The PGA Tour makes the short trip to Palm Harbor, Florida this week for the Valspar Championship at the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort. The event is now ideally positioned between the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship and the Arnold Palmer Invitational, which has helped it attract a strong field on a consistent basis. This year’s field includes the world No. 1 and defending champion Jordan Spieth and it’s no surprise that he is once again the betting favorite to win this event outright.
Event Details
Event: Valspar Championship
Category: PGA
Date: March 10-13
Location: Copperhead Course, Innisbrook Resort, Palm Harbor, Florida
Spieth edged out Patrick Reed and another former winner in Sean O’Hair to win last year’s Valspar Championship. All three golfers will take part in this year’s tournament as well, which means that we’re going to have plenty of options to choose from at this event in terms of players who have a good track record here. Two of the last three four winners have been determined by a playoff including Luke Donald in 2013, and Spieth in 2015. This tournament has been very competitive in recent years and has come down to the wire regularly. That might make you want to bet your golf to finish in the Top 5 or the Top 10 rather than winning outright. It might save you some heartache.
Past Five Winners
2015 – Jordan Spieth -10 (Playoff)
2014 – John Senden -7
2013 – Kevin Streelman -10
2012 – Luke Donald -13 (Playoff)
2011 – Gary Woodland -15
What To Know About The Course
Copperhead has been the host course for the Valspar Championship since its inception and there won’t be any surprises for this year’s tournament. The changes made to this course over the years are rather subtle with greens and tee boxes expanded slightly. All the fairways have been re-grassed with Celebration Bermuda while the greens have been re-grassed with Tif Bermuda. The wind is pretty much always a factor at this tournament and the forecast suggests that will be the case again this year. Spieth was an exception to the rule when he won last year, but accuracy over power is usually the way to go at this tournament. Only one winner to date has ranked outside of the top-20 in putting.
The Field
Spieth is the obvious betting favorite to win this event outright at +550 odds with last year’s runner-up Reed listed at +2250 while O’Hair is listed at +7000 odds. Those numbers alone might make it worth taking a flier on Reed or O’Hair to at least finish in the top-10 and it wouldn’t be a surprise if both golfers contend this week. Henrik Stenson is listed behind Spieth at +1250 odds to win, followed by Danny Willett (+1850) and Louis Oosthuizen (+2050). 2014 Valspar Championship winner John Senden is listed at a ridiculous +12500 odds to win outright.
A Good Matchup To Bet: K.J. Choi over Ryan Moore
Moore has placed in the top-12 in three of his last four appearances on the PGA Tour, but he hasn’t finished any higher than 10th and that won’t be good enough to beat out Choi this week. The two-time Valspar Championship winner and all-time money leader at Copperhead has been absolutely on fire this season including a pair of top-five finishes and a T-17 in his last four starts. His resume in this tournament speaks for itself, so consider this a very strong betting matchup to play this week.
Top Five Prediction: Henrik Stenson
Spieth would be an obvious choice to contend for the outright victory this week, but the better value for a top five prediction rests with Stenson. The Swede finished fourth in his first attempt at this tournament a year ago when he led the field in scrambling and the experience should help him this time around. Stenson is also coming off an uncharacteristically poor T-28 at the WGC-Cadillac Championship last week, so he will be motivated to bounce back with a better performance at Copperhead.
Player To Win Valspar Championship
Jordan Spieth +550
Henrik Stenson +1250
Danny Willett +1850
Louis Oosthuizen +2050
Charl Schwartzel +2250
Patrick Reed +2250
Branden Grace +2550
Justin Thomas +2850
Matt Kuchar +3050
Harris English +3250
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