Expedite, expedite, expedite.
Faster, faster, faster.
Nothing screams the need for immediate satisfaction than first-round prop betting at golf tournaments. Why wait until Sunday when you can have that ticket cashed before sundown on Thursday? Mother Nature has to do her part of the deal, of course.
The Players Championship has some deep cuts for the first 18 holes of the de factor “fifth major,” first on the calendar. And while it’s always about being first, getting paid out the quickest, cutting through “the wait” ... well, you get the point. And we’re off!
Players Championship 2026 first-round leader (as of Monday, courtesy of DraftKings):
Listed at the exact same price as Patrick Cantlay, the name Sepp Straka popped out to me when glancing over the field of first-rounders at TPC Sawgrass this year.
At +5600 to lead entering the second round, Straka offers considerable value — in fact, his price is more than double the number of Rory McIlroy at +2600 who’s nursing a back injury coming into Thursday with a Players title defense on his mind. Straka has finished 16th or better in three of his past four trips to Ponte Vedra Beach.
End of Round 1, top 10 finish best bet
Why not give two in the spirit of Players week? Harry Hall at +610 and Ryan Fox +820 are two that we’re recommending and hoping to still offer value as the week goes on and bet cards are finalized before the field goes off in less than 72 hours.
Hall is a machine on Thursday and coming off a T-9 finish at the Arnold Palmer invitational, but has only came here once and was cut after 36 holes so might be missed by prognosticators. Fox suffered from playing alone, without McIlroy on Saturday after the world No. 2 withdrew from Bay Hill before the third round had started.
Fox, who two years ago became the 14th player in Players history to make a hole-in-one on the iconic 17th island green during the first round, finished T-24 in Orlando.
Fun longshots in Players Championship first round
Ryo Hisatsune has looked very good on Thursday’s this year and the +830 number for him to top 10 finish after the first round is too good to say no.
Digging a little deeper and offering considerably more value: Aaron Rai to be the first-round leader, full stop. That’s +8600. Go ahead and try it out.
And last but certainly not least, we’re plugging Puerto Rico Open winner Ricky Castillo at +1700 to finish inside the top 5 at The Players Championship first round.