The time between tournaments is short to begin with, but those making the trip to Palm Harbor, Fla. for this week’s Valspar Championship have less time after the delayed PLAYERS Championship finished on Monday. The PGA Tour drops the curtain on the Florida Swing with five of the top-10 players in the world scheduled to peg it up at the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort starting on Thursday. Positioned between two must-play events, the field is thinned out a little bit. Sam Burns, who collected his first PGA Tour victory at this event last year, is one of several recent Valspar champions set to return. They’re all chasing Justin Thomas on the odds board, however. Visit BookMaker.eu for a complete list of betting odds when you’re ready to place a wager.
Odds to Win Valspar Championship
Justin Thomas +1000
Collin Morikawa +1100
Viktor Hovland +1100
Dustin Johnson +1400
Xander Schauffele +1600
Louis Oosthuizen +2000
Sam Burns +2200
Shane Lowry +2200
Tyrrell Hatton +2200
Brooks Koepka +2500
Matthew Fitzpatrick +2500
Abraham Ancer +3000
Jason Kokrak +3500
Tommy Fleetwood +4000
Jason Day +5000
Keegan Bradley +5000
Adam Hadwin +5500
Alex Noren +5500
Bubba Watson +5500
Gary Woodland +6000
Webb Simpson +6000
Cameron Tringale +6600
Christiaan Bezuidenhout +6600
Kevin Kisner +6600
Mackenzie Hughes +6600
Russell Knox +6600
Harold Varner III +7000
Sebastian Munoz +7000
Brian Harman +7500
Denny McCarthy +7500
Odds Analysis
Keegan Bradley +5000
With two-time winner Paul Casey withdrawing the field opened up. And one guy I have an eye on is Bradley, who arrives in fine form and had a near miss here last year. He spent the first three rounds at the top of the leaderboard before a deadly double-bogey on the 67th hole dropped him to second. You could say he has some unfinished business to tend to. He was solo fifth at THE PLAYERS and secured a T11 the week prior in the API, and getting him at this price is inviting.
Matthew Fitzpatrick +2500
Fitz was undone by the conditions last week so I’m giving him a pass on the MC. It ended a run of four straight top-10s worldwide, but I don’t think it impacted his game. His ball-striking has been superb and he’s one of the best in par-5 scoring. He’ll have opportunities to continue that trend with four par-5s each day at Copperhead. Fitzpatrick’s game appears to be a good fit for the layout as long as the conditions cooperate better than they did at Sawgrass.
Adam Hadwin +5500
If you trust the carryover effect Hadwin is a guy to take a look at. He closed THE PLAYERS at 7-under over the last two days with a scintillating final round 67 that included eight birdies to earn a top-10. And he arrives at a course that has rewarded his approach and putting game. He didn’t play poorly the last two visits, though he did miss the cut. But he also has a win here in 2017 and another top-12, so he knows the layout. Hadwin is another value pick with a price too good to pass up.
Louis Oosthuizen +2000
Oosthuizen has been so consistently good for a decent stretch of time that you expect him to get a win before he goes the other way. He had a rough start to the final round at Sawgrass settling for a T42, and he’s failed to place among the top-10 in any of his six Tour starts this season, but his game is solid and I’m waiting for him to build off his performance last season when he had six podium finishes. He’s been strong in his last four visits here with a runner-up, two additional top-10s and a T16.
Bubba Watson +5500
Mother Nature got the best of several players last week however Watson wasn’t one of them. His second-round 68 was the lowest among the affected group. He couldn’t keep up with the strong play throughout the tournament, though. Maybe he just needed a practice run to shake the rust since he hasn’t played much this season. He’s been solid and has strong finishes here in his last two tries with a T4 and T13. And Watson is another experienced pro with an inviting price tag.
Course: Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort – 7,340 yards, Par 71
Copperhead has hosted the event since its debut in 2000 and plays a long par-71. However, unlike most, the layout features four par-5s and five par-3s. For the most part it’s a straightforward course with narrow fairways and small greens. Two holes in particular have proven over the years to be the most difficult, the 13th and 16th. We’ll see on average about one in 20 golfers to play each hole sign a double bogey or worse. The course is relatively long, but it is an iron and second-shot layout. A lot of sticks in the bag will be used this weekend. The closing stretch starting at 16 is known as the Snake Pit and as one of the toughest on Tour.
TV Coverage: Golf Channel, NBC
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