The Players Championship has had a star-studded list of recent winners, which includes Scottie Scheffler (twice), Cameron Smith, Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy as its most recent champions.
In fact, in the last dozen years, few times has a “sleeper” beat out expectations to win the tournament. In 2018, Webb Simpson won when he was ranked 41st in the Official World Golf Ranking, and in 2017 Si Woo Kim won when he was ranked 75th.
Does that mean sleepers don’t matter when it comes to the Players? Not exactly. You could actually argue they mean even more, since it’s been difficult to predict which players might break through.
This year’s Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass’ Stadium Course begins on Thursday in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. The purse is a massive $25 million, with $4.5 million going to the winner. Scottie Scheffler has yet to win this year but is looking to hoist his third straight Players trophy. He’s the betting favorite this week, as he is most weeks.
You can check out our staff’s sleepers to watch below, and click here to view our picks to win.
Players Championship betting odds, favorites (top 10)
Scottie Scheffler (+500)
Rory McIlroy (+1100)
Collin Morikawa (+1400)
Ludvig Aberg (+1800)
Justin Thomas (+2500)
Tommy Fleetwood (+2500)
Hideki Matsuyama (+2800)
Russell Henley (+2800)
Xander Schauffele (+2800)
Patrick Cantlay (+3300)
2025 Players Championship sleepers to watch
Claire Rogers, director of social: Michael Kim, +6600. Kim is on an incredible run right now — five straight finishes of 13th or better, and three of those were 6th or better. (And his Twitter game is as superb as ever.) He’s on the brink of a massive breakthrough, and where better for that to happen than the Players? Kim is in the sleeper category until he gets the proper recognition he deserves. It might be this week!
2025 Players Championship picks to win: Who our staff is betting on
Jack Hirsh, associate equipment editor: Ben Griffin, +10000. In Year 3 on the PGA Tour, Griffin is having perhaps the best start to a season in his young career. He’s missed just one cut and racked up three top 10s, including back-to-back T4s last month. None of his stats really jump off the board, but he’s inside the top 40 in Strokes Gained, meaning he’s got the all-around game needed to win at TPC Sawgrass.
Josh Sens, senior writer: Justin Rose, +10000. With a couple of top 10s in his last three starts, Rose has shown some good form of late. These are long odds for a gutty veteran who has the patience and iron game to plot his way around this course.
Jessica Marksbury, senior editor: Rickie Fowler, +10000. A former Players champ who played well at the Cognizant but may feel an extra bit of “prove-myself” fire in his belly after being denied a sponsor’s invitation at Bay Hill. This week would be great timing for a Fowler resurgence.
James Colgan, news and features editor: Will Zalatoris, +6600. Hey, remember him? Yeah, it’s been a minute since we heard from Will Zalatoris in a big moment, but he’s quietly piled together a series of top-25 finishes. It was just two years ago that he was everyone’s favorite choice to be the next twentysomething major winner. Now he gets a big one at TPC.
Zephyr Melton, assistant editor: Maverick McNealy, +6600. After registering his first Tour win at the tail end of the fall, Mav picked up where he left off early in 2025. He’s got three top 10s in six starts thus far this season, and he has some previous Players success, which includes a top-10 finish last year. Don’t be surprised if he contends once again this time around.
Nick Piastowski, senior editor: Sam Stevens, +15000. Instructor and analyst Mark Immelman says Stevens should be getting more love. Here’s some from me. Bonus pick: Max Homa, despite the struggles, is listed around 250-1 if low investment/big payout is your thing.
Josh Berhow, managing editor: Jason Day, +5000. He contended at Bay Hill up until a 16th hole bad-break mudball ended his tournament, and at +5000 to win this week I think you can argue him into the sleeper category. He’s had a solid and consistent season and has won here before, why not again?
Dylan Dethier, senior writer: Max McGreevy, +25000. Sure, he’s only the third-most-famous “Max” in the field, but that’s why you’re getting him at a nice price! He’s been finding his footing the last few weeks, hitting his irons great and shaping up for a potential run at contention this week. There’s some value here. I think.