This article is part of our Yahoo PGA DFS Picks series.
Valspar Championship
Palm Harbor, Florida
Innisbrook Resort (Copperhead Course) - Par 71 - 7,340 yards
Field - 156 entrants
Purse - $6.9M
The Preview
After wisely skipping out on the chance to offer oddly-formatted contests for the unique Zurich Classic, golf returns to Yahoo's DFS menu this week as the Valspar Championship appears back on the PGA Tour's schedule for the first time since 2019. A full 156-entrant field journeys to the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook, known for its infamous Snake Pit where holes 16-18 each cede a birdie rate of 11 percent or less and play to a collective +0.57 in relation to par. The difficult track also features relatively unreachable par-5s, seven par-4s measuring between 400-450 yards and a quintet of par-3s to make up the par-71 layout. Accuracy off the tee gets the rare nod over distance this week as precision into small Bermuda greens remains paramount for overall success.
Recent Champions
2020 - None
2019 - Paul Casey
2018 - Paul Casey
2017 - Adam Hadwin
2016 - Charl Schwartzel
2015 - Jordan Spieth
2014 - John Senden
2013 - Kevin Streelman
2012 - Luke Donald
2011 - Gary Woodland
Key Stats to Victory
SG: Approach
Proximity
Par-4: 400-450 Efficiency
Driving Accuracy
Yahoo Value Picks
Based on $200 salary cap
Cream of the Crop
Sungjae Im - $43
Second to none in SG: Off-the-Tee over his past 24 rounds, Im also resides top-5 in both SG: Putting and putting from 5-10 feet on Bermuda surfaces over his last 50 rounds. Elite putting since a T12 at the American Express has solidified Im's floor with eight results of T32 or better throughout his last nine appearances in stroke-play events, but his irons finally came through at the RBC Heritage where he gained 3.5 strokes on approaches en route to a T13. Additionally, the 23-year-old tied for fourth in his Valspar Championship debut two years ago.
Paul Casey - $41
Despite a missed cut in his most recent showing on Hilton Head Island, Casey is certain to foster plenty of attention in his quest for the three-peat at Innisbrook, where he won by just one shot during the 2018 and 2019 editions of the Valspar. The Englishman paces this week's field in proximity from over 200 yards over his last 24 rounds, and he also ranks top-10 on Tour in total driving and fairway proximity this season.
Abraham Ancer - $39
Notable omissions from this section include Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas at the maximum $50 salary, instead jumping down to Ancer here as flexibility for balanced lineup construction looks intriguing with so much value dispersed throughout the mid-$30s this week. Ancer is fourth or better in SG: Approach, SG: Tee-to-Green and proximity from 150-175 yards over his last 24 rounds. Expanding the sample size to 36 rounds, he's fourth in P4: 400-450 efficiency and seventh in driving accuracy. His lone Valspar Championship entry resulted in a T16 back in 2018.
Glue Guys
Corey Conners - $37
Conners probably shouldn't have better outright odds to win than names like Patrick Reed, Viktor Hovland and the aforementioned Casey near the 20/1 range, but the Canadian lands atop the rankings of my custom stat model this week. He's due for a breakthrough victory with five consecutive top-15s in stroke-play tournaments dating to a solo-third at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Conners is No. 1 in SG: Tee-to-Green and GIR percentage over his last 24 rounds, while also leading his peers in P4: 400-450 efficiency over his last 36. Throughout his rise to a career-best standing of 38th in the Official World Golf Ranking, Conners has not lost strokes from tee to green since the CJ Cup in mid-October.
Charley Hoffman - $33
Hoffman, who's placed top-25 in half of his past eight trips to the Copperhead Course, has picked up five top-20s during his current stretch of seven straight cuts made since the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He earned runner-up honors at the Valero Texas Open where he gained a career-high 13.2 strokes from tee to green. Hoffman is second in SG: Approach and fifth in proximity from over 200 yards over his last 24 rounds. He's also sixth in par-breaker percentage and seventh in P4: 400-450 efficiency over his past 36 rounds.
Cameron Tringale - $33
Tringale has missed the cut in three consecutive Valspar Championship appearances, so he could fly a bit under the radar in this spot with Hoffman, Jason Kokrak and Emiliano Grillo all likely to derive more exposure at $33. Tringale ranks fifth in SG: T2G over his last 24 rounds and third in P5: 550-600 efficiency over his last 36, though he's also top-40 on Tour in par-breaker percentage, total driving and putting average from a season-long perspective.
Bargain Bin
Keegan Bradley - $24
In a wild turn of events, Bradley has gained strokes putting in three of four measured starts for the first time since June of 2017. He's also extended his streak of gaining strokes both from tee to green and with the irons to 16 straight tourneys dating to the Northern Trust last August. He's sixth in total driving, eighth in SG: Approach, 10th in SG: T2G and 10th in par-5 scoring this season.
Doug Ghim - $22
Ghim could use some putting lessons from Bradley at this rate, which speaks to just how poorly the former has been rolling the rock on the greens as of late. Flat-stick woes aside, Ghim is No. 1 in proximity from 175-200 yards and 11th in SG: Approach over his last 24 rounds. Pairing elite iron play with the potential for positive putting variance is a recipe for upside down here in the scrub zone.
Chase Seiffert - $20
Although he's made the cut and placed top-45 in five consecutive showings since a T15 at the Puerto Rico Open, Yahoo's algorithm continues to position Seiffert as a min-salary inhabitant. He's 17th in GIR percentage and 26th in SG: Approach over his last 24 rounds, while also ranking fifth in P4: 400-450 efficiency over his last 36 and 15th in SG: Putting from 5-10 feet on bermuda over his past 50 rounds.
