The second day of the 2026 Players Championship gets underway on Friday at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
There is a five-way tie for first after the first day at five-under par. They hold a one-stroke lead over the rest of the field, but the tournament remains wide open with three days remaining.
Here are my picks for the Players Championship Day 2 best bets for Friday.
Players Championship Day 2 Odds, Best Bets
Ryan Gerard Top 20 (+305 at DraftKings)
After a turbulent opening round, Ryan Gerard enters Friday T52 at 1-over par. At +305, he is worth backing to climb the leaderboard over the remainder of the tournament.
The driver is arguably the most important club in the bag this week, as positioning off the tee is critical for creating clean approach opportunities on this demanding course.
Last year, each of the top five finishers ranked 29th or better in the field in strokes gained: off the tee. That trend favors Gerard, who ranks in the 91st percentile on the PGA Tour in that category.
He kicked off 2026 in great form with four straight top-20 finishes, and it would not be surprising if he finds himself there again at the end of the week.
Rickie Fowler Top 20 (+112 at DraftKings)
Another golfer worth targeting in this market is Rickie Fowler. He had a much better opening day, finishing T17 at 2-under par.
He is already in position to cash this market, and at +112 he is worth a wager to stay there.
Like Gerard, Fowler is strong with the driver and has gained strokes off the tee in each of his past 11 tournaments. He finished inside the top 20 in eight of those 11 events.
Once in position off the tee, success at Sawgrass often depends on short irons and wedge play. Last season, 19 percent of approach shots came from the 125-150 yard range, the highest distribution of any 25-yard grouping at this course.
Entering this week, Fowler ranks nearly four percent above the PGA Tour average in birdie-or-better percentage from that distance.
