Valspar Championship Preview 2018

Valspar Championship Preview
Dates: March 5-11, 2018
Where: Palm Harbor, Florida
Course: Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club (Copperhead)
Par/Yards: 36-35—par 71/7,340 yards
Field size: 144
2017 champion: Adam Hadwin
Purse: $6,500,000 ($1,170,000/winner)
FedExCup: 500 points (winner)
Format: 72-hole stroke play
Twitter: @ValsparChamp
Instagram: @valsparchamp

Glance at the Field

• 12 of the top 30 in the FedExCup Standings
• 20 of the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking
• 10 past Valspar Championship winners
• Eight past FedExCup champions
• Six winners during the 2017-18 season

Players in the Field

Tiger Woods

• No. 132 in FedExCup, No. 388 in OWGR
• Making his first start at the Valspar Championship and fourth start of the 2017-18 season
• 12/The Honda Classic
• MC/Genesis Open
• T23/Farmers Insurance Open
• Has announced his intention to play next week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard; would make Woods’ fourth start in a five-week stretch, which he has not done since doing so twice in 2013, including the FedExCup Playoffs.
• The 79-time PGA TOUR winner is in search of his first victory since the 2013 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and first top-10 since the Wyndham Championship in 2015
• One of eight past FedExCup champions in the field (2007, 2009)

Jordan Spieth

• No. 52 in FedExCup, No. 4 in OWGR)
• Winner of the 2015 Valspar Championship; first of five wins in the 2014-15 season en route to the 2015 FedExCup
• Finished T7 in 2013, securing Special Temporary Membership while in search of his PGA TOUR card
• Has finished in the top 20 in each of his four previous appearances at the event
• Youngest winner in the history of the tournament (21 years, 7 months, 19 days)
• Making his seventh start of the 2017-18 season
• One of eight past FedExCup champions in the field (2015

Rory McIlroy

• No. 175 in FedExCup, No. 12 in OWGR
• Making his Valspar Championship debut
• Has made four starts this season and remains in search of his first top-10
• One of eight past FedExCup champions in the field (2016)

Adam Hadwin

• No. 35 in FedExCup, No. 44 in OWGR
• Defending champion, having earned his first career victory at the 2017 Valspar Championship
• Holds 54-hole scoring record (199/2017, tied with K.J. Choi/2002) and his final-round 71 was the high finish by a Valspar Championship winner
• Making his 10th start of the season, coming off back-to-back top-10s (T9/WGC-Mexico Championship, T6/Genesis Open)
• Playing the Valspar Championship for the fourth time in his career (Won/2017, MC/2016, 71/2015)

Justin Rose

• No. 15 in FedExCup, No. 5 in OWGR
• Making 10th start at Valspar Championship (best result: T5/2011)
• In 2011, had two rounds of 65 or lower, the most such rounds by a player in one tournament at the event (65/R2, 65/R3)
• Three previous starts this season (T37/WGC-Mexico Championship, T8/Farmers Insurance Open, Won/WGC-HSBC Champions)

Sergio Garcia

• No. 122 in FedExCup, No. 11 in OWGR
• Making his sixth start at the Valspar Championship and first since 2013 (T7, best finish at the event)
• Has made two starts this season, highlighted by a T7 at last week’s WGC-Mexico Championship Henrik Stenson (No. 81 in FedExCup, No. 14 in OWGR)
• Has finished in the top 15 in each of his three previous starts at the Valspar Championship (T7/2017, T11/2016, 4/2015)
• Making his first domestic start of the season (T2/WGC-HSBC Champions)
• One of eight past FedExCup champions in the field (2013)

Gary Woodland

• No. 12 in FedExCup, No. 26 in OWGR
• Winner in his Valspar Championship debut in 2011
• Has made seven appearances at the event and has two top-10s (T8/2014, Won/2011)
• 72-hole score of 15-under 269 in 2011 is the third lowest in Valspar Championship history
• Won the Waste Management Phoenix Open in February and will be making his 11th start of the season

Steve Stricker

• No. 169 in FedExCup, No. 133 in OWGR
• Making his eighth start at the Valspar Championship and is in search of his fourth top-10
• Has made two starts on the PGA TOUR this season (T26/AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, T31/Waste Management Phoenix Open)
• Coming off his first PGA TOUR Champions victory at the Cologuard Classic in Tuscon, Arizona on Sunday
• Three players have won on the PGA TOUR and PGA TOUR Champions in the same year: Raymond Floyd (1992), Craig Stadler (2003) and Fred Funk (2007)

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, Charles Howell III; all in the field)

10 past Valspar Championship winners are in the field

• Adam Hadwin (2017)
• Charl Schwartzel (2016)
• Jordan Spieth (2015)
• Kevin Streelman (2013)
• Luke Donald (2012)
• Gary Woodland (2011)
• Jim Furyk (2010)
• Retief Goosen (2003, 2009)
• Sean O’Hair (2008)
• K.J. Choi (2002, 2006)

Valspar Championship Preview via PGA TOUR