Tour News
Valspar Championship: Odds, Picks, and Prop Bets
The PGA Tour heads back to Florida this week for the Valspar Championship on the Copperhead course at Innisbrook Resort. Four of the top-15 players in the world are in the field including Justin Thomas, Patrick Reed, Bubba Watson and Henrik Stenson.
This will be Stenson’s first PGA Tour appearance in the U.S. since the FedEx Cup playoffs back in September. Stenson withdrew last week with a stomach virus after going 3-over par through 11 holes, but he should be fully recovered this week. Defending champ Charl Schwartzel is also in the field and is looking to rebound after a T38 at last week’s WGC–Mexico Championship and a missed cut at the Genesis Open.
Vijay Singh holds the tournament record at the Valspar Championship with a 266 in 2004, and Padraig Harrington holds the 18-hole record with a 61.
The Course
The par-71, 7,340-yard Copperhead Course is a player favorite on the PGA Tour. It’s highly demanding off the tee. Any stray tee shot will end up among the trees and, with plenty of double doglegs, driving accuracy and positioning will be a key to success. The Copperhead Course is also home to one of the toughest finishing stretches in all of golf. Dubbed “The Snake Pit,” the three finishing holes played an average of 0.598 strokes over par last year.
Odds
Past Champs in the field:
- KJ Choi: +20000
- Retief Goosen: +28000
- Vijay Singh: +30000
- Carl Pettersson: +40000
- Sean O’Hair: +6600
- Jim Furyk: +5000
- Gary Woodland: +2800
- Luke Donald: +4500
- Kevin Streelman: +10000
- John Senden: +15000
- Charl Schwartzel: +3300
Favorites:
- Justin Thomas +800
- Henrik Stenson +1000
- Matt Kuchar +2500
- Patrick Reed +2500
- Ryan Moore +2500
- Bill Haas +2800
- Daniel Berger +2800
- Gary Woodland +2800
- Charl Schwartzel +3300
- Charles Howell III +3500
Picks
My Pick: This is a tough one. I’ve been torn between Justin Thomas (+800) and Henrik Stenson (+1000). They had two very different weeks at the WGC. Thomas finished T5 and Stenson withdrew. It seems as though Thomas has broken out of his mini-slump, but I’m picking Stenson again this week. At a course this demanding, I expect Stenson to stripe 3-wood off the tee and put himself in great scoring position. Last week notwithstanding, Stenson hasn’t finished outside the top-10 since the Deutsche Bank in Boston.
Value Pick: I’m going with Gary Woodland here at +2800. If Woodland can find the fairway this week, I think he can overpower this course. He won here back in 2011, so he obviously loves the course, and he’s grown into a much better all-around player since then. Woodland should be contending on Sunday afternoon with a real chance to finish atop the leaderboard.
Long Shot: I’m going with Jim Furyk (+5000) as my longshot this week. He hasn’t had a great season thus far; one MC in five starts and only one top-10 finish. With that said, Furyk has as much experience as anyone in the field and he’s won here before. He ranks 2nd in Driving Accuracy, but he definitely lacks distance. If he continues to hit fairways and put himself in the right spots, this could be the week he breaks out of his slump.
Who to stay away from: Charl Schwartzel (+3300): He’s one of the favorites this week and he’s the reigning champ, but he hasn’t played great golf as of late. On top of his recent form, the Valspar has never had a winner defend his title and only three have ever finished inside the top-10.
Props
Will there be a playoff Yes (+300) No (-450): I’m going with “No” here. There have been three playoffs in the last five years, including back-to-back in 2015 and 2016. Other than the playoffs, the winner usually pulls away with a two- or three-shot victory and I can’t see there being a playoff three years in a row.
Winning Margin Playoff (+300) 1 Stroke (+250) 2 Strokes (+350) 3 Strokes (+500) 4+ Strokes (+325): Like I said, there’s usually a two- or three-shot margin at the Valspar. My initial thought was three, but I think Stenson and Thomas are going to battle it out and keep things close. Chances are, someone will falter in the Snake Pit while the other makes a birdie or two. I’m going with two strokes (+350).
Hole-in-One Yes (+135) No (-175): I’m going with “No” this week. Every par-3 plays above par at the Copperhead Course, and the only one that doesn’t exceed 200 yards is the 4th hole at 195. It’s wide and shallow with bunkers protecting the front. I expect to see players taking a safe route to the green here, two putting and hurrying to the next tee box.
Justin Thomas and Henrik Stenson (+400) vs. the Field (-1200): I’m taking Thomas and Stenson at +400. I’m picking Stenson to win outright and Thomas is the clear favorite. They should be battling each other for the win on Sunday afternoon. With these odds, it’s too hard to pass up.
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 RBC Heritage
GolfWRX is on site this week at Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island for the RBC Heritage. Plenty of golfers who competed in the Masters last week will be making the quick turnaround in the Lowcountry of South Carolina as the Heritage is again one of the Tour’s Signature Events.
We have general albums for you to check out, as well as plenty of WITBs — including Justin Thomas and Justin Rose.
We’ll continue to update as more photos flow in from SC.
Check out links to all our photos, below.
General Albums
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Monday #1
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Monday #2
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Tuesday #1
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Tuesday #2
WITB Albums
- Justin Thomas – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Justin Rose – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Chandler Phillips – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Nick Dunlap – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Thomas Detry – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Austin Eckroat – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Xander Schauffele – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Jason Day – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Will Zalatoris – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Patrick Cantlay – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Ludvig Aberg – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Collin Morikawa – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Sam Burns – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Stephen Jaeger – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
Pullout Albums
- Wyndham Clark’s Odyssey putter – 2024 RBC Heritage
- JT’s new Cameron putter – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Justin Thomas testing new Titleist 2 wood – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Cameron putters – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Odyssey putter with triple track alignment aid – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Scotty Cameron The Blk Box putting alignment aid/training aid – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Cameron putter – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Odyssey Ai One Eleven T putters – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Christian Bezuidenhout – testing new Callaway Ti 340 mini driver – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Rory McIlroy testing the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Xander Schauffele testing the Callaway Ti 340 mini driver & the DUW – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Byeong Hun An, two new L.A.B. Golf putter builds with “T” alignment – 2024 RBC Heritage
See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 Valero Texas Open
GolfWRX is on site this week at the Valero Texas Open.
The event has been around since 1922, making it one of the oldest on the PGA Tour calendar. Over the years, it’s been held at a variety of courses across the Lone Star State, but it’s found its home at TPC San Antonio in recent years. Some of the biggest names in golf have taken home the title here, including Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan, Lee Trevino, and Ben Crenshaw.
GolfWRX has its usual assortment of general galleries, WITBs and special pull-out albums. As always, we’ll continue to update the links below as more photos come in from TPC San Antonio.
General Albums
WITB Albums
- Ben Taylor – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Paul Barjon – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Joe Sullivan – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Wilson Furr – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Ben Willman – SoTex PGA Section Champ – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Jimmy Stanger – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Rickie Fowler – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Harrison Endycott – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Vince Whaley – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Kevin Chappell – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Christian Bezuidenhout – WITB (mini) – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Scott Gutschewski – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
Pullout Albums
- Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Ben Taylor with new Titleist TRS 2 wood – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Swag cover – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Greyson Sigg’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Davis Riley’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Josh Teater’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Hzrdus T1100 is back – – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Mark Hubbard testing ported Titleist irons – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Tyson Alexander testing new Titleist TRS 2 wood – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Hideki Matsuyama’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Cobra putters – 2024 Valero Texas Open
See what GolfWRXers are saying in the forums.
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
GolfWRX is on site in the Lone Star State this week for the Texas Children’s Houston Open.
General galleries from the putting green and range, WITBs — including Thorbjorn Olesen and Zac Blair — and several pull-out albums await.
As always, we’ll continue to update as more photos flow in. Check out links to all our photos from Houston below.
General Albums
- 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open – Monday #1
- 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open – Monday #2
- 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open – Tuesday #1
- 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open – Tuesday #2
- 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open – Tuesday #3
WITB Albums
- Thorbjorn Olesen – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Ben Silverman – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Jesse Droemer – SoTX PGA Section POY – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- David Lipsky – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Martin Trainer – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Zac Blair – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Jacob Bridgeman – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Trace Crowe – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Daniel Berger – WITB(very mini) – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Chesson Hadley – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Callum McNeill – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Rhein Gibson – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Patrick Fishburn – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Peter Malnati – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Raul Pereda – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Gary Woodland WITB (New driver, iron shafts) – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Padraig Harrington WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
Pullout Albums
- Tom Hoge’s custom Cameron – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Cameron putter – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Piretti putters – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Ping putter – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Kevin Dougherty’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Bettinardi putter – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Cameron putter – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Erik Barnes testing an all-black Axis1 putter – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Tony Finau’s new driver shaft – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
See what GolfWRXers are saying in the forums.
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Dave R
Mar 13, 2017 at 12:11 am
So much for all your picks boys