Scottie Scheffler returns as defending champion at The Players; Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas have additionally beforehand gained at TPC Sawgrass; watch the opening spherical dwell on Thursday from 11.30am on Sky Sports Golf

Scottie Scheffler has the possibility to make historical past this week at The Players, however who might forestall him from being a back-to-back champion at TPC Sawgrass?

Scheffler arrives because the overwhelming favorite after a dominant five-shot victory on the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Sunday, the place he pulled away from a robust leaderboard to win a seventh PGA Tour occasion in 25 months.

The American prolonged his benefit on the prime of the world rankings together with his Bay Hill victory, with Scheffler now seeking to turn into the primary participant in historical past to efficiently defend their title at The Players.

Scheffler claimed a five-shot win in final 12 months’s contest and is broadly anticipated to earn one other victory this week on the PGA Tour’s flagship occasion, the place the vast majority of the world’s prime 50 are in motion and the champion earns $4.5m.

Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas and Cameron Smith are among the many different current winners at TPC Sawgrass, however which participant has one of the best probability of beating Scheffler to glory?

We requested the Sky Sports pundits to pick their potential shock packages to win this week…

Andrew Coltart

“Will Zalatoris can win as a result of he is fairly good off the tee, he is an ideal iron participant and now he has bought the hold of his new putter, he is bought all the things within the golf bag.

“He didn’t have a bad week at all at Bay Hill. Things just didn’t turn out the way he wanted because he was up against a steam train in Scheffler.”

David Howell

“My outside pick would be Max Homa. He’s had a lacklustre start to the year, so it could be seen as a strange pick, but I could just imagine him turning things around.

“Tee to inexperienced he may be elegant, and if he can discover his greatest type it could possibly be a course that fits him.”

Dame Laura Davies

“Min Woo Lee hits it a mile – and long hitting around Sawgrass is definitely needed. He has played really well this year and has done well at The Players before.

“He gained a event down in Australia in direction of the top of final 12 months and I simply assume he is bought the sport that may spring a shock. For me, it would not be that large a shock if he had a very good week.”

Nick Dougherty

“Shane Lowry has had near-miss after near-miss lately at the Cognizant Classic and Arnold Palmer Invitational, so he’s got a great chance of making it third time lucky.

“He’s playing great golf, loves the golf course. It will tap into his creativity, especially around the greens. For me, Shane’s the man to give that surprise package at TPC Sawgrass.”

Rich Beem

“Ludvig Åberg has got all the game in the world and has just got inside the world’s top 10. Could he be the next first-time winner at The Players?”

When is The Players dwell on Sky?

Sky Sports Golf will as soon as once more be the house of The Players in 2024, with almost 60 hours of dwell protection throughout event week and a bunch of additional content material out there so that you can take pleasure in.

Bonus protection shall be out there through the crimson button for all 4 event rounds, with featured teams and bonus marquee teams there to take pleasure in daily alongside a particular featured holes feed.

Watch The Players dwell all through the week on Sky Sports. Live protection begins on Thursday from 11.30am on Sky Sports Golf. Stream the PGA Tour and more with NOW.

Get Sky Sports on WhatsApp

You can now obtain messages and alerts for the most recent breaking sports activities information, evaluation, in-depth options and movies from our devoted WhatsApp channel. Find out more here…