Valspar Championship Tips

Can surely build on last week's third at The Players Championship at Sawgrass. His game looked as if it was coming together on Sunday, and a continuation of that will surely put him right there.

Played very well at The Players and one bad tee shot maybe away from winning. He needs to make more putts over other rounds and limit silly errors like doubles.

Jacob Bridgeman is in excellent form. He won the Genesis Invitational and finished T5 in the Players Championship. He has played twice on this course. He finished 3rd in 2025 and missed the cut in 2024. His missed cut was his first time playing in this event. He should have a big chance in this event.

Justin Thomas is returning to form. He has finished top 10 in 2 out of his last 4 events. He finished T8 in the Players Championship. He finished 2nd in this event in 2025 and T3 in 2022. I predict him to do well in this event.

Patrick Cantlay showed glimpses of his old form in the final round at Sawgrass. He has finished runner-up here at Copperhead in the past, and his odds of 22/1 look generous.

Has played well on his return to the tour but needs to find the extra gear and minimize the mistakes to return to winning ways here.

Hisatsune was a fine 4th here last year, with his 66 on Friday being the standout round. His form is looking solid coming into this, with three top-10s in his last six starts, including a 2nd place. Last time he came home 13th, but he came 1st for Greens in Regulation, which should stand him in good stead this weekend.

With several of the big guns missing, there looks to be a real chance of J. J. Spaun capitalizing and making the Top 6. He finished top 25 last week in Sawgrass, and his putting looked much better. This should give him confidence this week.

Spieth is a very good player and has shown some glimpses of his old form recently but needs to eliminate silly errors and piece together four good rounds to win.

Has made the second-highest percentage of eagles this year and the most total. Played well last week until a bad final round.

Austin Smotherman followed up a fabulous performance in the Cognizant Classic, where he tied for 2nd, with a confident showing in The Players. He was tied 13th there. With several big names missing the Valspar, he can make Top 6.

Nick Taylor plays solid golf in 2026. In seven tournaments he didn't miss a cut and was top 30 five times. He has a top-ten finish here in the last three-year span.

South African player Christiaan Bezuidenhout just missed the cut last week but had been in good form prior to that, including a top-ten finish the week before. He looks like value at these odds to be in the places.

The tournament didn't start until 2000, but it already has four repeat winners in the form of Sam Burns, K.J. Choi, Ernie Els, and Paul Casey. Those winners show it's a course that needs a certain style, and once mastered, pulling off a repeat is very doable. That makes Taylor Moore, the 2023 winner, of interest. He has highlighted his liking for this event, stating that it's a course where you can plot your way around methodically, and even on a poor day he's confident of posting a respectable total.

13th place at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in the last event he participated in is Billy Horschel's best performance this year across seven events. He was 12th here in 2024 and 4th last year.

At 100/1 I like the each-way chances of David Ford in the Valspar. The American has finished in the top 20 two times in his last five starts and looks a huge price for top 6.

Mackenzie Hughes was 3rd at the Valspar Championship two years ago. He likes the course and has had other solid finishes here. Worth a look at triple digits.

2017 winner of Valspar Championship. He also was 5th here in 2024. Form is not great, but a proven player on this course at such big odds is worth a look.

I must confess I knew little about Chandler Blanchet until the Puerto Rico Open last time. But he produced three stunning rounds of 64, 67, and 67. Unfortunately, he had a poor Saturday with a 74 round, which cost him the win by one stroke. It did, though, show his tremendous potential, and he looks likely to win an event sooner or later.

Gary is looking to return to form after a very tough stretch. He has a winning pedigree but is a long shot with recent form here.