Welcome to PGA Tour Brunch Coverage - The Valspar

This is the first time in tournament history the Valspar Championship will be played in April/May. Paul Casey, the 2018 and 2019 champion, is the only player in tournament history to win back-to-back. He’s returning in search of a third consecutive victory at the event.

The top-two players in the Official World Golf Ranking, Dustin Johnson (1) and Justin Thomas (2), are both in the strong field.

To that end, 11 of the Top 30 in the FedExCup standings are competing at Copperhead this week, led by No. 2 Justin Thomas and No. 7 Viktor Hovland while 18 of the Top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking, as previously noted with No. 1 Johnson and No. 2, Thomas.

Overall, 97 PGA Tour winners, the second-most of any tournament to date during the 2020-21 season are in the field. The most was the 110 at The PLAYERS Championship.

Lastly, 17 major championship winners combining for 24 major victories are playing in the Tampa Bay Area this week, led by Phil Mickelson (5).

The Valspar Championship is the 31st of 50 events in the 2020-21 PGA Tour season.

Tournament Tee Times begin Thursday at 6:55am (EDT) through 2:15pm (EDT).

Weather: A high pressure system will begin to slowly shift East allowing more humid conditions to return Thursday into Friday. Mostly sunny to partly cloudy skies can be expected each day with highs in the mid-80s to upper 80s. The models have slowed down the approaching cold front and it’s looking more likely that the front will stall across the northern gulf this weekend. This will keep Central Florida mainly dry with only a slight chance for a shower or thunderstorm developing during the afternoon hours (winds 10-15 mph).

PGATourBrunch will be posting before 6:55am (EDT) early tee times Thursday and Friday.

Next Week: Wells Fargo Championship (Charlotte, NC)

Field Updates:

Friday - Sunday
Tom Hoge (commit) / Grayson Murray (out)
Anirban Lahiri (out) / Grayson Murray (back in)
Nate Lashley (out) / D.J. Trahan (in)
Carlos Ortiz (out) / Peter Uihlein (commit)

Monday
Steve Stricker (out) / Ryan Brehm (in)
Cameron Champ (out) / Sebastian Cappelen (in)
Will Gordon (out) / J.J. Spaun (in)
Brice Garnett (out) / Tim Wilkinson (in)

Tuesday
Sepp Straka (out) / Nelson Ledesma (in)
Tyrrell Hatton (out) / Kiradech Aphibarnrat (in)

The Field - (link)

THIS WEEK on the PGA TOUR: RBC Heritage

COURSE: Innisbrook Resort (Copperhead), Palm Harbor, Florida

ARCHITECT: Larry Packard

YARDS/PAR: 7,340 yards/Par 71

PRIZE Money/First Place Winnings: $6,900,000/$1,242,000

DEFENDING Champion (March 2019) - Paul Casey - (Leaderboard link)

PAST RESULTS: (link)

PAST CHAMPIONS: (link)

FEDEx CUP Points Winner: 500

SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedExCup @ValsparChamp

OFFICIAL SITE: (Valspar Championship) - (Official Tournament Site)

TV COVERAGE: Thursday, April 29 and Friday, April 30: 2:00pm to 6:00pm (EDT) on Golf Channel. On Saturday, May 1 and Sunday, May 2 - Golf Channel’s TV coverage goes from 1:00pm to 3:00pm (EDT), then CBS takes over coverage from 3:00pm to 6:00pm (EDT).

STREAMING: PGA Tour Live will offer streaming coverage of Featured Groups on Thursday and Friday from 7:00am to 6:00pm (EDT). On Saturday and Sunday, PGA Live Featured Groups runs from 8:00am to 3:00pm (EDT) with Featured Holes goes from 3:00pm to 6:00pm (EDT).

PGA TOUR RADIO COVERAGE: Streaming Radio coverage on Thursday and Friday from 12:00pm Noon to 6:00pm (EDT); then Saturday and Sunday, 1:00pm to 6:00pm (EDT) on Sirius XM Satellite Radio. PGA Tour Radio is available on Sirius 208/XM 92) or online on PGATour.com.

How to Watch: (PGATourCom)

2021 Valspar Championship - Odds & Predictions:

A L👀K at the O👀S and A PREDICTION OR TWO:

(Odds via William Hill)

Justin Thomas 9-1

Dustin Johnson 10-1

Corey Conners 20-1

Patrick Reed 20-1

Paul Casey 22-1

Viktor Hovland 22-1

Scottie Scheffler 28-1

Russell Henley 30-1

Abraham Ancer 30-1

Sungjae Im 30-1

Louis Oosthuizen 30-1

Jason Kokrak 33-1

Joaquin Niemann 33-1

Bubba Watson 40-1

Justin Rose 40-1

Cameron Tringale 40-1

Charley Hoffman 45-1

Kevin Na 50-1

Chris Kirk 50-1

Emiliano Grillo 50-1

Ryan Palmer 50-1

Kevin Streelman 66-1

Max Homa 66-1

Kevin Kisner 66-1

Lucas Glover 70-1

Keegan Bradley 70-1

Sam Burns 70-1

Talor Gooch 70-1

Gary Woodland 70-1

Denny McCarthy 80-1

Cameron Davis 80-1

Charles Howell 80-1

Branden Grace 80-1

Erik Van Rooyen 90-1

Lanto Griffin 90-1

Ian Poulter 90-1

Adam Hadwin 90-1

Danny Willett 100-1

Brandt Snedeker 100-1

Phil Mickelson 100-1

Cameron Champ 100-1

Peter Uihlein 100-1

Matthew NeSmith 100-1

Mackenzie Hughes 100-1

Alex Noren 100-1

Doug Ghim 100-1

Charl Schwartzel 100-1

Sam Horsfield 100-1

J.T. Poston 100-1

Henrik Stenson 100-1

TL’s Wedge for an Edge: The PGA Tour Fantasy game is back in action this week, and I’ll be choosing four players to consider as Starters, along with two bench players. The starters will be: Paul Casey, Sungjae Im, Corey Connors and Patrick Reed. On the bench: Justin Rose and Jason Kokrak.

For PGA Tour One and Done? I’ll be going with Patrick Reed.

Note: Last week, we successfully picked Cameron Smith (and Marc Leishman) for a VERY NICE payday at the Zurich Classic two-man match play championship.

Sign Up for April Showers PGA Tour Brunch Special Discount:

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What They’re Saying:

Straka, Hatton Became Third & Fourth to Test COVID-19+ (Golf Week)

Valspar Loses Garnett, Gordon with COVID+ Tests (Golf Week)

Monday Qualifier Visacki Wins Hearts (PGATourCom)

Power Rankings for Valspar (PGATourCom)

Horses for the Course at Copperhead (PGATourCom)

#SportsBiz, Sporting Gambling and Golf Industry News

Rickie Fowler Gets Special Invite to PGA Championship (CBS Sports HQ)

Valspar Predictions (CBS Sports)

Valspar Power Rankings for Fantasy Golf (Golf Week/USA Today)

Expert Picks (PGATourCom)

On This Day in Golf History:

April 28, 1974 - Johnny Miller continued a torrid stretch with his fifth tournament win of the year at the Tournament of Champions at LaCosta (Carlsbad, California). Miller was tied for the lead on the final hole with John Mahaffey and John Allin but Miller made a four-foot par putt after his competitors made bogey to win. Miller went on to win another three PGA Tour events that season of ‘74. (Courtesy of Randy Walker), Author of On This Day in Golf History, available via Amazon.com and by clicking HERE

Parting Putt:

The Monday Qualifier!

PGA TOUR @PGATOUR

"I made it." ❤️ Michael Visacki fights back tears as he tells his father that he's reached a lifelong goal of competing on the PGA TOUR. He successfully Monday-Qualified for the @ValsparChamp.

April 26th 2021

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