One of the most anticipated PGA Tour events of the season will take place this week at TPC Sawgrass with the 2023 Players Championship. There is a $25 million purse and 600 FedEx Cup points up for grabs, along with one of the top titles in the sport. A loaded 2023 Players Championship field will be competing this week, headlined by Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler. That trio will be paired together for the first two days, and the 2023 Players Championship tee times feature the top three golfers in the world going off at 7:56 a.m. ET.
Rahm and McIlory enter this week's event as the 17-2 co-favorites according to the latest 2023 Players Championship odds. They're followed by Scheffler (10-1), Justin Thomas (19-1), Max Homa (19-1) and Patrick Cantlay (19-1) on the PGA odds board. Should your 2023 Players Championship bets include backing one of the favorites, or should you look at a player like Jordan Spieth (32-1), who's coming off a T-4 finish last week at Bay Hill? Before locking in your 2023 Players Championship picks, be sure to see the golf predictions and projected leaderboard from the proven computer model at SportsLine.
SportsLine's proprietary model, built by DFS pro Mike McClure, has been red-hot since the PGA Tour resumed in June of 2020. In fact, the model is up over $8,400 on its best bets since the restart, nailing tournament after tournament.
McClure's model predicted Jon Rahm to finish on top of the leaderboard at the 2023 Sentry Tournament of Champions, the American Express and the Genesis Invitational. The model also included J.T. Poston in its best bets to win the 2022 John Deere Classic. That bet hit at +5500, and for the entire tournament, McClure's best bets returned almost $1,100. At the 2022 Masters, McClure's model was all over Scottie Scheffler's first career major championship victory heading into the weekend.
In addition, McClure's best bets included Collin Morikawa winning outright at the 2021 Open Championship, even though he was listed as a massive 40-1 long shot. The model was also all over Rahm's (10-1) first career major championship victory at the 2021 U.S. Open. Rahm was two strokes off the lead heading into the weekend, but the model still projected him as the winner.
This same model has also nailed a whopping eight majors entering the weekend. Anyone who has followed it has seen massive returns.
Now that the 2023 Players Championship field is locked, SportsLine simulated the tournament 10,000 times, and the results were surprising. Head to SportsLine now to see the projected leaderboard.
Top 2023 Players Championship predictions
One major surprise the model is calling for at the Players Championship 2023: Scottie Scheffler, a five-time PGA Tour champion and one of the top favorites, stumbles this week and barely cracks the top five. Scheffler has finished T-12 or better in each of his last seven starts on the PGA Tour and he secured his fifth career victory at the WM Phoenix Open in February.
However, Scheffler has struggled mightily at the Players Championship in his career, finishing T-55 or worse in each of his last two starts at TPC Sawgrass. He also enters this week's event ranked 75th or worse in total putting (203.3), strokes gained: putting (0.14) and one-putt percentage (39.93%). He's not a strong pick to win it all and there are far better values in the Players Championship 2023 field.
Another surprise: Viktor Hovland, a 27-1 longshot, makes a strong run at the title. He has a much better chance to win it all than his odds imply, so he's a target for anyone looking for a huge payday. Hovland has been one of the most consistent golfers on the PGA Tour this season, making the cut in all eight of the tournaments that he has played in.
He finished inside the top 25 in seven of those eight events, including a tie for 10th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational last week. Hovland carded a T-9 finish at the Players Championship in 2022, shooting 7-under-par. He has the consistency and talent to win this weekend, and his longshot odds makes him a better wagering option than some of the golfers at the top of the odds board. See who else to pick here.
How to make 2023 Players Championship picks
The model is also targeting three other golfers with odds of 25-1 or longer who will make surprising runs. Anyone who backs these longshots could hit it big. You can only see the model's PGA picks here.
So who will win the Players Championship 2023? And which longshots stun the golfing world? Check out the 2023 Players Championship odds below and then visit SportsLine to see the projected 2023 Players Championship leaderboard, all from the model that's nailed eight golf majors, including last year's Masters.
2023 Players Championship odds, field
See the full Players Championship 2023 picks, best bets, and predictions here.
Jon Rahm +850
Rory McIlroy +850
Scottie Scheffler +1000
Patrick Cantlay +1900
Max Homa +1900
Justin Thomas +1900
Xander Schauffele +2500
Viktor Hovland +2700
Tony Finau +2800
Collin Morikawa +2800
Will Zalatoris +3200
Jordan Spieth +3200
Matt Fitzpatrick +3400
Tyrrell Hatton +3400
Cameron Young +3600
Jason Day +3600
Sungjae Im +3700
Joohyung Kim +4100
Shane Lowry +4800
Keegan Bradley +5000
Rickie Fowler +5000
Keith Mitchell +5500
Corey Conners +6500
Si Woo Kim +7000
Sam Burns +7000
Sahith Theegala +7000
Chris Kirk +7500
Tommy Fleetwood +8500
Hideki Matsuyama +8500
Kurt Kitayama +9000
Justin Rose +10000
Adam Scott +10000
Tom Hoge +10000
Francesco Molinari +10000
Harris English +10000
Webb Simpson +14000
Aaron Wise +14000
Brian Harman +15000
Wyndham Clark +15000
Seamus Power +15000
Russell Henley +15000
Gary Woodland +17000
Alex Noren +17000
Billy Horschel +18000
Ryan Fox +18000
Davis Riley +18000
Taylor Montgomery +18000
Sepp Straka +19000
Adam Hadwin +19000
Min Woo Lee +19000
Maverick McNealy +21000
Patton Kizzire +21000
Justin Suh +21000
Taylor Pendrith +22000
K.H. Lee +23000
Lucas Herbert +23000
Danny Willett +23000
