(GOLF) Valspar Championship Preview and Betting Tips

Valspar Championship
Following on from a week where the world's best converged to contend the first World Golf Championship of the year in Mexico, the PGA Tour returns to normality this week at the Valspar Championship. The event will be played on the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club in Palm Harbor and will mark the second of 4 events which will be contested in Florida this year. Unfortunately the biggest name in golf, Tiger Woods, will not be playing in the event as he continues his rehabilitation following a recurrence of a back injury which has plagued him for the past few years. Nevertheless, the event will still host a number of big names meaning there will be no shortage of talent in the field.

Last year:
Bill Haas held the 54 hole lead and a 1 shot advantage over Graham De Laet but both will falter on the final day, shooting a 72(+1) and a 75(+4) respectively. Although this meant the Canadian will eventually finish in a T5, it was enough for Haas to get into a playoff at -7 alongside Charl Schwartzel, who himself shot the round of the day 67(-4) to earn a spot in the shootout. However it was the South African who would prevail as a par on the first extra hole was enough to win it, meaning he lifted a title in back to back starts having also been successful at the 2016 Tshwane Open in South Africa a week prior.

In this article I will examine both player form and course form of every player in the field. Using this information, I will then come to a judgement of who I think will be the top 6 players to look out for in the upcoming event.

*The odds for each player to win the event is provided by Sky Bet.

This week I am tipping one of the favourites to win the event. Having looked at course form and player form I don't see an outsider coming through the field and lifting the trophy.

My Tips:

 Bill Haas - 25/1: The South Carolina resident came so close to winning the event last year, eventually having to settle for a second place finish after losing to Charl Schwartzel in a playoff. Despite that disappointment, he clearly has form in this event considering he also has a T14 in 2014. These are the only two times he has played the event in the last 5 years but these strong finishes highlights his eye for the course. He has also been in good form recently, with a T32 in Mexico last week breaking a 6 event streak of finishing in the top 20. Expect him to shrug off the disappointment of last year and put in another strong finish in this year's edition.

 Charles Howell III - 40/1: The 2 time PGA Tour winner has not won since 2007, but has still had an illustrious career which has spanned 17 years and included an incredible 16 second place finishes. However, his recent form has shown signs that Howell can break his 10 year duck and lift the trophy this week. Before his T52 in his last outing at the Honda Classic, Howell had racked up 7 consecutive top 15 finishes. In addition to this his form is also impressive at Valspar, with finishes of T5, T10 and T14 in the past 3 years. He is trending upwards in recent times and for this reason would have to be considered a strong contender for the trophy.

Jason Dufner - 40/1: Dufner got to as high as 7th in the world in 2012, but has not been able to replicate this form in recent years and thus currently finds himself as the world number 70. However, there is reason to suggest that the Cleveland born man can add to his 6 career titles. He has been a model of consistency in this event, finishing in the top 30 of each of the last 8 editions. Furthermore, his past 3 events on the PGA Tour have all equalled top 25 finishes. His form in recent weeks and at the event are all extremely consistent; for that reason even if he does not hit top form at least expect him to finish somewhere inside the top 30.

Graham De Laet 40/1: The Canadian is yet to win on the PGA Tour, but he has been knocking on the door for a long time and surely the win is going to come soon. He is known for his ball striking, but this year his putter has been on fire; he currently sits 15th in that category having gained an average of 0.743 strokes on the field with the flat stick. This has propelled him to 59th in the FedEx Cup rankings, and he has been in particular good form recently with a pair of top 10's and a T17 in his last 3 starts. On top of that, he also has good form in this event, with 3 top 20's in his last 3 starts here, including a T5 last year. He is yet to win on the PGA Tour, but he may well be a strong contender to break his duck this week.

Wesley Bryan - 50/1: Wesley Bryan comes across as an extremely streaky player who can put together a number of strong finishes in consecutive weeks. That was no better conveyed last year, where he managed to win 3 times on the Web.com Tour to earn an automatic promotion onto the PGA Tour. He flattered to deceive earlier this season, but he has really hit form in recent weeks with a pair of T4 finishes. Seeing as the world number 78 is enjoying his first full season on the PGA Tour, he has no past history in his event and therefore we have no evidence whether his game suits the course or not. However like De Laet, it seems only a matter of time until the University of South Carolina alum earns that first victory and I see no reason why it won't be this week.

 Luke Donald - 50/1: The 2012 champion is not the elite player he was a few years ago when he reached world number one, but he is still a solid player and it would be unwise to rule him out of winning tournaments. As I have already mentioned, he has history at this event having won in 2012, but he has also made his last 5 cuts and added a pair of T4's in 2013 and 2014 at the event. He has also been in strong form in recent weeks, having finished in the top 30 in each of his last 3 starts. He clearly has a strong affection for this event and combining his recent form and course history, the Englishman could be good value at 50/1 this week.

 Projected Champion: Graham De Laet
Others that could contend: Patrick Reed, Kevin Na, Webb Simpson, Morgan Hoffman, Jim Furyk, Gary Woodland, Retief Goosen

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