Players Championship Odds: Can anyone knock Scheffler off the mantle?

The PGA Tour’s Flagship Event – the Players Championship – tees off tomorrow at TPC Sawgrass, without the deep field that we’ve seen in the past. That includes Tiger Woods – who is skipping the event, not giving a reason. Woods is likely taking extra precautions so he can play in next month’s Masters.

As has been the case since the Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf Tour came into existence in 2022, much of the discussion this week has been about the business of golf, away from the tee boxes and greens. PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan held a news conference yesterday telling people that negotiations with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund are “accelerating”, according to ESPN, we are assuming towards an amalgamation of both tours in some way.

The best player on the PGA Tour, Scottie Scheffler, also had some things to say about LIV and big-name golfers that bolted the PGA Tour for the Saudi money – players like Phil Mickelson, Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson, and Brooks Koepka. Scheffler said if fans are upset that the big names in the sport are not playing tomorrow “then look at the guys that left.”

Blame them, basically. Many of those big names will be playing in the Masters, however. 

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Certainly, a watered-down Players Championship works to Scheffler’s advantage. He’s currently the No. 1 ranked golfer in the world, coming off his dominating win last weekend at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Scheffler is the defending champion at the Players. He will begin his defence for the first two rounds paired with fellow Americans Rickie Fowler and Justin Thomas, teeing off tomorrow at 1:40 EST.

Scheffler last weekend led the field in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee (1.274 average) and Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green (0.947 average) and was second in Greens in Regulation (69.44%, 50 greens hit). In the final round Sunday, he led the field in Strokes Gained: Putting (fifth overall). So that’s the level of ball striking and touch on the green that Scheffler is bringing into the Players Championship.

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When looking at sports betting, odds this morning further bolster what most people are thinking – Is anyone in the PGA field capable of knocking Scheffler off the mantle?

As Rory McIlroy said, on PGATour.com: “Scheffler’s ball striking is, honestly, on another level compared to everyone else right now. We knew if he started to hole putts, then this sort of stuff would happen.”

Here are how the odds for Players Championship tournament winner at BetMGM are looking this morning:

• Scottie Scheffler 6.50
• Rory McIlroy 17.00
• Justin Thomas 23.00
• Xander Schauffele 23.00
• Patrick Cantlay 26.00
• Viktor Hovland 26.00
• Will Zalatoris 26.00
• Collin Morikawa 29.00
• Max Homa 29.00
• Hideki Matsuyama 34.00

And over at FanDuel, it’s much the same thing:

• Scottie Scheffler 6.50
• Rory McIlroy 13.00
• Xander Schauffele 21.00
• Justin Thomas 26.00
• Max Homa 26.00
• Viktor Hovland 26.00
• Patrick Cantlay 29.00
• Collin Morikawa 31.00
• Will Zalatoris 34.00
• Jordan Spieth 36.00

McIlroy hasn’t finished in the Top 20 in four PGA Tour starts this season and is far down the list in Strokes Gained: Approach, Around the Green and Putting. He pointed to iron play as being his primary weak spot so far this season. TPC Sawgrass demands precision when you approach the greens.

Not surprisingly, then, with the gap between Scheffler and the other PGA players, sportsbooks are reporting on the Scheffler dominance on the betting front. 

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According to BetMGM, the biggest line movement today sees McIlroy go from 15.00 to 17.00. Scheffler is generating the highest ticket percentage (15.4%), followed by McIlroy (6.9%) and Thomas (6.8%).

Scheffler is generating the highest handle percentage (23.7%), followed by McIlroy (8.0%) and Thomas (7.4%). Biggest liabilities are Scheffler, Thomas and Zalatoris.

At DraftKings, most bet golfers for the Players tournament winner are Scheffler (6.50), Zalatoris (31.00), Thomas (23.00), Hovland (23.00) and McIlroy (13.00), in that order. In terms of Top 5, it’s Scheffler (2.40), Zalatoris (7.50), McIlroy (4.20), Thomas (6.00), and Russell Henley (9.50).

Corey Connors has the shortest betting odds among the Canadians at BetMGM to win the tournament, at 56.00.