Valspar Championship

Valspar Championship
Tournament information
LocationPalm Harbor, Florida
Established2000
Course(s)Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club
(Copperhead Course)
Par71
Length7,340 yards (6,710 m)
Organized byThe Copperheads
Tour(s)PGA Tour
FormatStroke play
Prize fundUS$8,700,000
Month playedMarch
Tournament record score
Aggregate266 Vijay Singh (2004)
To par−18 as above
Current champion
Viktor Hovland
Location map
Innisbrook Resort
Location in the United States
Innisbrook Resort
Location in Florida

The Valspar Championship is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, played annually on the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club in Palm Harbor, north of St. Petersburg, Florida.

History

The tournament was founded in 2000 as the Tampa Bay Classic, and was originally an alternate event in autumn and late summer. It replaced the JCPenney Classic, held annually in central Florida since 1960, and at Innisbrook since 1990. It was opposite the Presidents Cup in October 2000, and the same week as the WGC-American Express Championship in September 2002. It was scheduled for the same week as the WGC-American Express Championship in 2001 in mid-September, but the September 11 attacks (on Tuesday) forced the cancellations of both tournaments.[1]

From 2003 to 2006, the Tampa Bay event had a slot in the schedule to itself in late October (and early November in 2003) as the last full-field event before the Tour Championship. The Chrysler Corporation was the title sponsor.

Since 2007, the Tampa Bay event has been played in March, as the Players Championship moved six weeks later, to mid-May.

For a time, the tournament was without a title sponsor, leading to speculation on its fate beyond 2007. Then, on January 24, 2007, tournament officials and the PGA Tour announced a six-year sponsorship agreement with PODS of Clearwater, Florida.[2] However, the company chose to exercise an option to withdraw as title sponsor after the 2008 event, and tournament officials searched to find a replacement.[3] On June 4, 2008, Transitions Optical, Inc., the photochromic lens manufacturer headquartered locally in Largo, was announced as the new title sponsor.[4] Transitions left the event after the 2012 season. Just two weeks before the 2013 tournament, EverBank agreed to be presenting sponsor for the tournament.[5] In September 2013, Valspar Corporation signed a four-year deal to become title sponsor of the event, now named the Valspar Championship.[6] On March 9, 2016, the PGA Tour, Valspar Corporation, and Copperhead Charities – the Valspar Championship host organization – announced a three-year title sponsorship extension, thus carrying Valspar's commitment to the tournament through 2020. This extension occurred in the midst of the original contract period, which was from 2013 to 2017.[7]

Vijay Singh set the tournament record in 2004 with 266 (−18) and won by five strokes.

Winners

Year Winner Score To par Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up Purse
($)
Winner's
share ($)
Valspar Championship
2025 Viktor Hovland 273 −11 1 stroke Justin Thomas 8,700,000 1,566,000
2024 Peter Malnati 272 −12 2 strokes Cameron Young 8,400,000 1,512,000
2023 Taylor Moore 274 −10 1 stroke Adam Schenk 8,100,000 1,458,000
2022 Sam Burns (2) 267 −17 Playoff Davis Riley 7,800,000 1,404,000
2021 Sam Burns 267 −17 3 strokes Keegan Bradley 6,900,000 1,242,000
2020 Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic[8]
2019 Paul Casey (2) 276 −8 1 stroke Jason Kokrak
Louis Oosthuizen
6,700,000 1,206,000
2018 Paul Casey 274 −10 1 stroke Patrick Reed
Tiger Woods
6,500,000 1,170,000
2017 Adam Hadwin 270 −14 1 stroke Patrick Cantlay 6,300,000 1,134,000
2016 Charl Schwartzel 277 −7 Playoff Bill Haas 6,100,000 1,098,000
2015 Jordan Spieth 274 −10 Playoff Sean O'Hair
Patrick Reed
5,900,000 1,062,000
2014 John Senden 277 −7 1 stroke Kevin Na 5,700,000 1,026,000
Tampa Bay Championship
2013 Kevin Streelman 274 −10 2 strokes Boo Weekley 5,500,000 990,000
Transitions Championship
2012 Luke Donald 271 −13 Playoff Bae Sang-moon
Jim Furyk
Robert Garrigus
5,500,000 990,000
2011 Gary Woodland 269 −15 1 stroke Webb Simpson 5,500,000 990,000
2010 Jim Furyk 271 −13 1 stroke K. J. Choi 5,400,000 972,000
2009 Retief Goosen (2) 276 −8 1 stroke Charles Howell III
Brett Quigley
5,400,000 972,000
PODS Championship
2008 Sean O'Hair 280 −4 2 strokes Stewart Cink
Ryuji Imada
Troy Matteson
Billy Mayfair
George McNeill
John Senden
5,300,000 954,000
2007 Mark Calcavecchia 274 −10 1 stroke John Senden
Heath Slocum
5,300,000 954,000
Chrysler Championship
2006 K. J. Choi (2) 271 −13 4 strokes Paul Goydos
Brett Wetterich
5,300,000 954,000
2005 Carl Pettersson 275 −9 1 stroke Chad Campbell 5,300,000 954,000
2004 Vijay Singh 266 −18 5 strokes Tommy Armour III
Jesper Parnevik
5,000,000 900,000
2003 Retief Goosen 272 −12 3 strokes Vijay Singh 4,800,000 864,000
Tampa Bay Classic
2002 K. J. Choi 267 −17 7 strokes Glen Day 2,600,000 468,000
2001 Canceled due to the September 11 attacks
2000 John Huston 271 −13 3 strokes Carl Paulson 2,400,000 432,000

Note: Green highlight indicates scoring records.

Multiple winners

Four players have won this tournament more than once:

References

  1. ^ "2001 PGA Tour Schedule". USA Today. December 17, 2001. Retrieved March 16, 2011.
  2. ^ "Tampa Event Named PODS Championship". Golf Channel. January 24, 2007. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
  3. ^ Page, Rodney (March 8, 2008). "Finding sponsor top priority". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved April 6, 2008.
  4. ^ "Transitions Optical preserves Tampa leg of Florida swing". PGA Tour. June 4, 2008. Retrieved September 24, 2008.
  5. ^ Harwell, Drew (March 1, 2013). "EverBank to sponsor PGA event at Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved March 12, 2013.
  6. ^ "Valspar commits to four-year sponsorship of PGA Tour event in Tampa Bay". PGA Tour. September 6, 2013. Retrieved September 6, 2013.
  7. ^ "Valspar extends title sponsorship of PGA Tour's Valspar Championship through 2020". PGA Tour. March 9, 2016. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
  8. ^ Lavner, Ryan (March 12, 2020). "PGA Tour cancels Players and other events thru April 5th". Golf Channel. Retrieved March 12, 2020.

28°06′40″N 82°45′14″W / 28.111°N 82.754°W / 28.111; -82.754