Fantasy Golf Tournament Preview- Valspar Championship

OVERVIEW
The field is oddly strong this week as Dustin Johnson, Jason Day and defending champion Paul Casey. The course features narrow, tree-lined fairways and demands accuracy off the tee and has five Par 3’s, and four Par 5’s. The course is also considered a less than driver course as outdriving certain spots on each hole puts you at a severe disadvantage on your approach shot. If all that wasn’t enough, we also get some Florida winds which help protect against par this week. Finally, we have what you’ve all been waiting for, THE SNAKEPIT!! The final three holes of Copperhead get the super modern and scary moniker of The Snakepit and while I joke about this, these three holes have wreaked havoc on the leaderboard come Sunday. Each of the last five years have resulted in either a playoff or a one stroke difference in deciding the winner. It might be privy to lay down some “playoff” bets this week and it’s also a good week to leave some bets in the chamber, so you can load up Saturday night on those chasing. For 1AD this week I think DJ is still in play if you haven’t used him yet (though I’d consider holding him for the PGA Championship at Bethpage at this point), Patrick Reed should be popular because of his course history. Sergio and Day will be popular, but not as heavily owned as the others mentioned.

TOURNAMENT BACKGROUND

o The Course
• Innisbrook Resort, Copperhead Course
• Par 71
• 7,300 yards
• Bermuda greens overseeded w/ poa
o Location: Palm Harbor, FL
o Corollary Courses: PGA Stadium Course/PGA West (Desert Classic/Career Builder), Waialae (Sony Open), TPC Deere Run (John Deere Classic)
o Past Champions:
• 2018: Paul Casey -10 over Patrick Reed & Tiger Woods
• 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 Sean O’ Hair & Patrick Reed
• 2014: John Senden -7 over Kevin Na

KEY STATS TO TARGET

o Strong Emphasis – SG: Ball Striking, Birdie or Better %, Scrambling
o Important – SG:P, P3 Scoring, P4 400-450y, P5 Scoring, Proximity 150+ yards

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