Weekly Content Schedule

Re-Watchables

In case you missed it, here are the YouTube links to re-watch any of our shows or if you need to listen for the first time:

Sunday

Inside Golf Podcast: Players Championship Betting & DFS Preview

Hold The Green: Players Championship Preview

Monday

Inside Golf Podcast: Live DFS Show

Inside Golf Podcast: Monday Pod with guest Bob Harig

Tap In Birdie: Players Championship with Joe Idone

Tuesday

Hold The Green: Players Championship Best Bets

Wednesday

Inside Golf Podcast: Insiders Only Premium DFS Show

Statistical Spotlight: SG Approach

Over the years, recent approach play has been a strong indicator of success at TPC Sawgrass. The shot frequency from the common proximity buckets is fairly evenly distributed this week. There isn’t one proximity bucket over the other that I am closely monitoring when making decisions on players. With the majority of players opting to club down to favor accuracy over distance, players will be hitting their 2nd shots from similar areas. This will lead to the elite iron players being able to separate themselves on a greater level. 

Over the last 36 rounds, here are the top 10 players who have gained the most strokes on approach:

Player Profile: Adam Svensson

Since I’m currently still lost about how I want to tackle the top of the board, let’s highlight a player in the 5K range who I do not believe will receive the same type of love as OUR Doug Ghim. I always play Adam Svensson on short, positional golf courses, as he is one of the most accurate drivers of the ball in this field. Outside of a prior 13th at TPC Sawgrass, Svensson has also recorded multiple top-15 finishes at Sedgefield and PGA National. Outside of his accuracy off the tee, Svensson is a great middle-iron player who has performed strongly on Bermuda and in the Southeast in the past, with a prior win at the RSM Classic as well. While I’m worried about the content stealers getting their mittens on Doug Ghim this week, maybe we can keep Adam Svensson as our little secret.

One and Done: Collin Morikawa

The Players Championship is the biggest purse of the year. Yes, you read that correctly. The Players champion will take home roughly $4.5 million dollars. This is the week to take one of your elite players. If you have had a lackluster start to the OAD year, this is the week you can make up ground and get right back in it. 

In our ISN staff OAD pool, I have already taken Aberg at the Genesis (big dub) and Scheffler last week at the API. The two big guns I have left that are in form are Collin Morikawa and Rory McIIroy. 

I am going to go with Collin Morikawa this week because the way he is playing is hard to ignore. He has the perfect skillset to succeed at TPC Sawgrass: accurate OTT and elite approach play. 

Over the last 36 rounds, he ranks 9th in the field from approach and 6th in distance from the edge of the fairway.What concerns me a little  with Morikawa is it seems like the noise is getting in his head. Many critics online in the golf community has ridiculed him for his recent Sunday performances. 

However, I don’t want to overthink it this week. Take one of your big players. Good luck!

Closing Stretch

Josh Segal

Five players I want to watching closely at the Players Wednesday Practice Round

I am fortunate to be on the grounds this morning, Thursday, and on Sunday at TPC Sawgrass for the Players Championship. Today is the final practice round of the week before competition starts at the crack of dawn tomorrow. I am really interested in monitoring the course conditions and to analyze how players are looking to help make gambling/DFS decisions. I will be posting my thoughts on the course and some player reports throughout the day. 

In no particular, here are the five players I want to watch closely today on the grounds:

Justin Thomas

• The 2021 Players Champion should be one of most popular picks to win this tournament. I am intrigued to watch JT up close hit his irons as he ranks 1st in the field in strokes gained on approach over the last 36 rounds. JT is one of the most creative shot makers on tour, which was very much highlighted in 2021 when he played a little Tiger stinger on the 18th hole. I want to watch how JT is attacking this course off-the-tee as he debuted a new driver and shaft this year to increase distance. How aggressive will JT be off-the-tee as he is prone to the big miss? We shall see. 

Ludvig Aberg

• If you asked me who is the one player that you want to watch hit balls on the range, there’s no doubt that my answer is Ludvig Aberg. He has one of the best swings on tour, especially with the big stick. I am also interested to see how Aberg attacks TPC Sawgrass. He lives in the Ponte Vedra area and has been vocal about playing the course countless times. In his debut last year, he finished 8th. Aberg is playing like a top 3 player in the world right now and already hoisted a trophy this year.

Xander Schauffele

• Xander made his first start after being sidelined with an injury since the beginning of January. He clearly looked very rusty at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, which was to be expected. He gained positive strokes ball striking, but was negative with the short game. I want to continue monitoring how Xander looks and if his injury is still bothering him in any way. 

Viktor Hovland

• His game seems to be all out of sorts right now. The ISN family took advantage of some on course reporting last week as one of our members said that Hovland had a temper tantrum during his Wednesday practice round. Despite gaining two strokes ball striking, he lost three strokes with the putter, which led him to missing the cut in a limited field. TPC Sawgrass is not a course where you want to “find your game” at. I want to walk with Hovland for a couple of holes to see where his game is physically and mentally. 

Daniel Berger

• DB has been trending in the right direction so far in 2025. In seven starts this year, Berger has finished inside the top 25 in five of them. In all of those appearances, he has gained strokes from tee-to-green, which is important on a water heavy course like TPC Sawgrass. I was a big fan of Daniel Berger before he was sidelined with a back injury. It seems like he has found confidence in his game, which I am looking forward to seeing in person today.

  Will the Players deliver another thrilling final round?

Last year was arguably the greatest Players Championship finish ever. You can debate 2015 when Rickie Fowler took down Kevin Kisner, who was a no name at the time, in a playoff. Scottie Scheffler was 5 shots back of Xander Schauffele, who was the leader heading into the final round. Scheffler would go on to shoot a final round 64 (-8) to defend his Players title.

On the back nine, Xander was very disappointing shooting even par on the back nine. He needed to make a birdie on 18 to force a playoff. His tee shot on the 18 went way right into the pine straw, which basically eliminated him from having a chance to make birdie.

On the other hand, Wyndham Clark would go on to birdie the 16th and 17th hole, which prompted him to also being one stroke behind Scheffler going into the 18th hole. This is Clark’s birdie opportunity to force a playoff:

It’s going to be hard to top all the theatrics that happened last year at the Players. The Pete Dye designed golf course was meant to create chaos, especially on 16,17, and 18. Hopefully the Players can deliver another great finish.

Brian Kirschner

The Outrageous Price of TPC Sawgrass

As we get ready for The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass this week, a lot of people will certainly a correctly saw that the star of the show is the course itself. Not Scottie, not Rory and not Xander, TPC Sawgrass is one of the most exciting, interesting and made for pro golf courses on the PGA Tour. Everyone on the grounds always raves about how cool and awesome it is. Which bring a question to mind? Is it worth the over one thousand dollar price tag it costs for an average golfer play it?

At first thought, the vast majority of golfers would say unequivocally, no. As most golfers are used to a $60 round on the weekend with their buddies. To me, my personal price tag for the “best” round golfer would be in the $500-700 dollar range and it wouldnt be on most courses that are open to the public.

I think that golf is sometimes more about the people you are with the experience it brings. I truly believe that a round with your three best buddies, no matter the course is always going to be the best money spent. I personally think that the greens fee at Sawgrass are a lot of what is wrong with golf at the moment, one thousand dollars is so much money to a lot of people to spend on one four hour round of golf no matter the course.

I think the best possible way to enjoy TPC Sawgrass is a 150 dollar ticket to The Players Championship. Seeing the best golfers in the world navigate Pete Dyes diabolical design is probably going to better than paying a grand to shoot a 98 with 5 water balls is going to be for the average golfer.

I look to my “home course” Bethpage Black that anyone in the world can play for a literal tenth of the cost at around $150 for a round for an out of state resident. Both world renowned courses that host the best golfer in the world at two very different costs. Lets get back to letting the average joe play the best courses in the world without taking out a loan.

Flex of the Week

Shoutout to our guy Kyle Hewett who hit Karl Vilips at the Puerto Rico Open and Russell Henley at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Kyle touted both guys on Tap In Birdie this week, which was his Super Bowl. Congrats to everyone else who hit Vilips and Henley!

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