Valspar Championship
Valspar Championship
After spending last week at the WGC Championship in Mexico, the PGA Tour rolls on this week with the Valspar Championship. The tournament will be held at the Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor, Florida, from March 8-11. The field of 144 will include some of the world’s best golfers who will all be hoping to take home some of the $6.5 million prize fund.
But who is going to take home a ton of money is not what you’re concerned with knowing. You want to know who can help you win some cash. Who are the daily fantasy-worthy players this week?As always, that’s a great question. But first…
How about a little information about the course and weather?
The action will take place on the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club. It’s a par-71 course that is 7,340 yards long.
While people typically think of Florida as having beautiful weather, this week, it may not be the most pleasant. Temperatures are expected to be in the mid to high 50’s Thursday and Friday with no chance of rain. But it is also going to be partly cloudy on both days. Winds are expected to be around 14 MPH Thursday but drop to 7 MPH Friday.
Things start to take a turn for the worse on Saturday. Temperatures reach the high 60’s, winds are around 9 MPH, it will be partly cloudy, and there will be a ten percent chance of rain.
Sunday, however, is where things are expected to be bad. Winds will reach 19 MPH, and there is an 80 percent chance of rain. But there is only a ten percent chance of rain on Monday (if they have to finish then).
The Players
Last year’s champion is not exactly a household name, but it is one that daily fantasy players should consider this week. Adam Hadwin recorded his first career win last year at the Valspar Championship. That can be a reason for concern for daily fantasy players because if he was any good, he’d won before—right?
But one of the great things about golf is you can be very good without ever winning. Hadwin has 15 top ten finishes to his name (his career started back in 2009), three of which have come in the last few weeks. He finished tied for third at the CareerBuilder Challenge (20-under). In January, he finished tied for sixth at the Genesis Open (8-under).
Last week, at the WGC in Mexico he finished tied for ninth (10-under).
It may be sexier to go with one of the more well-known golfers. But do you want a sexier daily fantasy lineup or do you want to win money? The following players are also worth a look:
• Tiger Woods: Anytime he is part of the field it would be foolish to ignore him. He’s not the unstoppable force he was back in the day. But former studs like him are prone to breaking out when you least expect it. He did miss the cut at the Genesis Open but then he followed that up with a 12th place finish at the Honda Classic (E).
If you go with him and he flops, you’ll wish you never picked him. But if he does well and you don’t, you’ll kick yourself even more.
• Sergio Garcia: He hasn’t played the course since finishing tied for seventh in 2013. While he has played the course several times, this will be the first since it was redesigned. While he didn’t play well at the Hondo Classic (tied for 33rd; 5-over). But last week in Mexico, he looked good and finished tied for seventh.
• Paul Casey: The last time he played in the Valspar Championship was back in 2014, and he didn’t make the cut. He has a balanced game that could play well on the redesigned course. With how he’s played lately, Casey could either break out and win. At the least, he should play well.
He finished tied for 12th last week in Mexico. Before that, he had a bad outing at the Genesis Open (tied for 49th; 1-over). But a week earlier, he finished tied or 8th at Pebble Beach.
• Jordan Spieth: Vegas gives him the best odds at 17/2, and it is not hard to understand why. Yes, he hasn’t been playing lights out golf lately. But he has been playing very well. He finished tied for 14th (8-under) in Mexico last week. A couple of weeks earlier he tied for ninth at the Genesis Open (7-under).
To be fair, he tied for 20th at Pebble Beach and missed the cut in Phoenix. But even the best golfers have bad games from time to time—and he is one of the best. Don’t be shocked if he rebounds this week with a big win.
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