The Valspar Championship returned last year after a season off due to Covid and Sam Burns making the best of it! He won the event by four strokes over Keegan Bradley which was the largest Valspar Championship margin of victory since 2006. Now Burns comes in at +2000 and is ready to defend his title. But he has some other players riding the top of the odds list to get past.
Justin Thomas and Viktor Hovland both enter the opening round on Thursday at +1000 with Collin Morikawa at +1100. After those three the list remains tight but Hovland comes in following his great debut at this event last season where he finished T3 and he’s notched a win on the season at Mayakoba.
Thomas didn’t repeat last week at the Players but he has carded three top 20s here. As for Burns? If he can win the Valspar and defend his title he’ll be only the third player to do so since the event was founded in 2000. This event is always tight as a one-stroke win is a norm with three playoff finishes since 2012.
The Valspar has plenty of talent in the field which is at full strength following last week’s rain- delayed PLAYERS Championship. Fatigue may play a factor with such a quick turn-a-round – that may be something to consider.
Here are the favorites to win the 2022 Valero Texas Open outright:
Justin Thomas +1000
Viktor Hovland +1000
Collin Morikawa +1100
Dustin Johnson +1400
Xander Schauffele +2000
Louis Oosthuizen +2000
Sam Burns +2000
2022 Valspar Championship Preview
Where: Palm Harbor, Florida
Course: Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club / Copperhead Course
Format: Stroke Play
Par: 71
Length: 7,099
When: March 17 – 20
Purse: $7.8 Million.
TV Coverage: CBS/Golf
Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club and the Copperhead Course have made for some eventful finishes over the years as the Valspar Championships have been won by one stroke, or a playoff, nine of the last eleven times. This list of players pushing a playoff during that time without getting the win includes Tiger Woods, Patrick Reed, Kevin Na, Webb Simpson, Patrick Cantlay, among others.
Like last week at the PLAYERS, the weather could come into play with some high winds and a chance of rain. That will make tee shots all the more important. It has a full load of par four and five holes that demand long and low drives.
Tips for Betting on PGA Majors
2022 Valspar Championship Predictions
Viktor Hovland +1000
Hovland has been playing strong all season and that includes his win at Mayakoba. He’s also had a T2 a few weeks ago at the Arnold Palmer and a T4 at The Genesis Invitational. He’s played his first Valspar last season and finished T3. He’s finished in the top ten in five of his last events. His short game has been fantastic as of late and that’s needed at Copperhead.
Sam Burns +2000
Sam Burns played a great tournament last season when he grabbed the win by four strokes over Keegan Bradley. Burns won by going 17-under for the tournament at an event where the finishes are usually determined by one or two strokes or possibly a playoff. Burns was a co- leader last week before some hard stumbles that saw him finish T24. Still, he’s been one of the more consistent players on Tour in recent weeks.
Corey Conners +2000
The Copperhead Course needs a tee-to-green marksman and Corey Conners fit that model. Conners has had an impressive run of top-ten finishes this season including four in his last six outings. He finished third at the Arnold Palmer and was 7th at the PLAYERS Championship followed by a T8 at the Masters.
Keegan Bradley +4000
Speaking of Keegan Bradley, he was in the hunt here last season and gave Burn’s all he could handle. Last week at the PLAYERS, Bradley finished lone 5th, and the week before he was T11 at Bay Hill. He seems to be back on track after a string of three events where he finished outside of the 25th spot.
Others I Like: Bubba Watson (+5000) finished T3 and T14 in his last two Valspar Championship. This would be a great course for him to get his short irons fired up. Paul Casey was a player I was leaning towards but he pulled out of the event so my eyes settled on Harold Varner III (+6600) who looked solid last week at the PLAYERS with a T6 finish.
Profitable Sports Handicappers
2022 Valspar Championship Betting Lines
Justin Thomas +1000
Viktor Hovland +1000
Collin Morikawa +1100
Dustin Johnson +1400
Xander Schauffele +2000
Louis Oosthuizen +2000
Sam Burns +2000
Tyrrell Hatton +2200
Shane Lowry +2500
Matt Fitzpatrick +2500
Brooks Koepka +2500
Abraham Ancer +2800
Jason Kokrak +3300
Tommy Fleetwood +4000
Keegan Bradley +4000
Alex Noren +5000
Gary Woodland +5000
Jason Day +5000
Bubba Watson +5000
Webb Simpson +5000
Adam Hadwin +5000
Christiaan Bezuidenhout +5000
Kevin Kisner +6600
Russell Knox +6600
Cameron Tringale +6600
Harold Varner III +6600
Mackenzie Hughes +6600
Brian Harman +6600
Aaron Wise +6600
Denny McCarthy +8000
Bernd Wiesberger +8000
Jhonattan Vegas +8000
Lanto Griffin +10000
Francesco Molinari +10000
Matthias Schwab +10000
Kevin Streelman +10000
Mito Pereira +10000
Patton Kizzire +10000
Martin Laird +10000
Carlos Ortiz +12500
Scott Stallings +12500
Doc Redman +12500
Pat Perez +12500
Nick Taylor +12500
Charley Hoffman +12500
C T Pan +12500
Joel Dahmen +12500
Alex Smalley +12500
Brendon Todd +12500
Adam Svensson +12500
Martin Kaymer +12500
Matt Kuchar +15000
Sahith Theegala +15000
Taylor Moore +15000
David Lipsky +15000
Troy Merritt +15000
Branden Grace +15000
Matthew Nesmith +15000
Zach Johnson +15000
Adam Long +15000
Stewart Cink +15000
Brian Stuard +15000
Sam Ryder +15000
Danny Willett +15000
Chez Reavie +15000
Emiliano Grillo +15000
JJ Spaun +15000
Greyson Sigg +15000
Chad Ramey +15000
Michael Thompson +15000
Graeme McDowell +15000
Nate Lashley +15000
Lee Hodges +20000
Kramer Hickok +20000
Andrew Putnam +20000
John Huh +20000
Matt Wallace +20000
Hank Lebioda +20000
Danny Lee +20000
JT Poston +20000
Henrik Stenson +20000
Harry Higgs +20000
Brandon Wu +20000
Wyndham Clark +20000
Davis Riley +20000
Trey Mullinax +20000
Luke Donald +20000
Adam Schenk +25000
Ryan Brehm +25000
Vincent Whaley +25000
Joseph Bramlett +25000
Vaughn Taylor +25000
Kiradech Aphibarnrat +25000
Peter Malnati +25000
Brice Garnett +25000
Stephan Jaeger +25000
Kyle Stanley +25000
Sunghoon Kang +25000
Jim Herman +25000
Charl Schwartzel +25000
Sean O'Hair +25000
Kevin Yu +25000
Hayden Buckley +25000
Austin Smotherman +25000
Chun-An Yu +30000
Dylan Wu +30000
Max McGreevy +30000
Tyler Duncan +30000
Jimmy Walker +30000
Henrik Norlander +30000
Scott Piercy +30000
James Hahn +30000
Andrew Novak +30000
Bill Haas +30000
Callum Tarren +30000
Roger Sloan +30000
Kurt Kitayama +30000
Wesley Bryan +30000
Austin Cook +35000
Andrew Landry +35000
Robert Streb +35000
Cameron Percy +35000
Bronson Burgoon +35000
Curtis Thompson +35000
Tommy Gainey +40000
William McGirt +40000
Brian Gay +40000
Richy Werenski +40000
Chesson Hadley +40000
Seth Reeves +40000
Seung-Yul Noh +40000
Brandon Hagy +50000
Kelly Kraft +50000
Jonas Blixt +50000
Paul Barjon +50000
Mark Hensby +50000
Jackson Suber +50000
Luke Guthrie +50000
Andrew McCain +50000
Davis Love III +75000
Martin Trainer +75000
Alex Fitzpatrick +75000
Blake Kennedy +75000
Greg Koch +100000
Omar Uresti +100000
