Another week, another solid PGA Tour event to look forward to as we head just north of Tampa, Florida for the annual Valspar Championship. As always, we have you covered with a full preview and betting tips for the event below.
PGA Tour Valspar Championship Betting Tips
Innisbrook Resort, Tampa, Thursday 16th - Sunday 19th March
Bit of a tougher week in PGA Tour betting tips at The Players last week as just one of our three tips made the cut in Jason Day. Who earned himself a Top 30 at odds of $1.90 to recoup something at least. We’ll be looking to bounce back this week as we preview the Valspar below.
The Field
We are back to a standard purse this week, seeing just $8.1 million up for grabs, which has predictably resulted in a lighter field than the elevated events of the last few weeks. World No.15 Sam Burns has won the event for the last two consecutive years and will be looking to become the first player to win three of the same event in a row since Steve Stricker did so at the John Deere Classic from 2009-2011.
Amongst Burns at the top of the betting markets is the likes of Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Justin Rose, Keegan Bradley and Tommy Fleetwood. Other past winners of the event who will be back in attendance this season include Spieth, Adam Hadwin and Kevin Streelman.
The Course
Innisbrook Country Club will host the Valspar Championship as it has done since its inception all the way back in the year 2000. The course plays as a Par 71 at 7,340 yards and is unlike many of it’s Florida contemporaries. While it does share the same tree lined fairways and plenty of water hazards, the topography of Innisbrook resembles more of a links course, with rolling terrain, elevated tee shots and bigger greens.
With five par threes on the course, players will need to dialled in with their mid-long irons if they want to compete at Innesbrook. The signature stretch of holes at Innesbrook is without doubt the final three on the Copperhead Course, aptly named the ‘Snakepit’.
2011 Champion Gary Woodland summed it up best - “There is not a birdie hole the last three holes. If you’re two back and have signed your scorecard and the leaders are still out there, you’re definitely hanging around to see what happens.”
Betting Tips
Jordan Spieth ($13/Top 10 $2.75)
If you’re targeting any of the big dogs this week, I think Spieth is without doubt the play over his best mate Justin Thomas. Thomas has been struggling for form of late, finishing T60 at The Players last week. Jordan Speith, on the other hand, has finished in the top 20 in three of his last four events and was impressive at The Player last week with a T19. Won this event back in 2015 in the middle of a four year run which saw him finish T18, 1st, T20 and T7.
Tommy Fleetwood ($23/Top 30 $1.90)
The forgotten star of the PGA Tour at the moment. Tommy Fleetwood has been trending in the right direction over the last few weeks, finishing T61 at Bay Hill before recording a really solid T27 at The Players last week. Finished T16 in his first trip to Innisbrook last yeah and will be better served this time around with the added experience. Hard to believe he’s still searching for his maiden PGA Tour title.
Denny McCarthy ($34/Top 30 $2.10)
Another player who has been rounding into some nice form over the past few weeks on the PGA Tour. Has two top 15 finishes in his last three events and has made three trips to Innisbrook in the past, making the cut in all three as well as finishing T9 in 2019.
