The Players Championship Sleeper Betting Picks 2026: Our Expert Panel Make Their Outside Selections For TPC Sawgrass

So you might have taken a look at Bazza's Best Bets for The Players Championship and you're wondering - as good as those tips will undoubtedly be - whether there's a bit more value out there, perhaps?

Is there anyone who possesses all of the right ingredients and is coming into the PGA Tour's biggest event in form, but maybe they've slipped under the radar somewhat?

Well, you've come to the right place because Golf Monthly's expert betting panel - which has picked 17 different winners since the start of 2025 - has sorted through the 123 names involved this week to find you eight different sleeper picks.

From Major champions to up-and-comers who may one day hold one of the four biggest prizes in the game, there's something for everyone in the list here.

Check out who we've picked below and let us know in the comments who you've backed, potentially after taking our advice?

The Players Championship Sleeper Picks 2026

Tips by...

Tips by...

Baz Plummer

For any first time readers of my betting tips, I'm Baz. I have years of experience writing golf betting content across the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, LPGA Tour and LIV Golf - plus all the men's and women's Majors. I have successfully picked three of the last five men's Major winners, utilising a heavily-researched and data-driven formula which centres around a clear mantra... follow the trends! You can find my best bets in my weekly column, 'Bazza's Best Bets' via the Golf Monthly betting hub.

Pick One: Rickie Fowler To Win @ BetMGM

As I mentioned on this week's episode of Kick Point Tour Issue, Rickie Fowler has started to catch my eye after a very solid start to 2026. I had previously been unwilling to entertain the idea of betting on him this season, but I am ready to throw that plan out of the window and get onboard at a juicy price.

Fowler has finished inside the top-20 in four of his five starts this season, with a T9th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational last week his best effort of the lot. He fits the statistical profile beautifully, ranking 15th for driving accuracy, 22nd for SG: Approach and ninth for SG: Putting this year.

As a former champion at TPC Sawgrass, he could be about to make a long-awaited comeback to the main stage, and just in time for Major season too.

Pick Two: Jacob Bridgeman To Win @ BetMGM

What a year Jacob Bridgeman is having! I'm not sure many saw a win coming for him at the Genesis Invitational, but when you consider he had finished inside the top-20 on four consecutive starts in 2026, perhaps we just weren't looking hard enough.

He followed that momentous win up with a T18 finish at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, recovering well from a poor start, but this track arguably suits him even better than Bay Hill.

Bridgeman ranks third in the field for SG: Total over the past three months, behind only Scheffler and Jake Knapp, but when you also consider he ranks 11th for SG: Approach and first for SG: Putting, you can easily see the value in his price at this event.

Tips by...

Tips by...

Elliott Heath

Pick One: Justin Rose To Win @ BetMGM

Justin Rose is a big-game player these days and The Players Championship trophy will be one of the few events left he will be desperate to get his hands on.

The Englishman has just gone MC-MC but he has been very up-and-down in recent years so that doesn't concern me too much... he was amazing at Torrey Pines recently. Some of his best results have come off the back of MCs, including his T2nd at the 2024 Open which followed an early exit at the Scottish Open.

Rose has had the weekend off to prep for TPC Sawgrass, and he has a number of good results at the PGA Tour's HQ with four top-20s since 2014, highlighted by a T6th most recently in 2023.

Pick Two: Corey Conners Top-10 @ BetMGM

The consistent Canadian has solid top-40 finishes in his last two starts, both in Signature Events, and he is a player I would not be surprised to see on the first page of the leaderboard come Sunday.

While I cannot picture him winning, I certainly like him in the each-way of top-10 markets. The two-time PGA Tour winner has 34 top-10s on the circuit, two of which have come at Sawgrass with a seventh place in 2021 and a T6th finish last year.

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Tips by...

Tips by...

Matt Cradock

Pick One: Chris Gotterup To Win @ BetMGM

In all honesty, I was stuck between Gotterup and Robert MacIntyre for my first pick, but the decisive blow came in the fact that Gotterup has two wins already in 2026, showing me he is the in-form man and knows how to win.

TPC Sawgrass tests every facet of the game and, in the past, both ball strikers and good putters have won here. For me, if Gotterup has a good putting week he will be in with a chance, his long game stats are too good to ignore.

I will shout out MacIntyre, though, who finished solo ninth in this event last year and is going under the radar in terms of form, highlighted by three top-25s. Both men provide great value for this tournament.

Pick Two: Max Greyserman To Win @ BetMGM

The American has been getting better and better in his last three events, registering T37th, T24th and T18th results, which were all Signature Events.

Although he missed the cut at The Players Championship last year, his long game stats have been improving and, mixed with a good approach game and putting numbers, he might well be a contender for a top-10 at what are pretty decent odds for someone who has two consecutive top-25s in his last two starts.

Tips by...

Tips by...

Jonny Leighfield

Pick One: Jake Knapp To Win @ BetMGM

I picked Knapp at the Arnold Palmer Invitational last week before he withdrew at the 11th hour due to illness. With that sickness hopefully behind him and potentially slightly lower expectations, I wonder if everything is lining up quite nicely for the biggest day in Knapp's career?

For many of the same reasons I picked the former UCLA man last week, I'm going to do so again. He's on a fantastic run of form which includes four top-10s in a row and he's gained strokes off the tee in each of his past 12 consecutive starts.

With a T12th here last year and a T45th in 2024, the area which let Knapp down at TPC Sawgrass was his driving. Now that he has found real form off the tee, combined with the fact his putter is white hot right now, I feel confident in the young man to cause something of an upset.

Pick Two: Sahith Theegala To Win @ BetMGM

I did not think I'd be saying this back in mid-January, but here we are just before The Players and I'm suggesting Sahith Theegala as a legitimate contender.

The American has been in excellent form since a T8th at The American Express, and I believe he has rediscovered that form which made him a fan favorite in the first place.

With a T9th at The Players just a couple of years ago and a solid all-round game in his back pocket, I hope Theegala can take the next step towards fulfilling his potential by featuring down the stretch on Sunday.

Golf Monthly Expert Betting Panel Winning Picks (Since Start Of 2025)