Sam Burns will look to do something that has not been done in more than a decade and that is win the same tournament in three consecutive years. Burns has won the Valspar Championship in each of the last two years and he is one of the top contenders to win it again this year. The last player to win a tournament in three straight years was Steve Stricker in 2009-2011 in the John Deere Classic. Burns is not the favorite this week, as that honor at BetRivers goes to Justin Thomas. I am coming off another winning week, as I went 3-1-1 with the matchups at The PLAYERS Championship. Let’s look to keep the winning going with Valspar Championship matchup picks.
Defending Champion: Sam Burns
Tournament Notes: The Copperhead course is a par 71 that has five par 3s and four par 5s. Scoring could be more difficult this year than it has been in previous years, as high wind could be a factor throughout the tournament.
The PLAYERS Championship Matchups
Thomas, Justin -150 vs. Fitzpatrick, Matt
Thomas, Justin -146 vs. Spieth, Jordan
Spieth, Jordan -125 vs. Burns, Sam
Fitzpatrick Matt -118 vs. Burns, Sam
Bradley, Keegan -118 vs. Rose, Justin
Hadwin, Adam -126 vs. Harman, Brian
Hadwin, Adam -129 vs. McCarthy, Denny
Fleetwood, Tommy -129 vs. Woodland, Gary
Clark, Wyndham -137 vs. Suh, Justin
Jaeger, Stephan -120 vs. Moore, Taylor
Riley, Davis -125 vs. Griffin, Ben
Wu, Brandon -125 vs. Smalley, Alex
Kyoung-Hoon Lee -114 vs. Poston, J.T.
Bramlett, Joseph -120 vs. Hodges, Lee
Ryder, Sam -120 vs. Shelton, Robby
Hossler, Beau -125 vs. Gordon, Will
Hubbard, Mark -129 vs. Schenk, Adam
Johnson, Zach -137 vs. Donald, Luke
Fleetwood, Tommy -115 vs. McCarthy, Denny
Suh, Justin -126 vs. Riley, Davis
Wu, Brandon -126 vs. Griffin, Ben
Woodland, Gary -150 vs. Lashley, Nate
Vegas, Jhonattan -135 vs. Byeong Hun An
Moore, Taylor -118 vs. McNealy, Maverick
Jaeger, Stephan -142 vs. Dahmen, Joel
List, Luke -118 vs. Bramlett, Joseph
Taylor, Nick -158 vs. Simpson, Webb
Golf Picks
Burns, Sam -112 vs. Fitzpatrick, Matt
Burns is looking to win this event for the third straight year and I think he can do it. He hasn’t played at the level he did a year ago, but he has shown some flashes of that form and I think it could all come together this week. Fitzpatrick has already missed three cuts this season and has yet to find his game. I’ll take Burns in this matchup.
Bradley, Keegan -118 vs. Rose, Justin
Bradley nearly won this event in 2021 but finished second to Burns. Bradley is in fine form this seasons, as he has a win, a second and a top five. Rose has had a resurgence this season but I am still not entirely sold. Perhaps he will convince me this week, but I still think Bradley is the play here.
Fleetwood, Tommy -129 vs. Woodland, Gary
Fleetwood was in good shape last week before falling apart in the final round. We know that Fleetwood can play well in difficult conditions, including in the wind. He tied for 16th in this event in his first try a year ago. I don’t think this course fits Woodland at all, so I will lay the small price and take Fleetwood in this matchup.
Suh, Justin +107 vs. Clark, Wyndham
It may not be long before Suh gets a win, as he looked good last week at The PLAYERS with a tie for 6th and he tied for 5th at the Honda. I expect him to play well in his debut at Copperhead this week and we get him at plus money in this matchup against Clark.
Wu, Brandon -126 vs. Griffin, Ben
Wu has had three top 20 finishes this season and he has the right type of game for this Copperhead course. Wu is starting to appear on more leaderboards and he can definitely compete this week against a field that is not that strong. I’ll take him in this matchup at the short price against Griffin.
Check out the latest Valspar Championship matchups odds at BetRivers.
