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The PLAYERS Championship dripping into the work week did no harm to the world’s best as those who contended at TPC Sawgrass did not miss a beat in the Tampa area. Led by Dustin Johnson in the morning wave, the former world No. 1 was able to effectively navigate his ball around the Copperhead Course without much assistance from his putter.
Hot off a final round 9-under 63 at Sawgrass, Johnson followed up his course record performance with an opening 4-under 67. A man of many words, the South Carolina native was asked what he thought of his day, to which he replied, “Yeah. Had nice weather. It’s warm. Yeah. Played okay.”
Gaining more than three-strokes on approach, Johnson ranked fifth in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green in Round 1. Losing ground to the field on the greens, the 37-year-old’s round looked awfully similar to Justin Thomas’ in the afternoon.
Getting the better of Johnson by one-stroke, the world No. 8 also disappointed with the putter in hand. Turning in even-par, Thomas was able to right the ship coming home, playing Nos. 14-16 in 4-under after a tap-in birdie on the par-5 11th.
A round riddled with missed opportunities, Thomas said, “I felt good about everything. I played really well. I drove the ball beautifully, hit a lot of really quality iron shots, and I don’t think I’ve ever had a round that I’ve hit so many good putts that haven’t gone in.”
The putts are going to have to start to drop for Thursday’s tee-to-green leader as he will attempt to chase down an SEC rival in Sam Burns. Matching Jhonattan Vegas’ 7-under 64, the defending champion carded nine birdies and two bogeys in his first round.
Looking to win back-to-back Valspar Championships just as Paul Casey did a few years ago, Burns understands this year is unlike last. Speaking to the media after his round, the world No. 17 said, “You know, the thing about last year is it has nothing to do with this year. So many things are different. There’s not much correlation between the two.
The 25-year-old added, “So, I think just trying to treat this week as its own, go out there and prepare well, prepare to play good golf, and Travis did great job out there all day. We had some good numbers and were able to convert.”
Not only on the top of the leaderboard, but on top of the odds board at PointsBet Sportsbook, Burns is now listed at +450 with 54-holes to go. With a quick turnaround, Burns will once again play in ideal conditions as winds are expected to freshen Friday afternoon.
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Updated Odds to Win (Odds Via PointsBet):
+450: Sam Burns
+650: Justin Thomas
+1200: Dustin Johnson
+1400: Adam Hadwin, Xander Schauffele
+1800: Collin Morikawa, Jhonattan Vegas
+1800: Louis Oosthuizen
+2200: Adam Hadwin, Matt Fitzpatrick
+2500: Viktor Hovland
+2800: Brooks Koepka, Webb Simpson, David Lipsky
+3300: Danny Lee, Gary Woodland, Scott Stallings, Shane Lowry, Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton
+5000: Alex Noren
+6000: Bubba Watson, Davis Riley
+6600: Brian Harman, Cameron Tringale, Doc Redman, Kramer Hickok
+8000: Kevin Streelman, Pat Perez, Sahith Theegala
+10000: Abraham Ancer, Joel Dahmen, Keegan Bradley, Matt Kuchar, Richy Werenski, Troy Merritt, Wyndham Clark
Round 2 Plays (Odds Via PointsBet):
Patton Kizzire +140 over Matt Kuchar and Martin Trainer (1.00 unit):
Noticeable winds are certainly on my mind with this selection, despite all three players striking the ball poorly on Thursday. Kizzire arrived to Innisbrook as a top-10 approach player over the last couple of months and 18-holes will not cloud my judgment.
Despite this, he was still able to connect on 12 greens in regulation, two more than Kuchar. The Georgia Tech product was magical from around-the-green, chipping in on the par-3 8th and leading the field in said statistical category. While it has long been his bread and butter, I do not believe he is the worthy favorite in this 3-ball.
With Trainer experiencing issues of his own – currently ranked last in SG: Tee-to-Green – this should result in a two-man race. Developing a pre-tournament infatuation with Kizzire, I expect him to battle back in the windy conditions and take care of Kuchar in the process.
2/3-Balls YTD: -10.75 units, -33.21%
Total YTD: +57.45 units, +80.93%
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