Fantasy Golf Tournament Preview- Valspar Championship

OVERVIEW
This week became another Tiger week when he announced he was committing to the remainder of the Florida Swing. You won’t find Tiger in this article as I believe his price is too high for the expected ownership coming off a strong showing at the Honda. He’s never played this event for a reason, and there’s no reason for me to think his current game will translate to success this week. Now, if he’s able to make the cut and finish inside the Top 25, he will absolutely be featured here NEXT WEEK when he hits Bay Hill. Now that we got that out of the way, let’s talk about this week. Last year we saw Adam Hadwin fend off Patrick Cantlay for what seemed to be all of DFS Twitter’s 100/1 winner. The rough is average length and hasn’t changed much over the years. Scoring relative to par is either at the tour average or more difficult and that usually depends on what the wind is doing. Naturally, when the winds are calm, the course plays easier and when the wind is up, it plays pretty difficult. We’re back on Bermuda greens, and over the past few years the greens have played firm every other year. Whether that trend continues this week is yet to be seen, but it does play a part in choosing our players. Also, I think we have a decent enough sample size for most golfers this year, so most stats going forward will be for the 2018 season unless noted otherwise.

TOURNAMENT BACKGROUND

o The Course
• Innisbrook Resort (Copperhead)
• Par 71
• 7,300 yards
• Bermuda greens / overseeded w/ poa (I’m still calling these Bermuda greens)
o Location: Palm Harbor, FL
o Corollary Courses/Performances: Waialae (Sony Open), Deere Run (John Deere Classic)
o Past Champions:
• 2017: Adam Hadwin -14 over Patrick Cantlay
• 2016: Charl Schwartzel -7 in a playoff over Bill Haas
• 2015: Jordan Spieth -10 in a playoff over Patrick Reed & Sean O’Hair
• 2014: John Senden -7 over Kevin Na
• 2013: Kevin Streelman -10 over Book Weekley

KEY STATS TO TARGET

o Strong Emphasis – Ball Striking/SG: APP, Birdie Or Better, Scrambling
o Important – SG: P, P3 Scoring, P4 400-450, P5 Scoring, Prox 150+, 3 putt avoidance, Putting 5-10’

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