Opinion & Analysis

2017 The Players Championship: Odds, Picks, and Prop Bets

Published

9 years ago

May 9, 2017

The PGA Tour’s “fifth major,” The Players Championship, has arrived. By all accounts, the Players has the strongest field of the year. Forty-eight of the world’s top-50 players will be in attendance, including the top-5 ranked golfers in the world for the first time in 2017.

Defending Players champion Jason Day looks to hold off Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth to become the first player to repeat at TPC Sawgrass. Also in the field is Sergio Garcia, who will be making his first start since winning the Masters. He hopes to add to his streak of 14 made cuts at The Players.

Tournament Record: 264 by Greg Norman in 1994
18-Hole Record: 63 shared by Fred Couples (1992), Greg Norman (1994), Roberto Castro (2013), Martin Kaymer (2014), Jason Day (2016), and Colt Knost (2016).

The Course

The Players Championship returns to TPC Sawgrass this week for the 36th time. The par-72 Stadium Course, playing at 7,189 yards, is a challenge to all parts of the game. The short game and driving will be both be put to the test, but the Stadium Course will challenge the mental game most of all.

There aren’t many places on the course where the players can lose focus without being severely punished. The architect, Pete Dye, is a master of misdirection and that’s perfectly displayed this week. Even the holes that seem to be straight forward have small twists that can get in a player’s head. There are several tee boxes that aim directly at trouble, water hazards that gradually jut into fairways, and tough club choices off the tee.

Featured Holes

A post shared by THE PLAYERS Championship (@theplayerschamp) on Apr 27, 2017 at 3:27pm PDT

No. 12, 358 yards, Par 4: The new No. 12 is a perfect risk-reward hole; the redesign has made it a drivable par-4 with the green and fairway sloped toward water. Laying up of the tee requires an accurate shot with several pot bunkers and a long fairway bunker protecting the landing area. It’ll take a lot of guts to go for it off with the driver, but it may be necessary coming down the stretch.

A post shared by PGA TOUR (@pgatour) on May 8, 2017 at 3:00pm PDT

No. 17, 137 yards, Par 3: Not much needs to be said about the Island Green. It’s among the most famous golf holes in the world, and it has been a source of endless entertainment. Thirty-six balls found the water here last year, which is great for making the fans feel good about their game. It’s also the sight of memorable heroics like Rickie Fowler’s birdie en route to his Players Championship victory in 2015.

Odds

Past Champs in the field:

Adam Scott +4000
Phil Mickelson +5000
Sergio Garcia +1800
Henrik Stenson +3300
KJ Choi +35000
Matt Kuchar +5000
Martin Kaymer +5500
Rickie Fowler +2000
Jason Day +2200

Favorites:

Dustin Johnson +700
Rory McIlroy +1000
Jordan Spieth +1400
Sergio Garcia +1800
Hideki Matsuyama +2000
Jon Rahm +2000
Rickie Fowler +2000
Justin Rose +2500
Justin Thomas +2800
Brooks Koepka +3300

Picks

My Pick: Dustin Johnson (+700) may not have won last week, but he shook off the rust on the weekend with two 67’s to finish T2, so I’m sticking with him. Outside of his freak injury, he’s been on an incredible run. Since the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February, Dustin Johnson has only been beaten by three players; he’s finished 3-1-1-1-T2 in his last five starts. It’d be a mistake to pick against anyone in that kind of form.

Value Pick: It’s not often you get Justin Rose at +2500, so I’m taking him as my value pick this week. He hasn’t won yet this year, but he has been playing great golf and is due for a W. His game is as well rounded as anyone’s, and he ranks 9thin Shots Gained: Total. His biggest question mark is always the putter. If he can manage to sink the short ones (Rose ranks 162nd in putting from inside 10 feet), he should be in contention on Sunday.

Long Shot: I’m going with Jason Dufner (+8000) as my dark horse this week. He doesn’t have a great record at the Stadium course but lately, he’s been around the top of the leaderboard too often to ignore. He has eight top-25s in his last nine starts and has been a birdie machine. He ranks 35th in Strokes Gained: Putting and 26th in birdie or better percentage.

Props

Balls in the water on #17 – I’m going with 41-50 balls in the water (+325) this week. The tournament average is 39.5 over the last 14 years. The 2016 total fell just short of that with 36, so I’m hoping it will even itself out this year.

Hole-in-One on #17 (Yes, +350, No -500) – I’d usually stay away from this since it’s specific to one hole, but it’s the Island Green at Sawgrass so I can’t help myself. I’m going with “Yes” this week despite the track record. There have only been seven aces here since it began hosting in 1982, but with this kind of field on a 137-yard hole, it seems hard to believe nobody will hole out.

You can follow me on Twitter and let me know who you’re picking this week.

Opinion & Analysis

5 Things We Learned: Thursday at the PGA Championship

Published

2 weeks ago

May 15, 2026

Ronald Montesano

Aronimink is not a storied club, but when Donald Ross himself proclaimed it to be as good as he can design and build, one had to take notice. Jay Sigel was the pre-eminent male amateur golfer from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s. He might have called any number of Philadelphia clubs home, but he chose Aronimink. It served him well. Gary Player won a PGA Championship here in 1962, and was followed by the 1993 winner … nobody. Aronimink gave that event away to Inverness, for reasons of which it is certainly not proud. So be it. We had to wait sixty-four years for the PGA to return to Newtown Square, but here we are. Aronimink has been neo-restored by Gil Hanse and team, to return Ross features with an eye toward defense against the dark arts, errrr, high-tech equipment.

Day one saw Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau dig big holes, to the tune of plus-four and plus-six, respectively. Since the first-round lead will be minus-three at worst, many shots will need to be made up for the power couple to reach contention. By nightfall, seven golfers held the day-one lead at three-under par 67. Shots and sticks caught our attention, and we are proud to present Five Things We Learned on Tech Thursday at the 2026 PGA Championship. Thanks to InsideTourGolfer, Today’s Golfer, and GolfWRX for initial equipment research.

First, meet Min Woo Lee

Min Woo Lee, aka Dr. Chipinski, has once again thrust himself into the conversation of Can he, will he, when will he? Lee has so much talent, wins not nearly as often as we believe that he should, and has no major near-misses (much less titles) on his wiki. The young Aussie is getting older and wiser, but is he able to avoid the scarring that holds the older and wiser back from breaking through? Philadelphia offers another opportunity. Min Woo signed for five birdies and two bogeys on day one, and grabbed a share of the opening-day lead at Aronimink. Winners transcend history and the moment, and Lee will need that sort of ascent to lift the Wannamaker on Sunday.

Second, meet Aldrich Potgeiter

The young South African golfer can rip driver with the best of them. Aronimink tips out at nearly 7400 yards, but beyond the fairway bunkers that ensnare only the mortals, Potgeiter can take his chances with wedge from the rough. On Thursday, he spent plenty of time in the spinach. Like Popeye, he used his muscles to gouge and thrash and dig his way out. Six birdies against three bogeys on the card brought AP in a three deep.

Third, meet Martin Kaymer

Not a major event takes place without a where’s he been throwback moment. We know that Martin Kaymer left the PGA and DP World tours for LIV golf, but the two-time (US Open and PGA) major winner has a lifetime exemption into at least one major event, and he seizes the opportunity each May. Kaymer joined the six-seven brigade with four birdies and a solitary bogey on day one. Kaymer was never a long hitter, and the years are kind to no golfer. The German champion will need to uncork every bottle of guile and strategy in his cabinet to remain in contention. For today, though, he occupies a rung on the ladder of Tour Tech.

Fourth, meet Scottie Scheffler

Let’s see, he’s the defending champion at the PGA, and he found his way back to the top tier with five birdies against two bogeys. To be a favorite and then play up to that stature and expectation is quite difficult. Just ask Rory, Bryson, and some of the other pre-tournament heartthrobs. Scheffler’s game is complete, and to knock him off the OWGR #1 pedestal, one needs to defeat him at the majors. Aronimink is the sort of course that fits Scheffler’s game. Better yet, it unfits the game of many of his challengers. Don’t expect Scheffler to go away anytime soon. Come Sunday, he’ll be around.

Fifth, meet Stephan Jaeger

Clocking in for the unheralded players shift are Ryo Hisatsune and Stephan Jaeger. Hisatsune logged seven birdies on day one, but gave most of them back with four bogeys. Still, he’s tied at the top for a time. Jaeger pitched five birdies against two bogeys, including a run of three consecutive, from holes four through six. Odds are that one of the two will hang around through 36 holes. Odds also suggest that both will be gone by Saturday evening. Still, the PGA Championship has historically been the major most likely to be won by an under-known. Both Hisatsune and Jaeger feature on that list, so good luck, lads!

Club Junkie

Club Junkie’s Titleist GTS driver fitting results!

Published

2 weeks ago

May 14, 2026

Brian Knudson

On this episode of the Club Junkie Podcast, I head to the Titleist Performance Institute for a full driver fitting with the new Titleist GTS lineup. We dive into the fitting process, talk about what made the biggest difference in performance, and break down how the different GTS heads and shaft combinations compare on the launch monitor. If you are thinking about a new driver setup for this season, there is a lot to take away from this one.

I also get into Brooks Koepka and the gear setup he brought to the PGA Championship, including the putters that caught my eye during the week. There are some interesting equipment trends showing up at the highest level right now and we break down what stands out.

To wrap things up, I talk about reshafting a few wedges, what I learned during the process, and swapping an adaptor onto a new shaft for another build project in the shop. A gear packed episode from start to finish for anyone who loves golf equipment and club building.

Follow Club Junkie everywhere:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clubjunkiepod/
X: https://x.com/ClubJunkiePod
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@clubjunkiepod
Threads: https://www.threads.com/@clubjunkiepod

Club Junkie

Club Junkie WITB, week 16: New Titleist GTS woods!

Published

2 weeks ago

May 14, 2026

Brian Knudson

Excited for this week’s WITB as we get to add the new Titleist GTS woods to the bag! I was fit at Titleist’s TPI facility in Oceanside California a few weeks ago and my new clubs just showed up. I am also adding a cool set of irons that I built last year some wild custom wedges into a new golf bag. Speaking of the bag I have a new Ghost Anyday Black Ops stand bag that I will be using on my Motocaddy Remote M7 electric cart.

Driver: Titleist GTS3 (11 degrees @ 10.25)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Red 6s

3-wood: Titleist GT1 3Tour (14.5 degrees)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD CQ-7s

5-wood: Titleist GTS (18 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Red 7s

9-wood: Titleist GT1 (24 degress)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Red 7s

Irons: Bettinardi CB24 (5-PW)
Shafts: KBS C-Taper Lite 110 stiff

Wedge: TaylorMade MG5 (50-09 SB)
Shaft: Mitsubishi MMT 125 Stiff

Wedge: TaylorMade MG5 (56-12 SB)
Shaft: Mitsubishi MMT 125 Stiff

Wedge: TaylorMade MG5 (60-08 LB)
Shaft: Mitsubishi MMT 125 Stiff

Putter: Dan Carraher ZT Proto

Ball: Callaway Chrome Tour

Bag: Ghost Anyday Black Ops Stand Bag