Players Championship 2023: Odds, tips and prediction as Rory McIlroy battles Jon Rahm

Everything you need to know ahead of the tournament in Florida

Rory McIlroy and is The Players Championship favourite this week but Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler are narrowly behind the Northern Irishman.

A winner back in 2019, McIlroy knows what it takes to succeed around the Stadiu Court on TPC at Sawgrass.

Sadly Cameron Smith will not be in attendance, at least not as a player, with the LIV Golf star banned but teasing a potential appearance nonetheless after settling in the Ponte Vedra Beach area.

There are many more contenders beneath the big three in perhaps the most prestigious PGA Tour event on the schedule, with Kurt Kitayama winning last week at Bay Hill and Jordan Spieth showing signs of resurgence.

Here’s everything you need to know:

When is the 2023 Players Championship?

The 2023 Players Championship will be held from Thursday 9 March to Sunday 12 March at TPC Sawgrass in Jacksonville, Florida.

The opening groups for the first two rounds tee off from 6.50am ET (11.50am GMT), with the final groups underway at 1.51pm ET (6.51pm GMT).

How can I watch it?

Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch all of the action on Sky Sports Golf, with coverage due to begin at 11.30am GMT for the opening two rounds and 2pm GMT over the weekend. Subscribers can stream the event via the Sky Go app or player.

What are the odds?

Rory McIlroy 9/1

Jon Rahm 10//1

Scottie Scheffler 10/1

Patrick Cantlay 14/1

Justin Thomas 18/1

Max Homa 20/1

Xander Schauffele 22/1

Collin Morikawa 22/1

Matt Fitzpatrick 25/1

Tyrrell Hatton 25/1

Viktor Hovland 25/1

Jason Day 28/1

Tony Finau 28/1

Will Zalatoris 30/1

Tyrell Hatton 30/1

Cameron Young 28/1

Sung-Jae Im 28/1

Tom Kim 30/1

Jordan Spieth 33/1

Keegan Bradley 33/1

Shane Lowry 33/1

Keith Mitchell 35/1

Corey Conners 40/1

Rickie Fowler 40/1

Sahith Theegala 50/1

Tommy Fleetwood 50/1

Chris Kirk 55/1

Sam Burns 55/1

Si Woo Kim 55/1

Harris English 60/1

Hideki Matsuyama 60/1

Kurt Kitayama 60/1

Adam Scott 66/1

Justin Rose 66/1

Seamus Power 66/1

Tips and prediction

Jordan Spieth appears close, but there are still some wrinkles in his game he must iron out and TPC has never been especially kind to him with five cuts a T48 and T41 in his last seven appearances, although he finished T4 on debut in 2014.

An outsider has as big a chance as the stars based on history, given Smith was as long as 40/1 last year, while Webb Simpson (2018), Si Woo Kim (2017) and even Rickie Fowler (2015) triumphed with big prices.

While a repeat winner is rare, with Tiger Woods (2013) the only player to win multiple times since 2013. So if we ignore the big hitters at the top of the list of odds, we like Jason Day, given his return to form and big win here in 2016, not to mention T6 in 2011, T5 in 2018 and T8 in 2019. Look at his PGA Tour form, too: T7, 5, T9, T10. A breakthrough is coming it seems.

FIRST ROUND TEE TIMES

1st tee

6:50 a.m ET (11.50am GMT) -- Robby Shelton, Austin Smotherman, Min Woo Lee

7:01 a.m. (12.01pm) -- Kevin Streelman, Denny McCarthy, Matthew NeSmith

7:12 a.m. (12.12pm) -- Byeong Hun An, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Doug Ghim

7:23 a.m. (12.23pm) -- Michael Thompson, Brendon Todd, Keith Mitchell

7:34 a.m. (12.34pm) -- Kevin Kisner, Nick Taylor, Corey Conners

7:45 a.m. (12.45pm) -- Trey Mullinax, Cam Davis, Tyler Duncan

7:56 a.m. (12.56pm) -- Adam Svensson, Joel Dahmen, Robert Streb

8:07 a.m. (1.07pm) -- J.J. Spaun, Chad Ramey, Luke List

8:18 a.m. (1.18pm) -- Russell Henley, Mackenzie Hughes, Brian Harman

8:29 a.m. (1.29pm) -- Emiliano Grillo, Mark Hubbard, Matt Wallace

8:40 a.m. (1.40pm) -- Nate Lashley, Troy Merritt, Kelly Kraft

8:51 a.m. (1.51pm) -- Aaron Baddeley, David Lingmerth, Ben Martin

11:50 a.m. (4.50pm) -- Kevin Tway, Russell Knox, Chesson Hadley

12:01 p.m. (5.01pm) -- Andrew Putnam, Maverick McNealy, Doc Redman

12:12 p.m. (5.12pm) -- Beau Hossler, Adam Schenk, Stephan Jaeger

12:23 p.m. (5.23pm) -- Lucas Herbert, Aaron Wise, Jason Day

12:34 p.m. (5.34pm) -- Matt Fitzpatrick, Viktor Hovland, Shane Lowry

12:45 p.m. (5.45pm) -- Kurt Kitayama, Will Zalatoris, Xander Schauffele

12:56 p.m. (5.56pm) -- Max Homa, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth

1:07 p.m. (6.07pm) -- Sam Burns, Cameron Young, Sahith Theegala

1:18 p.m. (6.18pm) -- Chris Kirk, Seamus Power, Keegan Bradley

1:29 p.m. (6.29pm) -- Sam Ryder, Davis Riley, Taylor Moore

1:40 p.m. (6.40pm) -- Alex Noren, Thomas Detry, Max McGreevy

1:51 p.m. (6.51pm) -- Joseph Bramlett, Justin Suh, Andrew Novak

10th tee

6:50 a.m. (11.50am) -- Danny Willett, Brandon Wu, Davis Thompson

7:01 a.m. (12.01pm) -- Adam Long, Hayden Buckley, Taylor Montgomery

7:12 a.m. (12.12pm) -- Tommy Fleetwood, Taylor Pendrith, Callum Tarren

7:23 a.m. (12.23pm) -- Si Woo Kim, Webb Simpson, Tyrrell Hatton

7:34 a.m. (12.34pm) -- Tony Finau, Tom Kim, Patrick Cantlay

7:45 a.m. (12.45pm) -- Collin Morikawa, Adam Scott, Rickie Fowler

7:56 a.m. (12.56pm) -- Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy

8:07 a.m. (1.07pm) -- Justin Rose, Billy Horschel, Hideki Matsuyama

8:18 a.m. (1.18pm) -- Nico Echavarria, Sungjae Im, Harris English

8:29 a.m. (1.29pm) -- Jhonattan Vegas, Peter Malnati, Ryan Fox

8:40 a.m. (1.40pm) -- Adam Hadwin, Patrick Rodgers, Greyson Sigg

8:51 a.m. (1.51pm) -- Nick Hardy, Eric Cole, Harrison Endycott

11:50 a.m. (4.50pm) -- David Lipsky, S.H. Kim, Tyson Alexander

12:01 p.m. (5.01pm) -- Kramer Hickok, Lee Hodges, Will Gordon

12:12 p.m. (5.12pm) -- Ben Griffin, Matthias Schwab, Justin Lower

12:23 p.m. (5.23pm) -- Sepp Straka, Garrick Higgo, Stewart Cink

12:34 p.m. (5.34pm) -- Chez Reavie, Tom Hoge, Francesco Molinari

12:45 p.m. (5.45pm) -- J.T. Poston, Lucas Glover, Matt Kuchar

12:56 p.m. (5.56pm) -- K.H. Lee, Martin Laird, Gary Woodland

1:07 p.m. (6.07pm) -- Ryan Brehm, Lanto Griffin, Scott Stallings

1:18 p.m. (6.18pm) -- Ryan Palmer, Patton Kizzire, Alex Smalley

1:29 p.m. (6.29pm) -- Dylan Frittelli, Jerry Kelly, Wyndham Clark

1:40 p.m. (6.40pm) -- Scott Piercy, James Hahn, Nick Watney

1:51 p.m. (6.51pm) -- Aaron Rai, Dylan Wu, Erik Barnes

SECOND ROUND TEE TIMES

1st tee

6:50 a.m ET (11.50am GMT) -- David Lipsky, S.H. Kim, Tyson Alexander

7:01 a.m. (12.01pm) -- Kramer Hickok, Lee Hodges, Will Gordon

7:12 a.m. (12.12pm) -- Ben Griffin, Matthias Schwab, Justin Lower

7:23 a.m. (12.23pm) -- Sepp Straka, Garrick Higgo, Stewart Cink

7:34 a.m. (12.34pm) -- Chez Reavie, Tom Hoge, Francesco Molinari

7:45 a.m. (12.45pm) -- J.T. Poston, Lucas Glover, Matt Kuchar

7:56 a.m. (12.56pm) -- K.H. Lee, Martin Laird, Gary Woodland

8:07 a.m. (1.07pm) -- Ryan Brehm, Lanto Griffin, Scott Stallings

8:18 a.m. (1.18pm) -- Ryan Palmer, Patton Kizzire, Alex Smalley

8:29 a.m. (1.29pm) -- Dylan Frittelli, Jerry Kelly, Wyndham Clark

8:40 a.m. (1.40pm) -- Scott Piercy, James Hahn, Nick Watney

8:51 a.m. (1.51pm) -- Aaron Rai, Dylan Wu, Erik Barnes

11:50 a.m. (4.50pm) -- Danny Willett, Brandon Wu, Davis Thompson

12:01 p.m. (5.01pm) -- Adam Long, Hayden Buckley, Taylor Montgomery

12:12 p.m. (5.12pm) -- Tommy Fleetwood, Taylor Pendrith, Callum Tarren

12:23 p.m. (5.23pm) -- Si Woo Kim, Webb Simpson, Tyrrell Hatton

12:34 p.m. (5.34pm) -- Tony Finau, Tom Kim, Patrick Cantlay

12:45 p.m. (5.45pm) -- Collin Morikawa, Adam Scott, Rickie Fowler

12:56 p.m. (5.56pm) -- Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy

1:07 p.m. (6.07pm) -- Justin Rose, Billy Horschel, Hideki Matsuyama

1:18 p.m. (6.18pm) -- Nico Echavarria, Sungjae Im, Harris English

1:29 p.m. (6.29pm) --Jhonattan Vegas, Peter Malnati, Ryan Fox

1:40 p.m. (6.40pm) -- Adam Hadwin, Patrick Rodgers, Greyson Sigg

1:51 p.m. (6.51pm) -- Nick Hardy, Eric Cole, Harrison Endycott

10th tee

6:50 a.m. (11.50am) -- Kevin Tway, Russell Knox, Chesson Hadley

7:01 a.m. (12.01pm) -- Andrew Putnam, Maverick McNealy, Doc Redman

7:12 a.m. (12.12pm) -- Beau Hossler, Adam Schenk, Stephan Jaeger

7:23 a.m. (12.23pm) -- Lucas Herbert, Aaron Wise, Jason Day

7:34 a.m. (12.34pm) -- Matt Fitzpatrick, Viktor Hovland, Shane Lowry

7:45 a.m. (12.45pm) -- Kurt Kitayama, Will Zalatoris, Xander Schauffele

7:56 a.m. (12.56pm) -- Max Homa, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth

8:07 a.m. (1.07pm) -- Sam Burns, Cameron Young, Sahith Theegala

8:18 a.m. (1.18pm) -- Chris Kirk, Seamus Power, Keegan Bradley

8:29 a.m. (1.29pm) -- Sam Ryder, Davis Riley, Taylor Moore

8:40 a.m. (1.40pm) -- Alex Noren, Thomas Detry, Max McGreevy

8:51 a.m. (1.51pm) -- Joseph Bramlett, Justin Suh, Andrew Novak

11:50 a.m. (4.50pm) -- Robby Shelton, Austin Smotherman, Min Woo Lee

12:01 p.m. (5.01pm) -- Kevin Streelman, Denny McCarthy, Matthew NeSmith

12:12 p.m. (5.12pm) -- Byeong Hun An, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Doug Ghim

12:23 p.m. (5.23pm) -- Michael Thompson, Brendon Todd, Keith Mitchell

12:34 p.m. (5.34pm) -- Kevin Kisner, Nick Taylor, Corey Conners

12:45 p.m. (5.45pm) -- Trey Mullinax, Cam Davis, Tyler Duncan

12:56 p.m. (5.56pm) -- Adam Svensson, Joel Dahmen, Robert Streb

1:07 p.m. (6.07pm) -- J.J. Spaun, Chad Ramey, Luke List

1:18 p.m. (6.18pm) -- Russell Henley, Mackenzie Hughes, Brian Harman

1:29 p.m. (6.29pm) -- Emiliano Grillo, Mark Hubbard, Matt Wallace

1:40 p.m. (6.40pm) -- Nate Lashley, Troy Merritt, Kelly Kraft

1:51 p.m. (6.51pm) -- Aaron Baddeley, David Lingmerth, Ben Martin