2025 Players Championship Odds, Picks, Schedule, How to Watch

The Players Championship is upon is this week, which is hard to believe, as major season is right in front of us. The tournament tees off Thursday morning at the TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

Other than the last two years with Scottie Scheffler running away from the field, this has been a difficult event to handicap. Course history has been extremely volatile for most players, likely because of the water hazards (in play on 17 of the 18 holes) and wave advantages.

This week, I am looking for good total drivers of the ball and elite iron players. It's a bit scary fading Scheffler in the outright market, as he's first in both total driving and strokes gained approach over the last 12 months. He's also looking for his third win here in as many years. However, I don't want to bet a golfer at +400.

Here is a complete breakdown of the 2025 Players Championship odds and picks.

2025 Players Championship Odds

2025 Players Championship Picks

Justin Thomas +2500

I went back and forth between Justin Thomas and Fleetwood for my first bet. Ultimately, I landed on Thomas because he's won 15 times on the PGA Tour, while Fleetwood has never won on this side of the pond.

Thomas was a disappointment last week, but he gained four strokes tee to green. He couldn't make a putt, which is a common issue for the current Florida resident.

He's a former winner of The Players (2021) and has racked up three top-10 finishes in his last seven starts.

His game is trending in the right direction, he obviously knows how to win when he's in contention, and we are getting a solid price at +2500.

Shane Lowry +4000

My first instinct with Shane Lowry is wondering if he can really win a big event like this. But then I remember he won The Open not too long ago.

For whatever reason, he seems to love the Florida Swing. He has elite course history here, at Bay Hill, and at PGA National. He's finished T11 and T7 at the first two Florida stops, gaining nearly 11 strokes tee to green in the process.

He's an accurate driver of the ball, an elite iron player, he's good around the greens, and he's a splash putter (capable of gaining four-plus strokes on the greens).

It's not a surprise that he has three top-20 finishes at this event in the last four years.

Aaron Rai +7500

I like to think of Aaron Rai as Russell Henley Lite. The two have very similar games. They are very accurate off the tee and two of the best iron players on the PGA Tour.

The main difference is the short game. While Rai isn't bad on and around the greens, he's not as good as Henley. I bring this up because we just saw Henley win at Bay Hill in a stacked field.

With high wind expected on Saturday and Sunday of The Players, it wouldn't shock me to see more of a long-shot win this year. Rai recently won the Wyndham Championship and is coming off of T11 and T4 finishes in his last two starts.

Nick Taylor +12000

Nick Taylor is my super long-shot pick of the week. I like him for two reasons in particular — he tends to play well when he's in contention, and he's quietly had an elite year with his irons.

In fact, he has gained at least 3.9 strokes on approach in five of his last six events. Those are Collin Morikawa-type of numbers.

He's not great off the tee, but he should be fine if he can keep the ball in the fairway. And if his irons are working again, he won't have to worry too much about scrambling.

It's a long-shot for a reason, but worth a look at +12000.

2025 Players Championship Course Preview

This course isn't as difficult as Bay Hill was last week, but it certainly has some teeth. It's a course where you can go low if you are striking the ball well, and a course that can eat you alive if you aren't.

Over the last four years, the course has ranged in difficulty from 12th to 16th in difficulty on the PGA Tour. Again, you are going to see a lot of low scores and a lot of high scores.

Like most Dye designs, this isn't a course that can be overpowered off the tee. You can be aggressive here, but that's more on the approach side than off the tee. The fairways are narrow (31 yards on average), and the greens are small (5,500 square feet).

Since moving the tournament to March, the greens are now bermudagrass overseeded with poa trivialis. Scrambling has also become a tad more difficult given the overseed.

Ultimately, I am looking for good total drivers of the ball and elite iron players.

2025 Players Championship: How to Watch

• Thursday: Golf Channel (1-7 p.m. ET)
• Friday: Golf Channel (1-7 p.m. ET)
• Saturday: NBC/Peacock (2-7 p.m. ET)
• Sunday: NBC/Peacock (1-7 p.m. ET)

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