Justin Thomas’ Go-To Swing Fix

Five of the top-10 players in the world are scheduled to tee it up at the Valspar Championship, led by second-ranked Collin Morikawa. World No. 3 Viktor Hovland is looking to build off a tie for third last season, while Sam Burns – now ranked 17th in the world – is hoping to defend his maiden PGA TOUR title. FIELD NOTES: Morikawa, who already has five TOUR titles to his name, is set to make his Valspar Championship debut… Xander Schauffele and a pair of former FedExCup champions, Justin Thomas and Dustin Johnson, are the other top-10 golfers in the world scheduled to take on Innisbrook… Twenty of the world’s top-50 will be in the field… Jackson Suber, a star at the University of Mississippi and the 11th-ranked player in the PGA TOUR University Ranking presented by Velocity Global, is amongst the sponsor exemptions. Suber is from nearby Tampa, Florida… Jason Day, just two weeks removed from losing his mother to cancer, will tee it up. He returned to action at THE PLAYERS Championship… Abraham Ancer, who finished fifth in 2021, is set to return along with fellow International Presidents Cup hopeful Joaquin Niemann… Brooks Koepka is looking for his first win on TOUR since the WM Phoenix Open in 2021… Ryan Brehm, who won the Puerto Rico Open in the last start of a medical exemption, will be in the field after making his PLAYERS debut… Alex Fitzpatrick (brother of Matt Fitzpatrick, ranked 25th in the world) who is a celebrated golfer in his own right at Wake Forest also earned a sponsor exemption for winning the Valspar Intercollegiate. Alex is No. 5 in the PGA TOUR University Ranking presented by Velocity Global and a former member of Great Britain & Ireland’s Walker Cup team. Tommy Fleetwood, Martin Kaymer, and Bernd Wiesberger also were given sponsor exemptions… Sam Burns, Paul Casey, who won the Valspar in both 2018 and 2019, along with Adam Hadwin (2017), Charl Schwartzel (2016), Kevin Streelman (2013), and Luke Donald (2012) are some of the recent Valspar champions set to return. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 FedExCup points. COURSE: Innisbrook Resort (Copperhead), par 71, 7,340 yards. The Copperhead Course – the second course built at Innisbrook – has long been considered a favorite by those on TOUR. Located just north of Tampa, this Larry Packard design is tree-lined and puts a premium on positioning off the tee. Sam Burns, the winner in 2021, had as complete an effort tee-to-green has anyone, which resulted in him finding the winner’s circle. Burns was fifth in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green and third in Strokes Gained: Putting a year ago. The course, opened in the early 1970s, features a tough three-hole closing stretch called the ‘Snake Pit’ – two tough par-4s sandwiched between a bruising 200-yard par 3. STORYLINES: With several delays at THE PLAYERS Championship, it will be worth keeping an eye on the field leading into Thursday’s start at Innisbrook… Paul Casey was the first back-to-back winner in tournament history in 2018 and 2019… The tournament was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic but will welcome back spectators at 100% capacity for the first time since 2019… The Valspar Championship puts a bow on the TOUR’s Florida Swing. 72-HOLE RECORD: 266, Vijay Singh (2004). 18-HOLE RECORD: 61, Padraig Harrington (1st round, 2012). LAST TIME: Sam Burns won for the first time on the PGA TOUR as the Valspar Championship returned to the TOUR’s schedule after being cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Burns, whose second-round 63 was tied for the low round of the week, won by three shots over Keegan Bradley. Burns had twice held 54-hole leads earlier in the season but was unable to convert both times. Bradley, meanwhile, was tied for the lead with six holes remaining in the final round but found the water with his tee shot on the par-3 13th, leading to double bogey. Bradley added another bogey on the par-3 15th and couldn’t mount a comeback. Despite a bogey on the 72nd hole, Burns’ 3-under 68 was more than enough to help him find the winner’s circle. Viktor Hovland’s 6-under 65 on Sunday was the round of the day, and that moved him into a tie for third with Cameron Triangle. Last year marked Hovland’s debut in Tampa. Abraham Ancer finished fifth alone, five shots back of Burns’ winning total. HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 2 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (NBC). Radio: Thursday-Friday, 12–6 p.m. ET. Saturday-Sunday, 1–6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio) For outside of the U.S., click here for GOLFTV powered by the PGA TOUR PGA TOUR LIVE PGA TOUR Live is available exclusively on ESPN+ • Main Feed: primary tournament-coverage featuring the best action from across the course • Marquee Group: new “marquee group” showcasing every shot from each player in the group • Featured Groups: traditional PGA TOUR LIVE coverage of two concurrent featured groups • Featured Holes: a combination of par-3s and iconic or pivotal holes

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HOUSTON — When devastating Hurricane Harvey and the resulting floods hit the Houston and Southeast Texas area this fall, World Golf Hall of Famer Mark O’Meara didn’t have to turn on the TV or check the Internet to see the destruction. All he had to do was go a half-mile down from his Houston home to see the flooding in person. “When it first happened, I didn’t know what to do,â€� O’Meara said. “With a storm this big, the healing and hope won’t happen overnight, but this will certainly help.â€� That’s why O’Meara joined more than a dozen PGA TOUR players — including event organizers and Houston residents Chris Stroud and Bobby Gates — to hold the Texas-sized Hurricane Harvey Relief charity tournament at Bluejack National Golf Club on Tuesday, with the goal to raise $1 million. With the PGA TOUR and players over-arching goal to serve as a charity conduit to help others, along with the Lone Star theme of “Everything is Bigger in Texas,â€� the two-day celebration that included a dinner and charity auction turned out to be quite a celebration of help and hope, surpassing the financial goal with $1.2 million raised. Stroud, who has been calling on his professional golfing friends to help for more than two months, said the devastation in his hometown served as the perfect reminder of people in need after his most successful seasons in 12 years as a PGA TOUR pro. “It was a huge reality check,â€� said Stroud, who collected his first PGA TOUR win in 2017 and earned more than $2 million in prize money. “The first thing I thought of when the hurricane hit was this could have been me or somebody in our family.â€� “The great thing is we can use our platform to raise money for our community. God has given us a talent and a platform to help others and this is our chance to do this for neighbors and friends.â€� Among players taking part in the day-long event at the first Tiger Woods-designed course in the U.S. were World Golf Hall of Fame member and former Masters winner Ben Crenshaw, PGA Championship winner Jimmy Walker, U.S. Open winner Hale Irwin, Ryder Cup veteran Patrick Reed and dozens of other players from the PGA TOUR and PGA TOUR Champions along with the LPGA, all with a strong Texas connection. The Houston Golf Association, which operates the Houston Open, along with Bluejack National management also stepped forward to help. “’I’m very proud to be a Texan. We had great friends who were in danger here,â€� Colleyville’s Ryan Palmer said. “With the chance to give back to fellow Texans, we have great friends, great events and great players to help out. “I want to see the impact of my work and what my work is doing. With the event being this close to home, I was happy to help. It was a no-brainer.â€� Fort Worth’s J.J. Henry said the outpouring of support for the Hurricane Harvey relief was part of the TOUR’s ongoing efforts to help others through a wide variety of charity programs. “I’m not sure everyone knows that the TOUR gives more money away to charity than all the other pro sports combined,â€� Henry said. “As Texas pro golfers, we are willing to do what we can to help out. It’s just the TOUR family coming together and being willing to help out.â€� “My wife grew up in Houston and while this didn’t affect our life personally, it really hit home with some of the people we know. The reality hit home, what can we do and what needs to be done here?â€� Along with some of his fellow TOUR competitors pitching in to help out at the Bluejack National course, Stroud also called on his good friend, Houston Astros owner Jim Crane, to come in and aid the cause. At Monday night’s pro-am pairings party, Crane delivered the Astros World Series Trophy, which was on prominent display for photos and visits. He also donated his private jet for a foursome to fly to his golf course in Florida, The Floridian, and brought a signed Astros Jersey from American League MVP winner Jose Altuve, which was one of the more coveted items in the silent auction. There was a wide variety of autographed memorabilia donated from the various golfers in the field along with a unique package with a two-person lesson and lunch with Bluejack course designer Woods. The silent and live auction raised nearly $600,000 — including $210,000 for the unique lesson and lunch with Woods. While the news cycle has moved on to other disasters and other stories, Stroud, who grew up in the Port Arthur area, went to school at Lamar University in Beaumont and now lives in North Houston, said the need is still great for many in his home area. “I know people who lost everything, who couldn’t afford basic needs. We were fortunate, but not everybody was,â€� he said. “I want to be able to look myself in the mirror and see what I am doing to help,â€� Palmer added. While the chore of collecting all the money could take weeks, and Stroud is preparing for his 2018 playing schedule, he said he’s already looking forward to the day when the money raised can be distributed to those in his area who can best use it. “My ultimate goal is to write 40 checks for $25,000 each to those who need it most,â€� he said. “I know there will be tears from people who receive them and I will be one of the ones crying as well.â€�

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Four-time PGA TOUR winner Marc Leishman has been forced to withdraw from the AT&T Byron Nelson with a lower back injury. Leishman has seven top-13 finishes in the tournament over the years including last season’s runner up effort at Trinity Forest where he opened with a 10-under 61 and held a share of the 54-hole lead only to fall behind Aaron Wise. The 35-year-old Australian first felt the discomfort in his back after his Begin Again Foundation charity golf day on Monday and hoped it would settle down in time for Thursday’s opening round in Dallas. “My lower back just flared up a bit on Monday night and Tuesday,� Leishman said. “I think I slept on it a bit funny. “I was hoping it’d be good by today because I really love the tournament but it wasn’t feeling to flash this morning so I decided to withdraw and seek some more treatment.� Leishman, who sits 13th in the FedExCup this season after his win at the CIMB Classic, is hopeful the injury won’t be long term. He remains cautiously optimistic about next week’s PGA Championship at Bethpage Black in New York. “I’ll get it more thoroughly checked out and worked on but I hope it just needs some rest and I’ll be okay for next week,� he said. Leishman’s place in the field at Trinity Forest was taken by Daniel Chopra.

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