With the Players Championship only ending on Monday there is a short turnaround for the PGA professionals as they head to Florida for the Valspar Championship at the Copperhead Golf Course starting Thursday. We select 4 players to take on the bookmakers.
Copperhead plays to a par 71 and is one of the toughest courses on tour. Wayward tee shots are punished by trouble that lurks off the fairways and the numerous doglegs means the distance off the tee is not as critical as it is at other courses. Key to success here is being able to manouvre the ball off the tee and punters are also warned to keep an eye on the weather as the wind can be a big factor if it gets up.
Justin Thomas heads the betting for the 2nd successive year at 9/1 at the time of writing and the in form Viktor Hovland is 11/1 with Colin Morikawa (who disappointed as one of my picks at the Players) a 12/1 shot. Louis Oosthuizen is the shortest price South African at 20/1.
PAST WINNERS
2021 – Sam Burns -17
2020 – Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2019 – Paul Casey -8
2018 – Paul Casey -10
2017 – Adam Hadwin -14
2016 – Charl Schwartzel -7*
Playoff *
BETTING – Click here to bet
Justin Thomas 9/1
Viktor Hovland 11/1
Collin Morikawa 12/1
Dustin Johnson 15/1
Xander Schauffele 18/1
Louis Oosthuizen 20/1
Sam Burns 22/1
25/1 and better the balance, prices correct at the time of posting but are subject to change
SELECTIONS:
Tyrrell Hatton each way at 25/1
Hatton is in good form and finished Top 15 last week on the back of a runner-up finish the week before. He has now had 4 Top 10’s including 2 Top 5’s in his last 5 starts. He has only had one attempt at this Tournament, missing the cut back in 2019, but I am prepared to overlook that on the back of his strong recent form and also the fact that he performs well on tough layouts.
Sam Burns each way at 22/1
Burns comes in as the defending Champion and hasn’t finished worse than 30th in 3 starts at this course. Last week he was in contention at the Players before fading to finish just outside the Top 25, the week before that he had a Top 10 so his form is clearly good and he must have a chance of defending his title.
Bubba Watson each way at 70/1
Watson’s recent form isn’t much to shout home about, but it was only a few weeks ago that he had a Top 15 and a runner-up finish. What catches the eye with Watson though is his recent course form with a Top 5 in 2019 followed by a Top 15 finish last year. He is very much a hit and miss golfer these days, but if he is on song could give us a good run for our money at 70/1.
Keegan Bradley each way at 60/1
It was great to see Bradley up towards the top of the Players Championship leaderboard down the stretch on Monday. He ended up finishing 5th and that was on the back of a Top 15 finish the week before. Throw in the fact that he was runner-up here in 2021 we have a nice mixture of course and current form suggesting that the 60/1 on this previous major winner could be some value.
