The PGA TOUR stays in the Lone Star State for this week’s Valero Texas Open.
With winds expected to be whipping all week, it won’t be an easy test.
When conditions get tough, I want to target golfers with peak form or golfers with a history of performing well in the wind. With that in mind, let’s run through a few bets that caught my eye this week for the Valero.
Pierceson Coody - Top-20 Finish (+500)
The 23-year-old has been boom or bust regardless of what tour he is playing on.
He won the Panama Championship in February and also landed at top 15 at Arnie’s Invite. Coody has settled for finishes outside of the top 60 in his other four starts in that time frame.
Playing in his home state this week, I think we see more of that upside rise to the table and a top 20 is certainly within his range of outcomes, as he already proved at Bay Hill.
I didn’t see him in the head-to-head market this week so I took a nibble on his top-20 odds.
Robby Shelton over Ryan Palmer - Tournament Matchup (+100)
Palmer may have Texas ties but he’s landed outside of the top 45in three of his last four tries at the Valero Texas Open.
His recent form doesn’t look any more promising with nothing inside of the top 30 in 11 starts this season.
That makes him a vulnerable matchup opponent and in steps Shelton who has much better results this season. He has seven top 25s to his name this season.
Shelton also twirled a top 20 at the 2017 Valero so I’m willing to ignore the missed cut in his only other appearance (2021).
