The Players Championship 2026: DFS and Betting Preview
- FTO
- 14 hours ago
- 7 min read
Another incredible finish in the Arnold Palmer Classic last week. Bhatia edging Berger in the playoff was fun to watch. We also had another great week with our picks which will be discussed below.
Every March, the PGA Tour heads to one of the most iconic venues in golf for what many call the sport’s unofficial “fifth major.” The The Players Championship returns in 2026 to the legendary TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. With the deepest field in golf, a $25 million purse, and the famous island green waiting on the back nine, this event always delivers drama.
Event Overview
Tournament: The Players Championship
Location: TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course, Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
Dates: March 12–15, 2026
Field: 144 players
Cut: Top 65 and ties after 36 holes
Purse: $25 million
FedEx Cup Points: 750 to the winner
The tournament is famous for having arguably the strongest field in golf every year, since qualification includes PGA Tour winners, major champions, and top FedEx Cup players.
Course Breakdown: TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course
TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course is one of the most strategic and intimidating layouts on the PGA Tour.
Par: 72
Yardage: ~7,352 yards
Architect: Pete Dye (with design input from Alice Dye)
Opened: 1980
Host of The Players since: 1982
Unlike many PGA Tour venues that reward power, Sawgrass was specifically designed to neutralize a single style of play and emphasize shot-making and course management.
Key Course Characteristics
Strategic Layout
Narrow sightlines
Doglegs forcing positional tee shots
Risk/reward par-5s
Water Everywhere Water hazards are in play on 17 holes, forcing players to shape shots and control distance.
Small, Fast Greens Precision iron play is critical because greens are heavily contoured and surrounded by hazards.
Signature Holes
Hole 16 – Par 5 (Risk/Reward)
A classic scoring hole that often sets up drama late Sunday.
Hole 17 – The Island Green
The most famous hole in golf - a 137 yard par 3 that is completely surrounded by water. Even though the hole is short, wind and pressure make it treacherous. Balls in the water are common and the hole frequently plays among the most difficult on the course.
Hole 18 – Brutal Finishing Hole
A dogleg left par 4 with water running the entire left side. It’s one of the toughest finishing holes on the PGA Tour and has decided many Players Championships.
Winning Profile
Historically, Sawgrass rewards complete golfers rather than specialists.
Key Stats for Success
1. Strokes Gained: Approach Approach play is the most important stat.
2. Ball Striking Precision matters more than raw distance.
3. Bogey Avoidance With water everywhere, avoiding mistakes is critical.
4. Course Experience Many winners had previous strong finishes here.
Player Archetype
Golfers who succeed here usually are:
Elite iron players
Accurate drivers
Strong scramblers
Mentally tough under pressure
Think players like:
Scottie Scheffler
Rory McIlroy
Justin Thomas
Looking Back
The Players Championship was created in 1974 by the PGA Tour to serve as its flagship event. It quickly evolved into one of the most prestigious tournaments outside the majors.
Notable historical winners include Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Fred Couples, and Jack Nicklaus.
The event moved from May to March starting in 2019, giving it a different weather profile and often windier conditions.
Recent Winners
Year | Winner |
2025 | Rory McIlroy |
2024 | Scottie Scheffler |
2023 | Scottie Scheffler |
2022 | Cameron Smith |
2021 | Justin Thomas |
2019 | Rory McIlroy |
2018 | Webb Simpson |
2017 | Si Woo Kim |
McIlroy won the 2025 edition in a playoff, finishing at 12-under after defeating J.J. Spaun.
The Purse
Not just a signature event, but it’s THE signature event in terms of purse with the highest on the PGA Tour $25,000,000. If you are playing OAD, there is no better spot to use a big name. More on that to come.
Weather Forecast
Weather at the Players Championship looks like it will have a big effect. We are looking at definite rain with potential of suspended play due to thunderstorms on Thursday. Friday and Saturday look dry but the course will be damp. Sunday looks like a lot of rain which can have a major impact on the leaderboard. All week you can expect a lot of wind changes and could reach upwards of 30 mph which is uncommon for this time of year, but will make the 17th and 18th much watch TV.
Our Favorite Golfers This Week (DraftKings pricing and odds)
Due to the incredibly strong field and tough decisions we will use our normal 3-4 golfers per tier format, but will also include honorable mentions
Top Picks T15 or better:
Scottie Scheffler ($14,200 DFS; +425 to win)
Not a surprise and just let history speak for himself. He’s missed the cut 1 time in 6 attempts and that was his 1st in 2021. Since then he’s won twice and with a win this week he ties Jack Nicklaus with 3 wins at the 5th major.
Collin Morikawa ($9,800 DFS; +2050 to win)
After missing the cut in his first event this year Morikawa has been red hot, or in Odyssey putter terms White Hot. At the Players Championship he is 5 of 6 cuts made with 2 top 15’s. He should continue his hot streak this week as long as he isn’t one of the victims of the weather.
Tommy Fleetwood ($10,300 DFS; +2500 to win)
Tough finish last week for Tommy but before that a T4 and T7 at the AT&T and Genesis give us confidence in him this week. At the Players he is 8 for 9 cuts made, 3 top 15’s including a T7 and T5. Not only is he one of the better golfers in the world, he’s also played enough in tough weather conditions coming from the DP World Tour.
Chris Gotterup ($9,200 DFS; +4400 to win)
Gotterup is rising into a future USA Ryder Cup/Presidents cup staple before our eyes. Since 3/27/25 he has risen from #228 on the OWGR to #7! In 2025 during his 1st 12 events he missed 7 of 12 cuts. Whatever he has done since then has worked because he’s had 22 events, 19 made cuts, 3 wins, and 17 total top 25’s. He’s only played in 1 Players Championship last year during the bad stretch, missed the cut, but only at +2. We are going to ride the hot hand with him this week.
Honorable Mention
Si Woo Kim ($9,300 DFS; +2400 to win)
Viktor Hovland ($9,100 DFS; +3700 to win)
Fade - Outside of top 15
Hideki Matsuyama ($9,500 DFS; +3800 to win)
Tough decision to fade Hideki this week but since starting the season with 4 top 15’s he has stalled of late. He has a solid history at the Players Championship but given the last 2 weeks and the weather coming in we believe fading him here is the right play.
Rory McIlroy ($11,700 DFS; +1400 to win)
Fading Rory back to back weeks isn’t common by any stretch of the imagination but this is a health issue. Golfers and backs are like oil and water. He W/D from the Arnold Palmer due to some back soreness saying he could’ve played through it, but if the back starts barking at all with the weather expected you can throw the previous history out the window. Tiger Woods could win a US Open on a broken leg but couldn’t play through a back injury.
Patrick Cantlay ($8,200 DFS; +5600 to win)
Not attempting to beat a dead horse with Cantlay but again we have no confidence in a T15 this week. The weather at the players will claim him as a victim. Typically the conditions of this event are incredible Florida weather and even then his best finish here is T12 which his is only T15 in 9 tries. Save him for the later parts of the PGA season.
Robert MacIntyre ($8,800 DFS; +4600 to win)
MacIntyre has climbed to #8 on the OWGR and off to a solid start this season. However he is 1 for 3 in cuts here. He did finish 9th last year and comes from the European side of golf but unlike Tommy Fleetwood, MacIntyre plays well in poor conditions on links style courses. TPC Sawgrass is far from links style and we don’t have the confidence in him this week as we have in the past.
Dark Horse - outright winner to top 15
Rickie Fowler ($7,400 DFS; +4600 to win)
Run Rickie Run! Fowler is off the best start to a season since 2023 which was also the last time he won on the PGA tour. The golf world is better when Rickie Fowler is playing well. He’s played this event 15 times and made the cut 9 of them. He has one of the best comeback wins at the Players Championship of all time in 2015 and it’s been awhile since he’s played well here, however experience of the course outweighs the slump of recent years.
Brooks Koepka ($7,800 DFS; +4500 to win)
Koepka seems to be fully healthy and ready to grind this year and prove he is still one of the top golfers in the world. He hasn’t played since the Cognizant which can be looked at as risky, but him resting and working on his game is a good sign. He hasn’t played the Players Championship since 2022 but does have a T11 and a T16. Volatile Florida weather doesn’t concern us here as Brooks grew up, lives, and played his college golf all in the state.
Aaron Rai ($7,200 DFS; +10000 to win)
Rai has been knocking on the door to become one of the top PGA Tour members for a few years now. He hasn’t won since 2024, but has 13 top 10’s in 3 years. In 3 attempts at the The Players he’s made every cut, T14, T19, and T35.
Sahith Theegala ($7,000 DFS; +8000 to win)
Theegala is coming out of the gate with something to prove this year. 7 events making all 7 cuts with 3 top 10’s. At the Players he is 3 of 4 cuts made missing his 1st. He finished T9 in 2024 when he started the season on a similar path.
Honorable Mention
Daniel Berger ($ DFS; + to win)
Tony Finau ($ DFS; + to win)
Jason Day ($ DFS; + to win)
DFS Bargain
Sahith Theegala $7,000
Daniel Berger $7,100
Rickie Fowler $7,400
Akshay Bhatia $7,700
Brooks Koepka $7,800
Sepp Straka $7,600
Matt McCarty $6,900
Jordan Smith $6,800
Our One-and-Done Picks
Collin – Scottie Scheffler
Frank – Scottie Scheffler
That’s it for this week. Check back next week for our Valspar Championship preview and follow us on our new X account @FTO_picks and @FTO_Fun
*This preview does not represent our final betting picks for this event. For our full set of picks, check out our Game Picks section!
**Odds accurate at time of posting.
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