The PGA Tour is headed to the Snake Pit this week for the Valspar Championship at the Copperhead Course at the Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor, Fla.
After a wild weekend that extended into Monday at The Players, the Florida swing comes to an end in Tampa. Sam Burns is the defending champion on the par-71, 7,340-yard course, and this year’s field is one of the better collections of players for this tournament in recent memory.
Here are a few betting picks for this week’s Valspar with betting odds from DraftKings Sportsbook.
Favorite to back: Xander Schauffele +1600
We might be getting a little value here with Schauffele, who completely blew up Saturday at The Players Championship last week. He got caught up in the wrong side of the draw and got beat up by the elements at TPC Sawgrass. But he’s still one of the best players in the world, and he’s got the diverse skill set that plays here. He’s a good ball-striker, and he’s got good touch around the green.
Favorite to fade: Dustin Johnson +1800
Maybe DJ found something late last week at the Players where he posted one of the most unlikely top-10s you’ll ever see. Johnson shot a course-record 63 on Monday with a 29 on the back nine after chipping in for eagle to finish his round. Perhaps that gets him going, but his recent form has been just OK. He missed the cut with a brutal showing at the Genesis, and he finished 25th at the Farmers in his only other Tour starts in 2022. His around-the-green numbers have been woeful — the Players included — which is a problem at a course like this.
First-round leader: Keegan Bradley +5000
Bradley is playing very good golf right now, as evidenced by a fifth-place finish following a Monday charge to the top at The Players (which would have been a massive payout, by the way). The putter is still a huge issue, but for one round, he’s worth a gamble. His tee-to-green game has been really, really good dating all the way back to January, and he has recent success here, finishing second a year ago.
Long shot to watch: Gary Woodland +5000
It’s not the longest of long shots, but the cream typically rises to the top here, and this is as strong of a field as we’ve seen at the Valspar in a while. Woodland’s ceiling is that of an elite player, and he’s showing signs of getting back to being the player who won the 2019 U.S. Open. He had a rough week at The Players, and he certainly wasn’t alone, but he finished fifth at the Honda and Arnold Palmer leading into last weekend. He also has a win here, so despite a rash of missed cuts in his last three stops, it’s not like he can’t have success here.
