2024 Players Championship: One-and-Done Picks & Predictions

The 50th annual edition of The Players Championship is set to get underway from TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida this week. Scottie Scheffler is the odds-on favorite and will look to defend his title from a year ago following the huge momentum win at the 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational on Sunday. Meanwhile, no player has ever won back-to-back at The Players, so Scheffler could be a trend setter and break another historic record by logging consecutive wins at TPC Sawgrass this week.

In this article, PGA handicapper Matt MacKay dives into his favorite golfer to wager for one-and-done pick leagues at The Players Championship. 144 golfers are set to tee off Thursday morning from the Sunshine State, so let’s have find out which player is worth our investment at TPC Sawgrass.

Favorite One-and-Done Pick: Viktor Hovland

It’s been a sluggish start to the 2024 season for Viktor Hovland. He’s the defending FedExCup champion and went on an absolute heater to end the 2023 season. However, bogeys and missed opportunities have kept the Norwegian from contending atop the leaderboard on Sundays through four events.

Hovland is currently ranked 10th for driving efficiency, 21st going for green, 32nd total putting, and sixth for three-putt avoidance. Hovland’s driver and flat stick have been his best assets thus far. He also scores low on par 3s and par 5s, which are plentiful at TPC Sawgrass. When it comes to performance at Pete Dye’s stadium course, Hovland has fared well in his past two appearances. He logged a T3 finish at -10-under-par in 2023 and a T9 finish at -7-under-par in 2022 following a missed cut in 2021.

If you’ve saved Hovland up until now, it’s a great spot to use your pick. He’s likely been pounced on out of the gates, with more weariness creeping in due to paltry finishes, so naturally, TPC Sawgrass will yield the best version of the reigning FedExCup winner at a course where he tends to play great golf.

Other Players to Consider

Other players considered for the one-and-done pick who didn’t make the cut include Sahith Theegala, Adam Hadwin, and Will Zalatoris. Zalatoris is particularly intriguing based off of his elite approach game, while Hadwin has been consistently producing T15 finishes at this venue. Theegala doesn’t have a strong record in this event at all, but his putter and off-the-tee game let him surge up leaderboards at any given moment.