Power rankings: The Players Championship

The PGA Tour has a home game this week, with The Players Championship emanating from the Tour’s headquarters at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

The tournament is hard to predict, in part because the host course is so democratic in nature. At 7,215 yards, it’s not long by modern standards. Pete Dye’s design requires imagination and a full complement of shots to meet its demands. Low scores are possible, high scores are probable and mistakes are rarely forgiven.

Boasting what could be the deepest field all year, The Players has a ton of star power, but it typically comes down to an upstart, a star and a relative unknown vying for the title. So who will win this year?

Here are our top five picks for The Players Championship:

1. Rory McIlroy — Despite not loving how this course throttles his game, he has been in the top eight here in the last three years. He’s figured out how to play his game here, and he made another Sunday charge to get in the winning spirit at Quail Hollow.

2. Sergio Garcia — Most weeks, it’s hard to tell you Sergio Garcia will win. There’s just too much scar tissue. But Garcia’s 2008 Players win seems to shelter him. He’s a top-15 staple here and has been in the thick of it two of the last three years, in 2013 and a part of last year’s playoff won by Rickie Fowler.

3. Jason Day — We love Day here for a few reasons. He’s the No. 1 player in the world. He tears up Pete Dye golf courses. However, we don’t absolutely love Day because he’s missed the cut here twice in his last four Players starts.

4. Jordan Spieth — Spieth nearly won the Masters without his best stuff. That’s remarkable — more so than what happened on No. 12. However, if Spieth hits smaller greens at Sawgrass the same clip as Augusta National, he could very well miss the cut.

5. Hideki Matsuyama — Sawgrass is a ballstriker’s paradise. Placement is key. That’s why Matsuyama is a gem for this course. He’s just so silky smooth from tee to green.

Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.

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