The world’s top golfers will head this week to the famed Innisbrook course in Palm Harbor, Florida for the 2016 staging of the Valspar Championship. A cool $6.1 million is at stake for the world-class field with the champion grabbing not only 500 FedEx Cup points but also the $1.098 million top prize.
Read on below for an in-depth breakdown of this prestigious golf tournament and while you’re at it, you can check out our sleeper picks for this PGA Tour event.
It isn’t a complete surprise to see Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed installed as favorites to win this week’s Valspar Championship. Spieth and Reed are the two highest-ranked players in the field and they love playing here at Innisbrook.
Spieth (+500) captured the imagination of golf fans everywhere with his dramatic Valspar win last year. The world no. 1 made two clutch par saves to get into a playoff before snatching the victory with a 30-foot birdie on the third extra hole. Not only did he win last year, but a teenage Spieth also tied for seventh here back in 2013.
Reed, on the other hand, came so close to grabbing the tournament win last year, losing to Spieth in an epic three-man playoff. He heated up on the final day with a 66, shooting an incredible 31 on the back-nine. Reed has been playing some solid golf of late, finishing in the top-6 in three of his last seven starts. With the form that he is in right now and his experience with this Innisbrook course, expect Reed to contend once again this week.
Want to make some money on the PGA Tour? Create a betting account now and cash in on all the exciting golf action.
High-Value Sleepers – K.J. Choi and Jason Dufner
One player who’s playing some great golf at the moment is K.J. Choi (+3,300). He has notched three top-20s in his last four starts, including a solo second at the Farmers Insurance Open and a tie for fifth at the Northern Trust Open last month. That’s quite a turnaround for Choi who didn’t grab a single top-10 finish last year.
Key to Choi’s resurgence has been his excellent play on the putting greens. He is 26th in the PGA Tour in strokes gained via putting with a solid .560 average. That will come in handy when tackling the delicate greens of the Innisbrook course. He has had some success in this tournament in the past, capturing the Valspar title back in 2002 and finishing solo second in 2010.
Another golfer who’s primed for a huge performance this week is Jason Dufner (+3,000). He loves playing in this Innisbrook course as evidenced by his past performances in this event. Dufner has finished in the top 30 in each of the last seven editions of the Valspar Championship and he hasn’t missed out on the top 25 since 2011. He is off to a solid start this year, grabbing a huge comeback win at the CareerBuilder Challenge last January. Dufner is fresh off an 11th-place finish at the WGC-Cadillac Championship.
Long Shot – Vijay Singh
One golfer who can definitely surprise this weekend is Vijay Singh (+10,000). The 53-year-old definitely impressed in this tournament last year, finishing in a tie for 10th with a four-under par total of 280. Singh holds the scoring record in this event, firing an 18-under-par total of 266 in his championship win in 2004. Singh will also be buoyed by the fact that he’s playing some solid golf of late. The Fijian finished tied for sixth in his last start at the Honda Classic.
Writer’s Prediction
Patrick Reed (+2,000) goes one better and wins the Valspar Championship.
