The First Look: Valspar Championship

The PGA TOUR’s Florida Swing reaches its conclusion at the Valspar Championship just outside Tampa, as players cross the state after THE PLAYERS Championship last week.

Several top PGA TOUR pros have made the short trip from TPC Sawgrass to Innisbrook Resort’s Copperhead Course, which features the famed “Snake Pit” trio of closing holes. Taylor Moore returns to defend his 2023 title, with past winners in the field including Jordan Spieth and Sam Burns.

Here’s everything you need to know before play begins at Innisbrook.

FIELD NOTES: Xander Schauffele, fresh off his T2 at THE PLAYERS, will return to action at the Valspar. Schauffele has five top-10 finishes in seven events so far this season. He last played Innisbrook in 2022 where he finished T12 … Brian Harman, who tied Schauffele and Wyndham Clark at 19-under at THE PLAYERS, one shot back of Scottie Scheffler’s winning total, makes the trip to Innisbrook as well. Harman is rounding into form, having gone T12-T2 in his last two starts. But his effort at Innisbrook has been curious over the last decade. He has missed the cut in five of his last six Valspar appearances, but his one made cut resulted in a T5 in 2022 … Sam Burns returns to Innisbrook – a place he’s had plenty of success – looking for another win. Burns went back-to-back at the Valspar in 2021 and 2022 and finished sixth a year ago. He has notched four top-12s in five starts at Innisbrook, and he has yet to miss a cut … Justin Thomas is hoping to turn things around after a missed cut at THE PLAYERS. Thomas finished 10th last year and was third the year prior. He’s missed just one cut at the Valspar in his career … Tony Finau returns to Innisbrook for the first time since 2018. While he’s missed the cut three out of four times at Innisbrook, he did finish fifth in 2017 … Taylor Moore returns to Tampa looking to go back-to-back at the Valspar. Moore has found the weekend in all seven of his PGA TOUR starts this season … 2015 Valspar winner Spieth also returns. Spieth has finished in the top 20 at Innisbrook in five of his six starts, including a T3 a year ago.

SIGNATURE EVENT STORYLINES: Fred Biondi will play for the fourth time this season on the PGA TOUR. He’s back in action after finishing T32 at the Puerto Rico Open. Biondi, the 2023 NCAA individual champion at the University of Florida, has made the cut in all four of his Korn Ferry Tour starts so far this season … Biondi’s University of Florida teammate Ricky Castillo will make his non-major debut on the PGA TOUR. Castillo, who debuted at the 2020 U.S. Open, turned pro last year and has made plenty of noise on the Korn Ferry Tour so far this season. The 23-year-old has made his last five cuts and finished no worse than T20, including two top-five showings … Nick Gabrelcik returns to action at the Valspar. The University of North Florida senior grew up just 20 minutes from Innisbrook and made the cut in 2023. He volunteered at the event as a standard bearer as a youngster. Gabrelick is a nine-time collegiate winner … Kevin Roy will return to action on the PGA TOUR. The upstate New York native lost his TOUR card after 2023 but has made all four cuts on the Korn Ferry Tour this season including a runner-up at the season opener … Rounding out the sponsor exemptions are TOUR veterans Luke Donald and Ryan Palmer.

COMCAST BUSINESS TOUR TOP 10 UPDATES: Shane Lowry moved inside the Aon Next 10 (from No. 11 to No. 9) after his T19 at THE PLAYERS, highlighted by a final-round 66 … Lowry was the only player who made a move inside the Aon Next 10 at THE PLAYERS … The Aon Swing 5 standings remained unchanged. The next Signature Event on the PGA TOUR schedule is the RBC Heritage in mid-April. The Aon Swing 5 standings for that event starts with the Puerto Rico Open and continues this week at the Valspar Championship, followed by the Texas Children’s Houston Open and Valero Texas Open. With his win at the Puerto Rico Open, Brice Garnett stands No. 1 on the Aon Swing 5 race.

FEDEXCUP: The winner receives 500 FedExCup points.

COURSE: Innisbrook Resort (Copperhead), par 71, 7,340 yards

Located just north of Tampa, the tree-lined, Larry Packard design puts a premium on positioning off the tee. The course, which opened in the early 1970s, features a tough three-hole closing stretch known as the “Snake Pit” – two tough par 4s sandwiched between a bruising 200-yard par 3. Last year the rough height was increased to 3.75 inches from 3 inches in prior years – look for that to be a factor again on the golf course in 2024.

72-HOLE RECORD: 266, Vijay Singh (2004)

18-HOLE RECORD: 61, Matt NeSmith (Round 2, 2022), Padraig Harrington (Round 1, 2012)

LAST TIME: Taylor Moore won for the first time on the PGA TOUR after a Sunday 67 at the Valspar Championship, topping Adam Schenk by one. Moore finished strong, making two birdies in his final four holes. He was waiting for a playoff before Spieth stumbled into the house. Spieth made bogey on the par-4 16th but appeared to be right back in it after hitting his tee ball on the par-3 17th to just 6 feet. He missed that birdie try, however, and bogeyed the 72nd hole of the championship to finish two shots behind Moore’s winning total. Spieth finished tied for third alongside Tommy Fleetwood while Wyndham Clark finished fifth.

HOW TO FOLLOW (all times ET):

Television:

• Thursday-Friday: 2-6 p.m. (Golf Channel)
• Saturday-Sunday: 1-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3-6 p.m. (NBC)

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• Marquee group: New “marquee group” showcasing every shot from each player in the group
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• Featured holes: A combination of par 3s and iconic or pivotal holes

PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and free on PGATOUR.COM/liveaudio:

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