The standout moment of Day 3 will be Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler blowing a comfortable 5-shot lead on the back nine and settling for a tie.
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PALM HARBOR, Fla. – Brandt Snedeker has a fair amount of names between him and the top of the leaderboard at the Valspar Championship – 14, if you are counting – but he’s lurking. Traditionally at the demanding Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort, that’s a good position in which to be heading to the weekend. After opening with a pair of 1-under 70s, Snedeker feels he is close to finding real good form once again, having tied for fifth last weekend against the best field in golf at THE PLAYERS Championship. Back with instructor Todd Anderson once again, Snedeker, a nine-time PGA TOUR champion at age 38, has worked diligently to eliminate the left side of the golf course, misses that had troubled him for the last three seasons. Taking his “oldâ€� feels from the range to the course can been challenging, but he says he is getting closer each day. “Anytime that I start hitting shots left, I know the (right) arm is getting high in the backswing and the clubface is getting shut and I’m trying to hold on for dear life at that point,â€� he said. “If I can get that clubface more open in the backswing, it allows me to feel that I can release it harder and go.â€� And Snedeker appears ready to go. There were two ways he could view how he played a week at ago on the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass. He could be pleased with a very good finish (his best since losing in a three-way playoff at the season-opening Safeway Open) or could rue what might have been. After all, Snedeker was 4 over par through eight holes of his Thursday round (he rallied to shoot 69), and 3 over through eight holes one day later (he shot 72). On Sunday he bogeyed his final hole to shoot 69, having missed some good opportunities on 15 and 17 on his way to the clubhouse. But overall, his play in the heat of a Sunday at TPC Sawgrass marked a nice step. “I’m old enough and experienced enough now to not get so caught up on what happened on Sunday, knowing I hit a lot of great shots down the stretch, had a lot of putts to get up there tied for the lead and just didn’t make them,â€� he said. “Looking back on the week, I know the reason that it didn’t happen for me is that Thursday and Friday were kind of ‘suspect.’” “I try to take out the positives, that I was really, really close. I always think the great players out here find ways to win. It doesn’t matter how you start out, it’s how you finish, right? I look at last week and said I need to find a way to finish.â€� He did say his solid finish brought with it an added bonus: Snedeker arrived to the Copperhead this week carrying plenty of confidence. Though he has struggled at times with his ballstriking, his short game – old faithful – has pulled through nicely, and he’s right there on the weekend, trailing the leaders by only four shots. “I don’t think I’d have made the cut this week as bad as I hit it the first two days if I didn’t have that confidence building from last week,â€� Snedeker said. “I know that I’m one swing thought away now from something clicking. The golf course is playing really, really tough, and when it does that it’s great for me. Everybody starts missing greens and it turns into a short-game contest, and that’s right up my alley. I just need to hit a few more quality shots and take a few more chances, and I’ll be right there.â€�
Brittany Lincicome, twice an LPGA major winner, becomes the first woman in a decade to test her skills against PGA TOUR competition as the fourth-year event makes its debut in its new Kentucky home. Hall of Famer Davis Love III, joined by son Dru, also tops the field along with 2014 FedExCup champion Billy Horschel and nine-time TOUR winner Stuart Appleby. The roster also includes six-time winner Hunter Mahan, making his second start since his wife’s sister died of leukemia. FIELD NOTES: Paul Goydos, who tied for fifth at the U.S. Senior Open earlier this month, crosses over during an open week on the PGA TOUR Champions schedule. … With most of the world’s top players at Carnoustie this week, James Hahn is 62nd in the FedExCup standings and owns the highest world ranking in the field at No. 89. … Dudley Hart, twice a TOUR winner, makes just his second TOUR start of 2018 and fourth in the past 24 months. He briefly led the Web.com Tour’s LECOM Health Challenge two weeks ago after opening rounds of 68-65. … Derek Fathauer, who twice reached the U.S. Amateur quarterfinals while attending Louisville, is among at least a half-dozen golfers with Kentucky ties. That also includes Lexington native Josh Teater and recent University of Kentucky teammates Chip McDaniel and Cooper Musselman. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 300 points. STORYLINES: Lincicome, offered a sponsor invite after twice winning the Barbasol’s sister event Pure Silk LPGA Bahamas, becomes the fourth woman to tee it up in a TOUR event and first since Michelle Wie in 2008. Only Babe Zaharias has made the 36-hole cut, coming at the 1945 Los Angeles Open. … Mahan continues to press on after sister-in-law Katie Enloe – wife of SMU men’s golf coach Jason Enloe – passed away July 3 after a six-month leukemia battle. Mahan made the John Deere Classic cut in his first start back. … Davis Love III and Dru arrive as a tandem for the fifth time since March, though neither survived the John Deere Classic’s cut. It’s Dru Love’s 12th start vs. PGA TOUR competition; he’s made the weekend twice. … With five weeks left in the regular season, time is drawing short for pros to pick up crucial FedExCup points. More than half the field – including Appleby, Mahan, Jonathan Byrd and Chad Campbell – currently sits below 125th on the points list. COURSE: Keene Trace GC (Champions), 7,328 yards, par 72. Located about 20 minutes southwest of Lexington, the Arthur Hills design celebrates its 30th year by landing Kentucky’s first regular PGA TOUR event since 1959. Champions is a top-five mainstay among the state’s course rankings and has served as site for such events as the 1994 U.S. Senior Amateur, 1990 Women’s Western Amateur and Southeastern Conference championships. The course is one of just two on TOUR that end on a par-3, this one requiring a carry of some 200 yards over water to a large but shallow green. 72-HOLE RECORD: 263, Grayson Murray (2017 at RTJ Golf Trail/Grand National). 18-HOLE RECORD: 60, Jhonattan Vegas (2nd round, 2016 at Grand National), Chad Collins (2nd round, 2017 at Grand National), Scott Stallings (3rd round, 2017 at Grand National). LAST YEAR: Murray made the tournament’s final edition in Alabama his first PGA TOUR win, using a 3-under-par 68 on the final day to overtake Scott Stallings and hold off Chad Collins’ late threat. Collins, who tied the Barbasol’s 18-hole record with a 60 in Round 2, had a chance to tie for the lead with a 6-foot birdie chance at No.18 but couldn’t convert. That left it to Murray, who successfully negotiated a two-putt from 50 feet to lock up the victory. Murray won in the 24th start of his rookie season, with only one previous top-10 coming at the Sanderson Farms Championship. Stallings shot 71, falling to a share of third with Brian Gay (65) and Tag Ridings (69). HOW TO FOLLOW TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 5-8 p.m. (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 4-7 p.m. (GC).
Webb Simpson, Kevin Kisner, Danny Lee and Scott Piercy all share the lead at 6-under at Colonial Country Club.
