The Players Championship 2025

Written By: Dimes Griffin

3/12/25

The Dollaboys are coming off a big showing at the Arnold Palmer Invitational last week, winning over $2k in total earnings and throwing up a top 5 finish in the $100k Cash Tournament on Fanduel ($9/entry). A mediocre day for Rory on Sunday and a clutch Corey Conners birdie putt on 18 was the difference of the Dollaboys winning $7,500 rather than $2k. Nevertheless, we will gladly take our winnings and head to the next tournament. Literally, the Dollaboys will be on scene this week at The Players! We are ready for a weekend full of gambling, golf, march madness, spring break, and spreading the wealth! Are you? 

TPC Sawgrass (Stadium Course) – Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida

7,189 Yards – Par 72 – Greens: Bermuda (Ryegrass Overseeded/ Poa Mix)

Designed by: Pete Dye

To what many consider the 5^th major in golf, The Players Championship is held at the iconic stadium course at TPC Sawgrass, one of the most challenging tracks on tour. Although it lacks in length, it makes up for it with tight fairways, tricky dog legs, and a surplus of sand traps and water hazards on every hole. Known as a second-shot type course, however, there is no specific play style that succeeds here. We’ve seen players at both their best and worst here at Sawgrass, so you can throw course history out the window when setting your lineups and placing bets.

Field & Purse

Though it may feel like a major, the enjoyable LIV golfers won’t be on hand again due to the distance merge deal between the two leagues. Until then, the PGA and us fans will continue to take a major hit. However, the 144-player field is still composed with great talent and includes 18 out of 20 of the world’s top ranked golfers. There is a standard cut after 36 holes to, with the top-65 golfers including ties to continue on to play the weekend. The purse this week is a FAT $25 million, with the winner taking home a whopping $4.5 mil.

Key Stats

• Strokes Gained: Off the Tee
• Driving Distance
• Driving Accuracy
• Strokes Gained: Approach 
• Greens in Regulation %
• Scrambling %
• 3-Putt Avoidance

Previous Winners

• 2024: Scottie Scheffler (-20)
• 2023: Scottie Scheffler (-17)
• 2022: Cam Smith (-13)
• 2021: Justin Thomas (-14)
• 2019: Rory McIlroy (-16)

Weather

As far as the weather for the week, it will be slightly cooler than the average temp this time of year, especially for the early tee times. Golfers teeing off before 10am could face temps in the mid-50’s, but as the day goes on, look for the weather to warm up the course to start playing easier. For betting and lineup purposes, look to play afternoon groups on Thursday. Both days, afternoon groups should see almost perfect conditions with temps getting up to the low-70’s with occasional wind gusts coming off the Atlantic Ocean. Winds could get up to 15mph at some times, golfers need to focus on keeping balls in the fairway and dial in on accuracy to battle any movement the wind might cause. Saturday will likely be the same, however Sunday could get a little humid with a possible shower coming in late afternoon. But let’s hope the rain stays away all weekend. Let’s take a look at the key stats and previous winners.

Dimes’ Fanduel Picks

Alright before you guys’ yell CHALK at us, here us out… He’s bound to win eventually… are you really going to pass him up ever? Let’s be real folks, he’s the best in the game, 2-time defending champ, and hasn’t won yet this season… uhh yeah, we’ll take that chalk all day. Especially after we tell you our low-price sleepers below to make you able to fit the incredibly high priced Scheffler. Trust the process.

Ludvig Aberg – $11,800

Quickly becoming one of our favorite plays on tour week after week, this guy Ludvig just brings it man. He puts himself in contention every tournament and possesses all the skills needed in his bag to dominate any course. In his debut here at TPC Sawgrass last year, he finished 8^th, gaining +12.3 stokes on the field that week. He won two starts ago at the Genesis and finished strong last week at the Arnold Palmer. Now he heads back home to Ponte Vedra Beach where he lives and practices most of the year so expect him to be very comfortable this week. If you’re considering fading Scottie, there’s nowhere else to start than Ludvig. 

Colin Morikawa – $11,100

Another one of our favorite plays each week is our boy, Colin. With two runner-up finishes already this season, he has come close to breaking through and adding to his young impressive resume. An average Sunday likely costed him the win last week but now he heads to a Pete Dye course that fits his game much better. Morikawa isn’t the longest hitter on tour, which is okay because you don’t need to hit it long here at Sawgrass. What you do need however is accuracy, and Colin has plenty of that. Known as one of the most accurate hitters in the world, this course lines up great for Morikawa. He checks all the boxes.

Other High-Priced Options: Justin Thomas $11,400

Hideki Matsuyama – $10,900

The theme this week is going to be safe plays. With more than half the field likely to be cut after Friday, its crucial to go 6/6 in your lineups to significantly cash. And sometimes you just have to play it safe and that all starts with Hideki at TPC Sawgrass. Very few feel more comfortable here at Sawgrass than Hideki, and he’s proved that finishing an elite T8 or better in his last four starts here. Matsuyama was also the infamous first round leader in 2020 before the event was canceled mid-tournament due to Covid. We don’t know if he is necessarily due, but we do know he is as safe of a play out there. Play with confidence.  

Tommy Fleetwood – $10,700

Continuing with our safety theme, we are also heavily looking at Tommy Fleetwood this week. Tommy tends to turn up when the courses get harder. His iron play has been clicking and he’s been gaining an average of +5 strokes against the field on approach shots this year. He is also a consistent performer here at TPC Sawgrass, making the cut in 6/7 attempts, never finishing outside the top-35, and even owns a top-5 and top-10 finish here so he definitely is familiar with the course. 

Shane Lowry – $10,200

Shane’s career at Sawgrass started shaking with a few missed cuts, however in recent years, he now owns a top-10, top-15, and top-20 finish here. Lowry has found recent success with his accurate iron play and his ability to play in any weather conditions. Which could come in handy if the wind starts to pick up this week. He didn’t finish too strong last week but we wouldn’t worry too much about it. Shane still played well to stay in contention and we expect the same thing this week.

Other Mid-Priced Options: Sepp Straka $10,000. Corey Conners $9,900. Keegan Bradley $9,900. Russell Henley $10,400

Low Price Options

Si Woo Kim – $9,200

Warning ahead of time of high-ownership, but if you’re looking for the safest-cheapest option, look no further. A former winner here at Sawgrass, he always seems to show up and dominate this Pete Dye design. But it’s not just here he finds success… this last month alone he has three top-25 finishes, two of them being in signature events. Since winning here, Si Woo has two top-10 finishes at Sawgrass, and has still never missed a cut (knock on wood). The only thing that may hold him back is his putter… but at this price and with his course history we are willing to take that risk.

Aaron Rai – $8,800 

Another likely popular play this week due to his recent play is Aaron Rai. He’s known for having one of the most accurate drivers on tour, so Sawgrass is an excellent fit for him. Coming off an impressive T11 at Bay Hill and a T4 the start before, he’s definitely trending in the right direction and is almost a steal at this price tag.  

Nick Taylor – $8,600

An easy choice in this price range is Canadian, Nick Taylor. He’s made the cut in 5/7 tries here at The Players and finished T26 last year. This year he has yet to miss a cut and arguably playing the best golf of his career, finishing in the top-25 four times already. Taylor has gained strokes in approach shots in every event this season and Sawgrass looks to fit his skillset to keep that streak alive. It’s unlikely he poses a threat come Sunday afternoon, but to make the cut and finish middle of the pack is certainly possible.

*Bonus Pick*  Michael Kim – $7,700

Woah take this guy off the stove, cause he’s on fire! Honestly, we don’t really understand the low-price tag on Michael Kim but we won’t complain. Don’t pay any attention to him never making a cut here at The Players. Look right past it, because this clearly isn’t the same Michael Kim from years past. Legit one of the hottest golfers on tour right now, Kim is riding a finish streak of T2, T13, T13, T6, and T4 in his last 5 starts. Incredible. Again, the price tag is disrespectful and you better believe the Dollaboys will be following Mike who, Mike Kimmmmmm!

Other Sleeper Options: Doug Ghim $7,900. Andrew Putnam $7,800. Chan Kim $7,500

Dollaboys Expert Pick Chart