Fantasy Golf Picks and Predictions – The 2014 Valspar Championship

Fantasy Golf Picks and Predictions for the 2014 Valspar Championship March 13 – 16th, 2014

Tournament Preview

Most of those playing in last week’s field will be delighted to get out of Miami and not return to the Blue Monster until 2015. The course conditions on the newly renovated track derailed many of the World’s best, quite a few of them carding some very poor scores.

This week the TOUR is moving to the Tampa area for the Valspar Championship before eventually wrapping things up on the east coast with the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill next week.  Last year’s champ Kevin Streelman will be back in the field to defend his title along with big names like Spieth, Snedeker, Kuchar, and Dufner. In all there will be 500 FedExCup points and $990,000 on the line for this week’s winner, as tune up rounds before the 2014 Masters rapidly wind down.

The Course

Innisbrook Resort (Copperhead) measures in at 7,340 yards and plays as a par 71.  Riddled with tree-lined fairways and long, rolling terrain, this course is a true test to any pro with its challenging various uneven lies. We have a feeling however, that play here should be a touch easier than what we saw last week’s at Doral.

The course was created back in 1972 by Larry Packard and doesn’t really offer much in the way of flat terrain. Innisbrook’s Copperhead course features two par-5 double doglegs which may help those players with the ability to get on the dance floor in two. Consisting of two daunting par-4s that line both sides of the 215-yard 17^th hole, the last stretch of holes is notoriously referred to as the “Snake Pit,” and, like the “Bear Trap” we saw a few weeks back, it certainly has a way of ruining a player’s round.

Innisbrook also played home to the JC Penney team event for 24 years before becoming the regular stop for this event in 2000.

Photo by InnisbrookGolfResort.com

Weather Forecast for Palm Harbor, FL (from weather.com)

• Round 1: Thursday (Mar 13) 62 degrees, 10% chance of rain, partly cloudy/windy.
• Round 2: Friday (Mar 14) 72 degrees, 0% chance of rain, mostly sunny.
• Round 3: Saturday (Mar 15) 74 degrees, 0% chance of rain, partly cloudy.
• Round 4: Sunday (Mar 16) 77 degrees, 20% chance of rain, partly cloudy.

2013 Results

After firing a bogey free (65-67) weekend, and fighting off the charging Boo Weekley, Kevin Streelman eventually went on to win his first PGA TOUR event at last year’s Valspar Championship. Streelman’s smacked a perfect 5-iron to within six feet on 13, where he sealed the deal on that birdie and then dropped another 20-footer for birdie at 17 to run away with it.

Although only a sophomore on TOUR, Jordan Spieth is no stranger this course.  As a Rookie Speith tied for seventh here last year, which was enough to qualify him for Special Temporary status on TOUR – he later turned that into a full membership when he won the John Deere Classic. In the past 3 years we have seen 3 different players win their first TOUR event at Innisbrook and perhaps we can see it again this year.

Some of the names to watch this week include Russell Knox, Harris English and Graham DeLaet. Streelman hasn’t been too silent this year, making some noise in Hawaii in January when he tied for third at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions.  However, last year’s champ hasn’t finished better than Top 30 in his last 3 starts.

Fantasy Notes

As mentioned in our WGC-Cadillac Championship recap, our fantasy gurus are averaging over $1.2 million in fantasy earnings per tournament (for the 10 tournaments played in 2014). Perhaps the biggest stat to hang our hat on is the only 8 of 70 missed-cuts, which means that our fantasy staff’s picks have made the cut (and earning money) 88.6% of the time.

This week we head back to reality with far less of the world’s top players making an appearance in the field, but believe us, this tournament will not be easy to pick. But fear not, we have some solid ideas of who may come out on top at the 2014 Valspar Championship, so check out our picks below for more.

Media

• Television Broadcasts
  • Thursday-Friday, 3-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel).
  • Saturday-Sunday, 1-3p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (NBC).
• Radio Broadcasts
  • Thursday- Sunday, noon-6 p.m. ET, Sunday, 1-7 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com).
• Mobile Broadcasts
  • Simultaneous coverage on the Golf Live Extra mobile app by Golf Channel.

Our Top 5 (and Top 2 Sleeper) Picks and Odds to Win The 2014 Valspar Championship

You must be a Premium Member to view our exclusive fantasy golf picks.

Already a member?  Sign in Here.

Last Week’s Results:  Top 5 Picks/Odds to Win the WGC-Cadillac Championship

• Dustin Johnson (Golficity Odds 8/1): T4
• Rory McIlroy (Golficity Odds 8/1): T25
• Jordan Spieth (Golficity Odds 15/1): T34
• Adam Scott (Golficity Odds 18/1):  T25
• Bubba Watson (Golficity Odds 22/1):  T2

Last Week’s Results: Sleeper Picks/Odds to Win the WGC-Cadillac Championship

• Jason Day (Golficity Odds 35/1): DNS (injury)
• Hunter Mahan (Golficity Odds 45/1): T9

Fantasy Golf Predictions Stats: Season to Date

• Total Fantasy Dollars: $12,279,489 (Average tournament winnings of $1,227,948).
• Winners picked: 3 selected picked out of 10 tournaments (30% winners picked in 2014).
• Top 10s: 26 out of 70 players picked (37.14% of players picked finished in Top 10).
• Top 3s: 9 out of 70 players picked (12.85% players picked finished in the Top 3).
• Missed Cuts: Only 8 out of 70 players (88.6% of the picks made the cut in 2014) .

Let us know what you think of this week’s fantasy golf predictions for the 2014 Valspar Championship at Innisbrook by leaving us your comments below.

(Cover Photo Credit)