Jacob Bridgeman
This week, most should gravitate toward Xander Schauffele or Viktor Hovland for one and done pools. While both are strong choices, Jacob Bridgeman is also a great option and he should come with much lower ownership.
Bridgeman has been brilliant this season. The Clemson graduate hasn’t missed a cut in seven starts and he hasn’t finished worse than T-18. Bridgeman has finished inside the top-eight four times, including a win at the Genesis Invitational last month and a T-5 at THE PLAYERS Championship last week, both of which featured world-class fields competing for a massive purse.
Bridgeman shot under par in all four of his rounds at the volatile TPC Sawgrass last week. In fact, Bridgeman has shot under par in 24 of his 28 rounds this season and even more impressively, he leads the PGA TOUR in total strokes gained. Bridgeman also leads the circuit in par four performance and SGP, both of which are great signs for the Copperhead Course this week. For four straight years, the winner at this par 71 has finished the Valspar Championship top-10 in both par four efficiency and SGP.
Bridgeman missed the cut in his debut at the Copperhead Course two years ago, but he contended for a win at the venue last year, finishing third and only two strokes back of the winner in Hovland. Bridgeman was the leader after the second and third round, but his final round, a 2-under 69, wasn’t enough to seal the deal.
Not securing this win was obviously frustrating for Bridgeman and he should be out for redemption this week. Bridgeman returns to the Copperhead Course as the No. 20-ranked player in the world, which is 72 spots higher than his ranking heading into his T-3 at last year’s Valspar Championship.
Bridgeman is in a totally different class of players nowadays and his T-3 at last year’s Valspar Championship is just one of his many high finishes in Florida. On top of finishing T-5 at THE PLAYERS Championship last week, Bridgeman finished T-18 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational earlier this month and he finished runner-up at the Cognizant Classic last season. Among the players in this field that have made more than one career start in Florida, Bridgeman ranks first in strokes gained per round.
The 26-year-old has a real prowess for competing in the Sunshine State and Bridgeman should contend for his second win of the season this week. On DraftKings Sportsbook, Bridgeman carries the sixth-best odds to win the Valspar Championship at +2250.
Past One and Done Tournament Results
The Sony Open: J.J. Spaun (T40)
The American Express: Si Woo Kim (T6)
The Farmers Insurance Open: Will Zalatoris (MC)
WM Phoenix Open: Maverick McNealy (T13)
AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am: Justin Rose (T37)
The Genesis Invitational: Hideki Matsuyama (T28)
Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches: Shane Lowry (T2)
Arnold Palmer Invitational: Rory McIlroy (WD)
THE PLAYERS Championship: Collin Morikawa (WD)
