RADIO
You cannot ask for much more than the spectacle we witnessed last week at THE PLAYERS. A triumphant come-from-behind victory for the best player in the world as he hunted down several big names on the leaderboard. What a week it was and it was an incredible experience to cover the entire event from the Media Center at TPC Sawgrass.
The beauty of the PGA Tour season as that there is no rest for the weary. We are right back on the grind this week for the 2024 Valspar Championship held on the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort in West Florida. It's a pure test of player acumen from start to finish and has yielded an illustrious set of winners throughout its history. In this article, you will find my TourPicks Top 10 Power Rankings for the Valspar Championship and a first-look primer for the players who set up nicely to compete
I hope that these rankings have become a staple in your weekly preparation and the place where you start your research for the week. I have carefully evaluated the field to project course fits and expected results, in an attempt to give you a glimpse at how my brain operates when it comes to handicapping golf. In addition to my Top 10 rankings, I will provide a brief summary for each player to give some reasoning behind their rankings. As always, thank you for your support, and good luck.
Featured Promo: Get any DFS Premium Bundle for for 10% off using code BALLER! Win more with expert advice from proven winners and exclusive DFS tools. Get instant access to RotoBaller's Lineup Optimizers, Research Stations, daily picks and VIP chat rooms across 10 sports! Go Premium, Win More!
#10. Doug Ghim
It's time to start taking notice of Doug Ghim if you have not yet. After a T16 at THE PLAYERS, Ghim has now finished 16th or better in five consecutive PGA Tour starts. He has been hitting nearly 75% of his greens in regulation over his last 24 rounds played and is currently ranked 2nd of all players in the field in recent strokes gained on Approach.
Ghim managed to finish a modest T27 at the Valspar Championship last season but is bringing an entirely different level of confidence into this event for 2024. His ability to hit both fairways and greens consistently will suit him properly for the task at hand for the Copperhead Course. Ghim produced one of the best moments of the week at THE PLAYERS which has propelled his chances this week coming in riding the high of a thunderous fist-pump at 17.
Bringing the fans at 17 to their feet 🗣️🗣️🗣️@DougGhim holes it from 63 feet at the Island Green. pic.twitter.com/UWXp4l28eO
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 16, 2024
#9. Adam Hadwin
Adam Hadwin had himself a week to forget at THE PLAYERS Championship. It ended with a missed cut and a 6 iron in the lake. TPC Sawgrass can humble and do that to anybody, so I am willing to write it off. The 2017 Valspar Champion has returned to Innisbrook with a (hopefully*) a clear mind and new focus on playing well this week. His form has been rather hit or miss all season, but managed to put together a T4 finish at the Genesis Invitational just a few weeks ago that caught my attention.
Hadwin is a good putter who has consistently felt comfortable and gained strokes on the tricky greens at the Valspar Championship. The missed cut last week may have allowed him to refocus his attention, coming into this week with an eye on the prize. It's a big year for players like Hadwin who are vying for a spot on the International Presidents Cup Team which will be held in his home country of Canada. A big week at the Valspar could be a step in the right direction for Hadwin.
#8. Nick Taylor
When referencing Canadian's that have eyes set on a home game at the President's Cup, Nick Taylor may have already secured his spot. After winning the WM Phoenix Open, Taylor has continued his great play making the next three cuts including at THE PLAYERS where he finished where he rebounded from a tough Saturday to finish T26. Taylor has been flushing his irons all season long, gaining strokes on Approach in his last seven consecutive starts.
The greens this week are a Bermuda with an overseed that will play very similarly to the greens at both TPC Sawgrass and TPC Scottsdale. Taylor gained a combined 13.5 strokes putting on this type of greens at those events so I expect him to feel very confident and comfortable this week at the Valspar Championship.
#7. Jordan Spieth
I saw first hand the full Spieth experience last season. A crowd favorite, often pulling a rabbit of a hat on the golf course, but also wildly inconsistent as well. Something appears to me like it is off with Jordan, he missed the cut at THE PLAYERS and of course well remember his DQ in a recent start at the Genesis Invitational where he signed an incorrect scorecard.
Spieth is struggling at the moment with his irons. He played well and nearly won the Valspar Championship in 2023, but to put his iron play into perspective, he had gained strokes on approach in his previous four starts before his T3 finish last season. Now in 2024, Spieth is losing ground to the field consistently with his irons, and even though he will be near the top of the odds board and a popular bet, I am not quite as high on Spieth this week. He'll also have a little extra on his plate this week as the PGA Tour Player's voice in an important meeting with the PIF.
Jordan Spieth confirmed that a group of player directors from the PGA Tour have been encouraged to meet with PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan as early as Monday 👀
🔗 https://t.co/734xOyEXzm pic.twitter.com/lT3f1Y6njh
— National Club Golfer (@NCG_com) March 16, 2024
#6. Justin Thomas
I followed Justin Thomas closely last week. He came into the week with the most consecutive made cuts of any player in the field at THE PLAYERS. We all know how this went...missed cut and trunk slammed. Thomas is visibly searching for something off the tee where his upright swing is producing a massive low snap-hook that has plagued him thus far throughout the Florida swing.
Thomas has had a ton of success the last three years at the Valspar Championship. T13, T3, and T10 have been his previous three results. This will be a big week for Thomas, who is looking to recapture some of the form that had him avoiding bogeys at all costs early in the season. The bogeys, and double bogeys, have begun to creep back in and Valspar is a course that can expose you if you do not have things properly synced up from a swing perspective. He could go very underlooked this week which makes him an intriguing option for betting and DFS.
#5. Cameron Young
Quietly, with his standard pronounced volume levels, Cameron Young is resurfacing as one of the top Ballstrikers on the PGA Tour. This season he ranks 12th in strokes gained Approach and 11th in strokes gained Off The Tee. He is also 2nd in the field in birdies per round made. Much like Thomas, he is showing active flashes of brilliance but just needs to avoid squares on his scorecard if he wants to compete to win.
This will be his first appearance at the Valspar Championship, but I still believe many of the analytics from his recent rounds make him a solid contender this week. He has gained a minimum of 3.6 strokes on approach in each of his last four starts. If he can somehow find a week with a hot putter like he did earlier this month at the Cognizant Classic, Cameron Young could be primed to finally capture that PGA Tour victory that we have all been patiently awaiting.
#4. Brian Harman
I really thought Brian Harman, a total bulldog in statue and nature, was going to find a way to get into a playoff last week with Scottie Scheffler. He's a super intriguing option on these style golf courses which many of the players in the field elect to club down and go with iron or fairway metal from the tee. Harman, like he did last week, just ropes Driver. He's not so long that he get's into trouble and his accuracy gives him a major leg-up on the competition, especially at courses like the Copperhead Course.
Harman fears nothing, and relishes the pressure. He was constantly in tune with the leaderboard as he played his final holes at TPC Sawgrass, but ultimately came up just short. He's gained +14.5 strokes on approach in his previous two starts in Florida and I would fully expect that to continue again this week at the Valspar.
💰Brian Harman 35-1 (now 25...)
🔥Last 8 rounds --> +16 strokes on approach
📈T2 & T12 last two starts
🐴T5 @ValsparChamp in 2022
🥸His iron play is trending REALLY hard right now pic.twitter.com/jNv2KvJMva— Byron Lindeque (@TheModelManiac) March 18, 2024
#3. Tony Finau
Here is a stat the caught me by complete surprise, the number one player in the field this week in strokes gained Approach in 2024 is Tony Finau. He has now gained, often times significantly, on the field with his irons in six consecutive starts. Much of that has been done with his long irons, which will once again be firmly in play at Innisbrook where long iron play is highly rewarded and coveted.
Finau has been lingering but unable to get anything positive going on the greens for the last six months. That said, he's now gained strokes Putting in his last two starts and could possibly be regaining some feel with the flat stick. The more I think about it, this could be a perfect course for Finau. I am overly high on his chances of competing this week as he looks to keep the pedal down headed into Major Championship season.
#2. Sam Burns
Sam Burns experienced the full spectrum of highs and lows at THE PLAYERS Championship. After slicing his tee shot through the pine straw and into the vending area on hole 18 Friday, it appeared by all indications he was headed for a missed cut. After a miraculous up and down on 18, he secured a tee time for the weekend, which for a player like Sam Burns really freed him up and allowed him to play aggressively which is how he and his caddie like to attack a golf course.
We’re asking questions now. Phase 3 initiated.
Big Golf Media here we come @RotoBallerPGA @preferredlines pic.twitter.com/92kzEvvnln
— Joe I (@TourPicks) March 16, 2024
Burns won the Valspar in 2021 and 2022! He finished in solo 6th last year and nobody in the field this week will feel more "right at home" than Sam Burns. It just so happens to be that he is playing great golf at the moment and will have his eyes directly focused on capturing another snake trophy!
#1. Xander Schauffele
To be frank, I was rather surprised that after failing to convert on a 54-hole lead at THE PLAYERS, that Xander Schauffele did not elect to WD from this tournament. I think it speaks to the nature of tournament scheduling as players have a plan to prepare for the Majors, but there had to be a ton of disappointment within the Schauffele camp about how things unfolded on Sunday.
His work with Chris Como, his new swing coach, has produced consistently great results. He finds himself on the first page of leaderboard week in and week out. At this point, the only thing that matter to Schauffele is winning. He'll tee it up this week at the Valspar Championship at the favorite with another opportunity to convert on his goals. Here is a nice piece from my friend Chris Powers and where things stand in Camp Xander.
Count me among those who believes Xander Schauffele is going to be just fine. The major win is going to be so much sweeter because of these gut puncheshttps://t.co/wqjw3rj9ZO
— Christopher Powers (@CPowers14) March 18, 2024
Best of luck this week Rotoballer family!
Win Big With RotoBaller
Golf is back, and it's time for you to win big with RotoBaller! Our PGA DFS Premium Package features several savvy analysts and proven DFS winners.Our very own Joe Nicely recently took down a big DraftKings DFS tournament for the Travelers Championship. And as an encore, RotoBaller subscriber @tenndolly2 won $100K on FanDuel with the help of Joe and the rest of our Premium PGA team:
If you read my articles @RotoBaller or listen to @TheTurnGolfPod I’ve been telling y’all it was #WinningSeason when golf came back! Shoutout to the entire @RotoBallerPGA squad and all you guys that support my work for all the ❤️ pic.twitter.com/07a4ynvbSU
— Joe Nicely (@JoeNicely) June 28, 2020
Between all the incredible Premium PGA DFS content and tools we put out each week, and our Premium Slack Community where we chat with our subscribers before lineups lock, RotoBaller PGA subscribers are armed with the tools, analysis, and advice to win big.Congrats @tenndolly2 ???
— RotoBaller PGA (@RotoBallerPGA) August 10, 2020
Thanks for being a @RotoBaller PGA DFS Premium subscriber & checking out all the amazing golf content that @JoeNicely produces every week! https://t.co/tHKZVsPbbt
