The Players Championship 2018: Preview, predictions and picks

Best of the rest

Here are five more players that have a chance to make some noise at The Players Championship this week.

13. Sergio Garcia

Up until his win at The Masters last year, Sergio Garcia’s biggest win to date was his Players Championship victory in 2008. He’s come close to joining Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Fred Couples, Davis Love III, Hal Sutton and Steve Elkington as the only two-time winners of this event (Nicklaus won three) since then, finishing in solo third in 2014 and tied for second in 2015 (he was part of that playoff in Rickie Fowler’s win). He finished tied for 54th in 2016 and tied for 30th last year. Sergio had been playing some very good golf a few months back with top-10 finishes at the WGC-Mexico Championship (T-7), the Valspar Championship (4) and the Match Play (T-9) but he failed to make the weekend at Augusta following that disastrous octuple-bogey 13 at the par-5 15th in the first round (he handled it like a true pro) and also failed to make the cut in his next start at the Valero Texas Open. He’s due for a good showing.

21. Matt Kuchar

Speaking of someone that’s due for something good to happen, we come to Matt Kuchar. It’s unclear how he hasn’t won on the PGA Tour in more than four years but that is the case. It’s not that he hasn’t played well as he does have a dozen top-10 finishes since this time last year, which is how he’s able to maintain a top-25 spot in the rankings, but he just hasn’t been able to get back in the winner’s circle. That could change this week at a venue where the 39-year-old found his greatest success with his Players win in 2012. Kuchar was masterful that week with three consecutive rounds in the 60s and his final-round 70 was good enough to hold off the likes of Zach Johnson and Rickie Fowler. He also finished tied for third here two years ago. He knows this course very well and should play well this week.

30. Francesco Molinari

It’s hard to call the 30th-ranked player in the world a dark horse but not many people are taking Francesco Molinari at this point. The 35-year-old that spends the majority of his time on the European Tour, where he has four wins, made a lot of noise last year at the PGA Championship, including a second-round 64, before finishing tied for second and got himself another top 20 in a major this year at The Masters. He’s got the game to win anywhere and although he can be a bit inconsistent at times, there’s something that suggests he can make a charge this week. Finishing tied for seventh two years ago at TPC Sawgrass and tied for sixth last year certainly doesn’t hurt.

31. Tony Finau

Sitting right behind Molinari in the world rankings is world No. 31 Tony Finau, who is starting to make a real name for himself on the PGA Tour. He moved into the top 100 with his win in Puerto Rico in 2016 and has jumped more than 40 spots since then with some very solid performances. In 27 starts since missing the cut at The Players last year, Finau has missed playing the weekend just twice and has cracked the top 10 on eight occasions, including a tie for 10th at The Masters last month, which was quite the miracle considering what he did to his ankle during a hole-in-one celebration at the Par-3 Contest. He’s finished in the top 25 in his last four outings and could have the biggest moment of his career with a victory this week.

92. Tiger Woods

You didn’t actually think we were going to get through this whole thing and not talk about Tiger Woods, did you? Whether you like it or not, the 14-time major champion, 79-time PGA Tour winner and two-time Players Champion is always going to be a big story. That’s just the way it is. Can he actually win this golf tournament? Maybe. Maybe not. But it’s always going to be interesting. That’s just the way golf is. Even with this amazing crop of young players, golf is just a little more interesting when Tiger’s around. Woods is playing at TPC Sawgrass for just the second time since his win here in 2013 and for the first time in three years. So yes, it’s a big deal and if he can get his putter working, a problem that plagued him hard at Quail Hollow this past week, he actually does have a chance to contend. The good news is that he finished in the top eight this past week in strokes-gained/tee-to green, something that will serve him very well at Sawgrass.

And the winner of The Players Championship is…

This is a really tough call. So many of the top players in the world are playing so well right now and there’s so many great stories that could play out on Sunday. Tiger winning would certainly be something but it’s hard to pull that trigger on that just yet. He should win at some point this year but not this week. Jason Day and Rickie Fowler could compete and it would not  be shocking to see either of those guys walk away with the victory. Patrick Reed could continue his hot streak here as well.

But the pick to win The Players is Justin Thomas. He’s playing so well right now and he’ll likely get to the top spot in the world on a big stage and this could be that stage. He’s got all the tools it takes to win on this golf course and playing in that group with Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy on Thursday and Friday is going to give him extra motivation to show he belongs at No. 1 in the world rankings.

Justin Thomas wins The Players Championship at 12-under. Book it.

NEXT: Top 10 shots in Masters history

Who’s your pick to win The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass? Feel free to join in the conversation in the comments section below.

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