The second round of the 2026 Valspar Championship gets underway on Friday at Innisbrook Resort (Copperhead Course) in Palm Harbor, Florida.
Sungjae Im leads the Valspar Championship after the first round at seven-under par. He holds a one-stroke lead over the rest of the field, but the tournament remains wide open with three days remaining.
Here are my picks for the Valspar Championship Round 2 best bets for Friday.
Valspar Championship Round 2 Odds, Best Bets
Andrew Novak Top 20 (+1075 at DraftKings)
Andrew Novak enters Friday T81 at 2-over par. A bit of a large swing here, but at nearly 11/1, it's worth taking a stab at Novak to gain some momentum entering the weekend.
Novak is one of the better putters on the PGA Tour, ranking in the 72nd percentile in strokes gained: putting. Putting is arguably the most important factor this week as roughly 38% of strokes gained at Copperhead come on the greens, a high mark by PGA Tour standards.
Last year, each of the top three finishers ranked inside the top three in the field in strokes gained: putting.
No other strokes-gained category showed a similar trend.
Novak utilized the flat stick to finish T17 here in 2024, and there is still enough time for him to make the cut and surge up the leaderboard with three days remaining.
Alex Smalley Top 20 (-108 at DraftKings)
Another golfer worth targeting in this market is Alex Smalley. A much more realistic play, Smalley enters Friday T7 at 3-under par.
Already in the money, -108 is a good price to wager for Smalley to remain in the green.
Success on the greens is often supported by strong long-iron play. Last season, 20.7% of approach shots came from the 175-200-yard range, the highest distribution of any 25-yard grouping at this course.
Entering this week, Smalley ranks in the top quarter of golfers on the PGA Tour in strokes gained from 150+ yards.
