BlogValspar Preview and Picks

Valspar Championship

March 12 – 15, 2015

Innisbrook Resort (Copperhead Course)

Palm Harbor, Fla.

Par: 71 / Yardage: 7,340

Purse: $5.9 million

with $1,062,000 to the winner

Defending Champion:
John Senden

by Sal Johnson

Founder, Chief Data Officer, GOLFstats

E-mail me at:
sal@golfstats.com

This week’s field includes:

The field includes 18 of the top 50 in the latest Official World Rankings, with five players from the top-ten: #3 Henrik Stenson, #4 Adam Scott, #6 Jim Furyk, #9 Justin Rose and #10 Jordan Spieth. The other top 50 players are #14 Matt Kuchar, #15 Patrick Reed, #25 Jamie Donaldson, #27 Kevin Na, #28 Lee Westwood, #32 Ryan Moore, #35 Brandt Snedeker, #38 Louis Oosthuizen, #39 Joost Luiten, #46 Luke Donald, #48 Gary Woodland, #49 Jason Dufner and #50 Brendon Todd.

Last year 14 of the top-50 ranked players were in the field

The field includes 13 of the top 25 on the FedEx point standings for 2015.  Those players are #5 Songmoon Bae, # Patrick Reed, #8 Charley Hoffman, #9 Brandt Snedeker, #12 Ryan Moore, #17 Daniel Berger, #19 Nick Watney, #20 Brendon de Jonge, #21 Shawn Stefani, 22 Harris English, #23 Matt Kuchar, #24 Padraig Harrington and #25 Russell Knox.

The field includes 11 players in the top 25 on this year’s PGA Tour money list.  Those players are #5 Brandt Snedeker, #6 Songmoon Bae, #9 Ryan Moore, #12 Charley Hoffman, #13 Patrick Reed, #17 Nick Watney, #18 Daniel Berger, #19 Padraig Harrington, #22 Shawn Stefani, #23 Russell Knox and #25 Harris English.

The field includes all ten of the eleven past champions (2000 champion John Huston not playing): John Senden (2014), Kevin Streelman (2013), Luke Donald (2012), Gary Woodland (2011), Jim Furyk (2010), Retief Goosen (2009 & ’03), Sean O’Hair (2008), K.J. Choi (2006 & ’02), Carl Pettersson (2005) and Vijay Singh (2004).

The event was not played in 2001 because of the 9/11 tragedy.

A perfect way for fantasy golfers to check on the past performance of all the players in the Valspar Championship field is our performance chart listed by average finish.  Another way to check who is the best is through a special formula worked out in Golfstats that gives us the best average performances at the Valspar Championship in the last five years or check out our sortable 8-year glance at the Valspar Championship.

A good cheat sheet is this list of odds from the top bookmakers in England.

Another cheat sheet is this list of odds from the top bookmaker in Las Vegas.

Check this out in further weeks:

For all fantasy golf players and those that play in golf games on Draft Kings, FanDuel and Victiv we have come up with a cheat sheat that will help you play the game.  Since these games make it important to figure out how players make eagles, birdies, pars, bogeys and doubles, we have grouped the upcoming tournament with those in the field together so that you can pick the number of years you want to access this information for the tournament and you can go back between two to ten weeks on the PGA Tour to see who is hot and making those all important eagles and birdies.

You can find this at out at our GOLFstats iQ and the Daily Fantasy Sports page

Give us your feedback on how you like this new tool at either Ed@Golfstats.com or Sal@golfstats.com

**NOTE**

We have made a lot of changes in Golfstats and one of the biggest is that every on-going event gets updated every hour.  It’s not real time scoring, but after each day you will see our database change.  This will help look at things like good scores in a row and how each player does after every round.

Another change is our new feature, “Who will win on Sunday”.  Just like our previews, this will not only preview the final round but also look at players who shoud win.  All of these will enhance GOLFstats and encourage you to check our stuff over the weekend and during play.

Another thing to look for in the next couple of weeks is 24/7 Golf.  This is a new app that you can get with your Iphone so that you can take a lot of GOLFstats which you when your away from your computer.

So join us a couple of hours after play on Saturday night or Sunday morning for our “Who will win on Sunday” feature in which you can see who shall win during the final nine.

 

 

Time to look at our who’s hot and who isn’t:

Who’s Hot in the field for the Valspar Championship

Player WGC Cadillac Honda Northern Trust AT&T Pebble Farmers Maybank Malaysian Phoenix Open Dubai Desert Humana Qatar Masters Sony Open Abu Dhabi Hyundai T of C
Jordan Spieth
(196.17 pts)
T17
(49.5)
DNP T4
(80)
T7
(36.67)
CUT
(-6.67)
DNP T7
(36.67)
DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
Brandt Snedeker
(181.5 pts)
T17
(49.5)
DNP 74
(0)
Win
(88)
T19
(20.67)
DNP T10
(26.67)
DNP CUT
(-3.33)
DNP DNP DNP DNP
Daniel Berger
(179.67 pts)
DNP 2
(100)
DNP T10
(26.67)
T24
(17.33)
DNP T10
(26.67)
DNP CUT
(-3.33)
DNP T13
(12.33)
DNP DNP
Patrick Reed
(168.83 pts)
T23
(40.5)
T7
(55)
DNP T29
(14)
DNP DNP T40
(6.67)
DNP T24
(8.67)
DNP DNP DNP Win
(44)
Lee Westwood
(158.67 pts)
T12
(57)
T25
(25)
DNP DNP DNP T5
(46.67)
DNP T9
(30)
DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
Henrik Stenson
(153.67 pts)
T4
(120)
DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP T13
(24.67)
DNP T13
(12.33)
DNP CUT
(-3.33)
DNP
Nick Watney
(145.67 pts)
DNP T41
(9)
T22
(28)
2
(66.67)
T7
(36.67)
DNP CUT
(-6.67)
DNP 14
(12)
DNP DNP DNP DNP
Jim Furyk
(129.67 pts)
T12
(57)
DNP T14
(36)
T7
(36.67)
DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
Matt Kuchar
(128.17 pts)
T23
(40.5)
DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP T30
(13.33)
DNP T2
(33.33)
DNP T3
(30)
DNP T17
(11)
Ryan Moore
(125.83 pts)
T9
(67.5)
DNP T22
(28)
DNP DNP DNP T17
(22)
DNP WD
(-1.67)
DNP DNP DNP T20
(10)
Harris English
(120 pts)
DNP CUT
(-10)
T30
(20)
DNP T2
(66.67)
DNP T40
(6.67)
DNP T30
(6.67)
DNP T3
(30)
DNP DNP
Adam Scott
(120 pts)
T4
(120)
DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
Brendon Todd
(118.5 pts)
T23
(40.5)
DNP T14
(36)
T10
(26.67)
DNP DNP DNP DNP CUT
(-3.33)
DNP T44
(2)
DNP T8
(16.67)
Russell Knox
(115.67 pts)
DNP T3
(90)
DNP DNP CUT
(-6.67)
DNP T15
(23.33)
DNP CUT
(-3.33)
DNP T13
(12.33)
DNP DNP
Padraig Harrington
(112 pts)
DNP Win
(132)
T56
(0)
CUT
(-6.67)
CUT
(-6.67)
DNP CUT
(-6.67)
DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
Jamie Donaldson
(107.33 pts)
T44
(9)
6
(60)
DNP DNP T19
(20.67)
DNP T46
(2.67)
DNP DNP DNP DNP T9
(15)
DNP
Ian Poulter
(105.5 pts)
T49
(1.5)
T3
(90)
DNP CUT
(-6.67)
T19
(20.67)
DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
Martin Laird
(95 pts)
DNP DNP DNP DNP T7
(36.67)
DNP T5
(46.67)
DNP T15
(11.67)
DNP DNP DNP DNP
William McGirt
(93.33 pts)
DNP T22
(28)
T14
(36)
T21
(19.33)
DNP DNP T30
(13.33)
DNP CUT
(-3.33)
DNP T71
(0)
DNP DNP
Louis Oosthuizen
(90 pts)
6
(90)
DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
Alex Prugh
(80 pts)
DNP CUT
(-10)
T30
(20)
T10
(26.67)
T5
(46.67)
DNP DNP DNP T64
(0)
DNP CUT
(-3.33)
DNP DNP
Kevin Na
(77.5 pts)
T9
(67.5)
DNP T61
(0)
CUT
(-6.67)
DNP DNP T26
(16)
DNP T48
(0.67)
DNP T64
(0)
DNP DNP
Charley Hoffman
(76.67 pts)
T38
(18)
DNP T30
(20)
DNP CUT
(-6.67)
DNP T53
(0)
DNP T2
(33.33)
DNP DNP DNP T14
(12)
Scott Stallings
(72 pts)
DNP T63
(0)
66
(0)
DNP T2
(66.67)
DNP CUT
(-6.67)
DNP T64
(0)
DNP DNP DNP T14
(12)
Sang-Moon Bae
(71.33 pts)
T46
(6)
CUT
(-10)
T8
(50)
DNP T32
(12)
DNP CUT
(-6.67)
DNP DNP DNP T51
(0)
DNP 6
(20)

How Player Rankings are Computed

Who’s Not Hot in the field for the Valspar Championship

Player WGC Cadillac Honda Northern Trust AT&T Pebble Farmers Maybank Malaysian Phoenix Open Dubai Desert Humana Qatar Masters Sony Open Abu Dhabi Hyundai T of C
Brice Garnett
(-36.67 pts)
DNP CUT
(-10)
CUT
(-10)
DNP CUT
(-6.67)
DNP CUT
(-6.67)
DNP T64
(0)
DNP CUT
(-3.33)
DNP DNP
Woody Austin
(-36.67 pts)
DNP CUT
(-10)
CUT
(-10)
DNP CUT
(-6.67)
DNP CUT
(-6.67)
DNP CUT
(-3.33)
DNP DNP DNP DNP
Derek Ernst
(-33.33 pts)
DNP 67
(0)
CUT
(-10)
CUT
(-6.67)
CUT
(-6.67)
DNP CUT
(-6.67)
DNP DNP DNP CUT
(-3.33)
DNP DNP
John Merrick
(-33.33 pts)
DNP DNP CUT
(-10)
CUT
(-6.67)
CUT
(-6.67)
DNP CUT
(-6.67)
DNP CUT
(-3.33)
DNP DNP DNP DNP
Scott Brown
(-33.33 pts)
DNP CUT
(-10)
CUT
(-10)
62
(0)
CUT
(-6.67)
DNP DNP DNP CUT
(-3.33)
DNP CUT
(-3.33)
DNP DNP
Bo Van Pelt
(-30 pts)
DNP CUT
(-10)
CUT
(-10)
T65
(0)
DNP DNP CUT
(-6.67)
DNP CUT
(-3.33)
DNP DNP DNP DNP
Tim Wilkinson
(-30 pts)
DNP T51
(0)
CUT
(-10)
CUT
(-6.67)
DNP DNP CUT
(-6.67)
DNP CUT
(-3.33)
DNP CUT
(-3.33)
DNP DNP
Kevin Kisner
(-26.67 pts)
DNP T51
(0)
CUT
(-10)
CUT
(-6.67)
DNP DNP CUT
(-6.67)
DNP CUT
(-3.33)
DNP 84
(0)
DNP DNP
Andres Romero
(-26.67 pts)
DNP CUT
(-10)
CUT
(-10)
DNP T67
(0)
DNP CUT
(-6.67)
DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
Robert Allenby
(-26.67 pts)
DNP T51
(0)
CUT
(-10)
DNP CUT
(-6.67)
DNP CUT
(-6.67)
DNP DNP DNP CUT
(-3.33)
DNP DNP

How Player Rankings are Computed

The Buzz:

A very convincing victory at Doral by Dustin Johnson. We all marvel at Rory, Bubba, and Tiger but this could be the best player of them all, if he can get his act straight.  He has the length, finesse, and short game to be great.  We always wonder about his mind because of some of the choices he has made in his life, but seeing him in five events we can see he could be a very powerful player.  The one thing I have to question is his staying power.  Guys like Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan, and Tiger always found a way to make golf number one in their books.  We have seen many great players that burn out or can’t find the motivation to continue this pace.  Just look at guys like David Duval or even Justin Leonard, they reached a certain level and just couldn’t maintain it.  Who knows why, one thing is financial stability.  Once you have more money than you know what to do with it, sometimes the family gets in the way as it did with Leonard.  Or some get hurt like Duval.  Even Tiger Woods is experiencing that certain lack of motivation these days.  I am not saying that he isn’t trying, it’s just something is missing and you just can’t function as you did in previous years.

Many people won’t put much credence into a record that Johnson has accomplished, but with his victory at Doral, Johnson has chalked at least a victory a season.  He is playing in his eight year so he has eight seasons with a victory.  Here is the list with the most consecutive season with a victory on the PGA Tour:

Seasons-player                         Years of streak

17  Jack Nicklaus                               1962-1978

17  Arnold Palmer                             1955-1971

16  Billy Casper                                  1956-1971

14  Tiger Woods                                1996-2009

14  Lee Trevino                                 1968-1981

12  Walter Hagen                             1918-1929

11  Sam Snead                                  1948-1958

11  Harry Cooper                              1929-1939

11  Leo Diegel                                   1920-1930

10  Phil Mickelson                           2004-2013

10  Cary Middlecoff                         1947-1956

10  Horton Smith                             1928-1937

9  Ben Hogan                                   1945-1953

9  Gene Sarazen                              1925-1933

9  Lloyd Mangrum                          1946-1954

9  MacDonald Smith                       1928-1936

8  Dustin Johnson                           2008-2015

8  Byron Nelson                               1935-1942

8  Tom Watson                                 1977-1984

8  Tommy Armour                          1925-1932

8  Miller Barber                               1967-1974

Now, Johnson is 17th on the list and has a long way to catch Nicklaus and Palmer.  But, there are two things to remember in looking at the list, one that of those on this list only three players started their streak in their rookie year, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Dustin Johnson.  So Johnson has been on the PGA Tour 8 years and won in everyone of them.

The second thing to remember is that Johnson has eight PGA Tour career wins.  On the surface that’s not really that many.  In the history of the PGA Tour, 109 players have more total wins than Johnson.  But of the 109 players with more wins, Johnson has a better streak than 93 of the players who have won more.  An example of this is the players that Johnson is tied with at 8, Byron Nelson, Tom Watson, Tommy Armour, and even Miller Barber is a great list of guys to be along.  He still has a way to go in catching Nicklaus and Palmer but just look at Tiger; he had 14 before the streak ended in 2010 and there is no way that at his age Tiger will ever come close to this again.  So it’s only one shot and you’re through and right now Johnson is in the running at 30 years old.

 

Just to show how much things can change, a year ago we were celebrating Patrick Reed’s WGC-Cadillac victory.  At just 24 he has accomplished many things including a win two months ago at Kapalua and gaining a certain respect after the Ryder Cup as a player who wants to win every time he tees it up.  But in a book that is coming out in the next couple of weeks, author Shane Ryan has painted a picture of Reed being a cheat and a thieve.  I have been around golf for close to 40 years and never seen these claims on anyone on the PGA Tour.  The game and the tour are so close-knit that I find it close to impossible that a person with this background would exist on the PGA Tour.  I know almost every person that writes about golf, and I really don’t know much about Ryan, other that he has written some for Golf Digest, Grantland and ESPN.

I do know this, over the course of the last seven or eight years I have seen many things that have been written that weren’t properly researched and verified that was passed around social media circles.  It’s sad to see stuff like this printed up, just like some of the wrong stories I saw on Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods to name a few.  Reed, whom we can say is not on the top of anyone’s list as fan favorite strongly has come out denying these stories and I don’t see anyone from his past coming out accusing Reed of any of these things.  I have to also give Patrick some credit for coming out with some unfavorable stories from his past on his drinking and other problems which led to him leaving Georgia.  I sense that many are getting behind Reed to support him, and it will be interesting to see whether Random House publishing Group will allow the book to come out in the form that it is.  It’s not a pretty story and will get addressed by the author who now has to produce hard evidence that these stories really happened.  Stay tune.

Things you need to know about the Valspar Championship:

  • This will be the 15th Transitions Championship, with the first one being played in 2000.
  • The tournament was formally called the Tampa Bay Classic and then changed in 2003 to the Chrysler Championship.  Chrysler dropped out in 2006 and PODS took over sponsorship and got an added boast with the advent of the FedEx Cup series and the transfer of the Players Championship to May.  So in 2007, just six months after the close of the 2006 event the tournament moved into it’s new March date. But that didn’t last long as with a change of management at PODS, they were gone after the 2008 event.   The power of the PGA Tour shined through as Transitions Lens, an optical lens manufacturing company, who’s headquarters are in the Tampa Bay area, came to the rescue with a four year deal but unfortunely that deal came to an end after the 2012 event.  They got EverBank to write off some of the expenses in 2013 but for 2014 got their sixth and present sponsor Valspar, a company that manufacturers of paint and coatings.  The 2001 event wasn’t played because of the 9/11 tragedy.
  • When the tournament first started in 2000, it was the first time that a full PGA Tour event was held in the area since the St. Petersburg Open, which was held between 1930 and 1964.  The course was the home of the mix-event JCPenney Classic, which ended in 1999.

Course information:

Innisbrook Resort (Copperhead Course)

  • Palm Harbor, Fl.
  • 7,340 yards     Par 36-35–71
  • Course has a 76.8 rating and slope rating of 144 from the championship tees. The course is part of a resort and is open to those that stay at the course.  It also sells local memberships.
  • The course has 63 bunkers and eight water hazards in which six holes have water in play for the professionals.
  • In 2014 the Copperhead course was the 6th hardest course on the PGA Tour with a 72.433 average, playing almost a shot and a half over par.
  • In 2013 the Copperhead course was the 7th hardest course on the PGA Tour playing to a 72.222 average playing 1.222 strokes over par.
  • The Copperhead course was designed by Larry Packard and opened in 1974.  It was restored in 1999, two years after it was purchased by Westin Inc, The goal of the restoration project was to regain the shot values and still challenge today’s longer-hitting PGA Tour players when Innisbrook hosts PGA Tour events. The plan involved refurbishing all 18 greens, restructuring many of the bunkers, removing some trees around the greens to improve air movement and sunlight, and clearing out undergrowth between fairways. The length of the golf course is the most visible change from 7,087 to 7,230 yards by the addition of tournament tees on five holes.  Since then minor renovations has added another 53 yards to the course.

Here are some of the secrets of what it takes to play well at the Valspar Championship:

Key stat for the winner:

In looking at the 14 champions of this event, ten of them have this in common.  They were in the top-eleven in greens hit.  Matter of fact four of them was in the top-five while Gary Woodland in 2011 ranked T29th and Luke Donald was T43rd in 2012.  In 201 Kevin Streelman was T11th in that stat, while last year John Senden was T3rd in greens hit.  So it is important to hit lots of greens and for those that do they usually have a bit of an advantage.

Here are some more key stats to look to for this week:

  • This event is one of the hidden gems on the PGA Tour.  Played on a great course, unfortunely it’s  in a bad time between Doral and the Palmer to really get a great field.  This year it has one of it’s best fields of 18 top-50 players showing the respect it deserves.  One thing for certain there is many players that respect the course and show up, of it’s past champions only one isn’t playing and that is because he no longer plays on the PGA Tour. This event was played in October until 2007 and the change hasn’t made much of a difference other than the rough is a bit healthier now.
  • Accuracy is more of a premium  at Copperhead than length.  This course can’t be overpowered like many other courses like last week at Doral.  Stats that prove this is first driving distance averages, in 2014 the average of all the drives in the field was 266.4 yards, the 3rd lowest on the PGA Tour.  Since 2005 it’s been in the bottom six every year of shortest driving average course.  So it only makes sense that if you look at the champions the only real long drivers were Gary Woodland in 2011 and Vijay Singh in 2004.  All the others were in the middle to back of the pack in average driving distance; so this is the one course that short hitters can do well on.

This chart shows how short the champions have been since 2005:

Year-winner          Driving distance/rank for week      Driving distance all drives/rank for year

2014-John Senden                        279.1 (20th)                                                    282.0 (T87th)

2013-Kevin Streelman                  270.8 (48th)                                                    279.6 (T99th)

2012-Luke Donald                         264.1 (75th)                                                    269.2 (198th)

2011-Gary Woodland                     295.5 (7th)                                                     297.4 (5th)

2010-Jim Furyk                             261.0 (73rd)                                                    273.0 (172nd)

2009-Retief Goosen                      283.8 (25th)                                                   286.2 (43rd)

2008-Sean O’Hair                         282.6 (8th)                                                     287.3 (T30th)

2007-Mark Calcavecchia             276.9 (T34th)                                                 284.4 (T66th)

2006-K.J. Choi                              274.5 (T42nd)                                                 280.5 (T103rd)

2005-Carl Pettersson                   283.9 (40th)                                                    283.1 (T74th)

 

  • Maybe it’s no coincidence that of the top-22 in the driving distance stats for the year, only eight are in the field this week.
  • Another important stat is putting, and the greens at Innisbrook are some of the easiest on the PGA Tour to make putts on.  In 2014 it was the 3rd easiest course to make putts from 4 to 8 feet while in 2013 it ranked 6th.  In putts inside 10 feet, it ranked 4th on the PGA Tour in 2014 and 7th in 2013.
  • Florida is always windy, look for that to play havoc on the players who haven’t had to play Innisbrook under windy conditions
  • All the par 5s is within reach of the average player and though the course is over 7,300 yards. this won’t present much of a problem, look for lots of par 5 greens to be hit in 2. The average of all the champions on the par 5s is just a notch under 8 under   In 2012 & ’12 both Luke Donald and Kevin Streelman were 9 under on the four par5s, while in 2014 John Senden was 7 under.
  • Look at all these facts and you can conclude that good ballstrikers rule the roost at Innsbrook.  This is not your typical Florida type of course because the fairways are tight, the rough will be tall.
  • One oddity that you don’t see in most events is the fact that you don’t have many players that shot four rounds in the 60s.  Of the 13 champions only four have accomplished that, in 2002 with K.J. Choi, in 2004 with Vijay Singh, in 2010 with Jim Furyk and in 2011 with Gary Woodland.
  • Another oddity along this line, in the history of this event only 33 times has someone broke par four times during the week.  Making this stat odd is the fact that only 11 times has this happen when the event was played in the spring; the last time it happened was five times in 2012.  Last year and in 2013 nobody shot four rounds in the 60s.
  • The last five winners have been gone on to have great seasons as they have finished the year of their win inside the top-30 in FedEx Cup standings, with 2010 champion Jim Furyk winning the FedEx Cup title.

Year-Winner                Final rank FedEx Cup year won

2014-John Senden                      23rd

2013-Kevin Streelman               25th

2012-Luke Donald                       9th

2011-Gary Woodland                 17th

2010-Jim Furyk                           1st

 

Who to watch for at the Valspar Championship

Best Bets:

Jim Furyk

2015 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05 ’04 ’03
T20 T7 T2 T13 Win T52 CUT

It’s time for him to break out of this four and a half year slump in not winning. There is a reason that he likes playing here, may not be very long but still plays well on the course.

Brandt Snekeker

2015 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05 ’04 ’03
First time playing in this event

Game has come around and if you look at his seven wins on the PGA Tour they have come on shot-making courses like Innsbrook.

Sang-Moon Bae

2015 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05 ’04 ’03
T14 T43 T2

Has played ten times on the PGA Tour in 2015 and on the five courses that are shot-making just like Innsbrook he is 50 under par. Has come close at Innsbrook and will contend on Sunday.

Best of the rest:

Jordan Spieth

2015 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05 ’04 ’03
T20 T7

Dangerous on any kind of course, Is just a notch away from winning.

Adam Scott

2015 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05 ’04 ’03
T30 T28 CUT CUT T35

We will see him starting to play better now that he has some competitive rounds under his belt. Hasn’t shown much on this course but that should turn around this week.

Luke Donald

2015 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05 ’04 ’03
T4 T4 Win T6 T58

Very impressive record of six starts and being in the top-six in his last four starts.

Henrik Stenson

2015 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05 ’04 ’03
First time playing in this event

May be playing for the first time but this course should fit his game.

Solid contenders

Gary Woodland

2015 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05 ’04 ’03
T8 CUT T29 Win

Doesn’t fit the mold because of his length, but seems to be able to do well on this course.

Lee Westwood

2015 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05 ’04 ’03
First time playing in this event

Another first timer that will do great on this course, he will be sorry that he has waited this long to play here.

Matt Kuchar

2015 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05 ’04 ’03
T38 T14 T10 T12 CUT T20

His game hasn’t been that great this year, but look for a change starting this week. Course is right up his alley.

Boo Weekley

2015 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05 ’04 ’03
84 2 CUT CUT T52 CUT CUT

Look for him to have a great week, was a shot out of the playoff in Puerto Rico and returns to a course that is made for his game.

Long shots that could come through:

Daniel Berger

2015 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05 ’04 ’03
First time playing in this event

Guess we can’t call him a first-timer anymore since he played so well at the Honda.

Robert Garrigus

2015 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05 ’04 ’03
T4 T56 T2 CUT CUT T42 CUT

Game coming around now that he is in Florida.

Sam Saunders

2015 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05 ’04 ’03
First time playing in this event

Showed some signs last week that his game can produce a victory.

Be very cautious on him this week:

Patrick Reed

2015 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’09 ’08 ’07 ’06 ’05 ’04 ’03
CUT

Has two things working against him, course isn’t for him and he will have other things on his mind with the allocations of some wrong doing in his past. Shame that he has to go through this.

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