THE PLAYERS Power Rankings: Who are the top golfers at TPC Sawgrass?

The 52nd edition of THE PLAYERS Championship tees up this week at TPC Sawgrass, the "fifth major" of golf and the richest event on Tour, with a $25 million purse and $4.5 million going to the winner, but our eyes are on the best golf betting opportunities of the weekend.

The 123-man field features 47 of the top 50 players in the world, including defending champion Rory McIlroy, who returns from a back injury that cut short his Arnold Palmer Invitational, and fellow two-time champ Scottie Scheffler, who arrives in a mild slump by his standards.

A very nice live snipe by the Dimers golf model as Akshay Bhatia wins the Arnold Palmer.

Anyone get the +1200 value yesterday morning 🧐 https://t.co/SDsqRNc4Ua

— Dimers (@DimersCom) March 8, 2026

Both men sit one win away from matching Jack Nicklaus' all-time record of three victories at the event, which lands them at the top of our inaugural 2026 PGA TOUR Power Rankings.

These Power Rankings are built using three key datapoints, each weighted differently: Dimers' golf predictions featuring our tournament win probabilities, our own in-house Golf Rankings and the official FedExCup rankings for the current season.

This gives us an overview of the golfers in the best form who also predict with a strong chance to win at the particular event. The result should help guide us along with the Dimers model value to identify the players most likely to be standing on the 18th green with the trophy come Sunday afternoon.

THE PLAYERS Championship: Power Rankings

#1 Scottie Scheffler - Scheffler is the unambiguous top choice, even despite his hiccups in recent weeks. His 18.0% win probability may be his lowest of the year but is still more than double that of anyone else in the field. Another stumble could see him drop a few spots, but until someone proves otherwise, the world No. 1 is the man to beat at TPC Sawgrass.

#2 Rory McIlroy - McIlroy's 7.3% win probability is comfortably second in the field and enters as the defending champion and 2x winner of the event. His mid-tournament withdrawal from the Arnold Palmer Invitational raises some concern, but as of now, he holds strong in second.

#3 Tommy Fleetwood - Fleetwood earns his lofty ranking by appearing consistently strong across all three categories, a 5.2% win probability, FedExCup #18, and Dimers #3. A poor showing at Bay hill looked more like a hiccup than a sign of what's to come, finished T14 at TPC Sawgrass last year.

#4 Russell Henley - Henley continues to show he belongs among the elite, posting a 4.2% win probability that places him squarely in the top tier of contenders. Despite sitting outside the FedExCup top 20, he's been incredibly consistent this year, with four Top 20 finishes, with a personal best T13 here.

#5 Collin Morikawa - Morikawa is the FedExCup points leader heading into THE PLAYERS, giving him a formidable boost in the standings component, yet his 2.2% win probability and Dimers ranking of #10 suggest the oddsmakers drops him to fifth in these rankings. Don't be surprised if he's in the chase or lead come Sunday after last year's personal best T10.

#6 Cameron Young - Young has quietly assembled a solid season, shooting six of his last eight rounds at 69 or lower. The long-hitter is tailor-made for the wide fairways and risk-reward holes of TPC Sawgrass after a season-best T3 last week.

#7 Hideki Matsuyama - Matsuyama earns his ranking through remarkable consistency across all three metrics, FedExCup #11, Dimers #11, and 10th-highest win probability all tell the same story. He's a reliable contender at major-style venues and is rarely far from the leaderboard on Sundays, owning four Top 10s here.

#8 Si Woo Kim - Kim is quietly having a terrific season, reflected by his FedExCup #9 ranking — the best among any player outside the top five in these power rankings. His 2nd-ranked strokes gained on approach will be a major factor at this venue.

Dimers' best chances for a Top 20 finish this week.

#9 Akshay Bhatia - Bhatia is one of the most intriguing names on this list, fresh off an impressive win and comeback at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, identified with value by the Dimers model. His FedExCup #2 ranking screams that he has been the most consistent points accumulator on TOUR, yet the oddsmakers still have him as a relative longshot despite proven results at TPC Sawgrass with a T3 last year.

#10 Jake Knapp - Knapp has emerged as one of the TOUR's best stories, backing up his 2024 Mexico Open win with a strong start to this season that's seen him finish T11 or better in all five straights. Whew.

#11 Xander Schauffele - Schauffele's win probability is top five in the field, yet his FedExCup ranking of #37 drags his composite score down considerably due to up-and-down play this season, not unlike his history at THE PLAYERs where he as a pair of T2 finishes, including his debut, along with three missed cuts and last year's 72nd.

#12 Ludvig Åberg - Åberg continues to show why he's one of the most exciting young players in the world, improving in every start this year, culminating in last week's T3. The Swede's ball-striking is a genuine weapon at TPC Sawgrass's long, demanding layout.

#13 Rickie Fowler - Fowler's ranking reflects a solid all-around profile that doesn't excel in any single category, indicative of his remarkable consistency this year, finishing T18, T18, T19, T298 and T9. Won here in 2015, but one finish inside Top 40 in eight tries since with three missed cuts.

#14 Jacob Bridgeman - Bridgeman is perhaps the most underrated name in these rankings as a points machine this season - a Top 20 in all six events featuring three top 10s, two top 5s and a win, but taking a hit with his low win probability this week.

#15 Harry Hall - Hall rounds out the top 15 thanks to constantly being overlooked by the books, finishing T9 with 120/1 odds to win last week, his second Top 10 of the year, perfectly balancing with two other Top 25s and two missed cuts.

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• PGA Predictions: Our data-backed predictions for every tournament, including every major.
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The Dimers Pro golf predictions ended last season on an elite run, headlined by Tommy Fleetwood's first win at the TOUR Championship.

This season, we've accurately identified value on Scottie Scheffler to win and Russell Henley to place Top 10 and Top 20 at the American Express, the live value on Justin Rose to win the Farmers Insurance Open at +500 and big edges on Tommy Fleetwood at Pebble Beach just last week.

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