The PGA Tour returns to iconic TPC Sawgrass for the 52nd edition of The Players Championship. Whether classified as the fifth major in golf or not, there is no denying that this flagship event is a big one.
The Players Championship boasts one of the strongest fields of the entire season, as 123 elite golfers take on the challenge of Pete Dye's iconic Stadium Course (Par-72, 7,352 yards) at TPC Sawgrass and one of, if not the most famous, holes in golf, the par-3 17th, with its intimidating island green.
Two-time Players champion and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and defending champion Rory McIlroy, who had to withdraw from last week's Arnold Palmer Invitational due to a back injury, headline this week's elite field, which features 19 of the top 20 players in the Official World Golf Ranking.
Additionally, two-time major champion and 2021 Players Champion, Justin Thomas, is set to make just his second start of the season after returning to action last week at Bay Hill.
The biggest event of the season to date has officially arrived. Let's get into the picks and predictions for the 2026 Players Championship.
2026 Players Championship picks and predictions
Top 20 pick for The Players Championship: Corey Conners (+265)
It's been a relatively slow start to the season for Conners, whose best finish of 2026 so far came back at the season-opening Sony Open in Hawaii, where he finished in a tie for 24th.
Usually an exceptional ball striker, the Canadian has struggled in that department early in the season, but he flipped the switch at Bay Hill last week, gaining strokes on approach for the first time since the Sony. Conners has finished in the top 26 in four of his last five starts at The Players Championship. He finished T6 at TPC Sawgrass last season.
Sleeper pick for The Players Championship: Alex Noren (+6800)
After two big wins on the DP World Tour last year, including his victory at the BMW PGA Championship in September, Noren hit a bit of a lull, missing his first two cuts on the PGA Tour to begin 2026.
With two top-26 finishes in his last four starts at TPC Sawgrass, the Swede returns to The Players Championship having notched top 30s in each of this season's three Signature Events on the PGA Tour to date, including tying for twelfth at Riviera last month. If he can find himself in contention, Noren has proven that he can contend in big events.
Pick to win The Players Championship: Jake Knapp (+4900)
Jake Knapp withdrew from last week's Arnold Palmer Invitational, but looks set to tee it off this week at TPC Sawgrass.
If healthy, there are few in this week's field who come into The Players Championship in better form. Knapp has made five starts in 2026, not including last week, and has finished T11 or better in all five, including a T5 at the Farmers and a solo sixth at the Genesis Invitational last month. He notched a T12 finish at last year's Players Championship.
Pick to win The Players Championship: Chris Gotterup (+4400)
A two-time winner already in 2026, Gotterup ranks eighteenth in the field in approach and fifth from tee to green over the last twenty rounds, per Data Golf. He gained strokes across the board at Bay Hill last week, but a challenging final round saw him slip down the leaderboard en route to an eventual T18 finish, his fourth in six starts this season.
After winning the Scottish Open and finishing third at the Open Championship last summer, Gotterup could be on the verge of snagging another big-time title.
Pick to win The Players Championship: Collin Morikawa (+2050)
Morikawa recorded a second consecutive top 5 finish at Bay Hill last weekend to continue his excellent run of results in 2026 so far.
Winner at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the two-time major champion has finished T7 or better in each of his last three starts coming into The Players Championship. Morikawa leads this week's field in approach over the last twenty rounds and has finished T13 and T10 in two of his last three starts at TPC Sawgrass.
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