The Players Championship has arrived. Although it’s not quite a major, it’s close, and the $25 million purse is nothing to scoff at. Let’s dive into our top PGA picks today as we break down our expert bets for the Players Championship, including a Hideki Matsuyama prediction. If you’re hungry for more picks, check out our sports betting tools or our sports betting promos! You can also check out our guide to PGA outright betting.
PGA Picks: Expert Bets for the Players Championship (2024)
PGA Expert Pick #1: Best Tony Finau Bet
Like the rest of the golf world, I am waiting and waiting for that true breakthrough moment with Tony Finau. We certainly got through the he can’t win narrative, but the next step is taking down a major or an event of this caliber. We haven’t seen Finau yet during the Florida swing and that lack of recent form could be part of the reason we find an appealing 60-1 number for him in the outright market.
The last time Finau was in action, he was looking to play a Scheffler-like role and take down the Mexico Open as a favorite. He didn’t get it done, but a 13th-place finish while gaining across the board isn’t overly disappointing.
His off-the-tee game and irons have been working for some time, and it’s just a matter of can if we get anything on these Bermuda greens. If Finau can dial in his short game there is no reason this week can’t be the moment we finally see him get to the next level. I’ll look to target him in various formats including at this outright number.
PGA Expert Pick for the Players: Tony Finau +6000 at FanDuel
— Ben Rasa
PGA Expert Pick #2: Best Hideki Matsuyama Bet
Hideki Matsuyama has certainly had his struggles with some missed cuts over the past five years at TPC Sawgrass. He also is one of a handful in this field with multiple T10s over the same time.
Matsuyama is one of the best in this field gaining stokes off the teee on courses with lengths similar to this course’s. Let’s not forget the magical round he shot before COVID here, too. I trust him to get a top-20 result.
PGA Expert Pick for the Players: Hideki Matsuyama T20 +170 at FanDuel
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PGA Expert Pick #3: Best Sungjae Im Bet
Few golfers stand out more to me than Sungjae Im this week. He scored a T6 at this tournament last year and has made the cut in his last three appearances, securing a T17 in 2021 and a T55 in 2022.
Sungjae Im appears to be in good form as well. He started the year with a T5 at the Sentry and a T25 at the American Express. He had a bit of a cold run in the five tournaments afterward, missing two cuts and failing to score a T40, but he bounced back with a T18 at the Arnold Palmer last weekend.
But the main reason I was excited to add Sungjae Im to my card this week was the price. He is trading at odds of -125 just to score a top-40, which you can boost to +100 with the current bonus available at BetMGM.
He is an incredibly consistent golfer — he is only three for eight in scoring at least a top-40 this year, but he went 20-for-30 last year, including a streak of top-40s from early March to mid-May.
PGA Expert Pick for the Players: Sungjae Im T40 -125 at BetMGM