Valspar Championship DraftKings picks 2024: Best PGA DFS golf lineup

After a thrilling and historic edition of THE PLAYERS Championship, we still have one leg left on the PGA Tour's Florida Swing, which means we're heading to the always-difficult Copperhead Course at Innisbrook for the 2024 Valspar Championship. And thought PGA DFS players might be used to having to find sleepers in this tournament's field, there are some big names teeing it up this week.

The Valspar Championship is one of the most underrated events on the PGA Tour calendar. It's a true test with trouble lurking all over the place, a demand for accuracy off the tee and on approach, and a complete skill set needed to compete around the greens. That's why building a DraftKings PGA DFS lineup can be tricky here. We know what it takes, but the variance can be wide year-to-year as to who plays well here, at least for the most part.

Even still, we're attacking the Valspar Championship PGA DFS slate with our picks from each pricing tier with guys who really fit what we're looking for, and also the guys we want to avoid before building our DraftKings lineup for the week. Let's get into the magic of the Copperhead Course.

Valspar Championship DraftKings picks for PGA DFS lineups: Top Plays

$10K Range: Justin Thomas ($10,400) - If you were on JT in any capacity last week (you know, like I was!), then you're probably pretty peeved by him coming into the Valspar. But Thomas had some uncharacteristic issues at THE PLAYERS, most notably bleeding strokes around the green but leading the field on approach before missing the cut. He's been T13 or better in his last three Valspar starts, though, because his game fits so well. As long as he doesn't go ice-cold with the putter, he should finish near the top of the leaderboard again. Also Consider: Xander Schauffele ($11,200), Sam Burns ($10,900)

$9K Range: Brian Harman ($9,800) - What we saw from Brian Harman last week at THE PLAYERS should have you ready to start your DraftKings lineup with the lefty. Harman naturally checks the boxes as a super-accurate driver and short-game stud. But his approach play is spiking, gaining 1.83 strokes there over his last eight rounds, which resulted in a T2 at THE PLAYERS and T12 at the Arnold Palmer. That approach play is a winning recipe and he should contend if he continues this trend. Also Consider: Tony Finau ($9,300), Nick Taylor ($9,100)

$8K Range: Doug Ghim ($8,400) - Ghim is another player who is going to be exceptionally popular in PGA DFS lineups, but I can't get away from him. He's my pick to win this week and why wouldn't he be? He's in the midst of one of the best runs of his career with five straight Top 16 finishes. He's gaining 1.32 strokes tee-to-green over that span, hitting more than 70% of his fairways, and even putting positively. He's ideally suited to thrive at the Copperhead Course and very well could cash our outright as well as be a big hit for our PGA DFS lineup. Also Consider: Christiaan Bezuidenhout ($8,800), Aaron Rai ($8,500), Maverick McNealy ($8,100)

$7K Range: Sam Ryder ($7,300) - If you haven't exhausted much brain power on Sam Ryder in 2024, you're definitely not alone. But he's a guy who is hitting some benchmarks right now that have me intrigued at Innisbrook. He comes in with back-to-back Top 21 finishes and, though a lot of that work has been with the putter, he's gained on approach and driven the ball accurately. He finished T19 at the Valspar last year and I think he's in form to somewhat replicate that type of solid outing this year. Also Consider: Taylor Moore ($7,800), Andrew Putnam ($7,700), Daniel Berger ($7,200), Davis Thompson ($7,000)

$6K Range: Joel Dahmen ($6,800) - What Joel Dahmen did over the final three rounds at THE PLAYERS was nothing short of phenomenal. He gained more than 3.0 strokes tee-to-green at Sawgrass, which is wild considering he was over par after Round 1. That resulted in a T11 finish, but Dahmen has said he felt like his game was close and that he was letting it flow and "just playing golf". If that continues and these are the results, I'm going to be all over it at the Valspar. Also Consider: Victor Perez ($6,900), Andrew Novak ($6,700), Lee Hodges ($6,600), Matthew NeSmith ($6,500), Bud Cauley ($6,400), Brice Garnett ($6,200)

$5K Range: Parker Coody ($5,900) - In previous 5K ranges, I've been able to find some value. It's a little harder to come by this week, however. Parker Coody does spark some intrigue, however. Though he missed the cut in Puerto Rico, he was T24 at the Cognizant and had gained on approach in four straight events. He's likely not a threat to win, but his overall form in 2024 says he could come up with a nice finish. Also Consider: Zac Blair ($5,600), David Lipsky ($5,400)

Valspar Championship DraftKings picks for PGA DFS lineups: Top Fades

$10K Range: Jordan Spieth ($10,200) - When you think of the best of Jordan Spieth, it's no surprise that he finished T3 at the Valspar last year. But Spieth just hasn't been at his best. His ball-striking just isn't there right now, losing strokes on approach routinely and fully tee-to-green over his last eight rounds. Ball-striking is a prerequisite to navigating the Copperhead Course, and I have a hard time seeing Spieth doing that in this form.

$9K Range: Cameron Young ($9,600) - There might be some people who talk themselves into Cam Young based largely on a T4 at the Cognizant. But his driving has been middling at best of late, which is certainly an issue given his skill set, and his short game has been lacking quite a bit. Full disclosure, I don't love the 9K range overall, but I am most comfortable avoiding Young this week.

$8K Range: Eric Cole ($8,700) - Even though Eric Cole sprinkled in a T21 at the API, he's lost a little bit of his magic after missing two of his last three cuts. He's losing more than 0.7 strokes ball striking over the last 12 rounds and his driving accuracy has long been a concern. This just doesn't seem like the type of player, in this form at least, who's going to have a fun time at the Valspar with the challenges at hand.

$7K Range: Sepp Straka ($7,900) - On one hand, Sepp Straka has two made cuts and a T16 at THE PLAYERS with that coming into the Valspar. On another, he's done that losing strokes on approach and with his putting. The way Straka has been playing doesn't seem conducive the the high value of positioning at the Copperhead Course, and as the top player in the 7K range, I'm going to get away from that.

Valspar Championship 2024: Best DraftKings golf PGA DFS lineup

With what I see as a ton of value in the 6K range, we're able to get Thomas, Harman and Ghim in at the top of the lineup, along with our top play for the aforementioned lower range, Dahmen. So that leaves us with Maverick McNealy and Matthew NeSmith to speak on.

We'll start with the latter. NeSmith was T26 last week at THE PLAYERS, and did so gaining 1.31 strokes with his ball striking and with accurate driving. His numbers have been trending to this point and, with back-to-back Top 21 finishes at the Valspar in 2021 and 2022, including a T3, I love what he could do this week.

As for McNealy, he has three Top 13 finishes in his last four starts and, while his approach play still hasn't come back to what it was pre-last year's injury, his short game is dialed to the max. He's still valuable right now as he rounds further into form, but the fit here if his approach game starts to even out could be electric.