THIS WEEK’S TOURNAMENTS PGA TOUR

LAST TOURNAMENT: Arnold Palmer Invitational (Bryson DeChambeau)

THIS WEEK: The Players Championship, Ponte Vedra, Beach, Fla., Today-Sunday

COURSE: TPC Sawgrass (Par 72, 7,189 yards)

PURSE: $15 million (Winner: $2.7M)

DEFENDING CHAMPION: Rory McIlroy

TV: Today-Friday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. (NBC)

NOTES: Last year’s event was canceled after the first round due to the coronavirus pandemic, ushering in a 3 ½-month hiatus in PGA Tour competition . ... Fans will be allowed at 20 percent of capacity this year . ... The field includes 48 of the top 50 players in the official world golf rankings . ... Danny Willett withdrew on Tuesday following a positive COVID-19 test . ... Brooks Koepka withdrew on Sunday due to a knee injury . ... Will Zalatoris, who leads the Korn Ferry Tour points list and has risen to 46th in the world, will make his event debut . ... Since 2000, more than half of the event’s winners have been international players . ... No defending champion has ever won The Players and McIlroy is seeking his first successful title defense in 12 attempts on the PGA Tour.

BEST BETS: Dustin Johnson (+1200 by DraftKings) is coming off a T54 in his last start, snapping a streak of 12 consecutive top-12s or better. The world’s top-ranked player finished T5 here two years ago but has never won at TPC Sawgrass . ... DeChambeau (+1500) is coming off a victory last week and is the only player with multiple victories this season. He finished T20 two years ago . ... Jon Rahm (+1500) finished T12 in 2019. His T32 in his last start two weeks followed seven consecutive top-20s. ... McIlroy (+1600) has been struggling to put together four consecutive solid rounds. He’s trying to “rekindle those feelings” as defending champion . ... Collin Morikawa (+2000) won convincingly in his last start at The Concession. Last year’s first round was his lone one in competition at TPC Sawgrass. ... Hideki Matsuyama (+4000) tied the course record with an opening 63 before last year’s event was canceled. He hasn’t won on the PGA Tour since 2017 but did finish T8 at The Players two years ago. NEXT WEEK: The Honda Classic, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

LPGA TOUR

LAST TOURNAMENT: LPGA Drive On Championship (Austin Ernst) THIS WEEK: OFF.

NEXT EVENT: Kia Classic, Carlsbad, March 25-28

CHAMPIONS TOUR

LAST TOURNAMENT: Cologuard Classic (Kevin Sutherland)

THIS WEEK: OFF

NEXT TOURNAMENT: Chubb Classic, Newport Beach, April 16-18