Valspar Championship
Innisbrook Resort
Copperhead Course
Palm Harbor, Florida
PGATOUR.com Links
Thoughts on Valspar
It’s difficult. Really difficult.
The flat tracks of PGA National, Bay Hill, and TPC Sawgrass have been replaced with oak-lined rolling hills and significant elevation changes.
The last four winners have all ranked in the top 10 in Strokes Gained: Putting and top 15 Greens in Regulation.
Par is a decent score again this week. Exactly five players have posted 10-under or better over the last three events.
Five.
This is not a hit-and-giggle or walk in the park after THE PLAYERS Championship. The cut during the last three editions was 2-over, even, and 1-over.
Survive and advance and enjoy the third-hardest three-hole closing stretch on TOUR, “The Snake Pit”.
NOW PLAYING:
| Host Course | Copperhead Course |
| Yards (per official scorecard): | 7,352. |
| Par: | 71 (35-36). |
| Greens: | Poa Trivialis overseed; TifEagle Bermuda; 5,822 square feet. |
| Stimpmeter: | 12-plus feet. |
| Rough: | Overseeded ryegrass 3.75 inches. |
| Bunkers/Water Hazards/In-Play | 74/8/9. |
| Architect(s): | Larry Packard (1971). |
| Defending Champion (event): | Viktor Hovland (-11). |
| Multiple Champion(s) Entered: | None. |
| Course Record: | 61; Matt NeSmith (Round 2, 2022) & Padraig Harrington (Round 1, 2012). Neither player is in the field this week. |
| Tournament Scoring Record | 267 (-17); Sam Burns (not entered), 2022. |
| Fact of the Week: | Since moving to March on the schedule in 2007, the winning margin has been two or fewer shots in every year save 2022. |
| Fact of the Week II: | The course has five Par-3 holes and three Par-5 holes. |
Notes:
- Field of 135.
- No significant course changes for 2026.
- The top 65 and ties play the weekend.
- $9.1 million – $1.638 million – 500 FedExCup points.
Recent Winners
2026 Season Winners
| Event | Winner |
| The Sentry | No Event |
| Sony Open in Hawaii | Chris Gotterup |
| The American Express | Scottie Scheffler |
| Farmers Insurance Open | Justin Rose |
| WM Phoenix Open | Chris Gotterup (2) |
| AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am | Collin Morikawa |
| Cognizant Classic | Nico Echavarria |
| Arnold Palmer Invitational | Akshay Bhatia |
| THE PLAYERS Championship | Cameron Young |
2025 Season Winners
| Event | Winner |
| The Sentry | Hideki Matsuyama |
| Sony Open in Hawaii | Nick Taylor |
| The American Express | Sepp Straka |
| Farmers Insurance Open | Harris English |
| AT&T Pebble Beach | Rory McIlroy |
| WM Phoenix Open | Thomas Detry (LIV) |
| The Genesis Invitational | Ludvig Aberg |
| Mexico Open at Vidanta | Brian Campbell (first time) |
| Cognizant Classic | Joe Highsmith (first time) |
| Arnold Palmer Invitational | Russell Henley |
| Puerto Rico Open | Karl Vilips (first time) |
| THE PLAYERS Championship | Rory McIlroy |
| Valspar Championship | Viktor Hovland |
| Texas Children’s Houston Open | Min Woo Lee (first time) |
| Valero Texas Open | Brian Harman |
| 88th Masters Tournament | Rory McIlroy (career grand slam) |
| RBC Heritage | Justin Thomas |
| Zurich Classic | Ben Griffin & Andrew Novak (first time winners) |
| THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson | Scottie Scheffler |
| Truist Championship | Sepp Straka (2) |
| Mrytle Beach One Flight | Ryan Fox |
| 106th PGA Championship | Scottie Scheffler (2) |
| Charles Schwab Challenge | Ben Griffin (2) |
| The 50th Memorial Tournament | Scottie Scheffler (3) |
| RBC Canadian Open | Ryan Fox (2) |
| 124th United States Open | J.J. Spaun |
| Travelers Championship | Keegan Bradley |
| Rocket Mortgage Classic | Aldrich Potgieter (first time) |
| John Deere Classic | Brian Campbell (2) |
| Genesis Scottish Open | Chris Gotterup |
| ISCO Championship | William Mouw (first time) |
| 152nd Open Championship | Scottie Scheffler (4) |
| Barracuda Championship | Ryan Gerard (first time) |
| 3M Open | Kurt Kitayama |
| Wyndham Championship | Cameron Young (first time) |
| FedEx St. Jude Championship | Justin Rose |
| BMW Championship | Scottie Scheffler (5) |
| The TOUR Championship | Tommy Fleetwood (first time) |
| FedEx Cup Fall | |
| Procore Championship | Scottie Scheffler (6) |
| Sanderson Farms Championship | Steven Fisk (first time) |
| Black Desert Championship | Michael Brennan (first time) |
| Baycurrent Championship | Xander Schauffele |
| World Wide Technology Champ | Ben Griffin (3) |
| Butterfield Bermuda Champ | Adam Schenk (first time) |
| The RSM Classic | Sami Valimaki (first time) |
Recent Winners – Valspar Championship
Italics – not entered this week.
| Year | Winner | Notes |
| 2025 | Viktor Hovland (-11) | Broke a three-way tie on 7-under after 54 holes with a final round 67 to defeat Justin Thomas by a shot. |
| 2024 | Peter Malnati (-12) | Shot a final round 67 to win for the second time on TOUR. |
| 2023 | Taylor Moore (-10) | The first of three consecutive champions to post 67 in the final round. Defeated Adam Schenk by one shot. |
| 2022 | Sam Burns (-17) | Defeated Davis Riley in a playoff to successfully defend his title. His tournament scoring record was one of many broken in PERFECT, windless weather. |
| 2021 | Sam Burns (-17) | The event finished in May and Burns won on TOUR for the first time. |
| 2019 | Paul Casey (-8) | The Englishman became the last winner in single digits. |
One and Done – Spotter’s Game
LAST WEEK – THE PLAYERS Championship
MY CHOICE: Collin Morikawa – WD
I have no words.
Missing the cut is one thing. Quitting after one hole is another. Glad to see the online sportsbooks refund folks’ money. That was the right thing to do.
As for One and Done, if you tee it, you played. It sucks, but it’s the right call.
Nobody said you didn’t need a little luck in life, but I feel for the McIlroy/Morikawa contingent the last two weeks. Go buy a lottery ticket or two and see if Karma has returned.
Whatever.
| Event | Selection | Place | Earnings |
| Sony Open in Hawaii | Robert MacIntyre | T4 | 409,500 |
| The American Express | Ben Griffin | T24 | 81,420 |
| Farmers Insurance | Jason Day | T38 | 41,760 |
| WM Phoenix Open | Sahith Theegala | T18 | 122,720 |
| AT&T Pebble Beach | Patrick Cantlay | T14 | 342,500 |
| The Genesis Invitational | Tommy Fleetwood | T7 | 603,200 |
| Cognizant Classic | Daniel Berger | T32 | 54,816 |
| Arnold Palmer Invitational | Scottie Scheffler | T24 | 157,000 |
| THE PLAYERS | Collin Morikawa | WD | 0 |
THIS WEEK – Valspar Championship
Xander Schauffele will be on my short list of TWO for the U.S. Open. Brooks Koepka is the defending champion at Shinnecock Hills.
Justin Thomas makes sense this week, but I am not taking my chances on a guy who has just returned from back surgery.
Corey Conners has two wins at Valero, so he stays in the stable.
The Hojgaards have never made a cut here.
Jordan Spieth – Colonial or Augusta.
MY CHOICE: Jacob Bridgeman
Proven in Florida, proven in California.
He played from the final group in 2025 and secured third.
His form is T18 or better in every event this year.
LFG.
Others to consider
Viktor Hovland, Sahith Theegala, Lucas Glover, Billy Horschel, Ryo Hisatsune
Recent Form at Valspar
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 |
| Viktor Hovland (-11) | Peter Malnati (-12) | Taylor Moore (-10) |
| wins by 1 (JT) | wins by 2 (Cam Young) | wins by 1 (Schenk) |
| Par 71 – 7,352 yds | Par 71 – 7,340 yds | Par 71 – 7,340 yds |
| 156 players | 156 players | 144 players |
| 02 Justin Thomas -10 | T3 Chancler Phillips -9 | 02 Adam Schenk -9 |
| 03 Jacob Bridgeman -9 | T3 Mackenzie Hughes | T3 Jordan Spieth -8 |
| T4 Bud Cauley -8 | T5 Adam Hadwin -8 | T7 Webb Simpson -4 |
| T4 Ryo Hisatsune | T5 Xander Schauffele | T7 Matt Wallace |
| T4 Billy Horschel | T9 C Bezuidenhout -7 | T10 Justin Thomas -3 |
| 07 Davis Riley -7 | 11 Lucas Glover -6 | T10 Nick Taylor |
| T8 Seamus Power -6 | T12 Billy Horschel -5 | T10 Patton Kizzire |
| T8 Lucas Glover | T12 Taylor Moore | T10 Zac Blair |
| T8 Corey Conners | T12 Kevin Roy | T19 Davis Riley -1 |
| T12 Eric Cole -5 | T17 Matt Wallace -4 | T19 Denny McCarthy |
| T12 Xander Schauffele | T17 Akshay Bhatia | T27 Chad Ramey E |
| T12 Ricky Castillo | T17 Ben Griffin | T27 Alex Smalley |
| T16 Matt McCarty -4 | T17 Keith Mitchell | T27 Kevin Streelman |
| T22 R N P -3 | T17 Matti Schmid | T27 Stephan Jaeger |
| T22 Emiliano Grillo | T17 Andrew Novak | T27 Andrew Novak |
| T22 Joe Highsmith | T26 Seamus Power -3 | |
| T22 Jeremy Paul | T26 Lee Hodges | |
| T26 Kevin Streelman |
Glass Houses 