THE PLAYERS Championship 2021: Golfers To Watch

Player and Betting Profiles of Golfers to Watch at THE PLAYERS Championship

My PLAYERS Championship preview at TPC Sawgrass has odds and tournament information, plus ‘Fairways Favorites and Longshots’. I add tournament match-ups, and may add more as we continue our pursuit of profit with a 6-1 tournament match-up run since the Farmers Insurance Open with more sweeps and posted bets at The WGC Championships and Genesis Invitational.

Golfers to Watch – THE PLAYERS Championship 2021

As I noted in THE PLAYERS Championship preview and TheLines, the top talent on tour will really be on display this week at THE PLAYERS Championship. Justin Thomas is 5-for-5 in cuts made here with a T3 and T11 making him one of the favorites to watch and consider as a bet. You won’t get him too often at +2000, but we don’t include those golfers at +2000 or below in our bag of Golfers to Watch.

At last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, two of our Golfers to Watch finished top-10. Now we shoot for more birdies and green at THE PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass. Here are a few Golfers to Watch, and you can read more in my PLAYERS Championship update at TheLines, and more tournament match-ups of interest plus information you can bet on at Offshore Gaming Association.

Jason Day (+5000 DraftKings): Day has three top-10 finishes in this tournament since 2016, when he won the event as the No. 1 player in the world. His experience and proven play here also shows Day with the second-best adjusted scoring average on this course over the last five renewals. He’s rounding into form again with a top-10 and top-20 finish in February, and has gained strokes in most categories over his last five events. Day’s short game and putting really give him an advantage at Sawgrass, where he has proven to be a specialist on the Stadium Course.

Abraham Ancer (+7500 FanDuel): Ancer finished T12 on debut here last year, and shot under par all four rounds. While lacking experience on this course, he’s making up with a solid stat profile and playing well with six top-20 finishes in his last eight starts on tour.

Patrick Cantlay (+2200 DraftKings and BetMGM): These are the lowest odds we’ve dipped to in the Golfers to Watch section, but Cantlay still has seven other players with lower odds. He’s too good a fit to pass up this week, as Cantlay has been consistently excellent over his last six starts with six top-20 finishes. His Ball Striking, Approach Play and Tee-to-Green are top-10 in this field over his last 36 rounds, and he’s had solid Around the Green stats in a previous start here when he finished top-25.

Here is bigger lonshot I added as a darkhorse in my PLAYERS Championship coverage for FanDuel.

Corey Connors (+8000 FanDuel). Connors is a rising 29-year-old Canadian who is accurate and improved since his T-41 finish on debut in this event in 2019. His solid skills with strong approach and Tee-to-Green stats were on display last week in his third-place finish at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Connors has finished top-25 in seven of his last nine PGA Tour events including top-10 at last fall’s Masters. Over his last 36 rounds, Conners ranks top-11 in ball striking and Strokes Gained (SG): Off-the-Tee, and top-20 in SG: Tee-to-Green. His approach stats are also solid put him in the top-30 when stacking up against this field. Connors’ short game and around the green play has held him back from more top finishes, along with his putting. But the Canadian’s 3.8 strokes gained Putting last week was his best performance this season. He may lack experience on this course, but Connors’ numbers in key stats this season, along with his current form make him a dark horse to consider.

Read more Golfers to Watch profiles, and PLAYERS Championship betting insight as I shoot for more birdies and green in PGA Tour betting.

Following THE PLAYERS Championship, the PGA Tour heads down the South coast on I-95 to PGA National for the Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.