth in Mexico and matching Scheffler’s 11th place at Bay Hill.
Another 66-1 shot, Robert MacIntyre also finished in the logjam for 11th place last week. Even though he missed the cut at Sawgrass last year, he is another player whose game looks well suited to this course
It is hard to make a case for most of the players at three figure odds – but Cameron Young WILL put four good rounds together soon. At 150-1, or better, he could be worth a small interest.
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There is no event on the DP World Tour this week. But the LIV circus pitches up in Singapore, with Jon Rahm inevitably leading the market, at around 7-1.
But the hottest LIV players at the moment are Joaquin Niemann and Tyrrell Hatton – and slight preference is for 9-1 shot Hatton
The English ace finished a shot ahead of Niemann last year in fifth place. That was his first look at the course, and he should be a few shots better this time.
Brooks Koepka won here a year ago, and 16-1 about him bouncing back to form is not to be sniffed at.
Sebastian Munoz looked like a player who would be winning before long when he finished joint runner-up – with Rahm – behind Adrian Meronk in Saudi Arabia. At 28-1, the Colombian golfer looks the each way pick.
And Sam Horsfield has shown enough glimpses of form to suggest he could be worth a small stake at 100-1.
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