One of four gems at Innisbrook Golf Resort in Palm Harbor, Florida, the Copperhead Course has played host to the PGA Tour event currently known as the Valspar Championship since its inception in 2000.
Consistently named a favorite among the world's best players, Larry Packard's par-71 design is also typically one of the most challenging tracks on the PGA Tour schedule, undoubtedly in part thanks to the famed "Snake Pit," which is easily one of the most daunting three-hole closing stretches players see all year.
That said, however, that doesn't mean one can't go low at the Copperhead Course. In fact, a pair of players got hot enough to reach double digits under par in a single round, those being Padraig Harrington and Matthew NeSmith, each of whom fired a 10-under 61.
Padraig Harrington and Matthew NeSmith share the 18-hole record on the Copperhead Course at 10-under
Here's a quick look back at the record-setting rounds from Harrington and NeSmith, which came 10 years apart.
Padraig Harrington set the new course record in 2012
Coming into the 2012 edition of what was then known as the Transitions Championship, the low 18-hole round at the Copperhead Course was a 9-under 62, a mark shared by Jeff Sluman (2004) and Mark Calcavecchia (2007).
But Harrington rewrote the record books early, going off in the morning wave of the first round and torching Copperhead with a 10-under 61, making 10 birdies and no bogeys.
What's wild is that the Irishman hit just six of 13 fairways that day, perhaps signaling that the rough wasn't playing quite as tough as it normally does.
Nevertheless, a 61 is a 61. And as for the rigorous "Snake Pit?" Harrington made that look easy as well, going birdie-birdie-birdie en route to the record.
Obviously the leader after 18 holes, the three-time major champ couldn't keep his momentum going the rest of the way, shooting 73-72-71 over the final three rounds to finish in a tie for 20th at 7-under.
Matthew NeSmith matched the 61 in the second round of the 2022 Valspar Championship
After opening the 2022 edition of the Valspar Championship with a solid 4-under 67, NeSmith took full advantage of the soft conditions at the Copperhead Course in the second round, matching Harrington's 10-under 61 to set the tourney's new 36-hole scoring record at 14-under.
Like Harrington, NeSmith, who started on the back nine, was bogey-free during his record round, ultimately making eight birdies and an eagle.
The South Carolina native didn't fare quite as well at the "Snake Pit" but still made pars on all three holes, which is still an accomplishment.
After shooting 31 on his first nine following those three pars, NeSmith got to 10-under with a birdie at the par-3 eighth hole. He nearly shot 60, but his 18-foot birdie putt on the par-4 ninth just missed, leaving him with a three-inch tap-in for par.
Like Harrington, though, NeSmith couldn't ride the record to victory, shooting 69-71 over the final 36 holes to finish the week tied for third at 16-under, one shot out of the playoff between Sam Burns and Davis Riley.
Burns ultimately won on the second extra hole to take his second straight Valspar Championship title.