The PGA Tour shifts back over to Florida on Friday (AEDT) for the 20th edition of The Valspar Championship at the Copperhead Course in Palm Harbor.
This event was canceled last year due to the pandemic, meaning English golf fans have waited an extra 12 months to watch Paul Casey try and make it three wins in a row.
Internationals have won four of the last five editions of this tournament, while Australia’s John Senden also claimed the spoils back in 2014.
As far as Copperhead goes, the course this week calls for a strong tee-to-green game – especially when it comes to the final three holes appropriately named, ‘The Snake Pit’.
Favourites have typically struggled at this tournament over the last decade, so be sure to find out who we’re backing in our 2021 Valspar Championship Preview here!
VALSPAR CHAMPIONSHIP BEST BET
Louis Oosthuizen – $29.00
Copperhead is one of the more challenging courses on TOUR, largely due to the fact it requires players to bring a complete package from tee to green.
Picking players that are proven in this statistical category – much like Paul Casey was in 2018 and 2019 – has been a safe strategy when it comes to this tournament over the years.
Therefore, I’m with South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen to not only get the job done, but also get a monkey off his back since his one and only TOUR win at The Open Championship way back in 2010.
Oosthuizen ranks 27th in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green, while he’s also been a very consistent commodity at this course over the last few years finishing inside the Top 20 in 2016, 18 and 19.
Aside from all that, he’s also coming off an outright second last week at the Zurich Classic alongside Charl Schwartzel.
Sungjae Im – $23.00
I easily could have made Sungjae Im my best bet, but at 23-1, I think he’s being undervalued in the market after missing the cut at Augusta and the Zurich last week.
Those performances aside, the Korean tends to play his best golf in Florida – evident in the fact he won The Honda Classic here last year after finishing T4 at the last edition of the Valspar back in 2019.
Tee-to-green wise, Im ranks 60th on TOUR, but it’s worth noting he ranks 11th in driving accuracy.
He’s also cleaned his putting up lately to now rank 19th in Strokes Gained, so there’s a lot to like about him at this price.
Keegan Bradley – $56.00
If you’re searching for someone at value this week, look no further than Keegan Bradley.
The 34-year-old has been outstanding over the last few months finishing inside the Top 30 in six of his last seven tournaments.
That run includes a T10 at Arnie’s Place and a T4 alongside Brendan Steele in New Orleans last week, while just quietly, he also ranks 10th in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green.
His putting could use some work, but considering this is his sixth appearance at Copperhead, he should feel right at home.
