2024 Players Championship PrizePicks: First-Round Plays for Thursday
Via Ben Jared/Getty Images. Pictured: Xander Schauffele smiles during the pro-am prior to The Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club on February 14, 2024 in Pacific Palisades, California.
Here's everything you need to know about the 2024 Players Championship PrizePicks First-Round Plays for Thursday's PGA Tour event at TPC Sawgrass.
We now look forward to this week's 2024 Players Championship following the Arnold Palmer Invitational. The Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass hosts once again, which it has done annually since 1982.
TPC Sawgrass is a par-72, 7,275-yard track designed by Pete Dye that presents a strong challenge to the world's best golfers and rewards strong approach players who can finish strong on these Bermudagrass greens.
Find my 2024 Players Championship PrizePicks for Thursday below.
2024 Players Championship PrizePicks
Xander Schauffele: More Than 4.5 Birdies or Better
Xander Schauffele has been the best player on Tour over the past two seasons to not own a win, and that will end sooner rather than later. Schauffele has now made 40 consecutive cuts, which is the longest active streak among all golfers on the PGA Tour.
His nine top-10 finishes last season ranked fourth on the PGA Tour, and his four top-10 finishes this season are second on Tour, behind only Scottie Scheffler. These strong efforts are likely to continue this week because Schauffele has finished runner-up here before.
The seven-time PGA Tour winner performed well here last season when he recorded at least five birdies or better in three of his four rounds at TPC Sawgrass. Schauffele has been a birdie machine this season, ranking 16th on Tour in Birdie Average with 4.78 birdies per round.
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Rory McIlroy: Less Than 4.5 Birdies or Better
We are also going to fade a couple of golfers on Thursday, starting with Rory McIlroy. In terms of talent, McIlroy is undoubtedly one of the best golfers in the world.
However, he surely has not been playing like it this season. McIlroy has yet to crack the top 20 in each of his four PGA Tour starts this season, and now he heads to an extremely difficult test at TPC Sawgrass, a venue at which he missed the cut last year.
Over his past five rounds at this course, McIlroy has recorded three or fewer birdies or better four times. He now heads to TPC Sawgrass in the worst form he's entered with in years, especially in regards to his approach game.
On Tour this season, McIlroy ranks 152nd in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green. That is especially troublesome because strong approach play is imperative at TPC Sawgrass, considering each of the top-four finishers here last year ranked in the top five among the field in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green.
Viktor Hovland: Less Than 4.5 Birdies or Better
The last golfer to fade on Thursday is Viktor Hovland, who profiles similarly to McIlroy in the sense that both golfers are immensely talented but are both playing poor golf (relative to their standards) right now. Hovland has cracked the top 20 just once this season with his tie for 19th at The Genesis Invitational as his game has just not been there since winning last year's Tour Championship.
Like McIlroy, Hovland's approach game has been a major issue, ranking just 121st on Tour in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green. He has particularly struggled to hit greens from the 125-150 yard range, which is another problematic ranking for this week as the biggest distribution of approach shots at TPC Sawgrass comes within that range of distances.
Yes, Hovland finished in a tie for third here last year, which is why this number is so high. However, he was also playing much better golf at this point last year than he currently is this season.
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