Valspar tees off
The Valspar Championship kicks off this week at Innisbrook’s Copperhead Course — the final stop of the PGA Tour’s Florida Swing — with seven of the world’s top‑20 players entered, including defending champion Viktor Hovland and Xander Schauffele Sports Illustrated and odds/field breakdowns DraftKings. Keep an eye on the notorious “Snake Pit” finishing stretch (holes 16–18) — it’s still one of golf’s toughest closing trios and a likely tournament decider Mayo Media.
Tournament week runs March 16–22, 2026 valsparchampionship.com, with the official 72‑hole competition scheduled for March 19–22, 2026. espn.com The Copperhead Course is being played as a par‑71 at 7,352 yards for this week’s setup, according to the PGA TOUR’s tournament page. pgatour.com The purse stands at $9.1 million for 2026, which on the PGA TOUR’s standard payout model (winner ≈18%) translates to a roughly $1,638,000 winner’s share. espn.com The event is a full‑field week that can accommodate up to 156 players under this year’s eligibility rules, and the field list released by the tournament includes names such as Justin Thomas. pgatourmedia.pgatourhq.com ShotLink’s analysis still singles out the Snake Pit as one of Tour golf’s stingiest closing stretches — it ranks among the toughest final three holes since 2003 with a scoring average of +0.52. pgatourmedia.pgatourhq.com Only nine rounds since 2000 have recorded the Snake Pit at 3‑under or better, and just three players—Mark Brooks (2002), Vijay Singh (2004) and Keith Mitchell (2024)—have gone five‑under over the three‑hole stretch for the week. pgatourmedia.pgatourhq.com The Valspar awards 500 FedExCup points to the winner and sits in the calendar immediately after THE PLAYERS, making it a key late‑March spot for players jockeying for Masters positioning and FedExCup momentum. pgatour.com
