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2021 Valspar Championship: Top 10 power rankings at Innisbrook

By Mike Randleman

Mar 22, 2019; Palm Harbor, FL, USA; A view of "The Snake Pitt" statue outside the 16th hole during the second round of the Valspar Championship golf tournament at Innisbrook Resort - Copperhead Course. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 22, 2019; Palm Harbor, FL, USA; A view of "The Snake Pitt" statue outside the 16th hole during the second round of the Valspar Championship golf tournament at Innisbrook Resort - Copperhead Course. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports /
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If the month-long jaunt through Florida earlier this year didn’t provide you with enough golf in the Sunshine state, never fear. The PGA Tour is setting up shop down the road in Palm Harbor, Florida, located just over 20 miles northwest of Tampa.

The event is the Valspar Championship, an event held annually since 2000 at Innisbrook Resort & Golf Club. The 2020 edition was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

While the event has held firm at one location, its spot on the schedule has been amorphous. It’s been as late in the year as November for a few times in the 2000s, but has fallen somewhere late in Q1 or early Q2 in the calendar year for the last decade plus.

Like it is for most PGA Tour events, that spot on the schedule is key in dictating field quality. As far as the Valspar Championship (which has gone by an array of names) goes, this year’s is about middle of the pack.

The PGA Championship is in three weeks, meaning a lot of big names will opt to play next week’s Wells Fargo Championship as a tune-up. Still, some who skipped last week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans or will rest during the Byron Nelson in a couple weeks have also fit the Valspar Championship into their schedule.

We’ve got four of the top 10 in the Official World Golf Ranking, as well as 19 of the top 50. Two-time defending champion Paul Casey’s had to wait two years to get a crack at the three-peat. He’s among the headliners taking on the Copperhead course.

The Copperhead course is a tough, but fair test of golf that draws praise in player surveys as one of their favorites on the schedule. The Larry Packard design opened in 1970.

Packard is not among the likes of MacKenzie, Ross, etc., but he has a gem with the Copperhead course. Packard designed the three other courses on property, as well as over 350 over 50 years. Most were in the Chicago area and midwest.

Copperhead has noticable elevation changes, particularly for a Florida course. There are doglegs all over the place, as well as plenty of bunkers, water and other hazards to make driving accuracy a premium and driving distance a risky endeavor at times.

It’s a par 71 measuirng 7,340 yards. In 2018-19, it was the sixth-toughest course on the PGA Tour schedule. It played to an average of .981 over par. Holes 16-18, known as the Snake Pit, make for one of the toughest closing stretches out there.

Winning score has slotted between 7- and 10-under in six of the last seven editions.

Bermuda grass is in play from tee to green. The grainy but fairly pure putting surface is common in this region of the country.

Weather for the week projects to be in the 70s-80s all week and dry until the weekend where showers might pop up. Light winds are expected, so unless it’s fiery, scoring might be favorable.

Let’s get down to the top 10 for this week’s action at Innisbrook:

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