PGA DFS Core Plays - DraftKings & FanDuel: Valspar Championship
Top-ranked DFS player, Notorious, breaks down his favorite PGA DFS plays at various salary ranges for the coming week’s golf tournament. Who should you be building around? Find out below.
Valspar Championship
While I thoroughly enjoyed watching an entire day of golf on Monday, it was a frustrating week dealing with all of the weather delays. I can only imagine how frustrating it would have been for the golfers, who actually had to play in the weather. I was disappointed not to be on Cam Smith, as he’s one of the easiest golfers to cheer for on the PGA Tour. With that said, I managed to squeak out a small profit in both betting and DFS.
We now turn our attention to the final leg of the Florida swing. The Copperhead Course at Innisbrook plays a little different than the other Florida courses and many golfers say that it has more of a Carolina feel to it. The fairways are tree-lined, there are plenty of dog legs, and there are significant elevation changes. The course is a Par 71 that measures 7,340 yards. It’s a bit unique in the setup, as the course features four par fives and five par threes.
While the course is long on paper, you don’t need to be a bomber to contend here. In fact, many of the holes will require less than driver off the tee. Even though there aren’t a ton of drivers hit per round here, the fairways are still tough to hit thanks to the fact that they are only 24 yards wide on average. If using any off the tee metrics, I would focus on strokes gained off the tee or on good drive percentage (I’m using a little of both).
Approach play is critical every week, but this one more than most. The greens are average in size and tough to hit on average. Ball strikers have had a ton of success here because if you hit the greens, you don’t have to worry about scrambling. The greens themselves feature bermudagrass that is overseeded with poa annua. From what I gather, they will play close to true bermuda greens.
Ultimately, I’m looking for golfers that are very good tee to green and that can putt well on bermudagrass. Experience in Florida isn’t quite as important this week, nor is course history. There will be a lot of approach shots hit from 150+ yards, so proximity with mid to long irons is worth looking at. The course is usually in the top 10 in difficulty on tour, so bogey avoidance could play a pivotal role as well.