Players Championship betting tips: Five TPC Sawgrass contenders
Monday 7 May 2018 22:29, UK
The Players Championship has long been dubbed golf's fifth major and it's easy to see why, as once again we're presented with one of the strongest fields of the season at the iconic TPC Sawgrass.
Jason Day bids for his second win in the event just days on from his 12th PGA Tour title, and he is right there at the head of the betting with Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and the current top dog, Dustin Johnson.
If DJ is to remain at the head of the world rankings, it seems he will need to produce his best Sawgrass finish and his failure to crack this course tells you already that driving the ball 350 yards will only get you so far here.
Instead, the emphasis is on precision and patience and that plays into the hands of two-time major champion and DJ's namesake, Zach Johnson.
While they share a surname, these two have very different games and it's Zach's whose is best suited to Sawgrass.
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When he is on form, the 2015 Open champion finds fairways for fun and the short nature of this course brings his exceptional wedge game into play, while there have also been some positive signs with the putter of late - the one club which has sometimes let him down since St Andrews three summers ago.
If Johnson continues to putt well, he could soon end his victory drought and Sawgrass, where he was second in 2012, is a course which gives him a chance against golf's more powerful elite.
We saw a brilliant young champion crowned here last year and Patrick Cantlay has designs on succeeding Si Woo Kim.
Cantlay finished 22nd on his professional debut at Sawgrass behind Kim, a poor final round costing him a chance to win, but in the intervening 12 months he has earned a Masters return, won his first PGA Tour title and continued to look like the star he was always meant to be.
Cantlay has finished seventh in both starts since Augusta and with long-game precision the key to success at Sawgrass. he looks to have all the tools to succeed.
So too does Branden Grace, who has made all four cuts here at Sawgrass and boasts an impressive record on other Pete Dye courses, including Harbour Town where he won his first PGA Tour title last spring.
More recently, Grace has been adjusting to fatherhood and he might just return to the course with an extra spring in his step, having played nicely for a top-25 finish in the Masters when last in action.
The South African has produced his best golf in the sport's strongest fields, including when almost winning the US Open after a similarly lengthy break, and his tenacity will take him a long way here if he is ready to go.
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Kevin Streelman is a former Sawgrass runner-up who can be forgiven a missed cut at Quail Hollow last week, a course which was set up for the bombers, and he completes the staking plan along with the man who beat him in 2013 - a certain Tiger Woods.
Once upon a time, Woods was not considered to be a player for whom Sawgrass is an ideal fit, but he won here on his penultimate start five years ago and it's possible that his game suits the course better than it once did.
Woods will not be forced into hitting driver off every tee and there was a lot to like about his play last week - he just struggled to make any putts, and that could change in an instant back on greens he knows so well.
Woods has made three starts in Florida, his adopted home state, since coming back from his latest lay-off and his worst finish is 12th. With eight places on offer, it's time to back him each-way at odds in the region of 33/1.
Watch the Players Championship throughout the week live on Sky Sports. Live coverage begins on Thursday from 12.30pm on Sky Sports The Players!
