The PGA TOUR's marquee event of the season, THE PLAYERS Championship, is finally upon us, and we'll have all the latest news, odds, offers and videos here across all of Sunday's action.
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-17 - Scheffler
-12 - Hatton
-10 - Hovland, Hoge
-9 - Matsuyama
-8 - Homa, Suh, Rose, Lingmerth, Im, Davis, Lee
It's a closing par save to stay at -17, but, as it was at Augusta 11 months ago, it's been a procession since reaching the turn. A relentless ball-striking display all week has left the chasing pack simply unable to keep up.
A tremendous performance and a thoroughly deserved win.
It now looks like a case of 'by how much' for Scheffler after making a fourth straight birdie, and he's now 1/125 to win THE PLAYERS.
Meanwhile, Min Woo Lee has experienced a total collapse. He made triple on the fourth and has now made double on the par-5 11th. His race is run.
What a finish from Tyrrell Hatton! After sticking it close on 17 for birdie, he his a wild drive way right on 18 into the trees. A magnificent low cutting stinger to 10 feet set another birdie putt up. He made it and he's in the clubhouse on -12, two back of Scheffler.
It's hard to see Scheffler blowing up, but 16, 17 and 18 could see big swings in the scoring, and should they happen, there are four players primed to take advantage.
Scheffler is birdie-less thru six, while Matsuyama, Homa, Lee and Hovland are all T2 three back.
After finding himself in a tie for the lead following Scheffler's sloppy bogey on 3, Min Woo Lee opts to pitch out to the 4th fairway after a wayward tee shot, then finding the water on approach
Meanwhile Matsuyama, who made his seventh birdie of the day gets himself in a tangle around the 14th green and makes double bogey.
Just like that, Scheffler leads Matsuyama, Lee and Max Homa - who's just gone birdie-eagle-birdie - by three.
-6 thru 12 today and Hideki Matsuyama finds himself three off the lead. It's still a big ask for him to challenge the leaders, but it's been an excellent showing on the back of two missed cuts.
24 years old, playing in the final group on Sunday in his debut PLAYERS appearance, and Min Woo Lee has striped his tee shot down the middle of the fairway before sticking his approach in close and making birdie.
Scheffler two-putts from distance to make par and the gap at the top is one.
Scheffler's tee shot just misses the fairway and he'll be playing his approach from the pine straw, while Min Woo Lee is right down the middle.
Aaron Rai's hole-in-one on Saturday meant for the first time in PLAYERS history there had been two holes-in-one at the same tournament - and now we've had a third.
Alex Smalley, fresh off the back of a double-bogey 7 on 16 steps up to 17 tee, takes one bounce short of the green and slam-dunks into the cup for an ace.
THIRD ACE OF THE WEEK!!! @ASmalley_Golf cards a 1 on No. 17 @THEPLAYERSChamp! pic.twitter.com/Itl4abCS1Y
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 12, 2023
He's two shots clear of second and four shots clear of third and there aren't too many obvious challengers.
Will Scottie Scheffler become the third player - after Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus - to hold the Masters and PLAYERS titles simultaneously?
Have your say on our poll:
💭 Will Scottie Scheffler win THE PLAYERS Championship?
— bet365 (@bet365) March 12, 2023
bet365's Steve Freeth said: "At the start of the week I said that we'd take any of the big three winning and it's looking like that's what we'll get.
"Justin Thomas topped our liabilities, but barely made the cut and won't be repeating his 2021 efforts.
"Scheffler was surprisingly friendless despite his recent form of defending his Phoenix Open crown and finishing T4 in the Arnold Palmer.
"Going off at 10/1, the biggest price he’s been in-play is 18/1 on Thursday. Min Woo Lee was available at 150/1 pre-tournament, and he did touch 2/1 last night before finishing as a 6/1 poke.
"Cam Davis started a 300/1 shot and will be going out in the penultimate group, while Tommy Fleetwood has recent history against him as he attempts to overhaul the hot favourite Scheffler.
"Only two players in the last 20 or so years have come from three or more shots back in the final round to land the prize but with a decent track record at Sawgrass, he could be the one to challenge.
"He was out with the washing at a 1000/1 in-play on Friday as he bids to became the first Englishman to win THE PLAYERS Championship. What a story that would be!"
As the early starters get their final rounds underway, have a look at our recap of an unforgettable third round at TPC Sawgrass.
⛳️ Tom Hoge's course record.
— bet365 (@bet365) March 12, 2023
⛳️ Aaron Rai's magic moment.
⛳️ Scottie Scheffler's excellent play.
🎥 @JasonSobelTAN looks back on a sensational Saturday at TPC Sawgrass. #THEPLAYERS pic.twitter.com/DcteWxGOlQ
Scottie Scheffler took a commanding two-shot lead and the tournament is certainly his to lose from here.
He'll go out at 17.45 in the final group with Australia's Min Woo Lee.
You may have recognised him as the golfer who wears two gloves, or perhaps the golfer who uses iron covers.
You'll now recognise him as the golfer who made an ace on the 17th at THE PLAYERS.
Hear from Aaron Rai after his round of 65.
A hole-in-one on the iconic 17th sandwiched by two excellent birdies.
— bet365 (@bet365) March 11, 2023
Etching his name into the history books, we caught up with Aaron Rai to discuss his Island Green ace and his climb up THE PLAYERS Championship leaderboard.#THEPLAYERS
Only two golfers in the field went lower than Tommy Fleetwood on Saturday, who surged up the leaderboard into a tie for fourth.
We spoke to the Southport man after his third round.
🗣️ "I feel good about the way I have built up in this tournament."
— bet365 (@bet365) March 11, 2023
With an impressive third round score of 65, Tommy Fleetwood reflects on a performance that's lifted him into contention at THE PLAYERS Championship.#THEPLAYERS
There's daylight between Min Woo Lee and Scottie Scheffler and the rest of the chasing pack now.
Lee tops the leaderboard on -13, though Scheffler may well be looking at an eagle chance after a tremendous drive on 16. Next closest are Tommy Fleetwood, Aaron Rai, Chad Ramey and Christiaan Bezuidenhout on -9.
England's Aaron Rai sent the crowd wild on 17 with the first ace of his career. Better still, it was sandwiched between two birdies that leaves him on -9 in a tie for fourth.
ANOTHER ACE ON 17!!!!!
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 11, 2023
Aaron Rai makes his first career ace to send the crowd into a frenzy! pic.twitter.com/48vVElNQr7
The course is certainly more gettable than it was the first two days, with plenty of low scoring on show.
Cameron Young went out in 30, picking up another shot early in his back nine, though a couple of bogeys put him back to -5 for the day.
Tommy Fleetwood's made seven birdies and one bogey to jump into the top five, while Sungjae Im's also jumped into the top five with a round of -8 with three holes still to play.
After a short birdie putt horseshoed on him on 6, Scheffler finds water off the tee on the 7th and is now out to even money.
The reigning Masters champion has flown out of the blocks at Sawgrass. After a lovely wedge to two feet for birdie on the first, Scheffler pitches out of the rough and in for eagle on the second.
Adam Svensson found trouble off the tee at the second and had to pitch out sideways, ultimately making bogey.
A three-shot swing on the second and Scheffler takes the lead.
What a touch 🔥
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 11, 2023
Scottie Scheffler lights up the crowd with a chip-in eagle to take the lead @THEPLAYERSChamp. pic.twitter.com/HZQcxnpASw
It's been a week to forget for Rory McIlroy, who missed the cut at THE PLAYERS by three shots.
Hear from the Northern Irishman here.
And after the penultimate group saw Min-woo Lee hole out for eagle, all three of the final group made birdie.
Adam Svensson is two clear of Lee and Scottie Scheffler, with David Lingmerth and Christiaan Bezuidenhout one further back on -7.
Adam Svensson is making his first appearance at TPC Sawgrass and leads by two at the halfway stage.
We spoke to the debutant after his impressive second round of 67.
With the second round reaching its conclusion, tee times for the third round have been released, with the leaders going out at 17:42 GMT.
Read them in full here.
With the final groups from the second round finishing up, the cut will be +2, meaning the likes of Justin Thomas, Tom Kim and Shane Lowry will all play the weekend.
We'll have third round tee times here as soon as they're announced.
A hugely disappointing week for Rory McIlroy, whose Thursday round of 76 left himself with too much to do.
The cut line is bouncing between +1 and +2. Those on +1 will be playing the weekend, while those on +2 - including Justin Thomas, Shane Lowry and Tom Kim, who are nervously watching the finish to the second round.
Sadly we were without Jon Rahm on day two at THE PLAYERS after he withdrew through illness, while the likes of Viktor Hovland and Jason Day continued their steady climbs up the leaderboard before play was halted due to inclement weather.
The final groups from Friday are finishing their second rounds, with Canadian Adam Svensson currently two clear at the top.
Scottie Scheffler is two back, while Collin Morikawa is still struggling to find Thursday's form, making bogey at 15 leaving him three off the lead.
Ben Griffin briefly held the lead at THE PLAYERS - unthinkable two years ago when he'd given the game up.
We spoke to the American after his second round of 71.
Watch here.
Due to inclement weather, play has been suspended during the second round and with no let-up forecast, play will resume at 7am on Saturday.
The overnight leader found the water off the tee on 17, before doing the same again from the drop zone.
After leading by three with a pair of early birdies, the quadruple bogey drops Ramey into a tie for fifth on -5, and South Africa's Christiaan Bezuidenhout is the solo leader and 11/1 to win THE PLAYERS.
Some of the game's big names will be heading home early with the cut currently at +1, though it's likely to move out to +2, which should keep Justin Thomas around for the weekend.
Matt Fitzpatrick (+3) and Keegan Bradley (+4) have finished their seconds rounds and are set to miss the cut, while Tommy Fleetwood (+3), Tom Kim (+4), Sungjae Im (+4) and Rory McIlroy (+5) all have ground to make up.
A bogey on the par-5 second dropped Collin Morikawa back to even par for the day, while Chad Ramey birdies 11 and 12 before bogey on 13 to go two clear at the top.
Morikawa's still 11/4 favourite, but Ramey's into 18/1...
We went to the legendary 17th at TPC Sawgrass to see Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Max Homa from a fan's perspective...
We spoke to some of the fans at THE PLAYERS Championship, soaking up the atmosphere at TPC Sawgrass...
Some breaking news emerging from TPC Sawgrass - Jon Rahm has withdrawn from THE PLAYERS Championship due to illness.
The Norwegian is really putting a round together now. He's -5 thru 11 for the day and joins Ben Griffin and Chad Ramey at the top of the leaderboard on -8.
He's also closing in on favouritism in the outright market at 7/2 and is 3/1 to lead at the end of the second round.
Viktor Hovland and Jason Day are off to hot starts, both three-under for the day on their opening nine to move into ties for third and fifth respectively.
The Norwegian closed brilliantly on Thursday, birdieing four of his final five holes to finish on -3. He finished in the top 10 last year on his second appearance at TPC Sawgrass thanks to an incredible ball-striking display, only let down by his chipping and putting, and he could be one to watch over the weekend.
He's into 6/1 to win.
Esteemed golf journalist Jason Sobel runs through all of the day one action as Hayden Buckley aced the 17th and Chad Ramey shot an eight under 64 to propel himself to the summit of the leaderboard.
Watch the full video here
It's one of the most iconic holes in world golf, and day one of THE PLAYERS Championship delivered yet more magic and misery for players taking on the fabled par 3.
Hayden Buckley sensationally aced the 125-yard par three, whilst the same hole provided frustration and agony to a number of others hoping to make the cut at Ponte Vedra Beach.
Golf fan Mike McDermott took in all the day's play at the historic 17th, and talks us through the action.
Watch the full video
A reminder that we have a sprinkling of groupings still to complete their first rounds, so they will resume play at around 12:40.
The rest of the field will get their second round underway on Friday too.
You can check out all of the confirmed tee times here
With a handful of groups still on the course, play has been suspended due to darkness, and will continue at 12:40 GMT on Friday.
It's perhaps the most famous par-3 in the world, and over the years, it had seen 10 holes-in-one... until Thursday morning.
Hayden Buckley briefly topped the leaderboard on during the first round of THE PLAYERS Championship thanks to his ace on 17, and he spoke to us about the unforgettable moment.
Watch here.
Caddies let loose on one of golf's most recognisable and difficult holes... What could go wrong?
Watch Wednesday's Caddie Competition here.
Viktor Hovland, Matt Fitzpatrick and Shane Lowry head to the back nine, though none have made a dent in the leaderboard. Hovland and Fitzpatrick are even par while Lowry is two over.
It's a similar story in the Spieth-Thomas-Homa group, with Homa at +1 and Spieth and Thomas level par.
A few facts about Chad Ramey...
He finished 85th in the FedEx Cup standings in his debut season on the PGA TOUR last year;
He's missed his last three cuts;
He's never played at TPC Sawgrass;
And he's just posted a 64 to take the clubhouse lead on -8, surpassing Collin Morikawa by one stroke.
bet365's Steve Freeth said: "Chad Ramey may still be a relative unknown on the PGA TOUR, but one punter will be hoping his -8 is enough to hold on to the first round lead, having backed him at 350/1.
"We even took 87 single bets pre-tournament on the 30-year-old to win the whole thing at 2000/1!"
Ramey is now as short as 1/10 to finish as first round leader and 35/1 to win THE PLAYERS Championship.
Justin Thomas makes some noise on the second, pitching in for eagle - he's now 10/1 third favourite.
... and it was a day to forget for the Northern Irishman. Just two birdies on the card, and a round of 76 to leave himself 12 shots off the lead.
It was an especially poor day on and around the green for the 2019 champion, who's now battling just to make the cut on Friday. We've seen McIlroy start tournaments slowly and make a surge up the leaderboard, but at 80/1 to win the tournament, it's extremely hard to see him amongst the final pairings on Sunday.
While Scheffler took a while to get going, parring his first nine holes, he came home in 32 to put himself on the leaderboard and Jon Rahm recorded two birdies and a bogey to finish at -1.
He's one of the strongest iron players on the PGA TOUR, and Collin Morikawa has been absolutely dialled in today.
He's now the solo leader at -7 thanks to five birdies and an eagle. To give you an idea of how sharp he's been on approach, he's made six putts for birdie or eagle from an average of around eight and a half feet.
The afternoon wave, consisting of the likes of Justin Thomas, Max Homa and Xander Schauffele are still to go out, but Morikawa will be very hard to stop on this form.
The two-time major champion is clear favourite at 10/3.
Morikawa is absolutely flying! One of our best-backed players, he's the new favourite for THE PLAYERS at 13/2 after birdies on 15, 16 and 1 and then an eagle on 2 two tie him at the top of the leaderboard.
235 yards ➡️ 3 feet 👀 @Collin_Morikawa is now tied for the lead after the eagle on No. 2 @THEPLAYERSChamp. pic.twitter.com/UVpJHuOxC9
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 9, 2023
World number one Jon Rahm makes a nice birdie on 18 to reach the turn in -2 while Scheffler makes his ninth consecutive par. McIlroy on the other hand is having to really grind out there. The driver isn't working as it usually does, and the putter is ice cold.
He's +2 and out to 25/1 to win THE PLAYERS Championship; Rahm is back into favourite at 7/1.
Bet on the Rahm/McIlroy/Scheffler three-ball here.
Well it took little more than two hours of the tournament for the first hole in one, with bettors cashing in the 4/7 shot after Hayden Buckley's ace on 17.
It's seen the American, who was available at 350/1 pre-tournament, jump into a tie for the lead at -3, with his price now into 80/1.
After missing right off the tee, McIlroy missed left on approach, then failed to hold the green with his third, splashing out of the bunker to 12ft with his fourth and two-putting from there.
Disastrous start for the Northern Irishman, who's drifted out to 18/1 on the back of it.
Rahm and Scheffler safely find the fairway while McIlroy misses right off the tee and left on approach.
Bet on a number of markets for the marquee three-ball here, including round winner, hole winner, round score and more.
A reminder you can follow every shot from them and everyone else on course with our Live Golf Tracker.
While all eyes will be on the marquee group of Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler, it's Justin Thomas who's attracted the money at bet365...
Steve Freeth said: "Business has been brisk since I last checked in and while Max Homa continues to feature prominently in the list, he’s been topped by the 2021 winner Justin Thomas.
"Much has been made of the mouth-watering three-ball pairing of McIlroy, Rahm and Scheffler, but we’d take any of the world class trio winning in our pre-tournament book.
"The pre-game traders will be more interested in the 17.56 GMT tee off of Homa, Thomas and Spieth because all three are in our top five of worst results, with Sahith Theegala and Collin Morikawa completing the list.
"Let battle commence."
There we have it, the first ball of the flagship event of the PGA TOUR has been hit!
I know the torrid weather in the UK may have scuppered the golfing plans of many, but fear not, stick with us as the best players on the planet bid for glory out here in Florida.
The course, as ever, looks in pristine condition, and with no rain forecast for the day, the conditions should play favourably for the players.
Robby Shelton drives his opener straight down the middle of the fairway.
A reminder that Rory McIlroy is the 9/1 favourite, whilst we have BOOSTED his chances of finishing in the Top 20 to even-money.
The first English representative of the field, Danny Willett, has also got his tournament underway too - with a crisp drive down the right of the par four 10th.
View the latest odds and keep track of the Leaderboard here
A reminder that we've BOOSTED the odds on several markets ahead of the start of THE PLAYERS later this morning.
Check these out:
Super Boost >>>
Rory McIlroy to finish in the Top 20
Was 8/3 >>> Now 1/1
Bet Boosts >>
Top 20 Finish
Rory McIlroy
Matt Fitzpatrick
Shane Lowry
Was 12.77/1 >> Now 14.81/1
Top 10 Finish
Jon Rahm
Rory McIlroy
Scottie Scheffler
Was 11.4/1 >> 13.37/1
To Win Outright
Colin Morikawa
22/1 >> 25/1
To Win Outright
Max Homa
22/1 >> 25/1
Good morning and welcome to bet365 for the opening day of THE PLAYERS Championship at the historic TPC Sawgrass.
We're here on the ground in Florida providing live betting updates throughout the next four days' of action - ensuring you don't miss a trick as the best players on the planet bid for glory at the PGA's annual marquee event.
We've got Bet Boosts available as well as a large number of other markets available; all of which can be checked out now ahead of the first tee-off at 11:50 this morning.
The first group out on the first tee will be: Robby Shelton, Austin Smotherman, Min Woo Lee, whilst Danny Willett, Brandon Wu, Davis Thompson get underway on the tenth at the same time.
Other featured groups across the first round are:
12:34 - Tony Finau, Tom Kim, Patrick Cantlay
12:45 - Collin Morikawa, Adam Scott, Rickie Fowler
12:56 - Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy
17:34 - Matt Fitzpatrick, Viktor Hovland, Shane Lowry
17:45 - Kurt Kitayama, Will Zalatoris, Xander Schauffele
17:56 - Max Homa, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth
View all the latest odds
The unofficial fifth major gets underway on Thursday, and Jason Sobel was joined by Ben Everill and Will Gray to run through the field and divulge their thoughts on where they feel the betting value may be found.
Watch the full video
THE PLAYERS Championship has seen some of the most iconic shots in the game's history, at one of the game's most iconic venues - Jason Sobel attempts to recreate some of them.
From Justin Thomas's white-knuckle tee shot on 18, to Vijay Singh's improvised chip/putt, to Tiger Woods's 'better than most' putt, there have been countless shots that will live long in the memory.
As Official Betting Operator of the PGA TOUR, we went to TPC Sawgrass with Jason Sobel to try and recreate some of them.
Watch the full video
Just one more day to go until THE PLAYERS Championship gets underway from TPC Sawgrass, and to get you in the mood, we have a Super Boost on 2019 champion Rory McIlroy.
Fresh off the back of an impressive runner-up finish at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, we've super boosted the Northern Irishman to finish in the top 20 at Sawgrass from 4/7 to Evs!
View all odds and markets
With two days to go until the tournament gets underway, Max Homa and Webb Simpson figure prominently in bet365’s liabilities for THE PLAYERS Championship at Sawgrass on Thursday in a market headed by Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler.
bet365's Steve Freeth said: “Simpson currently tops our liabilities having been shortened from 250/1 into 125/1 over the last 24 hours with many hoping he can repeat his success here in 2018 on the back of a decent showing at Bay Hill last week.
“Homa has already been in the winners' enclosure this season as well as finishing runner-up to Rahm in the Genesis last month and he looks primed to better his effort from last year when he shot a final-round 66 to finish T13.”
bet365 have also seen support for Patrick Cantlay, Justin Thomas and Corey Conners.
After his opening seven-under-par round of 65 to kick off the Arnold Palmer Invitational, it was looking like Jon Rahm was on course for a fourth win of the season.
Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy trailed by eight after a one-over-par start.
The pair's fortunes shifted over the next two days however with Rahm playing himself out of contention with a pair of 76s, with McIlroy gaining 15 shots on the Spaniard, ultimately finishing one shot behind winner Kurt Kitayama.
As such, Rahm has drifted to 10/1 for THE PLAYERS, while 2019 champion McIlroy is in to 9/1 favourite.
Full odds here.
Better Collective analysed each PLAYERS Championship from 2001 to 2022 to find out who the tournament's ultimate champion would be, with 2017's surprise winner Si-woo Kim coming out on top.
The South Korean has a stellar record around TPC Sawgrass, with two top-30s, one top-10 and a win from seven starts, tying 2021 champion Justin Thomas at -5, but narrowly edging out the American via a three-hole play-off.
Tiger Woods unsurprisingly came third on -4, tied with Tim Clark and Rory McIlroy, with Jason Day and Kevin Kisner one shot back on -3.
Tee times for the first two rounds of THE PLAYERS Championship have been released with Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler all grouped together.
Read a full list of tee times here.
The closing three holes at TPC Sawgrass are perhaps the most daunting three the players will face at THE PLAYERS Championship. With water heavily in play on 16 and 18, players must also tackle the infamous 'island green' 17th with absolutely zero room for error.
Jason Sobel went to Sawgrass with the help of Todd Anderson, the Director of the PGA TOUR's Performance Center, to take on 16, 17 and 18.
WATCH: Down the Stretch
As the Official Betting Operator of the PGA TOUR, we were given exclusive access to the iconic TPC Sawgrass ahead of THE PLAYERS Championship.
We spoke to tournament and course officials to find out what makes Sawgrass - and THE PLAYERS - so special.
Watch Discovering Sawgrass here.
While Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm have all made strong claims to be the world's best golfer over the last 12 months, it is the Spaniard who's pulled clear of both in 2023.
He kicked the year off with a win at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, following that up with a win at The American express a fortnight later. Two more top-10 finishes followed before a third win of the year at Genesis Invitational.
As such, Rahm is the current 7/1 favourite, and we've profiled all of this year's frontrunners here.
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