PALM HARBOR, Fla. – On a sunny Saturday afternoon at the Valspar Championship, the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort bit back.

The field averaged 71.102 at the par-71 Copperhead Course, with a lower-scoring morning wave leading to more challenging afternoon conditions. The fairways hardened, the greens baked out, and pars were at the premium. That meant a bunched leaderboard heading into Sunday’s final round at the Valspar, where 30 players stand within five strokes of the lead.

There’s a three-way tie at 7-under, shared by 2023 FedExCup champion Viktor Hovland (after three straight missed cuts), two-time TOUR winner Nico Echavarria and second-year TOUR member Jacob Bridgeman. Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth, who played together for the first three rounds, are also within striking distance at 5-under and 3-under, respectively.

“The course is getting, it's firming up a little bit,” Thomas said after a third-round 65. “I'm excited to see how it's going to play tomorrow. It's going to be a true great test and a lot of people are probably going to have a chance.”

Those words rang true as the afternoon progressed. Here are five things to know for Sunday’s final round at the Valspar Championship.

1. Viktor Hovland not fully comfortable but still a co-leader

Last Thursday, Viktor Hovland carded a first-round 80 at THE PLAYERS Championship en route to his third straight missed cut. Ten days leader, he’ll wake up as co-leader at the Valspar Championship. Hovland has recently reunited with former swing instructor Grant Waite, and although things remain a work in progress, he has found a feel to work his way around the Copperhead Course so far. Hovland trailed 36-hole Bridgeman by one stroke into Saturday, and the Norwegian caught up with a third-round 69 that included three birdies and one bogey (missing a 4-footer at the par-5 14th). Through 54 holes, Hovland ranks 16th in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee and 15th in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green.

“It’s fun to be in contention, but it is a little bit more stressful when you don't feel super comfortable over the ball,” Hovland said Saturday. “But, man, it's fun to see some putts go in and still see the ball end up close to the hole and put some good scores up there. Still … feels like saving a lot of shots, but they're going fairly straight, so it's okay. They're all in play and when I got out of position, I think I solved the problems pretty well.”

It will be Hovland against the field, of course, on a crowded leaderboard Sunday at the Valspar – but it will be Hovland versus himself, as well.

2. Jacob Bridgeman is ready for the spotlight

Second-year TOUR pro Jacob Bridgeman doesn’t remember the last time he competed in the final group of a final round, anywhere. He’ll do so Sunday at the Valspar, seeking his first TOUR title as an esteemed group of veteran pros and major champions look to track him down. Bridgeman, the 36-hole Valspar leader, carded a third-round 70 at the Copperhead Course to keep from falling behind on the leaderboard, rallying from a 2-over opening nine with four birdies in a back-nine 32.

Bridgeman, 25, finished No. 2 on the 2022 PGA TOUR University Ranking to earn Korn Ferry Tour membership, and he earned his TOUR card at No. 14 on the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour Points List. He kept his TOUR card at No. 113 on the FedExCup Fall in his rookie season, and he notched his first top-10 on TOUR at the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches last month, finishing runner-up. It has been a steady progression, and he looks to take the ultimate next step Sunday outside Tampa.

“As experiences go, this is going to be a cool one,” Bridgeman said Saturday. “Never done it … don't know if I've ever been in the final group at all so to do it back-to-back days will be fun. I look forward to the challenge.”

3. Nico Echavarria could become a three-time TOUR winner

It’s no disrespect to Colombia’s Nico Echavarria, but he might be one of the lesser-known multi-time TOUR winners of the modern era. The affable Echavarria flies under the radar with an understated demeanor, but his game packs plenty of punch; after earning his TOUR card via the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour, he won the 2023 Puerto Rico Open as a rookie and added a victory at last fall’s ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP, staring down the likes of Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler on the final day in Japan. He added runner-up finishes at The RSM Classic last fall and the Sony Open in Hawaii in January.

What motivates him? “Winning,” Echavarria said after a third-round 66 at the Valspar that included birdies on each of the back nine’s three par 3s. The Arkansas alum enjoyed a sweet victory Saturday afternoon as Arkansas men’s basketball knocked off St. John’s to advance to the Sweet 16 – and another win could be in the cards Sunday.

4. Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth lurk after three rounds together

Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth, longtime friends and competitors, hadn’t played together in the first three rounds of a PGA TOUR event since THE PLAYERS Championship in 2018. That drought ended at the Valspar as they were grouped for the first two rounds and then paired in a Saturday two-ball after matching 1-over 143 for two rounds, one stroke inside the cut line. They fed off each other in Saturday’s third round, as Thomas shot a 6-under 65 (the day’s low round) to pull within two strokes of the 54-hole lead, while Spieth carded 4-under 67 to move within four of the lead, a more daunting task but still within striking distance. Neither has won on TOUR since 2022 (Spieth at the RBC Heritage; Thomas at the PGA Championship a month later). Each has the chance to end that drought Sunday afternoon at the Copperhead Course.

5. Conditions bring field back into play

After signing for a third-round 67 to post 3-under total, Spieth feared he might end up too far back for a realistic Sunday push at the Valspar title (he won here in 2015, his second of 13 PGA TOUR titles). It looked that way as the final groups began the back nine; Byeong Hun An reached 9-under for the tournament through 11 holes, and Hovland was 8-under for the week through 11. Scoring stalled out down the stretch, though. An made five bogeys in his last seven holes, finding himself three off the lead into Sunday. Hovland played his last seven in 1-over, without a birdie.

The final three holes at the Copperhead Course, known as the “Snake Pit,” each played over par in the third round, and the leaderboard became more and more bunched as the afternoon moved toward evening. As it turned out, Spieth hung within four shots of the 54-hole lead – one of 30 players within five strokes into Sunday.

“They're getting toasty,” Hovland said of the Copperhead’s greens. “There's less and less grass out there and they're getting pretty slick. … If the weather sustains this, then it's going to be just firmer and crispier (Sunday), so that's good. That's what I expect this place to be.”