12 Jun 2019
Tiger seeks first win on his comeback trail at The Players, where he’s no stranger to victory
For the first time since battling it out around Augusta National, all Golf’s big names will attend The Players Championship – TPC Sawgrass. Tiger Woods will be seeking his third win around the picturesque course, where driving accuracy and distance are often neutralized by tricky green conditions. Will he manage his first victory of what appears to be a fairytale comeback?
The Masters saw yet another major winner emerge from the new era of American golfers. Patrick Reed with his brash personality, was perhaps not the crowd favorite to win, but his victory has added his name to growing list of young major winners poised to dominate golf over the next decade. Rickie Fowler, yet to win his first major, will look to build momentum for the rest of the year at a course he has previously won at. His erratic form pre-Masters had many questioning whether he would ever take that final step, but a strong performance around TPC Sawgrass should see him with a good chance of finally breaking his major duck later in the year. However, with last year’s winner, Kim Si-woo, emerging after being as long as 500/1 pre-tournament, the tough conditions at The Players can often spring surprises with unfamiliar names at the top of the leaderboard.
The favourites will be a familiar group: Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas will all be looking to claim their first victory at the Players, which many people attribute to be the fifth major in golf. Jason Day, once viewed as very much in that illustrious group, has fallen off slightly over the last few years due to health problems – namely vertigo. However, when healthy Day’s game tee to green is second to none and with the experience of a previous win at TPC Sawgrass, he may well find himself the man to emerge from the field and reclaim his place at the top of golf.
Tiger’s comeback continues
Tiger Woods’ previous comeback attempt in 2013 saw him finish first on the PGA money list that year, but also crucially win at TPC Sawgrass. It was a signal that Tiger had a lot left in him and he was able to take on and beat the next generation of golf talent at the biggest stages. Unfortunately, back problems re-emerged, and his comeback was derailed. Back now and with a couple of top 10 finishes under his belt, Tiger will look to use The Players as he hoped to in 2013, as a springboard back to the top of the golf world. Although Tiger’s odds are often inflated due to his popularity, at 33/1, an each way bet on a two-time former champion would be worth a punt. Tiger’s weakness this year has been his driving accuracy, fortunately around TPC Sawgrass this issue should not impair his climb up the leaderboard. The Driving accuracy ranking over the past 12 winners has been 24.1 over the 72 holes. It might be Tiger’s best chance at a big win in 2018.
Will Jason Day Re-emerge?
At the end of 2015 and five major wins on tour, few would have guessed that Day would still be waiting for his second major win almost three years later. Health problems and injuries have certainly played their part, but the emergence of new younger talent has pushed Day’s name down the leaderboard. In 2018, Day is saying all the right things, he has stated it is his primary goal to achieve the world number one ranking again and a win around a course he’s had previous success on should be the perfect way to continue his challenge for that honour. With a win this past week at the Wells Fargo championships, Day is beginning to find his winning touch once again and betting on an outright victory at 14/1 feels like tremendous value. Day has now won 6 of the 7 events he has led after three rounds, something to certainly keep your eye on for in-play action.
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