This week’s PGA Tour stop takes us to TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida for the “5th Major”. Most of the World’s best golfers will tackle this course that features the infamous 17th hole. A short Par 3 onto an island green. A lot of tournaments have been won, but mostly lost, at this hole. Last week’s winner, Sean O’Hair had a chance to win The Players in 2007, but plunked two in the water at 17. Last year, Sergio Garcia stuck his tee shot at 17 in a playoff to beat Paul Goydos. The list of winners at this tournament includes guys from Craig Perks to Tiger Woods, and Fred Funk to Jack Nicklaus. This is definitely the best tournament outside of the Majors. Tiger Woods has only one this once, so you know how good the level of competition is here.
Let’s take a look at some golfers we’re taking a shot on. Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are obviously the favorites, but their payoff is not worth taking a shot on, so we’ll take a few others from the field that would pay nicely.
Guys worth a shot:
Kenny Perry 35-1: Despite his collapse at The Masters, Perry has been one of the best golfers over the past year. He’s got the game to fit any course and would love to put The Masters behind him. A win here would do that. Just like it has temporarily taken the pressure of Sergio Garcia for not winning a major. He’s had decent success here despite not winning.
Jim Furyk 40-1: Jim has played just about better than anyone here at Sawgrass without winning. He’s only missed one cut in 12 chances, and he’s finished in the top 30 in his last 6 visits. He’s a resident of Ponte Vedra and would love to finally break-through with a win. He’s coming off a t11 last week at Quail Hollow.
Sergio Garcia 40-1: I always like taking defending champs that have the type of game Garcia has. This was a big win for him last year. He has not been playing his best golf of late, but he came here last year the same way. He’ll be over-looked by bettors because of his recent struggles, but never count him out.
A couple of long shots worth a small play:
Bubba Watson 125-1: Bubba is still looking for his first PGA Tour win. He’s getting very close. He tied for 2nd last week at Quail Hollow and has two other strong finishes this year at high profile events. He’s gaining confidence as the weeks go on.
Jeff Klauk 175-1: Not many people have heard of this guy, but Jeff Klauk is playing TPC Sawgrass for the first time in competition. He grew up on this golf course and knows everything about it. He’s estimated that he’s played over 1,000 rounds here. Jeff has made 11 of 13 cuts so far this year and owns one top 10 and three top 25’s. He’s definitely worth a play with books that offer odds on top 10 finishes.
Good luck to everyone and enjoy The Players Championship.
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