Odds Outlook: Scottie Scheffler favored in bid for third straight PLAYERS title

The flagship event of the PGA TOUR's FedExCup Regular Season, THE PLAYERS Championship, tees off for the 51st time at The PLAYERS Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Scottie Scheffler (+360), the two-time reigning champion, leads the third leg of the Florida Swing. The Texan will look to continue his incredible run at Pete Dye’s masterpiece, where a field of 144 professionals will play for a purse of $25 million, with $4.5 million and 750 FedExCup points distributed to the winner, the largest offerings on TOUR this season.

Scheffler, who became the first player ever to win THE PLAYERS in back-to-back seasons last year, currently owns eight consecutive rounds in the 60s and posted the lowest winning total (20 under) since the event returned to March for the 2019 edition. After an incredible 2024 campaign, the reigning PLAYERS, Masters and FedExCup champion is searching for his first trophy of 2025. Highlights include a share of third at The Genesis Invitational and a T9 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, but even to the untrained eye, he has not hit the top gear yet. Signs of a spring thaw include co-leading the field Strokes Gained: Off the Tee (T4 Fairways) and T3 SG: Approach (T2 GIR) for T11 at Bay Hill.

The "Robin" to Scheffler’s "Batman" at the FanDuel Sportsbook, Rory McIlroy (+800), takes up his usual place as the second choice. McIlroy, the 2019 champion, already owns a victory this year at Pebble Beach. The world No. 2, like Scheffler, did not fire on the weekend at Bay Hill. Excelling from tee to green is a requirement this week, and McIlroy has not ranked outside of the top 10 in this category in over six years. Adding 77 yards to the scorecard (par 72) and 4 inches of rough plays into his strengths of hitting fairways and greens in regulation. Only eight players in history have won this event twice.

Collin Morikawa (+1600) has done everything but win on TOUR in 2025. The runner-up last week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard opened the season with second place at The Sentry on Maui. Sandwiched between the two second-place paydays, the Californian earned T17 at Pebble Beach and Torrey Pines. Nobody has gained more strokes against the field in 2025 (No. 1 SG: Total), and only one player averages more birdies (5.25) than the two-time major champion. Appearing for the fifth consecutive season, he should be familiar with the requirements to break into the top 10 for the first time. His current form suggests he’s on track.

Ludvig Åberg (+1800), the winner at Torrey Pines in the second event this season (The Genesis Invitational), added his name to an elite group of players to crack the top 10 on debut at The PLAYERS Stadium Course. Cashing eighth in 2024, the big-hitting Swede posted three rounds of 67, including two on the weekend, to reinforce his class regardless of the set-up or legendary design. However, a 77 in the third round at Bay Hill last weekend kept him out of the top 10 again. Posting 68 with seven birdies on Sunday, he righted the ship and signed for T22, his third top 25 in four events in 2025.

One of the three players from 2024 who did not birdie the 72nd hole to force a playoff, Xander Schauffele (+1800) cashed T2 in his sixth appearance just as he did on his debut in 2016. Schauffele is one of just 10 players to finish second twice at TPC Sawgrass. Fresh off his first four rounds of competitive golf since the season-opening Sentry, the Californian (and his rib injury) survived a stern test at Bay Hill. Closing with a round of 69, the rust is gone and the confidence returned. The next step is beating the deepest field in golf, 144 professionals and 86 of the top 100 in the OWGR and keeping his streak of 58 straight made cuts, the longest current streak on TOUR, intact.

Justin Thomas (+2000) is the third player of the top six favorites to have won this event since the return to March. The 2021 champion owns three top-10 paydays from six 2025 events, including a runner-up finish to Sepp Straka (+6500) at The American Express in January. Dating back to last summer, a sharpened iron game and a cooperating putter have produced five top-10 finishes from his last eight events. Making his 10th start, his streak of playing the weekend in eight consecutive appearances ended in 2024.

Hideki Matsuyama (+3000) is the final player at +3000 or better at the top of the board. The winner at The Sentry to open the 2025 season, he has been a busy man this year. Making his eighth start in 11 weeks suggests his health, game and mindset are ready to join Si Woo Kim (+7000) and K.J. Choi as the only Asian winners of the event. Excellent around and on the greens, the Japanese star racks up rounds in the 60s at TPC Sawgrass and owns four top-10 results, including three of his last four visits.

Russell Henley (+4500), the man wearing the victorious cardigan at the recent Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard, will look to join Scheffler in winning legs two and three of the Florida Swing in consecutive years. … Karl Vilips (+25000) won the Puerto Rico Open in just his fourth start on the PGA TOUR and became the last man to qualify for the field of 144. The Australian posted 26 under to set the event scoring record and will be one of 24 players making their debut this week at TPC Sawgrass. … Eight past champions, in addition to the four mentioned above, include Jason Day (+6500), Adam Scott (+9000), Rickie Fowler (+12000) and Matt Kuchar (+30000).

Here's a look at some of the other notable odds for the rest of the field, via FanDuel:

• +3500: Tommy Fleetwood
• +4000: Shane Lowry, Patrick Cantlay
• +5500: Keegan Bradley, Sungjae Im
• +6000: Wyndham Clark, Sam Burns
• +6500: Corey Conners, Daniel Berger
• +7000: Tony Finau, Maverick McNealy
• +7500: Jordan Spieth, Viktor Hovland, Min Woo Lee, Robert MacIntyre
• +8000: Tom Kim, Will Zalatoris
• +9000: Michael Kim, Brian Harman, Taylor Pendrith, Aaron Rai

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