The PLAYERS Championship TV Schedule, Tee Times, Odds: Can Rickie Fowler Defend or Will One of the Big Three Step Up?

The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida starts on Thursday. Defending champion Rickie Fowler is teeing off with Adam Scott and Matt Kuchar and has a tough task ahead of him. Fowler’s domination of the par-3 17th in 2015 helped him claim his first BIG win on the PGA Tour and came right after the release of Sports Illustrated’s anonymous survey in which his peers labeled him as “overrated.” This year, no one is overlooking Rickie. He’s added two more wins to his resume and is ranked fifth in the official world rankings and is clearly a favorite to win the event again.

Of course Fowler will have to defend his title against the best. Fowler’s biggest competitors are foaming at the mouth to win this tournament. Jason Day has already won two tournaments this season. Adam Scott has already won two tournaments this season. Rory McIlroy is coming off of a solid performance at Quail Hallow. Jordan Spieth is looking to rebound after his Masters debacle. Dustin Johnson will eventually collect a big win and played spectacular golf at the Masters, minus his putting. Danny Willett is looking to prove that he isn’t a one hit wonder on the PGA Tour despite his success on the European Tour.

Then there are all of the other guys on the Tour who no one expects to win like James Hahn who had missed eight straight cuts before his win last week at Quail Hollow, or Jim Herman who won his first tournament at the Shell Houston Open, or Brian Stuard who collected his first win on Tour at the Zurich Classic.

Like Jason Dufner said:

TV Schedule

Th – 1:00 – 7:00 PM – Golf Channel
Fr – 1:00 – 7:00 PM – Golf Channel
Sa – 2:00 – 7:00 PM – NBC
Su – 2:00 – 7:00 PM – NBC

Tee Times

1 – 7:15 AM – Ricky Barnes, Jason Kokrak, Patton Kizzire
10 – 7:15 AM – Jason Gore, Graham DeLaet, Francesco Molinari
1 – 7:26 AM – Cameron Tringale, Daniel Summerhays, Will Wilcox
10 – 7:26 AM – Johnson Wagner, Jerry Kelly, Kevin Chappell
1 – 7:37 AM – Freddie Jacobson, Chad Campbell, Matthew Fitzpatrick
10 – 7:37 AM – Gary Woodland, David Hearn, Hudson Swafford
1 – 7:48 AM – Shane Lowry, Troy Merritt, Paul Casey
10 – 7:48 AM – Matt Every, Aaron Baddeley, Ernie Els
1 – 7:59 AM – J.B. Holmes, Brian Harman, Chesson Hadley
10 – 7:59 AM – Tony Finau, Peter Malnati, K.J. Choi
1 – 8:10 AM – Jim Herman, Emiliano Grillo, Brooks Koepka
10 – 8:10 AM – Danny Willett, Brandt Snedeker, Justin Rose
1 – 8:21 AM – James Hahn, Bill Haas, Ryan Moore
10 – 8:21 AM – Martin Kaymer, Henrik Stenson, Phil Mickelson
1 – 8:32 AM – Charley Hoffman, Danny Lee, Chris Kirk
10 – 8:32 AM – Russell Knox, Jim Furyk, Billy Horschel
1 – 8:43 AM – J.J. Henry, Steven Bowditch, Nick Taylor
10 – 8:43 AM – Branden Grace, Jason Day, Jordan Spieth
1 – 8:54 AM – Jason Dufner, Kevin Kisner, Luke Donald
10 – 8:54 AM – Chris Stroud, Daniel Berger, Bernd Wiesberger
1 – 9:05 AM – Martin Laird, Jhonattan Vegas, Si Woo Kim
10 – 9:05 AM – Ian Poulter, Marc Leishman, Bernhard Langer
1 – 9:16 AM – Chez Reavie, Kyle Reifers, Zac Blair
10 – 9:16 AM – Brendan Steele, Jamie Lovemark, Jeff Overton
1 – 12:30 PM – Kevin Na, Morgan Hoffmann, Chad Collins
10 – 12:30 PM – Boo Weekley, Shawn Stefani, Andres Gonzales
1 – 12:41 PM – Jonas Blixt, Sean O’Hair, Adam Hadwin
10 – 12:41 PM – Ryan Palmer, Patrick Rodgers, Carlos Ortiz
1 – 12:52 PM – Carl Pettersson, George McNeill, Jason Bohn
10 – 12:52 PM – Bryce Molder, William McGirt, Colt Knost
1 – 1:03 PM – Robert Streb, Kevin Streelman, Brendon Todd
10 – 1:03 PM – Scott Piercy, Ben Martin, Hunter Mahan
1 – 1:14 PM – Fabian Gomez, Padraig Harrington, Retief Goosen
10 – 1:14 PM – Vaughn Taylor, Matt Jones, Vijay Singh
1 – 1:25 PM – Zach Johnson, Patrick Reed, Sergio Garcia
10 – 1:25 PM – Brian Stuard, David Lingmerth, John Senden
1 – 1:36 PM – Adam Scott, Rickie Fowler, Matt Kuchar
10 – 1:36 PM – Justin Thomas, Davis Love III, Alex Cejka
1 – 1:47 PM – Hideki Matsuyama, Graeme McDowell, Louis Oosthuizen
10 – 1:47 PM – Smylie Kaufman, Jimmy Walker, Russell Henley
1 – 1:58 PM – Bubba Watson, Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson
10 – 1:58 PM – Camilo Villegas, Harris English, Keegan Bradley
1 – 2:09 PM – Scott Brown, Harold Varner III, Byeong-Hun An
10 – 2:09 PM – Brendon de Jonge, Erik Compton, Soren Kjeldsen
1 – 2:20 PM – Ken Duke, Steve Wheatcroft, Andy Sullivan
10 – 2:20 PM – John Huh, Spencer Levin, Rafa Cabrera Bello
1 – 2:31 PM – Mark Wilson, Charles Howell III, Jon Curran
10 – 2:31 PM – Greg Owen, Scott Pinckney, Kiradech Aphibarnrat

Odds

15/2 – Rory McIlroy
19/2 – Jordan Spieth
10/1 – Jason Day
17/1 – Rickie Fowler
24/1 – Justin Rose
25/1 – Dustin Johnson
26/1 – Adam Scott
26/1 – Hideki Matsuyama
24/1 – Sergio Garcia
30/1 – Henrik Stenson
35/1 – Bubba Watson
35/1 – Danny Willett
40/1 – Phil Mickelson
45/1 – Branden Grace
45/1 – Patrick Reed
60/1 – Billy Horschel
60/1 – Louis Oosthuizen
60/1 – Zach Johnson
75/1 – Brandt Snedeker
75/1 – David Lingmerth
75/1 – Matt Kuchar
75/1 – Paul Casey
80/1 – Charley Hoffman
80/1 – Daniel Berger
80/1 – Kevin Na
85/1 – Brooks Koepka
85/1 – Chris Kirk
85/1 – Kevin Kisner
85/1 – Martin Kaymer
90/1 – Byeong-Hun An
100/1 – Russell Knox

My Pick

I took Jason Day. It would be great to see Rickie defend his title, and if that happens I wouldn’t be surprised one bit, but this week feels like a Jason Day week.