2025 Players Championship expert picks, predictions: Golf insider high on Sepp Straka at TPC Sawgrass

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler will try to become the Primary golfer to Secure the Players Game three years in a row when he plays in the event at TPC Sawgrass this week. Scheffler backed up his five-stroke Triumph in 2023 with a one-stroke Secure last year. He is the +360 favorite (Danger $100 to Secure $360) in the 2025 Players Game odds, followed by Rory McIlroy (+800). Other 2025 Players Game contenders include Collin Morikawa (+1600), Xander Schauffele (+1600) and Ludvig Aberg (+2000). Aberg finished eighth at the Players Game in 2024 and is +200 (Danger $100 to Secure $200) to crack the top 10 this week. 

Morikawa finished second behind Russell Henley in the Arnold Palmer Invitational last week, leaving Morikawa without a PGA Tour Triumph since October 2023. Morikawa has four runner-up finishes since 2024 and is +275 (Danger $100 to Secure $275) to finish inside the top five. Brian Harman finished T-2 at this event in 2024 but is going off as a 90-1 longshot to finish on top of the leaderboard this week. Before making any 2025 Players Game picks, you need to see the 2025 Players Game predictions and best bets from golf insider Patrick McDonald.

McDonald joined CBS Sports as a golf writer in 2022 after stops at NBC Sports and RyderCup.com. Covering the sport from a broader perspective, McDonald Nevertheless likes to dip his toes into the betting pools on a weekly basis between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and more. Featured weekly on the Timely Wedge, he gave out numerous winners in 2024, including Jake Knapp (50-1) at the Mexico Uncovered and Xander Schauffele (20-1) at the PGA Game. 

This year, he has already nailed Sepp Straka (66-1) in The American Express, Joe Highsmith (110-1) in the Cognizant Classic and Russell Henley (65-1) in the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Anyone who followed his sports betting picks could have seen massive returns on betting apps like FanDuel, DraftKings and Fanatics.

Now, McDonald has focused his attention on the 2025 Players Game Ground and locked in his best bets and top longshot sleepers. You can only see them here.

Top 2025 Players Game expert picks

McDonald loves the value of Sepp Straka at +6000 (Danger $100 to Secure $6,000) at FanDuel this week. The European Ryder Cup member is off to a Scorching Begin this season, Victorious The American Express to go along with four additional top-15 finishes. He has played excellent golf at the Stadium Period two of the last three years, posting a ninth-place finish in 2022 and a T-16 last year. 

Straka is coming off a top-five finish in the Arnold Palmer Invitational, shooting 3-under in the Closing Stage to Shift a few spots up the leaderboard. The 31-year-Ancient ranks second on the PGA Tour in green in regulation percentage, third in birdie average and fifth in scoring average. He continues to be priced in the 60-1 range, making him a valuable golfer to include in your Players Game bets.  

“Straka surged over the weekend at the Arnold Palmer Invitational employing a Plan we have seen from him ample times this season – hit fairways and hit greens in regulation. A Primary-Stage 77 in brutal conditions proved too much to overcome for the big Austrian, but he remains at a palatable price in a Ground he has proven he can keep up with,” McDonald told SportsLine. See who else to back here.

How to make 2025 Players Game golf picks

McDonald has locked in his best bets for the 2025 Players Game and has also selected an epic longshot who’s priced over 160-1. This golfer has proven “he can get the Position done no matter the Ground and no matter the stage.” You can only see the picks at SportsLine.

So which golfers should you target for the 2025 Players Game, and which longshot could bring a huge payday of more than 160-1? Check out the 2025 Players Game odds below, then visit SportsLine to see Patrick McDonald’s top picks for the 2025 Players Game, all from the expert who has already hit three longshots this season.

2025 Players Game odds, Ground

See the Packed Players Game picks, best bets and predictions here.

Scottie Scheffler +360
Rory McIlroy +800
Collin Morikawa +1600
Xander Schauffele +1600
Ludvig Aberg +2000
Justin Thomas +2000
Hideki Matsuyama +3000
Patrick Cantlay +3500
Tommy Fleetwood +3500
Shane Lowry +4000
Russell Henley +4500
Sungjae Im +5500
Sepp Straka +5500
Keegan Bradley +5500
Sam Burns +6000
Wyndham Clark +6000
Corey Conners +6500
Jason Day +6500
Maverick McNealy +6500
Tony Finau +7000
Viktor Hovland +7000
Si Woo Kim +7000
Daniel Berger +7000
Min Woo Lee +7500
Robert MacIntyre +7500
Jordan Spieth +8000
Tom Kim +8000
Will Zalatoris +8000
Brian Harman +9000
Taylor Pendrith +9000
Adam Scott +9000
J.T. Poston +10000
Sahith Theegala +10000
Denny Mccarthy +10000
Aaron Rai +10000
Kurt Kitayama +11000
Davis Thompson +11000
Doug Ghim +11000
Rickie Fowler +11000
J.J. Spaun +11000
Michael Kim +11000
Matt Fitzpatrick +11000
Akshay Bhatia +11000
Ben Griffin +11000
Christiaan Bezuidenhout +11000
Keith Mitchell +11000
Rasmus Hojgaard +12000
Max Greyserman +12000
Thomas Detry +12000
Byeong Hun An +12000
Samuel Stevens +15000
Stephan Jaeger +15000
Cameron Youthful +15000
Justin Rose +15000
Joe Highsmith +15000
Alex Smalley +15000
Seamus Power +15000

Where to bet on PGA Tour Competitions

Here are some of the sportsbooks to bet on the Players Game, along with the various PGA Tour sportsbook promos they currently offer.