Golf betting tips: Crucial points on offer at Singapore Classic and Valspar Championship

The ‘international swing’ has concluded on the DP World Tour, and it’s Laurie Canter who is basking in the winner's bonus and the exemptions that come with it, including entry into Rolex Events. 

Across the pond, the big league is kicking off with major season rearing its head. 

Love golf? Find the best golf betting sites and bet with welcome bonuses today.

We saw a nice primer at the Players Championship where an elite field battled at TPC Sawgrass. Our Players Championship pick of Corey Connors (seven places) at 50/1 landed as Rory McIlroy and JJ Spaun fought out a showdown playoff on Monday after some dangerous conditions put a halt to play on Sunday. 

McIlroy was the last man standing, picking up his second Players Championship title.

Singapore Classic: Del Rey to hit the high notes

The start of the ‘Asian swing’ hits Singapore for the Porsche Singapore Classic at Laguna National Golf Resort. LIV golfers were in Singapore last weekend and we got a taste of the type of weather conditions we can expect. Humidity will likely affect the players over four days.

Laguna National has hosted the Singapore Classic for the last two years and noticeable on the leaderboards is a trend of power on the par 72 layout that stretches 7,420 yards in length. Interestingly the winners of the two instalments both shot 9-under par on the final day.

The Singapore Classic is the first stop on the DP World Tour’s Asian Swing, and it leads into the second phase of the season – the back nine. There is a prize fund of $2.5m (£1.92m) on offer along with 3,500 ‘Race to Dubai’ points.

Leading the betting market, we have Robert MacIntyre at 15/2 with BetMGM. 

He is closely followed by Paul Casey and Tom McKibbin on 16/1 and 20/1 respectively with Spreadex. 

Next up are HaoTong Li and Jordan Smith who should be there or thereabouts.

Looking a bit further down the Singapore Classic odds I’m drawn to Alejandro Del Rey who is a big hitter that featured on the leaderboards here in each of the last two years. He was third and seventh. 

Del Rey bombed his way to victory and blitzed the field at the Ras Al Khaimah Championship at Al Hamra GC early in 2025 and he is firmly on my radar to do something similar in Singapore. 

The Spaniard will be able to handle the conditions without a problem and he warmed up in South Africa with a t25 finish.

Another player who featured on the leaderboard here in both 2023 and 2024 is Richard Mansell who recorded sixth and 11th places finishes. Mansell is simmering form wise. 

The big hitter was recently t11 at the South African Open and was going along nicely in Joburg too before a modest last 27 holes. 

Mansell was eighth in driving distance in Johannesburg and ranked ninth in driving distance across his first two years on tour; a win is just around the corner for the Englishman.

Sticking with the bombers Gavin Green is also on my radar at a big price. Green grew up playing golf in this type of atmosphere and surrounds and he has been showing some signs of a return to form. 

Delving a little deeper into the stats shows Green opened with a sneaky 64 last year at Laguna National Golf Resort to hold the joint first round lead at the Singapore classic. But how do fast starters genuinely fare over the full week?

The Malaysian owns a stroke average of 71.17 over six official rounds on the course. Green is simmering form-wise with a t34 in Bahrain and a top 25 in South Africa his best showings so far.

FIRST’s top tips for the Singapore Classic

Alejandro Del Rey looks to have the right skill set to take on Laguna National. Back the Spaniard each way (six places) at 45/1 with BetMGM.

Richard Mansell also has form at Laguna National and he can power his way into contention again at 60/1 (six places) each way with BetMGM.

Gavin Green has some hidden form going into a test he will enjoy. Back the Malaysian each way (seven places) at 100/1 with Betway.

Valspar Championship: Riley coming into form ahead of Copperhead test

The Valspar at Copperhead, Innisbrook Resort is the last event of the Florida Swing. As always with Florida tracks, it’s ball strikers to the fore and it will be the same at a treelined Copperhead track where shaping the golf ball both ways is required. 

There is a massive premium on approaches on the par 71 venue playing 7,352 yards.

Par fives at Copperhead are often card wreckers rather than great birdie opportunities. Typically, we see the most three putts from short range all year at Copperhead.

The Valspar Championship boasts an $8.7m (£6.7m) purse and there are 500 FedEx Cup points going to the winner. 

Peter Malnati won the Valspar last year with a score of -12. Interestingly both Paul Casey and Sam Burns have gone back-to-back here in recent years in 2018/19 and 2021/22. 

Leading the betting for the Valspar Championship golf tournament is a strong trio of Justin Thomas 12/1 (BetMGM), Tommy Fleetwood 12/1 (Betway) and Xander Schauffele 20/1 (Spreadex). Thomas equalled the course record at Sawgrass last week shooting 62 in the second round of the Players Championship. 

Fleetwood continued his trend of putting three but not four rounds together at the PGA Tour’s headquarters to post another top 20.

Alex Smalley is a very underrated player who is competent in all departments of his game. 

Smalley missed the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open but in his other six appearances in 2025, he has broken the top 21 on all occasions, not least courtesy of a ranking of third in ‘total strokes gained’ this year. This could be a key to nailing your golf betting tips.

He is fifth in ‘strokes gained tee-to-green’ and second in ‘strokes gained around the green’. The 28-year-old owns one top 30 at Copperhead in three appearances.  

Sahith Theegala’s Valspar odds mean he is big enough for me to take a chance this week. Theegala is hard to get right but when he gets into contention he tends to stick around. 

Theegala’s course fit is strong, with his fade off the tee setting him up nicely here at Copperhead. 

Perhaps that’s what is behind a seventh-place finish for the American in his only appearance at the Valspar Championship so far.

Davis Riley was exquisite with his iron play at Valspar but lost out in a playoff to Burns in 2022 and Riley is creeping onto my radar just in time for a gaff he loves. 

He followed up his playoff loss with a top-20 at Valspar in 2023. 

Riley is a ball striker supremo who finished T48 at the Cognizant Classic and then T6 at the Puerto Rico Open after opening 64-66. He had another decent showing at Sawgrass finishing in the top 40.

FIRST’s top tips for the Valspar Championship 

Alex Smalley is fast moving up the golf rankings and is flying under the radar a bit after a T14 last week where he was tied for the lead late on Saturday. Back the up-and-comer at 40/1 (seven places) with Betway.

Sahith Theegala looks to be a great course fit for Copperhead at the Valspar Championship. Back the enigmatic American each way (six places) at 55/1 with Spreadex.

Davis Riley’s odds look way too high this week and he’s great value to contend for a place or better. Back him each way (seven places) at 150/1 with Betway.

Odds correct at the time of writing.