The PGA Tour’s stay in Florida comes to an end with this week’s playing of the Valspar Championship. Those who played last week have a shorter turnaround than usual thanks to the delayed finish at THE PLAERS, but at least it’s a short trip across the state to Palm Harbor. And stuck between two higher profile non-majors the field is thinned out a bit. Still some big names will tee it up at Innisbrook Resort with two of the finest young players on Tour at the top of the odds board. Collin Morikawa sits just behind Justin Thomas as the only players with shorter than 10/1 odds. Viktor Hovland is positioned just behind the pair. Those three are featured in a number of tournament matchups with odds for those head-to-head battles available at BookMaker.eu when you’re ready to make a wager.
Valspar Championship Matchup Odds
Justin Thomas -125 vs. Viktor Hovland -105
Justin Thomas -140 vs. Collin Morikawa +110
Justin Thomas -160 vs. Dustin Johnson +130
Viktor Hovland -130 vs. Collin Morikawa Even
Viktor Hovland -160 vs. Dustin Johnson +130
Collin Morikawa -140 vs. Dustin Johnson +110
Xander Schauffele -120 vs. Louis Oosthuizen -110
Tyrrell Hatton -115 vs. Shane Lowry -115
Tyrrell Hatton -105 vs. Matthew Fitzpatrick -125
Shane Lowry -105 vs. Matthew Fitzpatrick -125
Sam Burns -130 vs. Abraham Ancer +100
Sam Burns -145 vs. Tommy Fleetwood +115
Abraham Ancer -140 vs. Tommy Fleetwood +110
Brooks Koepka -105 vs. Jason Kokrak -125
Alex Noren -130 vs. Jason Day +100
Keegan Bradley -155 vs. Kevin Kisner +125
Gary Woodland -105 vs. Bubba Watson -125
Webb Simpson -115 vs. Christiaan Bezuidenhout -115
Adam Hadwin -105 vs. Russell Knox -125
Mackenzie Hughes -105 vs. Cameron Tringale -125
Denny McCarthy +100 vs. Aaron Wise -130
Brian Harman -130 vs. Kevin Streelman +100
Bernd Wiesberger -105 vs. Matthias Schwab -125
Lanto Griffin -115 vs. Patton Kizzire -115
Francesco Molinari +100 vs. Mito Pereira -130
Martin Laird -125 vs. Jhonattan Vegas -105
Carlos Ortiz -105 vs. Pat Perez -125
Scott Stallings -130 vs. Doc Redman +100
Charley Hoffman -110 vs. Matt Kuchar -120
Nick Taylor -115 vs. Joel Dahmen -115
Zach Johnson -115 vs. Stewart Cink -115
Brendon Todd -130 vs. Branden Grace +100
Need to Know
The 7,340-yard, par-71 Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort plays host this week. It’s not your typical par 71 layout with four par-5s and five par-3s, and it’s often referred to as one of the most difficult on Tour while being a more popular stop as well. Now, there are just a few holes that cause problems, those being the 13th and 16th. The closing stretch starting at No. 16 is known as the Snake Pit and will pose a challenge. Course management is important and par is a good score, so don’t look for a lot of drivers on the tee box. We’ve seen -8 or lower win this event three times in the last seven playings, but pristine conditions allow scores to plummet. Sam Burns won his first Tour title here last year at 17-under, the lowest winning score since 2004.
Valspar Championship Matchup Picks
Collin Morikawa +110 vs. Justin Thomas
We probably won’t have too many opportunities to back Morikawa at plus odds so when the chance comes up it’s a good thing to at least take a look. With last week’s MC and this being his first go at Copperhead, Morikawa has some drawbacks. But he ended up on the wrong side of the draw last week, which proved deadly to a number of players. I’ll give him a break and with better conditions he should thrive on this layout. Sure he’s going against the outright favorite, but Morikawa is a stud in his own right and I like the price.
Nick Taylor -115 vs. Joel Dahmen
I wasn’t overly confident in backing Taylor since his results have been mediocre, and his price isn’t the best, but he’s been solid has last few times out with a T16 at the Honda Classic and T32 at the API. And since he doesn’t have to win outright I found his form intriguing. Taylor has a history in the Valspar having competed in six previous events topping out with a top-25 in 2019. He also had a blistering first round 69 in last year’s edition so he knows what to expect and he’s rested. That’s enough for me.
Bernd Wiesberger -105 vs. Matthias Schwab
Back in my days covering the European Tour I had success backing Wiesberger in a number of matchups. He hasn’t had as much success on the PGA side and this is his first PGA event of the season, but he’s played well across the pond with a pair of top-25s this year in the Middle East. And let’s not forget that he has four wins on the ET circuit since 2019, so he knows how to play.
Adam Hadwin -105 vs. Russell Knox
Hadwin snuck up on everyone last week with a closing 67 to grab a top-10 at TPC Sawgrass. He’s also had success at this joint getting a win in 2017 along with another top-12. His approach game and putting have been electric the past few tournaments and those are areas that lead to success on the Copperhead Course. When he prevailed here a few years ago for his first and so far only Tour victory he finished at 14-under, one of the better scores in tournament history.
Jason Day +100 vs. Alex Noren
Day is one of several players who endured the wrath of Mother Nature last week with his second round 78 moving him below the cut line. It was quite a turnaround from the way he was playing. He carded an opening 69 at THE PLAYERS and went T24-T3 in his two previous starts. I’m going to list last week’s result as an outlier on an otherwise strong season that also included a T3 at the unofficial QBE Shootout last December. And getting a quality player like Day at even money is a bonus.
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