This year marks the launch of PGA Tour Pick ‘Em Live, a new free-to-play game that allows fans to make various picks and predictions throughout tournament week.
With guaranteed weekly prizes valued up to $5,000, participants will be asked to offer a range of picks from tournament winner to first-round leader and various head-to-head matchups. Picks are based on live odds via PointsBet Sportsbook, so while pre-tournament selections can be changed throughout the week the assigned odds will change accordingly.
Participants can also make selections after each of the first three rounds, with points increasing accordingly.
Here are players to consider when making pre-tournament selections this week for the Valspar Championship, as the Tour concludes a four-week stretch in the Sunshine State with its flagship event:
Tournament Winner: Dustin Johnson (+1600): Hey, remember him? It’s been more than a year since DJ won a tournament, and he hasn’t won on the PGA Tour since the 2020 Masters. It’s an unusually long “drought” for a player of his caliber and one that could come to an end this week on a course where he went toe-to-toe with Paul Casey two years ago before a rough final round. Johnson now has top-10 finishes in two of his last three worldwide starts, including a T-9 finish at TPC Sawgrass, and if history is any indication there’s not much of a gap between him figuring it out and lifting a trophy.
Top-10 Finish: Keegan Bradley (+425): Bradley’s furious comeback at The Players wilted over the final two holes, but it was still an impressive T-5 finish for the former PGA champ. Now he heads to a course where he let one get away last year, finishing second behind Sam Burns after leading for much of the tournament. Bradley tends to get off to a fast start at this event, opening with a round in the 60s in each of his last five trips including last year’s 64. His week at Sawgrass was preceded by a T-11 finish at Bay Hill, so he’s clearly feeling comfortable right now in the Sunshine State.
Top-20 Finish: Joel Dahmen (+400): This is an enticing number on a player who finished T-30 in his Valspar debut in 2019 while his caddie sported a “Leaping Cougar” bib as part of the tournament’s spring break initiative. Dahmen does some of his best work on courses like the Copperhead that emphasize shot-making over sheer distance, and he’s coming off a solid T-33 finish last week in Ponte Vedra Beach. Dahmen’s T-6 finish last month at Pebble Beach is an indicator of his ceiling when things are clicking.
First Round Leader: Jason Kokrak (+4000): Kokrak nearly got his maiden Tour win here back in 2019 and has finished T-13 or better in three straight Innisbrook appearances. He has been in the middle of the pack the last two weeks in Florida but should improve significantly on a course that suits his eye and his game. Six of his last nine rounds here have been in the 60s, including an opening-round 67 last year.
Make Cut: Adam Hadwin (-200): The Canadian notched his lone PGA Tour win at this event back in 2017, then followed with a T-12 result the following year. While he has missed the cut in two subsequent appearances, expect him to stick around for the weekend this time coming off a strong T-9 finish Monday at TPC Sawgrass. Hadwin has made nine of his last 11 cuts overall.
