Valspar Championship: Power ranking the top 10 at Innisbrook

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PALM HARBOR, FL – MARCH 09: Bubba Watson hits off the 11th tee during the first round of the Valspar Championship at Innisbrook Resort Copperhead Course on March 9, 2017 in Palm Harbor, Florida. (Photo by Mike Lawrie/Getty Images) /

Bubba Watson makes his fifth Valspar Championship appearance but only second since 2011. His high finish was solo third in 2010.

The 40-year-old has yet to truly contend on Tour this season, but he doesn’t look too far off. A T4 at the Phoenix Open began a streak of four made cuts in a row with three of the four being top-30s. Watson finished T56 at the Players on the heels of a T17 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

This will be his first time playing three weeks in a row since the FedEx Cup Playoffs. On that third week was a T16 at the BMW Championship.

This doesn’t seem the perfect course for Watson, which keeps him from ascending higher on this week’s rankings. A tight, tree-lined course squeezes a man who’s second in driving distance and 156th in accuracy, but he’ll still whip out the pink-shafted driver anyway.

Watson’s balky putter this season should at least benefit from playing on Bermuda, which is a familiar surface for the Florida native.

If Watson can find himself in the mix, he’s got the experience and ability on Sunday to get it done. Watson was thrice a winner on Tour in 2018 and made the most out of his chances in contention.

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