The Valspar Championship has had several name changes over the years. Buick, Chrysler, Transitions and PODS have all taken turns as the main sponsor, but it has always been held at the Innisbrook Resort, on the Copperhead Course.
It is the third leg of the ‘Florida Swing’ and although it annually draws a strong field it suffers from its scheduling between the WGC-Cadillac at Doral and the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill.
Kevin Streelman is the defending champion. He triumphed over a field that included Luke Donald, Sergio Garcia and Matt Kuchar.
The Copperhead course is tree-lined and requires accuracy from the tee. It is considered a shot-makers golf course and even at 7,340 yards shorter hitters do well here.
A full field of 156 players will be looking for a piece of the $5.7 million total purse and the 500 FedEx Cup points available at the Valspar Championship. The winner will collect $1.06 million.
Harris English is the highest-ranked player in the field this week, but 16 of the top-30 in the FedEx Cup points list will make an appearance.
Familiar names in the field at the Valspar include, Webb Simpson, Jason Dufner, Justin Rose, Luke Donald, Jim Furyk and Ernie Els.
Jordan Spieth finished T-7 here last year after his runner-up finish in Puerto Rico to kick start his rookie-of-the-year season.
Chesson Hadley is also playing this week after his big win at the Puerto Rico Open.
Danny Lee, Ben Martin, Wes Roach, Jason Gore and Ricky Barnes earned their way into the field this week via top-10 finishes in the Puerto Rico Open last week.
The Copperhead Golf Course is best known for its tight fairways and the ‘Snake Pit.’ Holes 16-18 annually decide the winner, who will have to successfully negotiate this three-hole stretch.
No. 16 is a 460-yard par-4 with water in play all along the right side of the fairway. A difficult 217-yard par-3 awaits the players at No. 17 and the finishing hole is 445-yard uphill par-4 to close out the round.
This stretch of holes is ranked in the top-10 most difficult on the PGA Tour and will play over-par for the week.
Any player with a two-shot lead with three holes to play at the ‘Snake Pit’ will not feel too confident until he is safely in the clubhouse.