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After a successful Arnold Palmer Invitational outing at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge in Orlando, the PGA Tour is headed to the Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass for the 2023 Players Championship.
Ahead of the event’s Thursday start, the PGA Tour has let out its expert pick and world No.3 Rory McIlroy is on top. Despite being on a stacked field with World No.1 Jon Rahm and No.2 Scottie Scheffler among 43 of the world's top 50 golfers, McIlroy has come out on top as a favorite for the event.
Rory McIlroy top Players Championship power rankings
According to PGA Tour experts, Rory McIlroy is a clear favorite for the 2023 Players Championship title. Experts cite the Irishman’s record at the event’s venue as a reason for the same. Since 2017, the ace golfer has gone 3-for-5 with a win in 2019 as his only top 30 at TPC Sawgrass. The golfer is expected to put on a strong performance at the event, much like his win in Dubai and a T2 in Bay Hill.
While McIlroy is a marked favorite, experts have named Scottie Scheffler as the second-best on the field. According to them, the American “will be immune from what has been Kryptonite at TPC Sawgrass” and showcase his best on the greens. Coming off the back of a T4 finish, the 26-year-old is expected to make a bounce back to form this week.
Interestingly, PGA Tour experts have named Max Homa as the third favorite to lift the trophy at TPC Sawgrass. Despite being a betters’ favorite, OWGR leader Jon Rahm sits forth on the experts’ power rankings.
Jason Day, Tyrrell Hatton, Justin Thomas and Viktor Hovland are some of the other top names on the experts' list for the 2023 Players Championship.
It is pertinent to note that the event’s defending champion Cameron Smith will be missing from the field when he joined LIV Golf last year.
2023 Players Championship odds
Unlike the PGA Tour experts, the betters have dubbed Jon Rahm as the favorite to win the 2023 Players Championship along with Rory McIlroy.
According to SportsLine, the duo comes into the event with odds of 17-2, edging past world No.2 Scheffler (10-1). Justin Thomas (19-1), Max Homa (19-1) and Patrick Cantlay (19-1) are the other top names on the odds list.
Here is the top 25 odds list for the 2023 Players Championship (as per SportsLine):
- Jon Rahm +850
- Rory McIlroy +850
- Scottie Scheffler +1000
- Patrick Cantlay +1900
- Max Homa +1900
- Justin Thomas +1900
- Xander Schauffele +2500
- Viktor Hovland +2700
- Tony Finau +2800
- Collin Morikawa +2800
- Will Zalatoris +3200
- Jordan Spieth +3200
- Matt Fitzpatrick +3400
- Tyrrell Hatton +3400
- Cameron Young +3600
- Jason Day +3600
- Sungjae Im +3700
- Joohyung Kim +4100
- Shane Lowry +4800
- Keegan Bradley +5000
- Rickie Fowler +5000
- Keith Mitchell +5500
- Corey Conners +6500
- Si Woo Kim +7000
- Sam Burns +7000
