Valspar Championship 2026
Overview
Dates: March 19, 2026 to March 22, 2026
Location: Innisbrook Resort, Palm Harbour, Florida
Course: Copperhead Course
Course Par: 71
Course Length: 7352
Prize Purse: $9100000
The Players was by some way our best event of the season so far and it was a relief that we didn’t have to add another near miss to the growing “what might have been” list for 2026. Cameron Young held it together best up the stretch to secure a significant boost to our P&L, with Aberg’s T5 finish helping to return us to profit for the season, which we’re more than happy with given that we’ve not exactly had luckon our side so far.
Preview
The 2026 Valspar Championship tees off March 19–22 at Innisbrook’s Copperhead Course in Palm Harbor, Florida, with a $9.1 million purse and a field missing several top-ranked stars following the Signature Event stretch. Defending champion Viktor Hovland returns to one of the PGA Tour’s toughest venues, where precision and patience are key.
Defending Champion: Viktor Hovland
🌳 Course Characteristics — Copperhead Course
Par: 71
Yardage: 7,352 yards
Style: Tree-lined, undulating, strategic layout
🔍 Key Features
The Snake Pit (Holes 16–18):
One of the most difficult finishing stretches on Tour, demanding elite ball-striking and mental toughness.
Five Par-3s:
Unusual for a par-71 layout, these add complexity and variety.
Narrow fairways & elevation changes:
Precision off the tee is essential; elevation affects club selection and shot shaping.
Bermudagrass rough & firm greens:
Penalizes missed fairways and demands sharp short-game skills.
Difficulty Ranking:
Copperhead consistently ranks among the top 10 toughest courses on the PGA Tour
The Valspar present a different challenge with only Xander Schauffele representing the world’s top 10. In the past 3 editions, accuracy has been at a definite premium over distance, with scrambling skills also important to help navigate the green surrounds at Innisbrook. Whilst it’s always helpful to have great putters onside, it’s a little less critical than usual this week, so we’ll be focusing on those who can keep it on the short grass and get up and down where required. Course history is not overly predictive of success here, but as always we’ll be keeping a close eye on those who have done well in this event before, with the other eye on performance at TPC Twin Cities (host of the 3M Open), which bears notable similarities to the Copperhead course.
Headline pick:
Viktor Hovland (6 units win +1800, 6 units top 5 +380)