The PGA Tour shifts to Palm Harbor, Florida and the Innisbrook Resort & Golf Club fro the Valspar Championship this week. Fresh off a dramatic finish to the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship featuring a memorable winning performance from Phil Mickelson, some of the biggest names on the tour will compete this week with Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy and Sergio Garcia all on hand. Meanwhile, a familiar face will be in the spotlight once again as Tiger Woods tees up once again in the first of his next two scheduled events. Tiger might not be among the top sports betting favorites for this week’s tournament but he is sure to draw some impressive crowds if he can remain in contention through the first couple of rounds and stay relevant through Sunday.
Event Details
Event: Valspar Championship
Date: March 8th-11th
Category: PGA
Location: Innisbrook Resort & Golf Club, Palm Harbor, Florida
Tiger and Rory are set to make their debuts at the dreaded “Snake Pit” at the Innisbrook Resort & Golf Club this week. Experience should count for something as the top contenders look to build on their past starts at this event while some of the other big names like Tiger and Rory take on the challenge for the first time in their careers. One player with enough experience at this course is Spieth, who won this tournament in 2015 and returns following a one-year absence.
Past Five Winners
2017: Adam Hadwin -14
2016: Charl Schwartzel -7
2015: Jordan Spieth -10
2014: John Senden -7
2013: Kevin Streelman -10
What To Know About The Course
The Copperhead course at Innisbrook is a long course that will test the best players in the world from tee to green. The course includes two par-five double doglegs, which is a rarity on the PGA Tour. Meanwhile, the dreaded Snake Pit is made up of two par-four holes on either side of the par-three 17th. The fact that the biggest challenge presented by the course comes at the end of the round will test the mental strength of the field once again this year. While Driving Distance is an important statistic to track this week, course form should count for something and it’s worth noting that seven of the last 10 winners have come from behind with strong finishes over the final couple of rounds. Greens In Regulation and Putting statistics will also be key to success this week.
The Field
Spieth is the sports betting favorite to win this event at +900 at BetDSI Sporstbook. Rory is next in line at +1500, followed by Garcia at +1600 odds to win outright. Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson round out the top-five betting favorites for the Valspar Championship at +2000 and +2200 odds respectively. Meanwhile, Tiger is listed anywhere between +2500 to +3000 odds to win outright depending on the site so make sure that you take the time to shop around for the best number if you feel like putting some money down on Tiger this week.
A Good Matchup To Bet: Henrik Stenson over Tiger Woods
For as fun as it is to have Tiger back in the field for this week’s Valspar Championship, you might be better off fading him this week. Tiger is making his debut at this difficult course and he hasn’t won in years. Meanwhile, Stenson has strong course form numbers here with three straight top-11 finishes including a seventh-place finish here last year. Stenson should be able to deliver a better result than Tiger at the Valspar Championship this week and come out on top in the head-to-head sports betting matchup.
Top-Five Pick: Jordan Spieth
Spieth is trying to get on track before the upcoming US Masters and this could be a good opportunity to right the ship. Spieth, who won this event in 2016, will be playing with a sense of urgency this week. He is as talented as any other golfer in the field and he has already proven that he can win here in the past. A strong start to this year’s tournament should see him in contention for the outright win at the Valspar Championship. At the very least, he should be expected to finish in the top-five for this week’s event.
