Golf Tips: Best bets for Players Championship and MyGolfLife Open

The Players Championship: Fitzpatrick fits the bill

The PGA Tour takes in the third leg of the Florida swing this week - the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass - and Steve Rawlings has the lowdown ahead of Thursday's start...

Steve says: "Sawgrass allows for all player types to prosper so the Players is a magnificent but very open tournament.

"Jason Day ranked number one for Driving Distance when he won here in 2016 but the 2018 winner, Webb Simpson, ranked 71st. Simpson prospered because he found more fairways than anyone else. Day only ranked 54th for Driving Accuracy. And the 2019 result demonstrated perfectly how different players can fare equally well...

"Matt Fitzpatrick was my sole selection before the off last week and had he parred the last instead of making a bogey five form 165 years out in the fairway he'd have placed at 28/1.

"That was obviously a bit frustrating but I'm happy to stick with him here at 46.045/1 on the exchange and 40/1 each-way with eight places with the Sportsbook.

"He has course form figures reading MC-MC-46-41-9 and current form figures reading 6-10-9. He's yet to bag that illusive first win in the PGA Tour but it's only a matter of time so why not now. He's in form at a course that suits and I thought 40/1 was fair."

Steve's bet:
Back Matt Fitzpatrick @ 46.045/1

The Players Championship Each-Way Tips: Im for the win at TPC Sawgrass

Dave Tindall has three each-way tips for the action at Sawgrass so get his first one here and read for the full article for the rest...

Dave says: "My first pick is a player whose name keeps cropping up everywhere in the above lists - Sungjae Im. The South Korean will be trying to follow in the footsteps of countrymen KJ Choi and Si-Woo Kim by putting his name on the trophy.

"This season he sits 7th on the All-Around and 9th in Par 4 Scoring. That has to bode well. In all, 10 of the last 12 winners ranked in the top five for AA when lifting the trophy - fitting in with a quote you'll hear often this week: "there's no faking it at Sawgrass" - while three of the last five winners ranked 1st for Par 4 Scoring. There are only the usual 10 but they're key holes.

"The Sedgefield link is a strong one and the list of players who have won at both includes those two Koreans again, Kim and Choi, as well as other big names such as Henrik Stenson, Sergio Garcia, Webb Simpson and Davis Love.

"Im has Sedgefield form of 24-9-6 so that ticks a box. As for success in Florida, Im has that too having won the 2020 Honda Classic. He's also posted top fours at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill and the Valspar Championship so this is one of his favourite stretches on the PGA Tour."

Dave's bet: Back Sungjae Im each-way @ 41.040/1

The Players Championship 2022: Course and current form stats

The countdown to Augusta continues, with this week's 'fifth major' taking place in Jacksonville, so check out the key stats compiled by Andy Swales...

Andy says: "The putting surfaces are smaller than the Tour average, along with narrower than normal fairways. In 2016, the course underwent a revamp with the aim of increasing the number of times water came into play during a round.

"This figure currently sits at 16 out of 18 holes, although the water hazards on the Stadium Course do vary in size considerably.

"According to a PGA Tour statement: 'Short grass was added around some greens to promote creativity, while several greens were expanded to add new hole locations.'

"Talor Gooch is perhaps an outsider in this week's mega-strong field, but enjoying the season of his career so far - even withstanding a poor final round at Bay Hill. The 30-year-old from Midwest City in Oklahoma tied-fifth at Sawgrass 12 months ago."

Andy's Player to Watch: Talor Gooch @ 70.069/1

Find Me a 100 Winner: Wind and rain to suit Reed and Grace

Steve Rawlings looks for the big-priced bets for Sawgrass...

"Although he's missed his last three cuts and his Sawgrass form, reading MC-24-MC-22-41-47-22, can only be described as ordinary, I can see why there's been money for the prolific 2018 US Masters winner, Patrick Reed.

"The 31-year-old Texan has won a PGA Tour event every year except 2017 and the first of his nine victories was at the 2013 Wyndham Championship at the aforementioned Sedgefield.

"Few, if any, players relish horrible conditions more than Reed and he wont care how wet and windy it gets. He'll just dig in and grind and he'll be going forwards when others have had enough."

Back 1 ½ u Patrick Reed @ 240.0239/1 Place order to lay 10u @ 10.09/1 & 10u @ 2.01/1

The Players Championship Top 5 and Top 10 Tips: McIlroy to march high again

Dave Tindall ranks the world's leading 10 players with an eye on the top 5 and top 10 finish markets...

"Of the leading names, only Jon Rahm (58%) has a higher percentage of top 10 finishes over their last 50 starts than Rory McIlroy (46%).

"Just using Sawgrass form, Rory's strike-rate rises to 50% over the last eight editions following a win in 2019 and a trio of top 10s from 2013 to 2015.

"It's up to 62.5% when it comes to McIlroy's recent form after five top 10s in his last eight starts. And the three that weren't were 12th, 13th and 14th.

"In other words, however you cook it, McIlroy looks a good bet this week to land another Top 10 at 3.8. That's way over a full point bigger than Rahm."

Back Rory McIlroy for Top 10 @ 3.814/5

The Players Championship First-Round Leader Tips: Lowry can make fast start

Dave Tindall (again!) picks out three to follow to hold a share of the first round lead after day one. Shane Lowry is his lead selection, here's why...

"Last year Lowry was third after 18 holes while a first-round 65 in 2016 put him second at the close of day one.

"After eighth place last year - his best Players Championship finish - the March date might suit him more than May and a bit of grotty weather in the forecast will be water off a duck's back.

"I'll take him to start fast from his 08:24 tee-time."

Back Shane Lowry each-way at 41.040/1

MyGolfLife Open Each-Way Tips: English trio can grab piece of Pecanwood pie

Matt Cooper favours English players at the week's event in South Africa starting with Andy Sullivan...

Matt says: "First pick this week is Englishman Andy Sullivan whose long-term form on Nicklaus tracks, plus plenty of good golf in South Africa, tempts me at a decent price.

"There's no doubt that we've got to overlook a sloppy start to the year (MC-47th-MC) on the Desert Swing, but he's had nearly a month to address that and he's definitely good enough to do just that.

"Now let's get to the ticks against his case. The last time he faced a Nicklaus test he stymied himself with a first round 74 to lie 101st at the London Club but he bounced back to finish 13th.

"Before that he was second at halfway in the Irish Open at Mount Juliet before recording 12th. The year before he won the English Championship at Hanbury Manor by seven shots."

Matt's bet: Andy Sullivan each-way @ 51.050/1

MyGolfLife Open: Form stats for this week's event in South Africa

As Pecanwood Golf & Country Club makes its DP World Tour debut, Andy Swales provides the lowdown on the course and the players' stats...

Andy says: "Pecanwood is approximately 12 miles west of the country's executive capital Pretoria, and was opened 26 years ago. This will be the first time that Pecanwood has featured as a DP World Tour venue.

"Designed by Jack Nicklaus, the fairways are covered by Kikuyu grass, while the putting surfaces were laid with Bent. Situated close to the banks of the Hartbeespoort Dam, Pecanwood is a generally flat course with generous fairways and water on seven holes.

"Richard Bland, the 49-year-old Englishman, has plenty of Sunshine Tour experience, that includes a tie-for-second at the Alfred Dunhill Championship in November 2020."

Andy's Player to Watch: Richard Bland @ 55.054/1