The PGA Tour will exchange Florida’s Atlantic coast for its Gulf Coast ahead of the 2023 Valspar Championship in Palm Harbor. Located right outside Tampa Bay, the course, called Innisbrook Golf Resort Copperhead Course, is a par 71 that stretches north of 7,300 yards. It’s a bit of a unique layout compared to the previous three courses played during the Florida leg. However, it still features Bermudagrass greens, water hazards, and sand bunkers that will punish errant tee shots and approach shots. Designed by Larry Packard roughly 50 years ago, Copperhead has five par 3s, and four par 5s, which means there will be added emphasis on strokes gained tee-to-green and driving distance when navigating the lengthy par 5 fairways that run over 590 yards in length.
The field is still loaded in comparison to other PGA Tour events that occur, but compared to what we saw from Scottie Scheffler at The PLAYERS Championship last weekend, there will be a talent gap with the absence of Scheffler, Jon Rahm, Patrick Cantlay, and Max Homa amongst other notable talents. Don’t get it twisted, though; Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth will be competing and are the outright betting favorites to win Valspar at 11/1 and 12/1, respectively. Both players have had success at Copperhead in previous years, but there are a lot of others equipped with sharp iron play and hot putters to cause Thomas and Spieth serious discomfort.
I’ve identified six of my favorite prospects who can help us cash our DraftKings and FanDuel lineups once Sunday’s final round concludes. Let’s find out why each player should be prioritized in DFS lineups ahead of Thursday’s opening tee times.
DraftKings - $50,000 Maximum Salary (6 players)
Jordan Spieth ($10.6K)
There’s a reason why Jordan Spieth is being valued so highly on DraftKings at a $10.6K salary. The 29-year-old Texas native won at Valspar in 2015, which allowed him to kickstart an epic slew of victories to climb to the top of the PGA Tour. Spieth struggles with his putter from time to time, but when he’s on, he doesn’t miss, ranking 15th in Round 1 putts and converting 40.7 percent of one-putt opportunities this season. Spieth is best when he’s approaching the greens, ranking inside of the top ten in scrambling and approach shots from 125-275 yards out. He’s delivered 86.5 DK FPPG or more in three of his past four events, and he’s looking confident on the course, which goes a long way toward climbing a leaderboard in a lightened field. Pay up for this blue-chip prospect and watch the production soar.
Tommy Fleetwood ($9.8K)
Tommy Fleetwood is one of my favorite players to win outright and secure his first PGA Tour victory at Valspar this weekend. The 32-year-old Englishman logged a T16 finish during his debut at Copperhead in 2022. Currently, he’s on fire with his putter, ranking second in overall putting average, one-putt percentage (47.4%), and putts per round. Fleetwood also has extremely precise irons, ranking 17th in strokes gained tee-to-green, which will be helpful on the five par 3 holes he’ll face at Copperhead. He’s also a wizard around the green and approaching the green in terms of strokes gained. The issue surrounding Fleetwood is his inability to remain consistently under par, starting and finishing slowly. This could be the event where he takes the next step forward, and we don’t want to miss that action, so plug Fleetwood into DraftKings lineups for good value at under a $10K salary.
Ben Griffin ($8.4K)
Ben Griffin is set to make his debut at Copperhead, but he’s been rock solid in terms of his production in DFS lineups. The 26-year-old returned to the PGA Tour this year, and he’s delivered 65.5 DK FPPG up to 76.5 DK FPPG in three consecutive events in highly competitive fields. Griffin has 13-15 birdies during this stretch in each event, but he’s tended to slow down and go over par after the cut line gets enforced. He is 30th in strokes gained tee-to-green, 17th in strokes gained around the green, and 66th in strokes gained putting, showcasing how diverse his game can be when firing on all cylinders. Ranking 28th in scrambling is encouraging to see when rostering Griffin because it shows poise and an ability to deliver par or better despite only finding 67.7 percent of his greens in regulation. Griffin is a salary saver, but his floor is high, and we could get a bit more production out of him than expected, so fire him up with confidence as a valuable discount in DraftKings lineups.
FanDuel - $60,000 Maximum Salary (6 players)
Justin Rose ($11.1K)
It’s been five years since we’ve seen English veteran Justin Rose compete at Valspar, but when he was last here, the 42-year-old wound up with a T5 finish at -7-under-par. Rose is playing with a lot of confidence and momentum following his outright win at Pebble Beach earlier this year, including another T6 finish at TPC Sawgrass last weekend. Rose has immaculate irons, ranking inside the top 40 in all but two strokes gained metrics, off-the-tee and around the green. Still, his putter, irons, and driver accuracy blend together to make him a dark horse candidate to pull an outright win at Valspar this weekend. Names like Justin Thomas and back-to-back champion Sam Burns are circulating due to their recent success at Copperhead. Still, I’m willing to back Rose despite missing consecutive cuts between his win at Pebble Beach and the T6 at The PLAYERS Championship last weekend. You’re not overpaying, and Rose will likely have relatively low ownership amongst the blue-chip prospects, giving us an advantage when inserting him into FanDuel lineups.
Garrick Higgo ($9.1K)
One of the PGA Tour’s youngest players, Garrick Higgo, is set to make his debut at Valspar on Thursday. I like his outlook on the Copperhead course based on ranking first in putting from inside of three feet, ranking second in consecutive holes below par, and second in consecutive birdies. Higgo also performs well on par 5 holes, ranking 7th in par 5 birdie or better leaders at 58.9 percent. The South African is good with his flat stick, ranking 37th, putting from ten feet away, while averaging over 4.1 birdies per round. Higgo has delivered 68.2 or more FD FPPG in three of his previous five events while missing the cut at the other two events, so there is a bit of risk baked into his $9.1K salary. However, Higgo is talented enough to string together strong rounds to boost our FanDuel lineups into the green by the final round.
Pierceson Coody ($8.8K)
Pierceson Coody has already impressed with his production in just two events on the PGA Tour this season. The 22-year-old rookie went four-under-par in his last outing at Arnold Palmer Invitational, going -4-under-par in difficult conditions and battling against a loaded field. Coody has quality irons, is a good putter, and has delivered 51.7 and 71 FD FPPG in both events since beginning at The Honda Classic in late February. While there isn’t enough data to digest over a large sample size compared to others competing at Valspar this weekend, Coody is worth a flier based on his recent form and competing in a field where he could make a run at the top of the leaderboard during at least one round at Copperhead. We’re saving money at $8.8K on FanDuel, so let’s invest and watch Coody keep our lineups elevated in the green throughout the weekend.
