Sleeper Picks: THE PLAYERS Championship

Jhonattan Vegas (+400 for a Top 20) … Gives himself more chances on weekends than most realize. Since a T61 at THE PLAYERS a year ago, he’s missed only four cuts in official individual competition while connecting for nine top 20s worldwide. His last was a T8 at the Saudi Invitational a month ago. His combination of power and precision tee to green has been vintage for the Venezuelan. Currently T18 on the PGA TOUR in total driving, 13th in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee, 40th in greens in regulation and 29th in SG: Tee-to-Green. He’s also cashed in six of his last seven trips to TPC Sawgrass. The noisemaker was a T3 just three years ago.

C.T. Pan (+500 for a Top 20) … The 30-year-old from Taiwan is 2-for-3 at TPC Sawgrass. Neither of his paydays went for a top 45, but the experience in varying conditions is invaluable on a test with a learning curve, particularly in the context of the quality of its field every year. Two weeks ago, he delivered a T16 at PGA National, a course that’s rewarded his skill set that includes a knack for rising in the ranks on tough tracks. The week before that, he finished ninth at Riviera, which also typically challenges, just not as much this year.

Dylan Frittelli (+750 for a Top 20) … He’s more of a top-30 machine when he cashes, so loosen the restraints, but there are elements that project something more special. For one, although this is his eighth consecutive week on the road, his most recent performances are the strongest of the chain. He landed in Florida with a T16 at PGA National, thus far the highlight. In his debut at TPC Sawgrass last year, the South African finished T22, averaged 13 greens in regulation per round (to rank T17) and led the field in Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green. Of course, there’s no guarantee that he’ll replicate any part of that, but it does contribute to the notion that he’s immediately comfortable on a track where being uncomfortable is the norm.

Danny Lee (+900 for a Top 20) … When he’s made cuts, he’s made them count. Since a T20 at the Korn Ferry Tour Championship in early September, he’s 5-for-10 with four top 25s across two tours. That includes a T2-T7 burst in Bermuda and at Mayakoba in the fall. That’s when he qualified for THE PLAYERS Championship. He did first what Ryan Brehm did on Sunday in Puerto Rico, only that Lee didn’t win; rather, both turned Minor Medical Extensions into tee times at TPC Sawgrass. Unlike Brehm, the 31-year-old native of South Korea who represents New Zealand has experience on the course. The better of his two paydays in six trips was a T7 in 2018.

Brian Stuard (+750 for a Top 20) … This is his eighth appearance in a tournament where he’s connected for only one top-55 finish, and that was eight years ago, so this endorsement is more about his fit off the tee and how the momentum he brings upon arrival gives him the benefit of the doubt in a make-the-cut prop. After a rough few months, the Michigander hasn’t rested since opening 2022 with three straight missed cuts, but he’s strung together cuts made in his last five starts. His last two yielded a T9 at PGA National and a T22 at Grand Reserve. Now he’ll put his surgical precision off the tee to use at TPC Sawgrass where the primary rough is up to three inches this year.

Odds were sourced on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. For live odds, visit betmgm.