Players Championship Odds 2017: Sleepers & Best Value Bets

The Players Championship will be the first tournament this season to feature what is generally referred to as the PGA Tour's "Big Four": Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy, Jason Day and Jordan Spieth. Throw in rising superstar Jon Rahm, defending Masters champion Sergio Garcia and other big-time talents such as Hideki Matsuyama and Rickie Fowler, and the top of this field is as strong as it gets.

In terms of betting, that means it's going to be hard for someone outside of that elite group to win, but it also means there is tons of immense value to be found all over the board. Here's a look at the odds, courtesy of Bovada:

Dustin Johnson: 7/1

Rory McIlroy: 11/1

Jordan Spieth: 12/1

Jason Day: 16/1
Jon Rahm: 16/1
Sergio Garcia: 16/1
Hideki Matsuyama: 20/1
Justin Rose: 20/1
Rickie Fowler: 20/1
Justin Thomas: 28/1
Adam Scott: 33/1
Henrik Stenson: 33/1
Brooks Koepka: 40/1
Matt Kuchar: 40/1
Paul Casey: 40/1
Francesco Molinari: 50/1
Kevin Chappell: 50/1
Kevin Kisner: 50/1
Phil Mickelson: 50/1
Lee Westwood: 66/1
Martin Kaymer: 66/1
Patrick Reed: 66/1
Tyrrell Hatton: 66/1
Jimmy Walker: 80/1
Bernd Wiesberger: 80/1
Branden Grace: 80/1
Brian Harman: 80/1
Bubba Watson: 80/1
Cameron Smith: 80/1
Charl Schwartzel: 80/1
Daniel Berger: 80/1
Jason Dufner: 80/1
Louis Oosthuizen: 80/1
Pat Perez: 80/1
Patrick Cantlay: 80/1
Russell Henley: 80/1
Russell Knox: 80/1
Ryan Moore: 80/1
Ryan Palmer: 80/1
Tommy Fleetwood: 80/1
Tony Finau: 80/1
Adam Hadwin: 100/1
Alex Noren: 100/1
Bill Haas: 100/1
Billy Horschel: 100/1

Charley Hoffman: 100/1

Graeme McDowell: 100/1

Kevin Na: 100/1

Marc Leishman: 100/1

Matthew Fitzpatrick: 100/1

Ross Fisher: 100/1

Steve Stricker: 100/1

Sung Kang: 100/1

Wesley Bryan: 100/1

William McGirt: 100/1

Zach Johnson: 100/1

The last two tournaments at TPC Sawgrass have been won by a couple of big names--Fowler and Day--but the always challenging test should help somewhat even the playing the field and give the sleepers a good chance. With that in mind, you can click through the gallery for my favorite value picks for the 2017 Players. (Getty)

Hideki Matsuyama

Odds: 20/1

Obviously not a "sleeper," but if you're looking for a pick outside the top tier of favorites, Matsuyama is pretty solid value at 20-to-1. He's one of just two players (Rory McIlroy being the other) to have a Top-25 finish in each of the last three tournaments here (T23, T17, T7), he's 20-under with just two rounds over par in 12 career rounds at TPC Sawgrass, and he's one of only three players (along with Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas) to have multiple wins on the PGA Tour this year.

Though he has slowed down a bit after his red-hot start to the year, his 11th-place finish at the Masters suggests he's in perfectly fine form to contend at a tournament he consistently plays well at. (Getty)

Matt Kuchar

Odds: 40/1

Kuchar hasn't won an official PGA Tour event since 2014, but if there's one place to bet on him, it's at a Pete Dye designed course. Kuch is second on Tour behind Jason Day in strokes gained on Pete Dye courses since 2014, and that has translated to a strong track record at the Players, as well. He won in 2012, finished third last year and has five Top-20's in eight starts overall.

Throw in strong recent form--fourth at the Masters and 11th at the RBC Heritage, with the latter coming at a Pete Dye course--and Kuchar represents strong value at 40-to-1. (Getty)

Brooks Koepka

Odds: 40/1

With Brooks being a bomber who isn't always accurate off the tee, you would think he struggles at Pete Dye courses, but he's actually ninth in strokes gained on those courses since 2014. Last year, he finished 35th at the Players, adding Top-10's at the WGC-Match Play and Travelers Championship, both of which are Pete Dye courses.

Moreover, Koepka enters with red-hot form. Since missing the cut at the Arnold Palmer back in mid-March, he has finished ninth (WGC-Match Play), 11th (Masters), second (Valero Texas Open) and fifth at the Zurich Classic playing with his brother, who had never appeared in a PGA Tour event prior. (Getty)

Kevin Kisner

Odds: 50/1

I've seen Kisner at 60-to-1 on other sites, but even at 50 he's a nice play. In the 10 tournaments before missing the cut at the Wells Fargo Championship last week, he had piled up eight Top-25 finishes, six Top-11's and two runner-ups.

Kisner, who finished second in a playoff in his debut here in 2015, is accurate off the tee (17th), which is key at a Pete Dye course. He's 12th on Tour in strokes gained tee to green, which is one of the best stats in predicting success. And he's simply playing too well this year to think last week's missed cut is a harbinger of things to come. At 50-to-1, I'm more than willing to bet he bounces back. (Getty)

Martin Kaymer

Odds: 66/1

There aren't many players who are seemingly more comfortable at TPC Sawgrass than Kaymer, who has made the cut in all eight of his appearances and won in 2014. He only has one Top-10 this year, which may be why he's all the way down at 66-to-1, but it's not as though he's been playing poorly, as he finished 16th at the Masters and 32nd at the RBC Heritage in his last two tournaments.

Kaymer's course history plus solid recent play put him at No. 10 on my power rankings, but he has just the 20th shortest odds. That's value I can get on board with. (Getty)

Adam Hadwin

Odds: 100/1

Hadwin was rolling. Win at the Valspar. Sixth-place at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. A solid T36 at the Masters, followed by a T22 at the RBC Heritage. He then put up a solid first two rounds at the Valero Texas Open before absolutely blowing up with an 82-74 on the weekend to finish in a tie for 72nd. But is that one--admittedly dreadful--round reason to drop him all the way to 100-to-1?

This is still a guy who is good tee-to-green (28th on Tour in strokes gained) and knows how to get it done with his putter (32nd in strokes gained). This is still a guy who has a win, a runner-up, four Top-10's and seven Top-25's in 14 tournaments this year. He's had time to clear his head since Texas, and if he comes even somewhat close to resembling the player he's been for much of the season, he'll be a steal at 100-to-1. (Getty)

Ross Fisher

Odds: 100/1

It's a full-field event, and that means time to start paying attention to Ross Fisher, who has amazingly finished sixth, third and fifth at the three World Golf Championship tournaments this season. He was just 41st at the Masters, but he has bounced back nicely from that with a T3 and a T6 in two starts on the European Tour.

The man has been a Top-10 machine this year (five total in seven starts), making him awfully difficult to pass up at these odds. (Getty)

Wesley Bryan

Odds: 100/1

Not counting the Zurich Classic, which was a team format, Bryan's last trip to a Pete Dye course (Hilton Head for the RBC Heritage) resulted in a win, so I'm not too worried about this being his debut at TPC Sawgrass. Though he struggles with his accuracy off the tee, the strength of his mid-range (17th in strokes gained approaching the green) and short-range (22nd in scrambling) games give him the tools necessary to succeed here.

While his form has tailed off a bit lately, remember this is a guy who, in addition to his win in April, had a stretch of three-straight Top-10's in February and March. That's the kind of elite upside you're looking for in a 100-to-1 pick. (Getty)