This year marks the launch of PGA Tour Pick ‘Em Live, a new free-to-play game that allows fans to make various picks and predictions throughout tournament week.
With guaranteed weekly prizes valued up to $5,000, participants will be asked to offer a range of picks from tournament winner to first-round leader and various head-to-head matchups. Picks are based on live odds via PointsBet Sportsbook, so while pre-tournament selections can be changed throughout the week the assigned odds will change accordingly.
Participants can also make selections after each of the first three rounds, with points increasing accordingly.
Here are players to consider when making pre-tournament selections this week for The Players, as the Tour continues a four-week stretch in the Sunshine State with its flagship event:
Tournament Winner: Hideki Matsuyama (+3000): In certain circles Matsuyama is described as the 2020 Players champion, having led after an opening 63 before COVID-19 wiped out the rest of the tournament. I think he goes the full 72 holes this time around, as the reigning Masters champ is one of only two multiple winners on Tour this season. Matsuyama is dealing with a nagging neck injury, which may be factoring into his price. But I’m willing to take my chances given his strong record at TPC Sawgrass, with five top-25s in seven official starts. Essentially he has played 25 rounds on the Stadium Course and put up only three duds, a remarkable run of consistency on a course that bites even the best. He’s also positive in SG: Putting at Sawgrass, which is so often a huge piece to the Matsuyama puzzle.
Top-10 Finish: Adam Scott (+440): With weather expected to play a big role in the proceedings this week, I’m leaning more on veterans who know what it’s like to play TPC Sawgrass in the wind and rain. Scott won this event back in 2004 and since then has racked up another six finishes of T-12 or better. It’s clearly a course that suits his game and I expect his patient demeanor could pay dividends once the wind and rain arrive. The Aussie has been relatively quiet since the pandemic break but has experienced an uptick recently on the greens, a big reason why he has three top-10s in five worldwide starts this year.
Top-20 Finish: Alex Noren (+380): Noren fell off the map shortly after making the 2018 European Ryder Cup team, but he is experiencing somewhat of a resurgence that I think could carry over this week. The Swede has top-6 finishes in two of his last three starts and has had some success on the Stadium Course when he was in form, finishing 10th in 2017 and T-18 in 2018. Those were both when the tournament was in May, but I think Noren has enough experience in inclement weather to handle the upcoming challenges and his game could suit him well if the wind kicks up as expected.
First Round Leader: Billy Horschel (+4500): We saw Bay Hill form carry over last year, as Bryson DeChambeau and Lee Westwood both went from the Orlando leaderboard to the one in Ponte Vedra Beach without skipping a beat. I’m expecting more of the same from Horschel, who came up one shot short on Sunday but now gets a crack at a course he knows quite well. I’m particularly interested in him in the FRL market given his hot starts this season: six of his seven openers have gone for 68 or better, including a 64 at Mayakoba and a 63 at Torrey Pines. The North Florida resident won’t be lacking course knowledge and has plenty of form with four straight finishes of T-16 or better.
Make Cut: Sergio Garcia (-174): Few players in this field can rival Garcia’s consistency at TPC Sawgrass. A winner here in 2008 and a playoff runner-up in 2015, the Spaniard has missed the cut just twice in 21 appearances and has seven total top-10s, including a T-9 finish just last year. Garcia has made seven cuts in a row, including all four in 2022, and enters off a solid T-38 finish last week at Bay Hill.
