At Players Championship, McIlroy Favored To Win Golf's Richest Purse

Four-time major winner Rory McIlroy is the odds-on favorite to unseat defending champion Rickie Fowler at this weekend’s highly-anticipated Players Championship, according to a popular sportsbook. This year’s event kicks off Thursday and is being played, as always, at the venerated TPC Sawgrass course in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

Bovada.lv, an online sportsbook, lists McIlroy as an 8/1 favorite to win this year’s Players Championship. Jordan Spieth, the 22-year-old phenom, is listed at 10/1. Spieth is looking to rebound after last month’s fourth-round meltdown at the Masters Tournament, which cost him a chance at a second consecutive green jacket.

Jason Day, the world’s current No. 1-ranked golfer, is getting 11/1 odds to win the event. Fowler, who shot 12-under to earn last year’s massive $1.8 million purse for a first-place finish, is listed at 18/1. Bovada’s other top contenders are Hideki Matsuyama (25/1), Justin Rose (28/1), Henrik Stenson (28/1) and Adam Scott (28/1).

The winner of the Players Championship, considered golf’s unofficial fifth major, won’t just secure bragging rights. The event boasts a $10.5 million purse – the richest prize pool of any PGA Tour event. A first-place finish is worth $1.89 million.