2024 The Players Championship: Best Head-to-Head Matchup Bets

by Tom Stad |
Mar 13, 2024

There will be plenty of celebrations this weekend at TPC Sawgrass in Jacksonville, Fla. This year marks the 50th anniversary of what many consider the “fifth Major.”

Known for its signature 17th-hole island green, TPC Sawgrass will present a familiar challenge to the 144 players who make up the field this week. The 7,275-yard course features smaller greens than the average Tour course, so accuracy on approach and putting will be paramount.

The world’s top-ranked golfer made headlines last week, switching to a new putter after struggling for quite a while on the greens. The change proved to be a good one, as Scheffler gained more than four strokes on the field with his putter, winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational by five strokes. The defending champion, Scheffler, is the clear favorite to go back-to-back despite there only being four two-time champions in the history of this event.

2024 Sony Open in Hawaii Best Head-to-Head Matchup Bets

(Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook) Last Week 2-1-0 | Season 12-8-1

Hideki Matsuyama vs. Will Zalatoris

Hideki Matsuyama was playing well and in contention Sunday at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. However, a final-round 76 resulted in the Japan native falling out of the top 10, ultimately settling for a T-12 finish. Reports after the round indicated that Matsuyama is battling a couple of injuries, so his health is a major concern for me this week.

On the flip side of the injury front, Will Zalatoris looks to be fully recovered from the back injury that put him on the shelf for a large chunk of the 2023 season. The Wake Forest product teed it up in just eight events last season. The Players Championship, in contrast, will be the 27-year-old’s sixth start already this year. In three of his previous five tournaments, Zalatoris has finished in the top 25, including a T-4 last week. I’m confident in the healthier Zalatoris, even with having to lay a little extra juice in this matchup

The Pick: Will Zalatoris (-120)

Rickie Fowler vs. Austin Eckroat

I’m a bit confused with this line. There are other, much heavier favorites in the matchups on the board that make a lot more sense. Rickie Fowler is a past champion at TPC Sawgrass and finished T-13 here a year ago. While he hasn’t been lighting the world on fire in 2024, the Oklahoma State grad has been competitive this season, making five of seven cuts.

Sure, Austin Eckroat notched his first-career win on the PGA Tour at the Cognizant Classic two weeks ago, but the 25-year-old has yet to prove he can compete on a weekly basis, especially in the bigger tournaments. A fellow Oklahoma State Cowboy, Eckroat has never teed it up at TPC Sawgrass, and I fully expect the bright lights to be a bit too much for him. Fowler should be a heavier favorite. Lay the juice and enjoy the ride.

The Pick: Rickie Fowler (-110)

Collin Morikawa vs. Justin Thomas

Justin Thomas is another former champion at TPC Sawgrass who has put the nightmare of lipping out a chip to make the 2023 playoffs behind him. The University of Alabama product has been all but lights out this season. Save for one missed cut, Thomas has finished no worse than T-12 in five starts in 2024. With his game looking to be as good as ever and playing a course that brings back some great memories, I’m looking for a big weekend out of “JT.”

On the other side of this matchup, Collin Morikawa is no slouch by any means. The 27-year-old has already won six times on Tour, including two Majors. TPC Sawgrass has not been as kind to the UCLA grad, though. In three starts, Morikawa has a missed cut, T-41 and T-13 finish. Add a pair of MCs this year, including last week at Bay Hill, and you’ve got yourself a feast-or-famine scenario. I’m betting on the latter here.

The Pick: Justin Thomas (-115)

Make sure to check out our other best bets for Wednesday:

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