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This Week on the PGA Tour: Valspar

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COURSE: Innisbrook Resort (Copperhead), Palm Harbor, Florida

ARCHITECT: Larry Packard

YARDS/PAR: 7,340 yards/Par 71

PRIZE Money/First Place Winnings: $6,900,000/$1,242,000

DEFENDING Champion (March 2019) – Paul Casey – (Leaderboard link)

PAST RESULTS: (link)

PAST CHAMPIONS: (link)

FEDEx CUP Points Winner: 500

SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedExCup @ValsparChamp

OFFICIAL SITE: (Valspar Championship) – (Official Tournament Site)

TV COVERAGE: Today, April 29 and Friday, April 30: 2:00pm to 6:00pm (EDT) on Golf Channel. On Saturday, May 1 and Sunday, May 2 – Golf Channel’s TV coverage goes from 1:00pm to 3:00pm (EDT), then CBS takes over coverage from 3:00pm to 6:00pm (EDT).

STREAMING: PGA Tour Live will offer streaming coverage of Featured Groups Today and Friday from 7:00am to 6:00pm (EDT). On Saturday and Sunday, PGA Live Featured Groups runs from 8:00am to 3:00pm (EDT) with Featured Holes goes from 3:00pm to 6:00pm (EDT).

PGA TOUR RADIO COVERAGE: Streaming Radio coverage on Today and Friday from 12:00pm Noon to 6:00pm (EDT); then Saturday and Sunday, 1:00pm to 6:00pm (EDT) on Sirius XM Satellite Radio. PGA Tour Radio is available on Sirius 208/XM 92) or online on PGATour.com.

Notebook:

Paul Casey, the 2018 and 2019 champion, the only player in tournament history to win back-to-back, will attempt for a very rare three-peat at The Valspar Championship at Innisbrook Resort.

The Valspar Championship is the 31st of 50 events in the 2020-21 PGA Tour season. It’s the first time in tournament history the Valspar Championship will be played in April/May instead of its usual place in March.

World No. 1 Dustin Johnson finished T-6 at the 2019 Valspar Championship and missed the cut at his other starts at the event (2008, 2010).

Among players making their tournament debut is two-time PGA Tour winner Viktor Hovland who enters the week in the Top 15 in both the FedExCup (No. 7) and World Golf rankings (No. 15).

The 2016 Valspar Championship winner – Charl Schwartzel – lost in a playoff at last week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Schwartzel and partner Louis Oosthuizen fell to Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman in the only team/match play event on Tour.

In the last two weeks, Peter Uihlein won on the Korn Ferry Tour (MGM Resorts Championship at Paiute) and earned a career-best result on the PGA Tour (3rd/Zurich Classic of New Orleans with partner Richy Werenski).

Uihlein earned a spot in this field via the top-five at the Zurich Classic.

Tournament Tee Times begin Thursday at 6:55am (EDT) through 2:15pm (EDT).

Weather: A high pressure system will begin to slowly shift East allowing more humid conditions to return today and into Friday. Mostly sunny to partly cloudy skies can be expected each day with highs in the mid-80s to upper 80s. The models have slowed down the approaching cold front and it’s looking more likely that the front will stall across the northern gulf this weekend. This will keep Central Florida mainly dry with only a slight chance for a shower or thunderstorm developing during the afternoon hours (winds 10-15 mph).

PGATourBrunch will be posting before the 6:55am (EDT) tee times on Friday.

Next Week: Wells Fargo Championship (Charlotte, NC)

Field Updates:

Tom Hoge (commit) / Grayson Murray (out)
Anirban Lahiri (out) / Grayson Murray (back in)
Nate Lashley (out) / D.J. Trahan (in)
Carlos Ortiz (out) / Peter Uihlein (commit)

Steve Stricker (out) / Ryan Brehm (in)
Cameron Champ (out) / Sebastian Cappelen (in)
Will Gordon (out) / J.J. Spaun (in)
Brice Garnett (out) / Tim Wilkinson (in)

Sepp Straka (out) / Nelson Ledesma (in)
Tyrrell Hatton (out) / Kiradech Aphibarnrat (in)

PGA Tour This Week – The Valspar

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Welcome to PGA Tour Brunch Coverage – The Valspar Championship

This is the first time in tournament history the Valspar Championship will be played in April/May. Paul Casey, the 2018 and 2019 champion, is the only player in tournament history to win back-to-back. He’s returning in search of a third consecutive victory at the event.

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The top-two players in the Official World Golf Ranking, Dustin Johnson (1) and Justin Thomas (2), are both in the strong field.

To that end, 11 of the Top 30 in the FedExCup standings are competing at Copperhead this week, led by No. 2 Justin Thomas and No. 7 Viktor Hovland while 18 of the Top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking, as previously noted with No. 1 Johnson and No. 2, Thomas.

Overall, 97 PGA Tour winners, the second-most of any tournament to date during the 2020-21 season are in the field. The most was the 110 at The PLAYERS Championship.

Lastly, 17 major championship winners combining for 24 major victories are playing in the Tampa Bay Area this week, led by Phil Mickelson (5).

The Valspar Championship is the 31st of 50 events in the 2020-21 PGA Tour season.

Tournament Tee Times begin Thursday at 6:55am (EDT) through 2:15pm (EDT).

Weather: A high pressure system will begin to slowly shift East allowing more humid conditions to return Thursday into Friday. Mostly sunny to partly cloudy skies can be expected each day with highs in the mid-80s to upper 80s. The models have slowed down the approaching cold front and it’s looking more likely that the front will stall across the northern gulf this weekend. This will keep Central Florida mainly dry with only a slight chance for a shower or thunderstorm developing during the afternoon hours (winds 10-15 mph).

PGATourBrunch will be posting before 6:55am (EDT) early tee times Thursday and Friday.

Next Week: Wells Fargo Championship (Charlotte, NC)

PGA Tour: Wrap-Up at Zurich Classic

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PGA Tour Brunch Coverage of Zurich Classic

NEW ORLEANS  – Australians Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith defeated 54-hole leaders Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzelof South Africa with a par on the first hole of sudden death playoff to mark the first playoff in the event since 2017 when Smith and Jonas Blixt defeated Scott Brown and Kevin Kisner. With the win, Smith becomes the first player to win the event twice in the team format.

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Partnering together for the first time, the Australian natives overcame a 1-shot deficit beginning the final round to close with a 2-under (70) and then win with a par on the first extra hole, the par-5 18th.

Runner-up Louis Oosthuizen was seeking his second career PGA Tour win more than 10 years after his 2010 The Open Championship title.

Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay combined for eight birdies in the final round to tie the record for most par-breakers in a Foursomes round since the Zurich Classic of New Orleans became a team event in 2017.

Defending champions Jon Rahm and Ryan Palmer finished seventh at 17-under (271).

The Zurich Classic of New Orleans switched from individual stroke play to the two-man team format in 2017 and is the only official FedExCup team event on Tour.

Zurich Classic Final Leaderboard

Marc Leishman/Cameron Smith 63-72-63-70—268 (-20)*

Louis Oosthuizen/Charl Schwartzel 63-71-63-71—268 (-20)

Richy Werenski/Peter Uihlein 65-69-68-67—269 (-19)

Billy Horschel/Sam Burns 63-73-65-69—270 (-18)

Keith Mitchell/Brandt Snedeker 66-71-64-69—270 (-18)

Keegan Bradley/Brendan Steele 63-73-64-70—270 (-18)

*Won with a par on the first extra hole, the par-5 18th

PGA Tour: Final Round at Zurich Classic

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PGA Tour Brunch Coverage of Zurich Classic

Six teams shot (63) for low round of the day, including third round leaders Louis Oosthuizen/Charl Schwartzel.

The South African team Oosthuizen/Schwartzel seek to join nine players from outside the United States to win the Zurich Classic since 2000.

Defending champions Jon Rahm and Ryan Palmer sit T-9 and four back at (15-under).

The Zurich Classic of New Orleans switched from individual stroke play to the two-man team format in 2017 and is the only official FedExCup team event on Tour. Since team format was introduced, the 54-hole leaders/co-leaders have gone on to win twice – two of the three years – (2017/Cameron Smith/Jonas Blixt, 2019/Jon Rahm/Ryan Palmer). The 2020 event was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Two-time major champion and 2011 Zurich Classic winner Bubba Watson and 2019-20 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year Scottie Scheffler birdied two of the final three holes (Nos. 16 and 18) for a 6-under (66) and sit T-4 at (17-under), two strokes back of the leaders. Scheffler is making his Zurich Classic debut. Watson is making his 13th appearance and fourth in team format with his third different partner.

Format: Foursomes in fourth round.

Highlights from Round Three:

Tournament Tee Times today at 9:50am (local)/10:50am (EDT through 12:55pm (local)/1:55pm (EDT)

Weather: Sunday will be mostly sunny and 71-degrees with winds at 10 mph.

PGATourBrunch will be posting a Zurich Classic Wrap-Up at Noon (EDT)on Monday, April 26.

Next Week: Valspar Championship (Palm Harbor, FLA)

Leaderboard After Third Round at Zurich Classic

Louis Oosthuizen/Charl Schwartzel 63-71-63—197 (-19)

Marc Leishman/Cameron Smith 63-72-63—198 (-18)

Cameron Champ/Tony Finau 63-68-67—198 (-18)

Bubba Watson/Scottie Scheffler 64-69-66—199 (-17)

Viktor Hovland/Kris Ventura 62-69-68—199 (-17)

Previewing Round 3 at Zurich Classic

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PGA Tour Brunch Coverage of Zurich Classic of NOLA

By carding (68s), Cameron Champ/Tony Finau match Henrik Stenson/Justin Rose for low round of the day on Friday.

Meanwhile, the Norwegian team of Viktor Hovland/Kris Ventura are attempting to join nine players from outside the United States to win the Zurich Classic since 2000. Ventura can join 17 players since 1990 who have made the Zurich Classic their maiden victory on the PGA Tour.

Defending champions Jon Rahm and Ryan Palmer sit T-9 and five back at 8-under.

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Nick Watney (No. 4) and Graeme McDowell (No. 17) made the fourth and fifth aces, respectively, at TPC Louisiana since the tournament switched to the team format.

Since team format was introduced, the 36-hole leaders/co-leaders have gone on to win twice (2017/Cameron Smith/Jonas Blixt, 2019/Jon Rahm/Ryan Palmer)

Cutline came in at (-6).

Format: Four-ball third round, Foursomes in fourth round.

Tournament Tee Times today at 8:05am (local)/9:05am (EDT through 11:45pm (local)/12:45pm (EDT)

Weather: Scattered thunderstorms on Saturday (30% chance of rain) with temps ranging from 73-degrees to 85. Southwest winds at 15-25mph. Scattered pop-up type thunderstorms will be possible through much of the day as a frontal boundary remains nearly stalled north of New Orleans. Thunderstorms are not expected to be widespread, and probabilities of any given hour are low, yet the threat for a storm will linger through sunset. Sunday will be mostly sunny and 71-degrees with winds at 10 mph.

PGATourBrunch will be posting before 9am (EDT) on Sunday.

Next Week: Valspar Championship (Palm Harbor, FLA)

Leaderboard After Second Round at Zurich Classic

Cameron Champ/Tony Finau 63-68—131 (-13)

Viktor Hovland/Kris Ventura 62-69—131 (-13)

Henrik Stenson/Justin Rose 65-68—133 (-11)

Bubba Watson/Scottie Scheffler 64-69—133 (-11)

Full Leaderboard: (link)

PGA Tour: R-1 Coverage of Zurich Classic

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PGA Tour Brunch 1st Round Coverage of Zurich Classic of New Orleans

The Zurich Classic field consists of five of Top 10 in the Official World Golf Ranking: Jon Rahm (3), Collin Morikawa (4), Xander Schauffele (5), Tyrrell Hatton (8), Patrick Cantlay (10).

There are 11 major championsplaying and two teams include two major champions: Justin Rose/Henrik Stenson and Louis Oosthuizen/Charl Schwartzel

The strong field includes 11 winners from the current 2020-21 season: CollinMorikawa, Patrick Cantlay, Billy Horschel, Max Homa, Joel Dahmen, Branden Grace, Viktor Hovland, Matt Jones, Jason Kokrak, Martin Laird, and Robert Streb

Reminder: This is a two-player “team” event, with each team comprised of two professionals, competing at Four-ball (best ball) during the first and third rounds and Foursomes (alternate shot) during the second and fourth rounds.

The starting field will consist of 80 teams (160 players) with the 36-hole cut to the low 33 teams and ties at the 33rd position.

The Tournament Tee Times begin Thursday at 7:00am (EDT) through 2:10pm (EDT).

Weather: Today’s Forecast calls mild, sunny skies and a temperature of 64-degrees with 49% humidity and 13 mph winds. Zero chance of rain. Friday (70% chance of rain) could bring PM showers and thunderstorms which will hold over until Saturday (90% chance of rain). Sunday will be mostly sunny and 71-degrees.

PGATourBrunch will be posting before 7am (EDT) for early tee times on Friday.

Next Week: Valspar Championship (Palm Harbor, FLA)

Field:

The Field (team player noted in (parenthesis) (link)

THIS WEEK on the PGA TOUR: RBC Heritage

COURSE: TPC Louisiana, Avondale, LA

ARCHITECT: Pete Dye

YARDS/PAR: 7,425 yards/Par 72

PRIZE Money/First Place Winnings: $7,400,000/$1,069,300 (for each winning player)

DEFENDING Champion (April 2019) – Jon Rahm/Ryan Palmer – (Leaderboard link)

PAST RESULTS: (link)

PAST CHAMPIONS: (link)

FEDEx CUP Points Winner Share: 800 per team/400 per player

SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedExCup @Zurich_Classic

OFFICIAL SITE: (Zurich Classic of New Orleans)

TV COVERAGE: Today, April 22 and Friday, April 23: 3:30pm to 6:30pm (EDT) on Golf Channel. On Saturday, April 24 and Sunday, April 25 – Golf Channel’s TV coverage goes from 1:00pm to 3:00pm (EDT), then CBS takes over coverage from 3:00pm to 6:00pm (EDT).

STREAMING: PGA Tour Live will offer streaming coverage of Featured Groups Today from 8:00am to 6:30pm (EDT) and Friday from 9:15am to 6:30pm (EDT) and Friday from 9:15am to 6:30pm (EDT). On Saturday PGA Live Featured Groups runs from 9:00am to 3:00pm (EDT) with Featured Holes going from 3:00pm to 6:00pm (EDT). On Sunday, PGA Tour Live offers Featured Groups streaming from 10:30am to 3:00pm (EDT) and Featured Holes from 3:00pm to 6:00pm (EDT).

PGA TOUR RADIO COVERAGE: Streaming Radio coverage Today and Friday from 1:00pm to 6:30pm (EDT); then Saturday and Sunday, 1:00pm to 6:00pm (EDT) on Sirius XM Satellite Radio. PGA Tour Radio is available on Sirius 208/XM 92) or online on PGATour.com.

Cink Sets RBC Heritage Record (Again)

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PGA Tour Brunch Coverage of the RBC Heritage

HILTON HEAD – PGA Tour vet Stewart Cink leads RBC Heritage and now holds the 54-hole scoring record by two strokes. Today, Cink will attempt to join Davis Love III (5) and Hale Irwin (3) with three or more victories at the RBC.

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Cink holds largest 54-hole lead on the Tour since Dustin Johnson held the same margin (five strokes) at the 2020 TOUR Championship

That said, the RBC Heritage has had a come-from-behind winner seven out of the last eight years.

Collin Morikawa has three Top-10s in his 12 prior starts this season but finished T-64 in his only other RBC Heritage start (2020).

Following a third-round 6-under (65), Matt Wallace (T-4) now has four rounds of 65 or better in 125 rounds on Tour. Two of those came this week (rounds one and three). He is seeking his first win in 39 PGA Tour starts, with a third place finish at the 2021 Valero Texas Open and T-3 at the 2019 PGA Championship his best outings to date.

RBC Heritage Leaderboard After Three Rounds:

Stewart Cink 63-63-69—195 (-18)

Collin Morikawa 65-68-67—200 (-13)

Emiliano Grillo 68-64-69—201 (-12)

Matt Wallace 65-72-65—202 (-11)

Sungjae Im 68-65-69—202 (-11)

Four players at (-10) and a total of nine players under par with double-digits

 

PGA Tour: First Look at RBC Heritage

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Welcome to PGA Tour Brunch Coverage of the RBC Heritage

The RBC Heritage returns to its traditional date after being the second tournament played following the PGA Tour’s COVID-19 shutdown in 2020. Webb Simpson is returning for title defense after setting RBC Heritage 72-hole tournament record in 2020.

The RBC Heritage is the 29th of 50 events in the 2020-21 PGA Tour season.

This is the 53rd RBC Heritage, regarded as one of the TOUR’s most popular stops. One of Pete Dye’s signature designs is annually ranked among the country’s top courses and has produced a winner’s roster including inaugural winner Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Johnny Miller, Hale Irwin, Fuzzy Zoeller, Tom Watson, Nick Faldo, Davis Love III, Greg Norman and Nick Price.

A strong field will consist of 15 of the top 30 in the FedExCup standings, led by No. 4 Patrick Cantlay and No. 8 Dustin Johnson and 28 of the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking, including five of the top 10 (No. 1 Dustin Johnson, No. 4 Collin Morikawa, No. 8 Tyrrell Hatton, No. 9 Webb Simpson, No. 10 Patrick Cantlay.

Tournament Tee Times begin Thursday at 7:00am (EDT) through 1:51pm (EDT).

Weather: Forecast calls for a cold front to move through the area during the early afternoon Wednesday to Thursday, bringing a chance for showers before the front moves to the southeast and stalls across Florida for late in the week. Thursday has a 40% chance of rain and 10-15 mph winds with gusts up to 20 mph. Drier and cooler conditions return Friday with highs around 70 degrees. Unsettled weather may return this weekend as a weak low-pressure system may develop along the stalled front pushing showers northward into region.

PGATourBrunch will be posting before 7am (EDT) early tee times from Thursday through Sunday.

Next Week: The Zurich Classic at New Orleans

Field Updates:

Glen Day (OUT)

Charl Schwartzel (OUT)

Steve Stricker (OUT)

Bryson DeChambeau (OUT)

Note: Alternates are not added until the field falls below 132 players

Japan’s Matsuyama Wins His First Major and It’s Historic at The Masters

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AUGUSTA – Hideki Matsuyama won the 2021 Masters Tournament to become the first male pro tour major championship winner from Japan. Matsuyama claimed his first major championship title and sixth win overall on the PGA Tour. He became just the eighth champion (nine instances) with an over-par final-round score.

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Special temporary member/PGA Tour rookie Will Zalatoris finished a career-best runner-up and has six Top 10s and 11 Top 25 finishes in 15 starts this season.

Jordan Spieth, the first player in Masters history to birdie No. 10 all four rounds, finished inside the top three for the fifth time in eight appearances at the Masters.

Xander Schauffele’s triple bogey on No. 16 was his first in 1,042 holes in a major championship. Despite the major set-back, he registered his second Top 3 finish at the Masters.

With a bogey-free 6-under (66), (the second bogey-free round of the week), Jon Rahm picked up his fourth consecutive Top 10 finish at the Masters (4/2018, T9/2019, T7/2020, T5/2021). Rahm now has 15 consecutive par-or-better rounds at the Masters.

Final Leaderboard from the 2021 Masters

Hideki Matsuyama 69-71-65-73—278 (-10)

Will Zalatoris 70-68-71-70—279 (-9)

Jordan Spieth 71-68-72-70—281 (-7)

Xander Schauffele 72-69-68-72—281 (-7)

Jon Rahm 72-72-72-66—282 (-6)

Marc Leishman 72-67-70-73—282 (-6)

 

Rose Holds Slim Lead After 36 Holes at The Masters

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PGA Tour Brunch Coverage of the Weekend at The Masters

By TERRY LYONS

AUGUSTA – England’s Justin Rose will attempt to become the first wire-to-wire winner at the Masters since Jordan Spieth (2015). Rose followed up his opening round (65) with a hard-fought par (72) on Friday. Rose has nine birdies on the back nine through two rounds, tied for the most at the Masters in the last 30 years.

Will Zalatoris birdied his final three holes for a 4-under (68), which moved him within one stroke of Rose, the 36-hole leader. Zalatoris is seeking to become the first player to win in his debut Masters appearance since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979.

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Jordan Spieth (T-4) at five under (-5) leads the field with 30 greens hit in regulation, his most through two rounds at the Masters, including his 2015 tournament when he won the Green Jacket.

Bryson DeChambeau (T-17) followed his first round (76) with a 5-under (67) for a nine-stroke turnaround – his largest in a major championship between rounds one and two.

Brian Harman (T-2) at six under (138) is the only player in the field to shoot sub-70s with 69-69.

Matthew Wolff shot 76-79 (155) but was DQ’d. The Statement from Masters Tournament HQ: Following his second round, Matthew Wolff returned a scorecard with a hole score lower than he actually made on hole 17. He was subsequently disqualified under Rule 3.3b(3).

Early tournament leader Hudson Swafford at (-2 after four holes), MTC with 73-83 (156).

Defending Masters champion Dustin Johnson missed the cut after shooting 74-75. Other “big names” to MTC included: Georgia native Matt Kuchar, past Masters champion Sergio Garcia, Daniel Berger, Brooks Koepka, Lee Westwood, Rory McIlroy, Patrick Cantlay, Jason Day, and Sungjae Im.

Masters Leaderboard After Second Round:

Justin Rose 65-72—137 (-7)

Will Zalatoris 70-68—138 (-6)

Brian Harman 69-69—138 (-6)

Marc Leishman 72-67—139 (-5)

Jordan Spieth 71-68—139 (-5)

Full Leaderboard: (link)

36-hole cut: 54 professionals at 3-over (147) from a field of 85 professionals and three amateurs. An amateur failed to advance to the weekend for the first time at the Masters since 2015.

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