The Valspar Championship will get underway on Thursday morning from the beautiful Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor, Florida.
The Valspar Championship will get underway on Thursday morning from the beautiful Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor, Florida. We will see some of the best golfers in the game compete for the Valspar Championship including Dustin Johnson, Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas, and Viktor Hovland
Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action, including Featured Groups for PGA TOUR LIVE and expanded coverage on ESPN+.
ESPN+ will have exclusive coverage in the mornings and will also have coverage in the afternoons. You can follow all the action here with expanded and extended coverage for PGA Tour Live. Click for more details.
Featured Groups & Holes: 8:45 a.m. – 6 p.m. ET on ESPN+
PGA Tour Odds and Betting Lines
PGA Tour odds courtesy of Tipico Sportsbook. Odds last updated Thursday at 12:30 p.m. ET.
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“He’s always been a stud,” said Collin Morikawa of Sam Burns.
PALM HARBOR, Fla. – Sam Burns doesn’t have to go far to see his trophy from winning the Valspar Championship. It resides in his living room at home.
“Always puts a smile on my face just to look back on this week last year,” he said.
That’s when he raced into the lead with a second-round 63, and delivered in the clutch on Sunday, including knocking a 7-iron close at 16 for one last birdie en route to claiming his maiden victory on the PGA Tour.
“I think you go from hoping that you can win or thinking that you can win to believing it when it actually happens,” said Burns, who won the Valspar in his 76th Tour start but grabbed his second title just 11 starts later at the Sanderson Farms Championship. “For a while there I thought I kind of needed to play perfect, but really just needed to kind of play steady and hit the correct shots and I was able to do that here last year and it worked out. So I think that was a big learning lesson for me.”
The birdie at 16 held greater significance besides being the knockout punch of the final round. Burns previously had bad memories of the first hole in the three-hole closing stretch known as the Copperhead Course’s Snake Pit. Burns made triple there in 2018 when he was battling for special temporary membership and finished T-12.
“That was tough, but I think it was also a good thing to have a year on the Korn Ferry and just kind of get my feet under me out there,” he said. “And then to be able to come back and birdie that hole in the final round just gave me a, you know, a four-shot lead going into 18 was, it was a good feeling of just kind of one of those things where you know you have had past memories that weren’t great on that hole and then to kind of rewrite the story there last year was really cool.”
Sam Burns poses for a picture with the trophy after winning the 2021 Valspar Championship. (Photo: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports)
The 25-year-old Burns, the 2014 AJGA Rolex Player of the Year, always seemed destined to be a PGA Tour winner. Collin Morikawa has known him since he was 12 or 13 and was beating up on him at the junior level.
“He’s always been a stud,” he said. “He’s always been solid, always a game that I knew was going to be out here on Tour, went on Tour, and will be here for a long time.”
Justin Thomas raved about Burns’s putting stroke when they played a nine-hole practice round at TPC Sawgrass last year.
“He looks so natural and so comfortable and athletic over the ball, but also relaxed,” Thomas said. “His putter stays low to the ground. It’s very on plane. It rolls nice. And I like his ball flight. He likes to fade the ball like I do, and it’s just, I was very impressed when I played with him and I think he came out with no fear kind of thing and expected a lot of himself and probably felt like he could prove some people wrong and he’s clearly done that.”
The next step for Burns is to contend for majors and to represent his country in international competition. He was surprisingly left off the Walker Cup team in 2017 despite being the Jack Nicklaus Award winner as the nation’s top collegiate player. Last year, Burns was in the running for a captain’s pick for the U.S. Ryder Cup team, but Steve Stricker called him and broke the news that he was going with Scottie Scheffler instead.
“That was really tough,” Burns said. “Obviously desired to be on the team. It’s something that I’ve always dreamed of as a kid and a goal that I had in place for the year, and so not making it was definitely difficult.”
This week, Burns, who enters the week No. 17 in the Official World Golf Ranking, can continue to stake his claim to being on the U.S. Presidents Cup squad, which will try to retain the Cup at home at Quail Hollow in Charlotte later this year. Another good showing here at Innisbrook Resort only can enhance his chances of getting a congratulatory phone call from U.S. Captain Davis Love III.
“Presidents Cup is definitely a big goal of mine and something that I really hope that I’m on the team at the end of the year,” he said.
The best iron player on the PGA Tour? Collin Morikawa says it’s still Tiger Woods.
PALM HARBOR, Fla. – Who’s the best iron player on the PGA Tour? It’s a great water cooler debate. Two names generally jump to the top of the list: Justin Thomas and Collin Morikawa.
Thomas, 27, has been inside the top six in Strokes Gained: Approach every year since the 2016-17 season and ranked first in 2019-20 (he was also first from 125-150 yards that season). Morikawa, 24, ranked first in 2020-21 (he was first from 125-150 yards, 150-175 yards, and 175-200 yards, which is very Tigeresque).
Last week at the Players, Morikawa and Thomas were grouped together when howling wind made TPC Sawgrass nearly unplayable. On Saturday, Thomas and Morikawa had the unenviable task of playing the iconic par-3 17th twice in the worst of the wind. Small sample size, but Thomas found the green and made two pars while Morikawa hit two balls in the water and had to scramble to salvage bogeys. Advantage, Thomas?
“It was so good because he had so much control over the golf ball and I’ve had those rounds and I feel like I can have a lot more of those rounds, but when it called for it, I didn’t,” Morikawa said of Thomas, who fired one of three bogey-free rounds.
But the best on Tour? Morikawa had another name in mind.
“JT’s iron game I’ve loved and I’ve admired, but to me, I still think Tiger has the best iron game. Like, even now,” Morikawa said. “When we had our TaylorMade shoots and you would see him out there and I’d talk to him and we did a little 10-minute video of watching him hit irons, it is amazing.”
What was it like to witness a Tiger stripe show?
“The guy had every shot on command. I can pull off those shots, but can I do it 10 out of 10 times? No, Tiger can,” Morikawa said of Woods, who was first from 50-125 yards in 2004, the first year that Strokes Gained statistics were tracked, and first in SG: Approach to the Green in 2006, ‘07, ‘09, 2012, and ’13. “You could tell that he knew exactly what he was going to do and he came out exactly in the same window and it was so simple. Like, we want to make it that simple but sometimes for me cut shot comes easier than a draw. I’m working to hit that draw probably a little more than he’s working to hit the draw. It was just so efficient. It was so easy. And that’s how you want to make golf.”
Both Thomas and Morikawa have a long way to go to be in the same stratosphere as Woods, but with Tiger currently sidelined, Thomas and Morikawa are lead dogs as far as active players.
“Do I think (Thomas is) better?” Morikawa said. “I mean, I still think when my iron game’s on, like, it’s better than everyone. It would be bad for me to think otherwise because then I’m showing up to these events thinking, OK, I’ve got to do everything so perfect. Like, I still think I can still play an OK game and still get away with a week and possibly win.”
Morikawa said that he’s still guilty of having ups and downs in his ball-striking, noting that when he played in Abu Dhabi and Dubai on the DP World Tour earlier this year, “my game was the worst probably it has been for two years.”
Collin Morikawa of the United States, Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, and Justin Thomas of the United States play the 17th green during the second round of THE PLAYERS Championship on the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass on March 12, 2022, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
Morikawa shot down any concerns that there would be any lingering effects from getting blown away at the Players and missing his first cut of the season. Morikawa showed up on Monday at the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort with his caddie J.J. Jakovac, grabbed a 7-iron to mimic the tee shot at TPC 17 that bedeviled him on Saturday, and quickly put the last week to bed.
“Will I be spooked? I don’t know,” Morikawa said of potential for scar tissue at TPC’s 17th. “I mean, I had great bogeys. I mean, I joked around. Like, I probably should have laid up and I would have made 3.”
Check out hole-by-hole maps of the Larry Packard layout that has been the site of the PGA Tour event since 2000.
Innisbrook Resort’s Copperhead Course in Palm Harbor, Florida – site of the PGA Tour’s Valspar Championship – was designed by Larry Packard and opened in 1970.
Copperhead will play to 7,340 yards with a par of 71 for the Valspar Championship.
Thanks to yardage books provided by StrackaLine – the maker of detailed yardage books for thousands of courses around the world – we can see exactly the challenges the pros face this week. Check out the maps of each hole below.
Alex is ranked sixth in the World Amateur Golf Rankings.
PALM HARBOR, Fla. – When Alex Fitzpatrick was 13 years old, he caddied for his brother, Matthew, at the U.S. Amateur. Young Alex still remembers the prize that he received for big bro winning the Havemeyer Trophy.
“My goal for the week was winning an iPhone off my dad, who promised me, if we won the tournament,” Alex recalled. “Obviously he never expected (us) to.”
In a that was then, this is now moment, big bro Matt is ranked 26th in the world and Alex, a 23-year-old senior at Wake Forest, is set to make his PGA Tour debut this week at the Valspar Championship at Innisbrook Resort’s Copperhead Course. He earned an exemption into the field for winning the Valspar Collegiate Invitational last year. It marks the first time the two brothers have competed in the same tournament.
“Unless you’re counting like the local medal that you play at your golf course,” Alex said.
Matt Fitzpatrick poses with his family, dad, Russell, brother Alex and mom Sue after winning the 2013 U. S. Amateur at The Country Club.
He earned the exemption by shooting 12-under 201 to win the individual title at The Floridian, but was unaware until an announcement at the dinner before the final round of the cherry topping that awaited the winner.
“My eyes kind of lit up a little bit, and I was a bit taken back,” he said. “It was kind of a nerve-wracking final 18 holes. It was always in the back of my mind, but I played nice golf and managed to get it done, and now I’m here and I couldn’t be happier.”
Alex is a two-time member of the Great Britain & Ireland Walker Cup team and is ranked sixth in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, reaching as high as fourth earlier in the year. He’s recorded five top-20 finishes in his last six events. In June, he likely will join the play-for-pay ranks.
“Ideally I would be in the top five for the PGA Tour University, fingers cross that had would happen,” Fitzpatrick said, noting that it would earn him several exemptions into Korn Ferry events during the summer. “If I didn’t finish top five, that’s sort of an open door at the moment. I’m still trying to figure that out. I think regardless I think I’m going to turn pro in June.”
Other brothers of recent vintage who have played in the pro ranks include Brooks and Chase Koepka, Nick and Curtis Thompson, whose sister Lexi has been the most successful of the Thompson brood, and British Open winner Francesco Molinari and brother Eduardo, who were Ryder Cup teammates. The LPGA is flush with some prominent sister duos: World No. 2 Nelly Korda and sister Jessica and major winner Ariya and Moriya Jutanagarn.
Brother-sister tandems included Australians Min Woo and Min Jee and Americans Danielle and Alex Kang. Asked late last year how good of a Ryder Cup pairing the Fitzpatrick brothers would make, Matthew said very good.
“I would love that,” he said. “I’m good friends with Edoardo Molinari. I’ve never really spoke to him properly about it, but I’m sure it’s one of his best moments in his career I would imagine, and I’m sure it would be one of mine if we were lucky enough to play together. To be on the same team would be very, very special.”
Matthew, 27, has won seven times on the DP World Tour, most recently at the Andalucia Masters, and twice represented Europe in the Ryder Cup. He’s set a high bar for his brother to clear.
“We’re four years apart it’s almost a little bit, the gap is almost a little too big to sort of play sort of games,” Alex said. “He was a lot better than me when he was like 16 and I was 12.”
“He’s sort of left me to it,” Alex added. “I feel like he’s got to a point now where he feels like I’m mature enough to sort of make my own decisions and manage my way around the course.”
Alex tried to familiarize himself with the course during Monday’s pro-am and the brothers played an 18-hole practice round together on Tuesday. This could be a good week to beat his big bro.
Everything you need to know for the first round of the 2022 Valspar Championship.
After a wild week at TPC Sawgrass for its flagship event, the PGA Tour’s Florida swing continues this week near Tampa.
Innisbrook Resort’s Copperhead course in Palm Harbor, Florida, plays host once again for the 2022 Valspar Championship, with five of the top-10 players in the world scheduled to tee it up including Nos. 2 and 3, Collin Morikawa and Viktor Hovland. Defending champion Sam Burns is also in the field.
Following the Monday finish at the Players, the Tour announced Tuesday morning that Paul Casey, Doug Ghim and Sebastian Munoz are all out of this week’s field.
From tee times to TV and streaming info, here’s everything you need to know for the first round of the 2022 Valspar Championship. All times Eastern.
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With a T-16 and solo fifth in his two appearances at Copperhead, can Abraham Ancer claim another Tour title?
It’s not going to be easy for the 2022 Valspar Championship to follow up the madness that was the Players Championship. Rain delays, a Monday finish and a dramatic final stretch down 18 — it’s going to be nearly impossible.
However, there’s a strong field headed to the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort just outside of Tampa, Florida, that includes Dustin Johnson, who’s right off the heels of tying the tournament scoring record of 63 at the Players.
On Tipico, three players sit as co-betting favorites: Justin Thomas, Viktor Hovland, and Collin Morikawa (+1000).
Sam Burns, who played with eventual champion Cameron Smith and Paul Casey in the penultimate group in Ponte Vedra Beach, enters the week as the defending champion. His odds to win sit at +2000.
Key statistics
Driving accuracy: The Copperhead Course is the definition of tree-lined, so finding the short grass off the tee will be imperative for every player in the field.
Data Golf Information
Course Fit (compares golf courses based on the degree to which different golfer attributes — such as driving distance — to predict who performs well at each course – DataGolf): 1. The Concession Golf Club (home of 2021 WGC-Workday), 2. Muirfield Village Golf Club (home of the Memorial), 3. TPC Twin Cities (home of the 3M Open)
Trending: 1. Viktor Hovland (last three starts: T-4, T-2, T-9), 2. Justin Thomas (T-8, 6, T-33), 3. Matthew Fitzpatrick (T-10, T-9, MC)
Percent chance to win (based on course history, fit, trending, etc.): 1. Justin Thomas (8.4 percent), 2. Viktor Hovland (7.9 percent), 3. Collin Morikawa (5.7 percent)
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Daniel Berger – Top 20: Cash (+155) Brooks Koepka – Top 20: Miss (MC) Cameron Smith – Top 20: Cash (+170) Matthew Fitzpatrick – Top 20: Miss (MC) Rory McIlroy – Top 20: Miss (T-33)
Outrights: Collin Morikawa (MC), Rory McIlroy (T-33), Daniel Berger (T-13), Cameron Smith (1), Brooks Koepka (MC), Will Zalatoris (T-26)
+.25 units on positions plays, +26 units on outrights at Players.
+18.69 units on position plays in 2022. +37.5 units on outright plays in 2022.
