With a massive purse of $15,000,000 up for grabs, $2,700,000 for the winner alone, The
Players Championship is one of the most lucrative and hotly contested golf tournaments of the year and the action gets underway at TPC Sawgrass on Thursday. Rory McIlroy is the current holder of the trophy, after bearing Jim Furyk by one stroke last year.
Rated by many professionals as at least on a par with a Major Championship, and if not even more difficult to win given the quality of the field in Florida, the tournament also kick starts the meatier part of the golf season, which from April through to July will see the four Major tournaments contested, starting with the Masters in Augusta.
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The Players Championship is always one of the most keenly contested of the year’s golf tournaments and many players and fans view it as the unofficial fifth Major of the year. Punters enjoy plenty of bets on the event and if you want to sign up with a site that offers extensive betting across the four days of action then the current bet365 New Customer Bonus is the perfect choice for you. Not only does it grant you access to a fabulous sign up bonus, but also bet365’s fantastic range of golf betting markets too.
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A History of The Players Championship
For its first three years of operation, The Players Championship was played at three 
different courses, all country clubs in Atalanta, Colonial and then Inverary, Jack Nicklaus was the winner in two of those three years and he also won when the tournament switched to Sawgrass Country Club in 1977, picking up his win there a year later in 1978. By 1982, the tournament had switched to its new and purpose built home of TPC Sawgrass, the Stadium Course, near Jacksonville, Florida.
Reckoned by many professionals and experts to be as difficult to win, if not more difficult, than any of the Major Championships, there have been 39 different winners of the tournament to date out of 46 total winners, though only a select few golfers have claimed multiple wins in the tournament.
The Players Championship – Most Wins
- Jack Nicklaus (3 wins) – 1974, 1976, 1978
- Fred Couples (2 wins) – 1984, 1996
- Steve Elkington (2 wins) – 1991, 1997
- Hal Sutton (2 wins) – 1983, 2000
- Davis Love III (2 wins) – 1992, 2003
- Tiger Woods (2 wins) – 2001, 2013
Of the 33 players to have won the event once, the list includes some of the luminaries of golf of years gone by such as Lee Trevino, Hal Sutton, Greg Norman, Nick Price, Sandy Lyle, Tom Kite, Ray Floyd and Al Geiberger. More modern winners, and still in with a chance of joining those with two or more wins over the coming years include the likes of Rory McIlroy, Adam Scott, Jason Day, Rickie Fowler, Matt Kuchar, Henrik Stenson, Sergio Garcia, Phil Mickelson and Webb Simpson, while Tiger Woods will be looking to claim his third victory in the event this year.
Course In View – TPC Sawgrass
One of Pete and Alice Dye’s most famous creations, the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass 
has been modified over the years and now measures 7,189 yards in length. However, it’s length combined with the difficulty of the greens and the clever layout means that it is rated as one of the toughest courses players will face over the golf season.
One reason for that is the famed 17th hole which features the iconic Island Green. The course is also very familiar to fans of golf and computer games too as it has been included in a number of different golf games as a playable course.
Eight different golfers hold the course record, which is 63, amongst them Fred Couples, Greg Normal, Brooks Koepka, Jason Day and Webb Simpson.
Who are the bookies tips for The Players Championship this week?
With a number of players absent through the event through injury, notably Tiger Woods, this year’s Players Championship is one of the most open in recent times. The bookies have Rory McIlroy, the defending Champion as the 7/1 favourite ahead of Ryder Cup team mate Jon Rahm at 12/1. That is unsurprising, given that both are number 1 and 2 in the world at present.
This event usually sees a strong showing from America’s top golfers and the likes of Justin Thomas (14/1), Bryson DeChambeau (20/1) and former world number 1 Dustin Johnson (25/1) should all be in the reckoning. I also feel Rickie Fowler (35/1) is great value given that the American has a tendency to perform well above his average in the top tournaments and majors.
European golfers also in with a shout include Tommy Fleetwood (25/1), Tyrell Hatton (45/1), Matt Fitzpatrick, Paul Casey and Justin Rose (all 60/1), Sergio Garcia and Shane Lowry (70/1) and Ian Poulter (80/1).
In addition the likes of Adam Scott (30/1), Jason Day (60/1), Marc Leishman (45/1) and Louis Oosthuizen (66/1) could all go close too.
Who am I going to tip to win?
This is a very tricky tournament to predict but over the years I have had some real success by backing winners in golf tournaments so I am confident I can get something from my selections here. I am not tempted by McIlroy, simply due to his odds and the fact no player has ever won here back to back. I think an interesting option could be Jason Day, who is just starting to show signs of his best form and at 66/1, he is a former winner here too that is due a big result once again. I’d back him each way though and instead take Tommy Fleetwood at 25/1 as my tip to win.
*All odds stated were correct with bet365 Sport as of 11.30am on Tuesday 10th March 2020.