THE PLAYERS and it's season-high $25 million purse is really the kickoff to golf's majors — even if it doesn't technically qualify as one. The tournament has all the hallmarks of the biggest events of the season: An elite course in TPC Sawgrass with arguably the most iconic hole in golf (the island green No.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — The 24 newcomers to The Players Championship probably won’t take much solace in hearing that only one player — Craig Perks in 2002 — has conquered the diabolical Stadium Course at the TPC Sawgrass in his debut over the last four decades.

This year, he has already nailed Sepp Straka (66-1) in The American Express, Joe Highsmith (110-1) in the Cognizant Classic and Russell Henley (65-1) in the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Anyone who followed his sports betting picks could have seen massive returns on betting apps like FanDuel , DraftKings and Fanatics.