The final leg of the PGA Florida swing kicks off at Innisbrook Resort for the Valspar Championship. Atypical of Florida courses, Innisbrook has elevation changes on nearly every hole, handicap fairways, and few parallels. Played as a ‘driver-less’ course, it consists of five long par-3s and four par-5s with either a dogleg or a double dogleg. With this, I am targeting players who can play positional golf.
Here are three players who would make solid Top 40 or Top 20 options that could contend for an outright win.
ben griffin
Top 40 -135
Top 20 +225
top 10 +375
top 5 +750
+5000 to win
The North Carolina native doesn’t have the impressive resume of results you want to see when betting on a player, with only nine top-10 finishes to his name. However, Griffin has been playing some nice golf. In seven tournaments this year, he had six top-40 finishes, including a T12 at the Sony Open in Hawaii.
Griffin’s ball striking has been inconsistent of late, losing two of his last four starts at the Arnold Palmer tournament by strokes outside the tee while losing by more than four strokes. What interests me: Griffin is usually a solid ball striker, but has improved his short game this year.
After losing a stroke on the first green, Griffin took the lead in five straight events, hitting strokes in his last three. What could be an advantage: Griffin is only a positive putter on the Bermuda greens. Although Innisbrook is overseeded with Poa trivialis, Bermuda grass can emerge from dormancy, as we saw at The Players Championship last week.
ryan gerrard
Top 40 +110
Top 20 +375
top 10 +600
top 5 +1200
+8000 to win
This is a North Carolina appreciation post. The Raleigh native only turned professional last year. The truth is, it’s a bit of a dart, considering we only have data from one event played as a qualifier, the Honda Classic in February. It was a good tournament for him, gaining seven strokes with his iron and almost 2.5 with his putter to finish singles fourth. Although there is little data, Gerard followed with a T11 in Puerto Rico, after earning a spot to play with his top-10 finish the week before. In a weak field like this, I’d be willing to fly over someone who is potentially a bit of a heater, as his last tournament on the Korn Carey Tour was a T3 in early February. Carry on!
Victor Perez
top 40 -110
Top 20 +280
Top 10 +450
Top 5 +900
+5500 to win
The Frenchman has two titles on the Euro Tour this year, having achieved strokes with a flat stick and a stroke ball in all three of his previous tournaments. Considered another dart, Perez hasn’t played in the States since the US Open in June. His last top 20 in the US was at the 2021 Players Championship. Perez is showing consistency no matter where he plays, which makes him an attractive Top 40 option, or Top 20 if you’re feeling risky.