This article is part of our Yahoo PGA DFS Picks series.
THE PLAYERS Championship
Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
TPC Sawgrass - Par 72 - 7,352 yards
Field - 144 entrants
Purse - $25M
The Preview
We finally caught a glimpse of difficult scoring conditions at last week's Signature Event hosted by Bay Hill, and with the field doubling in size to 144 entrants this week, it won't be shocking to see a handful of tournament favorites fall completely short of simply advancing to the weekend at the volatile PLAYERS Championship. This presents an opportunity to lean into risk tolerance, which always makes for entertaining roster construction from a daily fantasy perspective.
Expect to see slightly longer rough in Ponte Vedra Beach this time of year, while bermuda remains dormant on the greens in March as quick putting surfaces overseeded with poa trivialis invite plenty of three-jacks. TPC Sawgrass is by no means a bomber's paradise, placing more of an emphasis on plotting from target to target and SG: Approach, but it's still key to take advantage of the four par-5s, especially for our DFS scoring purposes. The weather forecast is favorable until a strengthening breeze arrives throughout Round 3 on moving day, and a chance of scattered thunderstorms exists Sunday afternoon.
Recent Champions
2024 - Scottie Scheffler
2023 - Scottie Scheffler
2022 - Cameron Smith
2021 - Justin Thomas
2020 - None
2019 - Rory McIlroy
2018 - Webb Simpson
2017 - Si Woo Kim
2016 - Jason Day
2015 - Rickie Fowler
Key Stats to Victory
SG: Approach
Proximity: 75-150 and 200-plus yards
Par-5 Scoring
Bogey Avoidance
Yahoo Value Picks
Based on $200 salary cap
Cream of the Crop
Scottie Scheffler - $45
He's yet to show up in 2025 with anything better than his C-plus game compared to the historic peaks we saw from him in 2024, but Scheffler remains priced around $10 too low on Yahoo at the $45 maximum, so he's an easy click atop the board as the best player in the world and two-time defending champ. Scheffler just gained a career-high 6.52 strokes off the tee en route to a T11 at Bay Hill, though he tallied only 13 total birdies while losing 5.33 strokes with the flat stick. However, he's gained strokes both on and around the greens at TPC Sawgrass in three straight years.
Ludvig Aberg - $44
Aberg simply posted an awful third-round performance at the Arnold Palmer Invitational this past weekend, but he still finished second among the field in SG: Off-the-Tee and T11 in GIR percentage while racking up the fifth-most birdies with 18 total tweeters. Not only is the 25-year-old Swede robotic off the tee, but he's also No. 1 in Prox: 75-100 yards over his last 24 rounds. Additionally, he gained 12.3 strokes from tee to green in his PLAYERS Championship debut here last year.
Collin Morikawa - $43
A heartbreaking back nine in Orlando on Sunday kept Morikawa from clinching what could've been his first victory since October of 2023, but he profiles well for a quick turnaround at TPC Sawgrass where his elite driving accuracy and iron play can shine. He led the 2023 PLAYERS Championship in SG: Approach, and Morikawa ranks top-5 in both SG: Tee-to-Green and Fairways Gained over his last 24 measured rounds.
Glue Guys
Denny McCarthy - $31
Arguably the best putter on the planet, McCarthy gained 7.1 strokes putting last week at the API where he paced the field in total feet of putts made. He's also gained at least 2.4 strokes on approach in four consecutive outings dating back to the WM Phoenix Open, ascending to 16th in SG: APP over his last 24 rounds. McCarthy is fourth in Prox: 200-plus within this sample as well, and he's a perfect 5-for-5 in career cuts made at THE PLAYERS.
Corey Conners - $29
Notching his second top-5 of the season last week in Orlando, Conners uncharacteristically led the entire API field in scrambling while gaining a collective 6.1 strokes on and around the greens. The Canadian has now gained strokes with his short game in two straight starts, while his 3.1 strokes gained on approach at Bay Hill marked a season high. Over his last 12 rounds, he's second in Prox: 125-150 and 11th in overall proximity.
Daniel Berger - $29
Berger extended his top-25 streak to four consecutive events this past week at the API where he ranked eighth or better in both SG: OTT and driving accuracy, but the native Floridian still hasn't cracked the $30 mark on Yahoo, providing quite a bit of value here compared elsewhere in the betting and DFS markets. Over his last 24 rounds, he's fourth in Fairways Gained, fifth in P4: 450-500 Efficiency, 10th in Opportunities Gained and 13th in proximity.
Bargain Bin
Jordan Spieth - $26
Favorably a GPP asset rather than cash, but a motivated Spieth post-exclusion from the API is priced too low here at $26, especially considering he's placed top-10 in two of three starts dating to a T4 at the WM Phoenix Open. He gained a combined five strokes off the tee throughout these three recent outings, climbing to eighth in Bogey Avoidance over his last 12 rounds.
Will Zalatoris - $25
Zalatoris is another target primarily in GPP settings due to his putting concerns, which were evident last week at Bay Hill where he lost 6.1 strokes on the greens. However, he gained eight strokes ball striking and ranked T6 among the API field in GIR percentage on the way to his T22 finish. A lousy track record at TPC Sawgrass could help keep other gamers away, but he's gained a collective 11.3 strokes on approach throughout just 14 career rounds at THE PLAYERS.
Si Woo Kim - $24
The 2017 PLAYERS champion is trending in the right direction after posting his fourth consecutive top-25 result in Orlando last week, improving to fifth in Prox: 200-plus, sixth in Prox: 125-150 and 15th in SG: T2G over his past 12 rounds. He also ranks top-25 on Tour in FIR percentage and birdie average this season.
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