• FIELD LIST: Click here to see who's set to tee it up for the Valspar Championship.
• COURSE: Innisbrook Resort (Copperhead), 7,340 yards,
par 71. With tree-lined fairways and rolling terrain, the 1972 Larry
Packard creation stands in contrast to the flatter layouts elsewhere on
the Florida Swing. The Copperhead also consistently ranks high among PGA
TOUR players for its no-nonsense demands. Double doglegs await on two
par-5s, putting a premium on positioning to reach the green in two, and
the final three holes make up the Snake Pit - two bruising par-4s
sandwiched around the 215-yard 17th. Innisbrook served 24 years as site
of the JC Penney team event pairing PGA TOUR and LPGA pros, then became a
regular stop in 2000.
• FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 points.
• FIELD WATCH: World No.3 Henrik Stenson, making his
first visit to Innisbrook, and No.5 Adam Scott join defending champion
John Senden in a lineup that features four of the top 10 in the current
rankings and 11 of the top 30. … Georgia Tech senior Ollie
Schniederjans, No.1 in the world amateur rankings, tests his skills
against PGA TOUR competition for the first time via a sponsor exemption.
… Jimmy Brandt, winner of Golf Channel's "Big Break: Myrtle Beach"
competition, also tees it up on a sponsor invite.
• 72-HOLE RECORD: 266, Vijay Singh (2004).
• 18-HOLE RECORD: 61, Padraig Harrington (1st round, 2012).
• LAST YEAR: Senden birdied twice in his final pass
through the Snake Pit to end a seven-year victory drought, outpacing
Kevin Na by a stroke. The 42-year-old Aussie chipped in for birdie at
No.16 to break a three-way tie for the lead, following with a 20-foot
birdie at the par-3 17th that Na matched to keep hopes alive for a
playoff. Na's drive at No.18, though, came to rest in the first cut of
rough and his second shot rolled to the back of the green. Senden, who
jumped into contention with a Saturday 64, picked up his first victory
anywhere since the 2006 Australian Open. Five months earlier, he
captured the John Deere Classic for his first PGA TOUR win.
• STORYLINES: Though Luke Donald has scuffled to regain
the form that made him No.1 in the world, Innisbrook seems to bring out
the best in his game. He'll seek to extend a run of four consecutive
top-6 finishes on the Copperhead, including his 2012 win and a tie for
fourth last year. … Jim Furyk, meantime, owns five straight top-20
finishes at Innisbrook, with a victory in 2010 and a playoff loss to
Donald two years later. … Senden has been extremely slow out of the gate
leading to his title defense. Since a season-opening 68 at Kapalua,
he's broken 70 just one more time in 12 rounds before arriving at the
World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship. … Not only has the
tournament never produced a back-to-back champion, just three of 14
defending titleholders have finished in the top 10 a year later.
• SHORT CHIPS: Copperhead's Snake Pit ranked No.5 among
last year's toughest closing three-hole stretches, averaging .564
strokes above par. Quail Hollow's Green Mile (Wells Fargo) was the
runaway No.1, followed by Muirfield Village (Memorial). … For the first
time since Innisbrook joined the schedule in 2000, Brian Gay won't be
part of the field. A chronic neck injury has kept him from teeing it up
so far this season. … Danny Lee and Nicholas Thompson are set for a
TOUR-high 14th start in 16 weeks this season. Neither was eligible for
the Hyundai Tournament of Champions; Thompson sat out Pebble Beach and
Lee is coming off his one-week break.
• TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 3-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1-3 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (NBC).
Last week's winner ktnole! Congrats!
Updates Standings
1. Sea - 4504
2. dfs - 4074
3. Ed - 3870
4. Bobcat - 3850
5. 2952 - 3186
6. NiA - 2902
7. Liz - 2885
8. NMT - 2673
9. DL - 2333
10. Ocala - 2151
11. 67810 - 2146
12. kt - 1881
13. Bill - 1786
14. Baldy - 1097
Good Luck!
This post was edited on 3/15 8:58 PM by DFSNOLE
Field