PALM HARBOR, Fla. — Tuesday was a practice day at the Copperhead course as the field continues to arrive for the 2026 Valspar Championship.
The current field features nine of the top 25 players in the Official World Golf Ranking, led by Xander Schauffele up to #7 after his third place finish last week at The Players as well as #12 2025 U.S. Open champion J.J. Spaun, #14 Justin Thomas, #15 Matt Fitzpatrick, #16 Ben Griffin, #18 defending champion Viktor Hovland, #20 Jacob Bridgeman, #22 Akshay Bhatia and #24 Keegan Bradley.
Watch report from Tampa Bay 28 sports anchor Kyle Burger
Hovland won last year’s Valspar by one stroke over Thomas.
“That was really cool. I can’t believe it’s been a year. It feels like it’s gone by so fast,” Hovland said. “I remember Justin had a nice little lead there, being three shots ahead when I was on 14, and I ended up with a very sweet victory.”
Other prominent players in the field include Brooks Koepka, winner of five Major Championships; Jordan Spieth, who has three Major Championship wins, including the 2015 Valspar Championship, Max Homa, and Tony Finau.
This tournament has recently seen some double-dippers, with back-to-back champions in 2019-19 (Paul Casey) and 2020-21 (Sam Burns). Hovland hopes to add his name to that list.
“That would be really cool. I love this golf course. It’s a really good test,” he said. “It’s one of those courses with all the ball roll back, it’s a course that has stood the test of time, and it will continue to because of the trees, some water, very narrow fairways, thick roughs, and small greens. It’s a great golf course, great tournament, and I would love to win back-to-back.”
The Valspar is the final tournament for the PGA Tour’s Florida swing. It’s considered a favorite stop among the players. For Hovland, that means finding his favorite food stops in Tarpon Springs.
“I’ve spent a lot of time there. I’ve probably eaten at every Greek restaurant that’s down there,” Hovland said. “We’re going to try to hit that up later this week.”
The first round of the Valpsar Championship tees off on Thursday.
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