The world of golf takes another turn this week as The Players Championship begins in Florida, with 144 of the best players in the world going toe-to-toe to be crowned champion.
The tournament is often regarded as the fifth major of the year, and is seen as one of the most prestigious tournaments in the calendar, giving players a chance to enter the history books by claiming victory on an iconic course.
We’ll take a look at the favorites to win the competition and provide you with our best free golf betting picks to see if we can earn you some extra cash while you watch the action.
| Players' Championship 2025 |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scottie Scheffler | +425 | +425 | +425 |
| Rory McIlroy | +800 | +800 | +800 |
| Collin Morikawa | +1600 | +1600 | +1600 |
| Justin Thomas | +2000 | +2000 | +2000 |
| Ludvig Aberg | +2000 | +2000 | +2000 |
| Xander Schauffele | +2000 | +2000 | +2000 |
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Below you’ll find a list of the favorites to win the 2025 Players’ Championship.
2025 has been slow for Scheffler so far, with injuries meaning that he has yet to win a tournament so far this year. But this is a course he absolutely loves, having claimed victory in both the 2023 and 2024 editions with dominant performances.
This new drought comes in the midst of seven wins over the course of the last two seasons, including at the Players’ Championship in both years, and the world number one will see this as a great opportunity to kickstart his 2025.
While Scheffler wasn’t at his best in a T-11 finish in his attempted defense of the Arnold Palmer Invitational recently, his performance showed encouraging signs of improvement as the tournament went on and he will be hoping to carry that momentum into this.
The back-to-back defending champion of The Players Championship will be the favorite again at +425 and it’s always worth a look considering his previous successes here, but the competition looks stiffer this time around as a result of form.
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The 35-year-old No. 3 player in the world missed the cut in 3 of his last 6 starts at The Players, and finished T19 last year. But the Northern Irishman has had previous success, winning the tournament in 2019 and finished in the top 12 in four consecutive years from 2012 to 2016.
McIlroy also comes into this tournament in decent form. He claimed victory earlier this year at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am for his 27th PGA Tour win, and that’s why he is listed as the second favorite with almost every bookmaker.
Having won the 2022 PGA Tour FedEx Cup (he also won in 2016 and 2019), McIlroy is certainly the most decorated golfer on this list and is still competitive in every tournament he enters.
With success certainly not out of the question, getting almost double the odds on him to get the win seems too high to ignore.
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The 28-year-old was leading the Arnold Palmer Invitiational heading into the final round last week, but eventually he fell away and claimed the runners-up spot behind Richard Henley after shooting a -10.
But that performance has seen him shoot into the top five rankings in the world and he will be full of confidence for this tournament, where he will be hoping for a career-best finish as a result.
He hasn’t won a PGA event since the 2023 Zozo Championship, but he is shooting well at the moment. So far in 2025 he has competed in four events, finishing as runner-up in two and finishing in the top ten in the other two.
It could finally be the time for him to end that drought and claim a win, and odds of +1600 look like fine valueif you think he can get it done.
Only Rory McIlroy’s 27 PGA Tour wins can eclipse the 15 Justin Thomas has in his career – and that includes his 2021 win in this tournament.
His 2021 win win also featured a tournament-record 12-under 132 on the weekend, which was tied by Scheffler and Brian Harman in the 2024 edition of this tournament. In ten starts, he’s also finished T3 in 2016 and T11 in 2018. However, that good run has come to an end in recent times, as Thomas missed the cut in each of the last two years at the Players’ Championship.
Thomas is currently ranked No. 8 in the world, and entered last year’s event No. 22. But he’s playing better and was top-3 of a stacked leaderboard into Round 3 of the 2025 Arnold Palmer Invitational before eventually finishing T36.
A win here looks unlikely, but if Thomas can roll back the years and maintain his good start from the Arnold Palmer Invitational then a win cannot be ruled out.
The 31-year-old No. 2 player in the world has had a mixed bag of fortunes at the Players’ Championship in the past.
After finishing T2 in his debut appearance back in 2018, Schauffele missed the cut in each of his next three appearances. He returned in 2023 for a T19 finish and then was the runner-up in 2024, in a year where he also claimed two major titles to cement himself as one of the very best in the world.
A rib injury in 2025 has seen him struggle and his season debut at the Arnold Palmer invitational saw him with a T40 finish. On his day he would be right in the mix for this title, but timing is an issue here and this is a bet to avoid despite the obvious value.
