Betting Preview – 2022 Valspar Championship

After a grueling and extended PLAYERS Championship, the Florida Swing concludes with the Valspar Championship. Located in Palm Harbor, Florida, and played on the Copperhead Course at the Innisbrook Resort, it is one of the most complete tests of golf players will face all year.

Featuring narrow pine tree-lined fairways and rolling terrain, combined with the surrounding lakes, proper positioning off the tee is paramount. The increased number of trees and elevation changes make it feel as if one is in the hill country of North Carolina. As course architect, Larry Packard, said himself back in 2012:

When you play Copperhead you don’t even feel like you are in Florida. When you stand on the first hole and look down the fairway you are on an elevated tee and looking down the fairway lined with pine trees on both sides. It feels more like the Carolinas than Florida.

The makeup of the par-71 course is also far from traditional as there are five par-3s along with four par-5s. The course culminates at the infamous “Snake Pit” with two difficult par-4s sandwiched between the challenging par-3 17th.

With the Masters fast approaching, golfers have limited time left to fine-tune their skills for the first major of the year. Even so, with the PLAYERS event dragging into Monday, numerous players have already withdrawn, including the likes of Paul Casey, Joaquin Niemann, and Maverick McNealy. Nevertheless, the Strength of Field rating of 411 is still above average as Justin Thomas, Viktor Hovland, Collin Morikawa, Brooks Koepka, and numerous other highly-ranked players will still be competing at Innisbrook.

Valspar Championship Winners/Odds

  • 9 of the last 11 winners had at least one previous career win
  • 9 of the last 11 winners had played in at least two previous Valspar Championships
  • 10 of the last 11 winners had at least one previous top-10 finish that season
  • 9 of the last 11 winners finished 46th or better in the last start before the Valspar Championship

Top 10 Most Important Stats

*In order of importance.

  • SG: APP
  • Fairways Gained
  • Bogey Avoidance
  • Scrambling
  • Good Drive%
  • Par 5 Scoring
  • SG: Putting (Poa Trivialis courses)
  • Proximity 175+ yards
  • Birdie or Better%
  • SG: Total on Tough Scoring/Average Field Courses

Palm Harbor, Florida Weather Forecast (March 17-20)

Player Selection

Any type of golfer can win and have success here at Innisbrook. There have been long-hitters, shorter hitters, scramblers, and shot-makers all win here.

One thing for sure is that this course has been the home for premiere ball-strikers. From past winners Paul Casey and Charl Schwartzel to course horses Jason Kokrak and Louis Oosthuizen, each is known for being strong with their irons. With SG: Approach being so crucial this week, I am looking for players in good recent form, especially from 175+ yards.

With this being a course that favors “shot-shapers” and those that can work the ball both ways, players like Justin Thomas and Bubba Watson definitely fit that bill. 

In tough scoring conditions such as here at Innisbrook, players must take advantage of the four par-5s. Even though they are among the tougher par-5s on Tour they present a much better chance to score compared to the par-3s and par-4s, where they will simply be trying to survive with pars. And there has been a strong correlation between par-5 scoring and success at this event in past years.

With Driving Distance not being a factor this week, the ability to find fairways and position yourself in the numerous dogleg fairways will be crucial this week. With this in mind, Fairways Gained and Good Drive % will be important stats to analyze. And with so many greens being missed, scrambling for par will matter as well.

Finally, this will be a stern test of golf for all involved. Players who can exhibit patience, play boring golf, and simply grind out pars will have an advantage. Players like Adam Hadwin, Mackenzie Hughes, and Christiaan Bezuidenhout stand out from this perspective.

The Valspar Championship Final Model

In each preview article and on Discord, I present my final model, which gives a detailed player ranking of the most important stats and splits for the week. My modeling is built around the PGA’s Strokes Gained data, which is divided into SG: Off the Tee (OTT), SG: Approach (APP), SG: Around the Green (ARG), and SG: Putting (P). Learn more about Strokes Gained and why it can be so useful in analyzing the past and predicting future performance. Many of the individual splits will be posted on my Twitter feed, with the final model exclusively published here for subscribers.

Outright Betting Selections Anchor

*Lines accurate at the time of publication.

Louis Oosthuizen +2400

With impeccable course history, which includes finishes of 8-2-16-7 over his past four events here at Innisbrook, Louis Oosthuizen brings decent form to a course he loves. Having not missed a cut since 2020, he is a paragon of consistency. But can he actually win? That is the million-dollar question. In an average field that plays as one of the toughest on Tour, it’s not hard to see why he has success here. One of the best all-around players in the world, his ability to grind out pars and score on the par-5s fits in perfectly here.

(0.84u) FanDuel

Abraham Ancer +3500 

On a course where shot-shaping and finding fairways off the tee matters, Abraham Ancer’s accuracy plays well on this course. Not a long driver of the ball, Ancer won’t be affected by distance off the tee being diminished in importance. He has finishes of fifth and 16th here. He gained 2.8 strokes on approach last week, and if he can be positive with his long irons and get hot with the putter, he will be a threat to contend come Sunday.

(0.57u) DraftKings

Jason Kokrak +4000 (currently +3600)

One of the best on this course with finishes of eighth, second, and 13th over the past three years, he ranks high in many of the important metrics for the week. Jason Kokrak ranks in the top-third in the field in each of the SG categories, including fourth in the putting model. Along with being a strong long-iron player he also feasts on par-5s, ranking first in the entire field over the past 36 rounds. He is still lacking the respect he deserves having three wins on Tour over the past 18 months. Don’t be surprised if he notches another this week on a course he loves.

(0.50u) BetRivers

Keegan Bradley +5500 (currently +4600)

Coming off a rough finish to an otherwise excellent performance in the final two rounds at TPC Sawgrass as he charged up the leaderboard, Keegan Bradley has stated in the past how much he loves this event. He’s one of the best in the field on approach, especially with the long irons. He’s also coming off of two straight top-11 finishes (both in Florida). Last week he was second in the entire field tee-to-green. He finished second here last year.

(0.36u) FanDuel

Bubba Watson +7500 (currently +5000)

If shot-shaping is key, Bubba Watson might be the most talented in that area. His finishes of fourth and 13th in each of his last two appearances at this event confirm this seems to be a “Bubba” course. He also appears due to picking up his first win since 2018. Putting aside his last two rounds at THE PLAYERS, he’s arriving in good form with a recent 14th-place finish at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and a runner-up finish at the Saudi International in February. He ranks 24th in my scoring model and 16th in par-5 scoring from 550-600 yards. With his experience and the win equity he carries, his opening odds of 75-1 were ridiculous.

(0.27u) FanDuel

Adam Hadwin +7500 (currently +6000)

With his irons trending upwards, he has gained at least 3.7 shots on approach in three of the past four events, including at THE PLAYERS, where he finished ninth last week. He won here in 2017 and finished 12th in 2018. He shockingly finished sixth overall in my model thanks to ranking eighth in Approach, sixth in ARG, eighth in the “Core 4”, and second in my “Safety” metric. 

(0.27u) FanDuel

More Outright Selections

  • Gary Woodland +8000 (currently +5000), 0.25u DraftKings
  • Aaron Wise +13000 (currently +7500), 0.16u DraftKings
  • Brian Harman +13000 (currently +9000), 0.16u DraftKings
  • Patton Kizzire +13000, 0.16u DraftKings
  • Mito Pereira +13000 (currently +12000), 0.16u FanDuel
  • Martin Laird +18000 (currently +15000), 0.12u DraftKings

Finishing Position Picks

Top 10

Top 20

  • Louis Oosthuizen +115, (1.2u) FanDuel

Top 30

  • Matt Fitzpatrick -115, (1.5u) FanDuel
  • Abraham Ancer -110, (1.4u) FanDuel
  • Jason Kokrak +100, (1.3u) FanDuel
  • Keegan Bradley +125 (1.1u) FanDuel

Top 40

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Featured Image Credit: AP Photo/Matt Slocum