Steve Palmer's Players Championship specials preview, best bets & free golf tips

Golf tips, best bets and player analysis for the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass on the PGA Tour.

Where to watch

Sky Sports Main Event and Golf, 11.45am Thursday

Best bets

Collin Morikawa top American
3pts 17-2 bet365

Alexander Noren top Swede
3pts Evens bet365

Tournament preview

Collin Morikawa carded a round of 68 on his Players Championship debut in 2020 - a score expunged from the record books once the tournament was abandoned due to the coronavirus pandemic later that day - and he closed with a 66 at Sawgrass last year.

Those two rounds suggest it will not be long before Morikawa becomes a serious Players Championship title contender, and his first bid to get his name on the trophy could come on Sunday. The 14-1 about Morikawa in the outright market is tempting, but preference is for the 17-2 about the Californian ending the week as top American.

There is a strong international challenge this week - Shane Lowry, Hideki Matsuyama, Cameron Smith, Joaquin Niemann and Corey Conners can be fancied, not to mention Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland. Narrow down the field to Americans, though, and Morikawa seems the standout option.

The Open champion made a sluggish start to this year, but he got Covid just after Christmas and said his New Year practice plans were affected. It was not until the Genesis Invitational last time out that Morikawa fans saw their man looking sharp. At Riviera Country Club - in the highest class of tournament seen so far this year - Morikawa closed with a 65 to finish runner-up.

Florida has already been a happy hunting ground for Morikawa - he won the WGC at The Concession by a three-shot margin just over a year ago - and the world number two should light up the Sunshine State again this week if he gets a fair set of tee-times over the first two rounds.

Defending champions have a miserable record at Sawgrass - every year the previous victor seems to get left behind - so history is against Justin Thomas. Scottie Scheffler may struggle to get down to business so soon after a gutsy and gruelling Arnold Palmer Invitational triumph after which he admitted he was exhausted.

Alex Noren should have the measure of the three-strong Swedish contingent teeing up at Sawgrass. Henrik Stenson and Henrik Norlander are the other two Swedes playing this week.

Noren was second in the greens in regulation statistics at the Honda Classic last time out, squandering opportunities on the dancefloors on his way to fifth place. He was sixth in the Phoenix Open last month and is in vastly superior nick to Stenson and Norlander, who have both just slipped outside of the world's top 200.

Not got a bet365 account? Bet £10 & get £50 in free bets

Open account offer. Minimum deposit requirement. Free Bets are paid as bet credits and are available for use upon settlement of bets to value of qualifying deposit. Minimum odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude bet credits stake. Time limits/T&Cs apply. 18+ begambleaware.org

CLAIM OFFER HERE

MORE FREE BETS

Today's top sports betting stories

Follow us on Twitter @racingpostsport