2019 Valspar Championship Preview

2019 Valspar Championship Preview

Dates: March 18-24, 2019
Where: Palm Harbor, Florida
Course: Innisbrook, a Salamander Golf & Spa Resort (Copperhead)
Defending champion: Paul Casey
Purse: $6,700,000 ($1,206,000/winner)
FedExCup: 500 points to the winner
Field size: 144
Format: 72-hole stroke play

Notes on the field

• 9 of the top 30 in the FedExCup standings, led by Gary Woodland (No. 5) and Dustin Johnson (No. 9)
• 10 of the top 30 in the Official World Golf Ranking, including World No. 1 Dustin Johnson
• 4 FedExCup champions: Jim Furyk (2010), Bill Haas (2011), Brandt Snedeker (2012), Henrik Stenson (2013)
• 9 past winners: K.J. Choi (2002, 2006), Jim Furyk (2010), Gary Woodland (2011), Luke Donald (2012), Kevin Streelman (2013), John Senden (2014), Charl Schwartzel (2016), Adam Hadwin (2017), Paul Casey (2018)
• 80 PGA TOUR winners, including eight with 10 or more victories
• 14 PGA TOUR rookies: Wyndham Clark, Cameron Davis, Kramer Hickok, Sungjae Im, Kyle Jones, Jim Knous, Hank Lebioda, Kyoung-Hoon Lee, Seth Reeves, Jose de Jesus Rodriguez, Sepp Straka, Adam Svensson, Martin Trainer, Chase Wright

A look back at 2018 Valspar Championship

Pos.	Player	R1	R2	R3	R4	Total
1	Paul Casey	70	68	71	65	274/-10
T2	Patrick Reed	71	69	67	68	275/-9
T2	Tiger Woods	70	68	67	70	275/-9
4	Sergio Garcia	70	72	69	65	276/-8
T5	Justin Rose	70	69	66	72	277/-7
T5	Rory Sabbatini	70	71	67	69	277/-7

• Paul Casey collected his second PGA TOUR victory and first since winning the 2009 Houston Open (151^st start since)
• Casey entered the final round tied for 11^th and completed his round when the final group was on No. 12
• Casey needed a career-low 21 putts in the final round
• Tiger Woods (T2) posted four under-par scores for the first time since 2013 THE NORTHERN TRUST and was the only player in the field to do so
• With a T2, Patrick Reed earned his second runner-up in four seasons at the Valspar Championship

Valspar Championship and the FedExCup

• The Valspar Championship is the 21^st event in the 2018-19 FedExCup season
• 11 of the 12 winners of the Valspar Championship in the FedExCup era have advanced to the season-ending TOUR Championship: Mark Calcavecchia (2007), Retief Goosen (2009), Jim Furyk (2010), Gary Woodland (2011), Luke Donald (2012), Kevin Streelman (2013), John Senden (2014), Jordan Spieth (2015), Charl Schwartzel (2016), Adam Hadwin (2017), Paul Casey (2018)
• Jim Furyk (2010) and Jordan Spieth (2015) won the Valspar Championship en route to capturing the FedExCup
• After Paul Casey’s win in 2018, he went on to finish 25^th in the FedExCup

Wyndham Rewards Top 10 – Current top 10 in the FedExCup standings

Pos.	Player	Points	Wins
1	Rory McIlroy	1,348	1
2	Xander Schauffele	1,298	2
3	Matt Kuchar	1,275	2
4	Charles Howell III	1,031	1
5	Gary Woodland	1,026	0
6	Justin Thomas	969	0
7	Marc Leishman	966	1
8	Rickie Fowler	957	1
9	Dustin Johnson	880	1
10	Brooks Koepka	876	1

Player Notes

Dustin Johnson (No. 9 in FedExCup, No. 1 in OWGR)

• Making third start at the event and first since 2010 (MCs in 2008 and 2010)
• Has four top-10s in six starts during the 2018-19 season, including his second win in three years at the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship
• In search of 21^st career victory which would tie five players for 29^th in PGA TOUR history (Jim Barnes, Davis Love III, Willie Macfarlane, Lanny Wadkins, Craig Wood)
• Coming off a T5 at THE PLAYERS Championship

Bubba Watson (No. 68 in FedExCup, No. 17 in OWGR)

• Has made seven starts at the event but just one since 2011 (MC/2017); finished third in 2010
• Best result in seven starts during the 2018-19 season came at the Waste Management Phoenix Open (T4)
• Finished T56 at last week’s THE PLAYERS

Jon Rahm (No. 29 in FedExCup, No. 10 in OWGR)

• Making tournament debut
• Has five top-10s in eight starts in 2018-19 with best result being a T5 at the Farmers Insurance Open
• In last week’s THE PLAYERS, held the 54-hole lead before finishing T12

Jason Day (No. 27 in FedExCup, No. 12 in OWGR)

• Has four made cuts in six starts at the Valspar Championship but has not played since 2013 (T43)
• Other than a WD at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, has not finished worse than 13^th during the 2018-19 season, highlighted by top-fives at the Farmers Insurance Open (T5) and AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am (T4)
• Coming off a T8 at THE PLAYERS

Patrick Reed (No. 59 in FedExCup, No. 16 in OWGR)

• Has runner-up results in two of the last four seasons at the Valspar Championship (2015, 2018)
• Has top-25s in six of eight starts in 2018-19, highlighted by a T7 at the WGC-HSBC Champions
• Finished T47 at THE PLAYERS

Gary Woodland (No. 5 in FedExCup, No. 23 in OWGR)

• 2011 Valspar Championship winner, first of eight tournament starts
• Highest FedExCup standing of the players in the field with two runner-up results on the season (THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES, Sentry Tournament of Champions)
• At THE PLAYERS, shot a final-round 68 to finish T30

Akshay Bhatia (pronounced OCK-shay BA-tee-uh)

• 17-year-old making his PGA TOUR debut playing on a sponsor exemption
• Top-ranked junior in the world and No. 9 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking
• Has made the decision to forgo college and begin his professional career shortly after his 18^th birthday
• Won the Jones Cup in February, his fourth WAGR-ranked victory in a 12-month stretch, to earn a spot at The RSM Classic in 2019
• Native of Wake Forest, North Carolina

Notable Tournament Records/History

• 18-hole scoring record: 61 (Padraig Harrington/R1/2012)
• 72-hole scoring record: 18-under 266 (Vijay Singh/2004)
• Youngest winner: Jordan Spieth, 2015 (21 years, 7 months, 19 days)
• Most top-10s: 4 (K.J. Choi, Luke Donald, Jim Furyk, Charles Howell III; all but Howell in field)

Valspar Championship Preview via PGA TOUR