This Week’s PGA Tour Predictions!
The 2015 Players Championship comes our way from TPC Sawgrass this weekend – a par-72 layout that stretches out to 7,215 yards.
It has four par 5s, four par 3s and 10 par 4s – the long hitters will certainly be able to do some damage here, although length isn’t as essential as you may think. Sawgrass doesn’t seem to favor any one style of golfer – a terrific all-around week usually gets it done.
2015 TPC Players Championship
When: May 7 – 10, 2015 on Golf Channel/NBC
Where: TPC Sawgrass (The Players Stadium Course), Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
FedExCup Points: 600
Purse: $10 million / Winner Share: $1.8 million
Defending Champion: Martin Kaymer
***2015 BONUSES***
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Past winners here have been the who’s who from around the world – good ball striking, a hot putter and a knowledge for this track are essential. 49 of the top 50 players in the world will tee it up this week on one of the PGA’s most iconic tracks – I can’t wait!
So who should we keep our eyes on this week? Let’s take a look.
2015 TPC Players Championship Favorites:
Rory McIlroy 7/1
The World #1 showed why he is where he is with a win in the Match-Pay last week. He also had a fourth place finish in the Masters and is definitely ramping up as we head into the summer.
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He looks for his first win here but has finished inside the top 10 the last two years. McIlroy will definitely be in the mix. This weekend looks like a showdown between Rory and…
Jordan Spieth 15/2
The Masters champ didn’t get the results at the Match- Play last week but actually played very well. His early exit may actually help this week – that event was a true grind! He has two wins this year already to go along with two runner-up finishes – as impressive a player as there is in the world right now. He finished fourth in his only appearance here and looks like the guy to beat this week!
Justin Rose 18/1
Posted victory two weeks ago in Louisiana which followed a T2 at the Masters. He has yet to win The Players but did have a T4 here last year but has mixed in some sketchy results on track as well. Rose enters T19 on TOUR in ball-striking and fourth in rough proximity. He has certainly rediscovered his form will be one to keep an eye on this week as well.
2015 TPC Players Championship Contenders:
Henrik Stenson 20/1
Is yet another player on fire – he has three top fives in his last four events played. Stenson is 6-for-6 on the PGA Tour this season and his worst finish has been a T-24 and leads the TOUR in both strokes-gained categories. Stenson won this event in 2009 and was T5 in 2013 – he is definitely a dangerous entry this week!
Jason Day 25/1
Has been up and down but still leads the TOUR in all-around ranking. He has four top fours in 2015, including T4 in New Orleans and has two top 20 finishes in this event. You can’t deny Day’s class but his course history here is surprisingly sketchy.
Jim Furyk 25/1
Local guy finished second in this event last year and will enter this week on a high after posting a long-awaited win three weeks ago at the RBC Heritage. He finished fourth in the Match-Play last week – he enters in some pretty solid form! Furyk is as hot as he’s been in years and should be in the mix this week as well.
Hideki Matsuyama 33/1
This guy is due! He has two top fives in his last four stroke play tournaments and has seven top 10s on the season already.
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He sits inside the top 20 in GIR, scrambling and adjusted scoring – perfect attributes for this track.
Adam Scott 40/1
2004 champ Adam Scott at 40/1? It’s amazing isn’t it?
2015 TPC Players Championship Sleepers (50/1 or higher):
Louis Oosthuizen 50/1
Love me some Louis at 50/1! He’s healthy again and playing some good golf – a T19 at The Masters, a T7 at the RBC Heritage, and he won his group last week at the Match-Play. He now has four top 10s and another top 20 in last two months – look out for Oosthuizen.
Zach Johnson 50/1
Has been playing well overall and has top 20 finishes in four of his last five starts here. The Players isn’t an overly long track so the playing field is a little more even for Zach this week. He has made the cut here six straight times with four top 25s and arrives in good form.
Hunter Mahan 55/1
Mahan keeps flying under the radar. He finished T9 in both the Masters and the Match-Play and has three top 20s in this event the last four years. He sits 21st in ball-striking on TOUR and 44th in scrambling – great stats for Sawgrass.
Patrick Reed 55/1
Shocking to see Reed at 55/1. I hope it is a shot to his ego!
2015 TPC Players Championship Picks:
It’s a tough call this week – I wrestled between the two betting favorites and settled on Jordan Spieth at 15/2. He shot -15 last week at the Match-Play but didn’t make the weekend -15! He’s as hot as there is on Tour and with zero weaknesses in his game, an ability to shrug off the pressure and the fact that he played well in his only start here (a 4th place finish) – there’s nothing not to love.
The Sleeper is Zach Johnson at 50/1. On a track that rewards accuracy over distance, Zach has to be in the conversation. Johnson has been playing well this year – he could get a major reward this week.
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