World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler will try to become the first golfer to win the Players Championship three years in a row when he plays in the event at TPC Sawgrass this week. Scheffler backed up his five-stroke victory in 2023 with a one-stroke win last year. He is the +360 favorite (risk $100 to win $360) in the 2025 Players Championship odds, followed by Rory McIlroy (+800). Other 2025 Players Championship contenders include Collin Morikawa (+1600), Xander Schauffele (+1600) and Ludvig Aberg (+2000).
Morikawa finished second behind Russell Henley in the Arnold Palmer Invitational last week, leaving Morikawa without a PGA Tour victory since October 2023. Should you avoid him with your 2025 Players Championship bets? Before making any 2025 Players Championship picks, you need to see the 2025 Players Championship predictions and best bets from golf insider Patrick McDonald.
McDonald joined CBS Sports as a golf writer in 2022 after stops at NBC Sports and RyderCup.com. Covering the sport from a broader perspective, McDonald still likes to dip his toes into the betting pools on a weekly basis between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and more. Featured weekly on the Early Wedge, he gave out numerous winners in 2024, including Jake Knapp (50-1) at the Mexico Open and Xander Schauffele (20-1) at the PGA Championship.
This year, he has already nailed Sepp Straka (66-1) in The American Express, Joe Highsmith (110-1) in the Cognizant Classic and Russell Henley (65-1) in the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Anyone who followed his sports betting picks could have seen massive returns on betting apps like FanDuel, DraftKings and Fanatics.
Now, McDonald has focused his attention on the 2025 Players Championship field and locked in his best bets and top longshot sleepers. You can only see them here.
Top 2025 Players Championship expert picks
McDonald loves the value of Sepp Straka at +6000 (risk $100 to win $6,000) at FanDuel this week. The European Ryder Cup member is off to a hot start this season, winning The American Express to go along with four additional top-15 finishes. He has played excellent golf at the Stadium Course two of the last three years, posting a ninth-place finish in 2022 and a T-16 last year.
Straka is coming off a top-five finish in the Arnold Palmer Invitational, shooting 3-under in the final round to move a few spots up the leaderboard. The 31-year-old ranks second on the PGA Tour in green in regulation percentage, third in birdie average and fifth in scoring average. He continues to be priced in the 60-1 range, making him a valuable golfer to include in your Players Championship bets.