The PGA Tour’s flagship tournament gets underway this week at the TPC Sawgrass Stadium course. The tour’s best golfers will all be on hand at the iconic Pete Dye-designed track. But only one can take home the coveted Players trophy (and $4.5 million first-place check).
PGA Tour No. 1 Scottie Scheffler will attempt a record three-peat. He will be joined by recent tournament winners Rory McIlroy (2019) and Justin Thomas (2021).
Who is best equipped to take the much-coveted title? The following is our top 10:
10. Xander Schauffele
The reigning PGA and British Open champion has been hampered by a rib injury since the season opener at Kapalua (which is the primary reason we have him ranked at No. 10). After missing two months, Schauffele made his return to the Tour at Bay Hill, where he finished T40, highlighted by a round of 69 on Sunday… Schauffele currently holds the longest streak of consecutive made cuts (58) on Tour. Incredibly, he last missed the cut three years ago at the 2022 Masters… The Players has the kind of major-like field where Schauffele typically thrives, but history says it’s hit or miss: in six career starts at Sawgrass, the southern California native has three missed-cuts alongside two runner-up finishes, including a T2 last season.
Odds: 25-1
World Rank: 3rd
Field Rank: 3rd
Last Six: 40, 30, 41, 13, 5, 2
Best at Sawgrass: T2 (2018, 2024)
9. Russell Henley
Long considered a journeyman, the now 35-year-old Georgia native took his game to another level, starting in late 2023, and today is considered one of the very best players in the world… Henley enters off a win at Bay Hill, and a world ranking of No. 7 (the first time he’s cracked the top 10)… One of the Tour’s best putters, Henley ranks 14th in strokes gained: putting and 12th in putting average… Now for the not-so-good news: in 11 career starts at Sawgrass, Henley has yet to post a single top-10 and has more missed-cuts (6) than top-25s (4).
Odds: 30-1
World Rank: 7th
Field Rank: 7th
Last Six: 1, 6, 39, 5, 10, 30
Best at Sawgrass: T13 (2022)
8. Shane Lowry
The 2019 Open champ enters in top form, off three top-11s in his last four starts including a runner-up at Pebble Beach and solo seventh last week at Bay Hill… The Irishman is currently ranked No. 14 in the world, a career best… In nine career starts at TPC Sawgrass, Lowry owns four top-20 finishes, including a top-10 in 2021… Lowry is considered one of the best approach players in the world.
Odds: 35-1
World Rank: 14th
Field Rank: 14th
Last Six: 7, 11, 39, 2, MC, 3
Best at Sawgrass: 8th (2021)
7. Hideki Matsuyama
The 2021 Masters champion has been a consistently good performer at TPC Sawgrass. He has finished T22 or better in seven of his nine career starts, with three top-10s, including a solo fifth in 2023 and a T6 in 2024… The world No. 6 won the Sentry to kick off the 2025 season. He enters off three straight top-25s at three elite events (WM Phoenix, Genesis, API at Bay Hill)… Matsuyama ranks 6th on Tour in strokes gained: total.
Odds: 25-1
World Rank: 7th
Field Rank: 7th
Last Six: 22, 13, 25, 48, 32, 16
Best at Sawgrass: 5th (2023)
6. Tommy Fleetwood
The underrated Englishman enters in top form: T11 at Bay Hill and T5 at the Genesis… A seven-time winner on the European Tour, the 34-year-old is still looking for his first victory on the PGA Tour… The talented Brit ranks 4th on Tour in strokes gained: tee-to-green and strokes gained: approach… In seven career starts at the Players, Fleetwood has two top-10s (2018-T7 and 2019-T5).
Odds: 25-1
World Rank: 10th
Field Rank: 10th
Last Six: 11, 5, 22, 21, 16, 6
Best at Sawgrass: T5 (2019)
5. Ludvig Aberg
A winner at the Genesis Invitational a few weeks ago, Aberg enters off a solid top-25 finish at Bay Hill… The world No. 5, considered one of the game’s brightest young stars, owns a win and T5 in four starts to 2025… The 25-year-old Swede doesn’t rank particularly high on Tour in any one category but has the knack for getting the ball in the hole faster than most… He made his debut at the Players last season where he finished an impressive solo eighth.
Odds: 16-1
World Rank: 5th
Field Rank: 5th
Last Six: 22, 1, 42, 5, 6, 17
Best at Sawgrass: 8th (2024 – debut)
4. Collin Morikawa
The Cal product rocketed out of the gate with two majors and five wins in his first two full seasons on tour. He then went kind of stale for a few seasons but appears to have found his elite game once again: in just four starts to the 2025 season – all Signature events, Morikawa owns a pair of solo seconds, including a runner-up to Russell Henley last week at Bay Hill, alongside two other top-20s… Since the 2022 season, spanning three full seasons, Morikawa has won just once (2023 Zozo Championship), so – along with Justin Thomas, he’s among those that seem the most due (if there’s such a thing)… In three starts at the Players, Morikawa has one top-20 finish (T13 last season).
Odds: 12-1
World Rank: 4th
Field Rank: 4th
Last Six: 2, 17, 17, 2, 54, 28
Best at Sawgrass: T13 (2023)
3. Justin Thomas
After a horrific slump in 2023 and a resetting in 2024, Thomas seems to be fully back to his old self… In in his last nine starts, JT has posted six finishes inside the top 10… He was in contention last week at Bay Hill but fell apart on weekend with rounds of 74 and 76… Despite that blip in Orlando, Thomas enters the Players ranked No. 9 in the world and looking for his first win in nearly three years… One of the best iron players on the planet, Thomas ranks 5th in strokes gained: approach (1.045) and 4th in scoring average (68.5)… He won here in 2021 and finished T3 in 2016.
Odds: 25-1
World Rank: 9th
Field Rank: 9th
Last Six: 36, 9, 6, 48, 2, 26
Best at Sawgrass: 1st (2021)
2. Rory McIlroy
The Northern Irishman started the year on the European Tour, recording a T4 finish in Dubai and chased it with a win at Pebble Beach in his 2025 debut on the PGA Tour… McIlroy enters Sawgrass off a solid T15 finish at Bay Hill… The 35-year-old has been the epitome of “boom or bust” at the Players, winning the 2019 edition and once finishing in the top 10 three years (2013-15) in a row. But he’s also missed six cuts in 14 attempts, including three in the last six editions… His four most recent starts at Sawgrass: T19, MC, T33, MC… McIlroy leads the Tour in strokes gained: total (2.16), tee-to-green (2.11) and off-the-tee (1.32).
Odds: 12-1
World Rank: 2nd
Field Rank: 2nd
Last Six: 15, 17, 1, 4, 1, 3
Best at Sawgrass: 1st (2019)
1. Scottie Scheffler
The world No. 1 will enter the Players in a strange position: winless on the season (although he’s made just four starts in 2025)… Last season, the Texan became the first player in history to go back-to-back at Sawgrass and in 2025 he’s seeking an historic three-peat… In four starts on the 2025 PGA Tour season, Scheffler owns three top-11 finishes, highlighted by a T3 at the Genesis… His career at the Players got off to a less-than-stellar start, missing the cut in 2021 and finishing T55 in 2022. But he’s hoisted the iconic trophy in back-to-back seasons and will seek a third, starting Thursday… Scheffler ranks 3rd on Tour in strokes gained: total (1.82) and 2nd in strokes gained: tee to green (1.341).
Odds: 6-1
World Rank: 1st
Field Rank: 1st
Last Six: 11, 3, 25, 9, 1, 3
Best at Sawgrass: 1st (2024, 2023)
Next Five: Sepp Straka, Patrick Cantlay, Michael Kim, Jason Day, Corey Conners
Joel Cook contributed to this report.
