After an electric Players Championship, the PGA Tour returns for another weekend full of high-level golf. Scottie Scheffler has been on a legacy run, becoming the first golfer ever to defend a Players title. Unfortunately for the avid viewer, Scheffler is not in the field for the Valspar Championship this week. However, there are a few other big names competing, and one of those  should be the favorite to win. Here are my five favorites and two sleepers for this week’s Valspar Championship:

Xander Schauffele

Schauffele recorded a strong outing last weekend at the Players Championship, falling just short of a victory. He found himself at the top of the leaderboard after Day One but, in normal Xander fashion, he was not able to close it out.

So what’s different about this week? He won’t have the world number one hot on his heels. In a weaker field, Schauffele SHOULD be able to contend for the second weekend in a row. He finished tied for second in strokes gained last weekend, as well as fifth in strokes gained tee-to-green. He has the highest betting odds at +700, according to the PGA tour site, making Schauffele the safest pick to win for the first time this season.

Brian Harman

Harman currently finds himself in the No. 10 position in the Fed-Ex Cup race after finishing tied for second last weekend. Harman put himself in position to contend after his round three score of 64, finding himself only two shots behind Schauffele. He fell short though, losing by one shot. 

Harman was also tied for second in strokes gained last week while also leading the field in strokes gained on approach shots. Since his first start of the year at The Sentry, he has two top-five finishes and two other top-20 finishes. If Harman’s putter gets hot, it might be hard to stop him.

Nick Taylor

Since Taylor’s electric RBC Canadian Open victory last calendar season, he  revamped his career. The 35-year-old Canadian has two top-ten finishes this season as well as a win at the Waste Management Phoenix open, taking down Charley Hoffman in a playoff. 

Again, a weaker field should send Taylor to the top of the leaderboard, all things considered. He has +3500 odds, which is quite high for someone with his rate of success this season. Taylor has been one of the better putters on the tour this season, ranking sixth in putting average and fifth in one-putt percentage. If his putter gets hot, it could be another great weekend for Canada. 

Sam Burns

This is not a surprising or sexy pick. He’s one of the biggest names in the tournament and has been super consistent to start the season. Burns is No. 18 in the Fed-Ex Cup standings, despite not standing out in any major statistical categories. 

Burns’ high finish last season at the Valspar also puts him on this list. He came in sixth last year, behind the likes of Taylor Moore, Adam Schenk, notorious choker Tommy Fleetwood, Jordan Spieth and Wyndham Clark. Burns is more than capable of winning this tournament, and I expect to see him atop the leaderboard by the weekend’s end. 

Keith Mitchell

Mitchell will look like an outlier compared to others on this list simply because he hasn’t posted the results. He finished in the top ten twice, with those finishes coming at the American Express Open and the Cognizant Founders Cup. He is one of the best on tour driving the ball this year, ranking eighth in strokes gained off the tee and total driving. He struck the ball well, ranking fifth in greens in regulation percentage, eighth in proximity to the hole and first in approach shots under 200 yards. Mitchell might be a long shot, but I think he has a good enough chance not to be considered a sleeper. 

Sleepers

Speaking of sleepers, I think a fan-favorite of tour fans could be primed for another great week. Joel Dahmen finished the Players at a tie for eleventh, his first top-20 of the year and only his fourth made cut of seven tournaments. I’m hoping, as are most golf fans, that this marks a turn-around for Dahmen’s season. 

Another name to look out for is Germany’s own, Matti Schmid. Without a lot of basis, Schmid looked really solid at The Players. He finished tied at twenty-sixth, but was on the front page of the leaderboard on the second day. Schmid has only played in 44 career PGA Tour tournaments at the age of 26, so he still has much to prove. In only his second full season on the tour, Schmid’s breakout seems to be on the horizon. I’m not calling him out for a win this week, but a high finish would not surprise me.

Don’t pick this guy

Not that I know what I’m talking about at all, but I can confidently say that Jordan Spieth will be in for another week of struggles. He had a rough start to the season, with two finishes in the thirties, a missed cut and a disqualification. He posted two top-ten finishes but hasn’t shown much life since. 

Spieth still plays his sporadic, all-over-the-place style of golf. It keeps viewers on their toes but doesn’t get him the results he’s looking for. We all know what Spieth is capable of, but he just plays like a chicken with its head cut off. I’m certainly not a golf coach, so I won’t offer Mr. Spieth advice, but to return to his winning ways, he might want to keep the ball on the fairway. 

My final prediction

I’m going to make the call that Brian Harman will win the 2024 Valspar Championship. No, he didn’t win last week, but his hot streak on Saturday looked pretty darn good. Schauffele is known for not being able to win, Burns is coming off a bad week, and I still don’t know why I picked Keith Mitchell. Harman comes off as the most consistent and hottest name in the field, making him my choice.