The Betting Bunker: Three strong fancies for the 2025 Players Championship
In the latest addition to our tipping arsenal, Odds Now's golf expert Ross Kilvington (@Kilvington91) casts his eye over the Players Championship which tees off this Thursday at TPC Sawgrass in Florida.
Players Championship 2025 – key betting insights
The Florida swing continues this week with the Players Championship taking place at TPC Sawgrass – host of this famous tournament since 1982.
Dubbed the ‘fifth major’, the Players Championship is one of the most prestigious tournaments on tour, and also one of the most lucrative. Indeed, the $4.5m winners cheque is the second-largest on the PGA Tour, with only the Tour Championship winner taking home more.
Last year, Scottie Scheffler defended his title, prevailing by one stroke over the trio of Xander Schauffele, Wyndham Clark and Brian Harman.
The 144-player field features 48 of the top 50 in the World Rankings. In terms of trends, those who do well at the Arnold Palmer Invitational tend to feature near the top of the leaderboard at TPC Sawgrass too.
The 7,275-yard, par-72 course is a truly stunning design. No two consecutive holes play in the same direction, while the par-3 17th is one of the finest short holes in the game. Many an edition has been lost on the penultimate hole throughout the years.
Ahead of the tournament, we at OddsNow pick out three betting selections from the top, middle and bottom end of the outright market.
Players Championship 2025 betting tips
Selection #1 - Rory McIlroy - 14/1 (7 places, 1/5 odds)
As mentioned, those who shine at Bay Hill tend to perform rather well at the Players. McIlroy finished T-15th last week, although if he managed to get his putter going, the Northern Irishman would have finished much higher.
The 35-year-old has won already on the PGA Tour this season too, claiming the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am title in January.
His form at TPC Sawgrass is relatively solid. Three top-ten finishes between 2013 and 2015 signified decent showings, before he finally claimed the trophy in 2019, fending off a resurgent Jim Furyk down the stretch.
A T-19th finish last year is his best result since that win, yet he is enjoying a solid 2025 thus far. McIlroy is ranked first on tour for total strokes gained (2.162) this season, while also ranking second for driving distance (326.7 yards) and third for scoring average (69.84).
With the Masters fast approaching, a win in Florida would give him a massive and timely jolt of confidence.
Selection #2 - Corey Conners - 50/1 (8 places, 1/5 odds)
Canadian Conners finished T-5th at the Sentry back in January but didn’t crack the top ten again until last week.
The 33-year-old finished at 9-under to claim a wonderful third-place finish at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, setting himself up very nicely indeed for the Players.
He has a decent record at TPC Sawgrass as well. Since making his debut at the event in 2019, finishing a credible T-41st, Conners has missed just one cut (2023), while registering a seventh and T-13th finish in 2021 and 2024 respectively.
It is evident the track suits his game, with only five of his 18 rounds finishing over par since he made his debut.
The two-time PGA Tour winner will be desperate to add another title to his resume this week and looks a great value pick from the mid-range of the market.
Selection #3 - Aaron Rai - 60/1 (10 places, 1/5 odds)
Rai claimed his first PGA Tour win at the Wyndham Championship in August 2024. Since then, the Englishman has missed just one cut across his next ten appearances, which came at the Farmers Insurance Open in January.
The Wolverhampton-born golfer has slowly acclimatised to life on the PGA Tour. This season, he ranks sixth for driving accuracy (71.43%). Given success at the tournament relies heavily on players hitting fairways and greens on a consistent basis, a price of 60/1 for Rai with 10 places on offer could turn out to be excellent value.
He finished T11th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational last week – and finish that would have been higher had he not recorded a double-bogey on the par-3 17th during his final round.
Rai may have played only twice at the Players, securing finishes of 19th and 35th in 2023 and 2024 respectively.
But these two results indicate he is more than comfortable at performing in the strongest of fields. After a solid start to the 2025 season, he is certainly trending in the right direction.
Ross' three Players Championship 2025 betting picks
1pt each way - Rory McIlroy - 14/1 (Sporting Index - 7 places)
0.5pts each way - Corey Connors - 50/1 (Betfair - 8 places)
0.5pts each way - Aaron Rai - 60/1 (PricedUp.Bet - 10 places)
Total stake - 4pts
All each-way terms settled at 1/5th odds
Seasonal stats
Events tipped by Ross - 1
Total staked in 2025: 5pts
Total returns in 2025: 13pts
P/L in 2025: +8pts