Steve Palmer's Players Championship first-round leader preview, best bets

When to watch

Sky Sports Main Event and Golf, 11.45am Thursday

Best bets

Keith Mitchell first-round leader
1pt each-way 100-1 Betfair, Power

Preview

Florida is a dream location for UK and Irish holidaymakers fed up of the cold and miserable conditions often found at home, but this week the so-called Sunshine State is set for some uncharacteristically poor weather.

For a tournament as prestigious as the Players Championship, golf punters typically like to have some extra investments, and many will be taking more interest than usual in the first-round-leader market. The difficulty, though, is how much of an impact the weather seems likely to play at TPC Sawgrass.

It is not simply a case of identifying which players might make a fast start - predicting when electrical activity in the skies might bring proceedings to a halt is the other challenge. Thunderstorms are on the radar for round one - and if they are of any significant length, the first 18 holes may need to conclude on Friday. There is less lightning in Friday's picture, but it is certainly possible that round two leaks into a windy Saturday morning.

With the storms set to start on Wednesday night, a soggy Sawgrass can be expected for Thursday morning, no matter how hard the PGA Tour chiefs make the sub-air drainage system work. A powerhouse putting well should take advantage of the cut in the ground as soon as play is permitted - and starting on the first hole is preferable to the tenth. One and two is an easier start than ten and 11, especially in rough weather.

Keith Mitchell, teeing off at 8.24am local time from the first, appeals at 100-1. His Florida Swing record is superb and only one player outscored him in round two of the 2019 Players Championship - the first Sawgrass gathering back in a March slot on the calendar. In the 2020 edition Mitchell opened with a 68 for seventh place before the event was abandoned.

Given the way Mitchell has performed this year - seventh in the Sony Open, 12th at Pebble Beach, tenth in Phoenix and ninth in the Honda Classic - there seems every chance he gets among the early birdies at Sawgrass.

Mitchell's only PGA Tour victory came in Florida - the 2019 Honda - on TifEagle Bermuda grass greens. He gets his favourite putting surface again at Sawgrass this week and could put his name on the leaderboard early.

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