World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler became the first golfer to win the Players Championship in consecutive years last season, and he will aim for a three-peat at the 2025 Players Championship this week. Scheffler is the top-ranked golfer in the world, but he is still seeking his first win of the season. He is the +360 favorite (risk $100 to win $360) in the 2025 Players Championship odds, despite dealing with a loaded Players Championship field at TPC Sawgrass.  

Other 2025 Players Championship contenders include Rory McIlroy (+800), Collin Morikawa (+1600) and Xander Schauffele (+1600). Morikawa is coming off a runner-up finish in the Arnold Palmer Invitational, as Russell Henley used a late eagle to take the lead. Henley is a +4500 longshot for the Players Championship, which begins on Thursday. Morikawa enters the week at No. 5 in the FedExCup standings and is +140 (risk $100 to win $140) to finish inside the top 10 this week. Henley is +280 to finish inside the top 10 and +600 to crack the top five.

Before locking in any 2025 Players Championship picks, you NEED to see the PGA Tour 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 still 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 Early Wedge, he gave out numerous winners in 2024, including Jake Knapp (50-1) at the Mexico Open and Xander Schauffele (20-1) at the PGA Championship. This year, he has already nailed Sepp Straka as a 66-1 longshot 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 lead could have been WAY UP!

Now, McDonald has been digging into the 2025 Players Championship field to find the best betting value and just locked in his best bets and longshots to back. 

This week, McDonald loves the value of Sepp Straka, who is a 60-1 longshot. "Straka surged over the weekend at the Arnold Palmer Invitational employing a strategy we have seen from him ample times this season – hit fairways and hit greens in regulation. A first-round 77 in brutal conditions proved too much to overcome for the big Austrian, but he remains at a palatable price in a field he has proven he can keep up with. Since the beginning of the year, Straka ranks fifth in total strokes gained and inside the top 10 in both driving accuracy and strokes gained approach," McDonald told SportsLine. 

Moreover, McDonald is jumping on several underdogs, including one MASSIVE LONGSHOT who's priced at more than 160-1! This golfer has proven "he can get the job done no matter the field and no matter the stage." Anyone who backs this golfer could cash in HUGE. You need to see who it is before locking in any 2025 Players Championship picks of your own.

So which 2025 Players Championship players should you target, and which surprising longshot could bring a MASSIVE payday? ... Join SportsLine right now to see Patrick McDonald's best Players Championship picks, all from the expert who already nailed three longshots this year!