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Collin Morikawa Would Become No. 1 If He Wins Players Championship

Many experts picking the former Cal golfer to win the prestigious event this weekend
Jake Curtis|
Collin Morikawa Would Become No. 1 If He Wins Players Championship
Collin Morikawa Would Become No. 1 If He Wins Players Championship

Experts are lining up behind former Cal golfer Collin Morikawa to win the Players Championship, which starts Thursday at the TPC Sawgrass Course in Ponte Verda Beach, Fla.

He is ranked No. 2 in the world, behind Jon Rahm, but Morikawa would ascend to No. 1 for the first time in his career if he wins The Players Championship.

Morikawa will be part of an attractive threesome Thursday. Morikawa, Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy make up the threesome that will tee off for the first round at 9:56 a.m. Eastern time (6:56 a.m. Pacific time).

Morikawa has not played in a event since finishing second at the Genesis Invitational on Feb. 20, but he often sits out events leading up to a significant tournament like the Players Championship.

Morikawa, Justin Thomas and Jon Rahm are the betting-line co-favorites to win the event, all at 14-to-1, according to Casesars Sportsbook. Morikawa and Thomas are the No. 2 favorite according to BetMGM, both at 14-to-1, behind only Jon Rahn, who is 11-to-1 on that site.

But Morikawa has plenty of support by golf experts who pick him to finish first.

ESPN.com had 14 experts pick the winner of the event, and four of them chose Morikawa. No other player had more than two experts pick him. One

Here's what the ESPN people who picked Morikawa had to say about his chances.:

Marty Smith, ESPN

Winner: Collin Morikawa

Why he'll win:

This dude is a smilin' assassin. Certain athletes are born for the stage. Morikawa is one of them. He finished T-41 in 2021 but shot a final-round 6-under 66. He is emerging as an absolute superstar. The 2022 Players is the next brick in the path.
David Bearman, ESPN Betting

Winner: Collin Morikawa

Why he'll win:

We will lead off one of the hardest golf events to handicap with what we do know: Morikawa is one of the best ball-strikers on Tour, one of the most consistent players on Tour and is always in the mix at big-time events. Morikawa, who is only making his second appearance at TPC Sawgrass leads the Tour in shots gained: total, is sixth tee-to-green, fourth on approach, eighth off the tee and fourth in putting, which is a huge improvement from 178th and 128th the past two years. In the last 19 months, Morikawa has won the PGA Championship, Open Championship, WGC-Workday Championship and finished 4th in the U.S. Open. Why not the "fifth major" too?
Anita Marks, ESPN Betting

Winner: Collin Morikawa

Why he'll win:

He has finished top five in all three U.S. starts this season. The two most important metrics, he ranks in the top 12 -- 12th in driving accuracy and fourth in approach. He is also fourth in putting since he switched to the saw putting grip. The move has paid off for him. Morikawa also ranks first in par-4 scoring and fourth in par-5 scoring, as well as 11th in scrambling. He has it all.
Mark Schlabach, ESPN.com

Winner: Collin Morikawa

Why he'll win:

Morikawa has already won two majors at the age of 25, winning the 2020 PGA Championship at Harding Park and the 2021 Open Championship at Royal St. George's in his first start in both events. Winning The Players requires every element of a player's game, and few are better across the board than Morikawa. He ranks first in shots gained: total (2.514), eighth off the tee (.667), fourth approach the green (.915) and putting (.927) and sixth tee-to-green (1.587). He finished tied for 41st in his first start at the Stadium Course last year but shot 6-under 66 in the final round, a sign he figured things out.

One of the three people making the picks for CBS Sports chose Morikawa, saying this:

Jacob Hallex, producer

Winner -- Collin Morikawa (14-1):

Things look like they might get wet this week in Ponte Vedra, and that means we're playing lift, clean and place for every ball that ends up in the fairway. Let's look down the board and find the accurate drivers and top-flight iron players. Morikawa ticks both of those boxes. Last time we saw Morikawa, he was making a weekend charge at the Genesis Invitational. I like the fact he skipped Bay Hill last week, too, as he will be rested for TPC Sawgrass.

CBS Sports golf writer Kyle Boone picked Morikawa as the player guaranteed to finish in the top 10

Top 10 lock -- Collin Morikawa: Morikawa's iron play is the stuff of legend but his short game -- particularly his putting -- is always the big unknown with him. If he's putting well, then look out. And he is indeed putting well of late. He's fourth on the Tour this season in strokes gained putting and ranks in the same spot in strokes gained with his approach. If the putter stays hot, he has a real shot to win it, and we've already seen the two-time major champion rise to the occasion in big spots.

Here are the odds from Caesars Sportsbook:

Justin Thomas: 14-1

Collin Morikawa: 14-1

Jon Rahm: 14-1

Viktor Hovland: 20-1

Rory McIlroy: 20-1

Patrick Cantlay: 22-1

Scottie Scheffler: 25-1

Xander Schauffele: 28-1

Hideki Matsuyama: 30-1

Dustin Johnson: 30-1

Daniel Berger: 30-1

Cameron Smith: 33-1

Brooks Koepka: 35-1

Shane Lowry: 35-1

Matt Fitzpatrick: 35-1

Jordan Spieth: 40-1

Sungjae Im: 40-1

Sam Burns: 40-1

Will Zalatoris: 40-1

Billy Horschel: 40-1

Joaquin Niemann: 45-1

Tyrrell Hatton: 45-1

Louis Oosthuizen: 50-1

Corey Conners: 50-1

Adam Scott: 50-1

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Cover photo of Collin Morikawa by Gary A. Vasquez, USA TODAY Sports

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Follow Jake Curtis of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53

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Jake Curtis
JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.

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