The Players Championship 2026 will start with its opening round on Thursday. The tournament features a stellar field of top-ranked golfers in the world.
Rory McIlroy will return to defend his title. The field also features the likes of Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, and others. Brooks Koepka is also playing this week.
Below are the five sleeper picks for The Players 2026:
The Players Championship 2026 sleeper picks
#1 Aaron Rai
Aaron Rai is one of the sleeper picks for this week at The Players 2026. The English golfer had some decent finishes on the PGA Tour this season. He started the campaign at the Sony Open in Hawaii and recorded a T50 place. He was tied for 28th at the Genesis Invitational and T23 at the Cognizant Classic. Rai had the odds of +10000 (via FanDuel).
#2 Brooks Koepka
Brooks Koepka is another sleeper pick for this week’s event. He had odds of +6500 (via FanDuel). The American golfer is preparing to play his fourth event of the season at The Players. After returning to the PGA Tour, he played at the Genesis Invitational and had a T56 finish, but then missed the cut at the WM Phoenix Open. He was tied for ninth place at the Cognizant Classic.
#3 Brian Harman
Brian Harman last played at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and is looking forward to The Players Championship this week. He had some decent finishes on the PGA Tour this season, which include a T19 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and a T50 at the Genesis Invitational. Harman had odds of +1175 (via FanDuel).
#4 Jordan Smith
Jordan Smith is another sleeper pick for The Players Championship 2026. The English golfer had some good finishes on the PGA Tour this season. In his last outing at the Cognizant Classic, he was tied for 23rd place. He settled in a tie for 15th place at the WM Phoenix Open. He was tied for 27th place at the American Express.
#5 Matti Schmid
Matti Schmid is also preparing to play this week at The Players. Last week, he played at the Puerto Rico Open and had an amazing finish. He started the tournament with an opening round of 71 and then played the next three rounds of 66, 68, and 71. He was tied for fifth place in the event. Before that, he was tied for ninth place at the Cognizant Classic and T56 at the Farmers Insurance Open. The German golfer had odds of +350 (via PGA Tour) for The Players.