2026 Players Championship Odds and Predictions: Model Simulations Highlight Key Contenders The 2026 Players Championship is set to begin at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, on Thursday at 7:40 a.m. ET. Known as the unofficial fifth major of the PGA Tour, the event features a high-caliber field and a $25 million purse, surpassing the prize money of other Signature Events. FanDuel Sportsbook’s latest odds list Scottie Scheffler as the +480 favorite, with Rory McIlroy and Collin Morikawa following at +1600. Other notable contenders include Si Woo Kim at +2000, Ludvig Aberg at +2200, Russell Henley at +2500, Tommy Fleetwood at +2500, and Xander Schauffele at +2700. SportsLine’s proprietary model, developed by DFS pro Mike McClure, simulated the tournament 10,000 times and produced surprising insights. The model’s predictions, which have historically been profitable, include a notable call to fade Schauffele, who is projected to barely crack the top 10. The 32-year-old has only one top-10 finish this season and struggled at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, posting scores of 73 and 74 over the weekend. Meanwhile, Aberg is highlighted as a top value pick after a recent resurgence, with improved finishes in his past four events and a T3 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. The model also identifies four other golfers with +3000 or higher odds who could challenge for the top of the leaderboard. These include Matt Fitzpatrick, Cameron Young, Hideki Matsuyama, Min Woo Lee, Viktor Hovland, and Sepp Straka. The odds list includes additional players such as Jake Knapp, Akshay Bhatia, Chris Gotterup, Daniel Berger, Robert MacIntyre, Shane Lowry, Rickie Fowler, Maverick McNealy, Harris English, Patrick Cantlay, and Jacob Bridgeman, among others.#florida #scottie_scheffler #players_championship #tpc_sawgrass #ponte_vedra_beach
