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  • ⛳️ The Valspar Championship: Bets & Preview

⛳️ The Valspar Championship: Bets & Preview

Plus: How To Play Pinehurst, Q&A With Jon Rahm, & Callaway Sale

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Josey Orr & Chase Majerus
March 20, 2024

Good afternoon! Welcome to Shanks. Could Callaway / Top Golf be getting ready for a sale? Stock is up today on the news. More below.

Here's what we've got for ya today:

  • Preview and Bets: The Valspar Championship

  • Q&A: Jon Rahm

  • Shots Heard Round The World

  • How To Play Pinehurst

  • Could Callaway Be For Sale?

  • Thing We’d Buy If We Weren’t Broke

Preview and Bets: The Valspar Championship

🚩 Location: Innisbrook Golf Resort

💰 Purse: $8.4M - $1.5M to first.

👑 Previous Winner: Taylor Moore

👀 Watch On: Golf Channel, NBC, ESPN+

The Valspar Field & How To Watch

Following the major-like energy of The Players championship is a tall task for any tournament, but there are some positives going for “the most colorful tournament in golf”.

(Valspar makes paint, in case you didn’t know).

It’s not a signature event, but the field is solid and the course is difficult.

Innisbrook is a 7300+ yard beast notable for it’s three closing holes, which have a cool nickname.

The Snake Pit

Here’s a quick breakdown on this legendary closing stretch:

The 16th hole, known as "The Moccasin" is a par-4, 475-yard beast that was the ninth most difficult hole on Tour in 2023, challenging golfers to execute a controlled fade into a tight fairway.


"The Rattler" the 17th hole, extends 215 yards as a par-3, and was the 332nd most difficult hole last year, presenting a daunting task for those who dare miss the green.

Finally, the 18th hole, dubbed "The Copperhead" is a par-4, 445-yard uphill battle, serving as the ultimate test of endurance and precision on this championship course.


Here’s what Charles Schwartzel, the 2016 Valspar champion, had to say about it...


“The Snake Pit is ready to jump up and bite you right there at 16. It’s about avoiding the water down the right, and the trees on the left, really. You can’t bailout. You hit left, and you make bogey anyway. You hit it in the water, you’re going to take double.”

The Valspar Championship Favorites

Xander Schauffele, Sam Burns, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Brian Harman, Cameron Young, Tony Finau, Sungjae Im, Min Woo Lee, and Nick Taylor.

How To Watch The Valspar Championship

Thursday, March 21: 2-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel)
Friday, March 22: 2-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel)
Saturday, March 23: 1-3 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); 3-6 p.m. ET (NBC)
Sunday, March 24: 1-3 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); 3-6 p.m. ET (NBC)

Previous Winners 

2021 - Sam Burns

2022 - Sam Burns

2023 - Taylor Moore

Weather Report

It looks like we are back to regularly scheduled programming with the weather impacting PGA Tour events.

Shanks Picks

Tough card last week at The Players, but the Braintrust is back with some more picks this week.

Shanks is up 32.79 Units on the year. All odds via Fanduel.

Winner: Tony Finau +2800

Top-Five: Sam Burns +320

Top-Ten: Doug Ghim +360

Top Twenty: Bud Cauley +500

Longshot: Sam Ryder +11000

First Round Leader: Maverick McNealy +6000

All Of Our Betting Promos

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Q&A: Jon Rahm

Yesterday, Jon Rahm announced his Masters Champion Dinner menu and did a session of Q&A with the media.

This question and answer stuck out the most:

Q. We're talking on the Monday at THE PLAYERS Championship, which is obviously the PGA TOUR's flagship event. I know you've said in the past that you miss playing in these events. I'm wondering if you watched yesterday and sort of a couple months into your new journey how you're feeling about the tournaments you're playing and the tournaments that you're not playing.

JON RAHM: I mean, it stays constant. There's some tournaments I'm definitely going to miss. I hope I get to tee it up at THE PLAYERS again. It would be a bit of a sour taste if my last ever start at THE PLAYERS was WD because I was sick. I feel like it's the time I've WD'd out of sickness out of my own will in my career, and it would definitely be a weird feeling if I never get to do it again.

But when it comes to the golf, the fact that I saw TPC Sawgrass come down to having people shoot 20-under par is quite unbelievable. I couldn't tell the course conditions, right, I wasn't there, but it looked like the greens were up to speed. The greens at times maybe a little bit softer, but still, to go to that golf course and shoot that low, I would have guessed if you shoot 20-under that you are at least winning by five, so the fact that Scottie only won by one is incredible. What an accomplishment, too, to be the first ever back-to-back champion with pretty much every great golfer in the history of this game having played that tournament at that golf course and be the first one to do it back-to-back is special.

It might not be people's favorite venue as a golf course because it's difficult but I think that's what makes it so fitting for a PLAYERS Championship. There's no way of really setting a dominance for a long time because you simply have to be the best. Every part of your game needs to be great and you need to play the best. There's no way to hide and maybe sneak in a couple of pars here and there. If you're missing fairways, that's that.

It's what makes it such a great championship is when you have such diverse champions. It was fun to watch, and what a finish. Jesus Christ, that was one that was fun to watch. I feel for Wyndham because to come back and play the last three holes the way he did and have that lip-out, it's gut-wrenching to watch, but it made for great TV, and it was really fun.

As it comes to my new journey, it's obviously a little bit different, but I've been enjoying it. We've had some fantastic venues to be at, and I must say for people that haven't been to Hong Kong, I highly recommend it. I very rarely go to a city and leave it and say, man, I would come here on a vacation out of my own will; I would go on a long flight and be here because it was extremely fun. People were about as nice as can be. The golf course is fantastic, and the food situation in that city is incredible. Talk about some good restaurants, some good experiences.

So far, it's been great. Been playing good golf. But I'm definitely looking forward to joining with the rest of the best golfers in the world and teeing it up at the Masters with them.

Shots Heard Round The World

How To Play Pinehurst

This is cool.

Golf Magazine has put together something called “The Pinehurst Experience” happening from May 28-30, 2024.

Basically, you can buy a boutique golf trip to play Pinehurst a few weeks before the US Open this year. However, it is pricey. Starting at $5500 for a single.

You get:

A detailed itinerary, including playing rounds at Pinehurst No. 8 and the new No. 10, a behind-the-scenes tour of Pinehurst No. 2, and various exclusive events.

Accommodation details, pricing for different group sizes, and additional highlights like a gift bag, private chats with PGA Tour winners, and more are included.

Could Callaway Be For Sale?

A South Korean Firm called Centroid Investment Partners already owns TaylorMade….

Thing We'd Buy If We Weren't Broke

Bad Birdie recently dropped their Clubhouse Collection which features gear for both men and women.

Our favorite? The Clubhouse Polos.

A vintage take on their Pique polo with a textured finish. Oversized fit with rib finish on collar and sleeves. Heat transfer 'Bad Birdie Country Club' graphic on the back.

That’s all folks! See you Saturday Morning.