– Sungjae Im (-7) is the leader of the Valspar Championship after the opening round. The Korean carded a 64 at the ever-tricky Copperhead course (Palm Harbor, Florida), which, besides catapulting him up the leaderboard, must have been a huge relief given how the start of his 2026 season had gone wrong. Im had to overcome a wrist injury and did not begin competing until the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and his first two and only appearances of the year had ended with missed cuts. It does not seem to be the case this week…
– For Im the wait must have felt even longer, as he likes playing and competing more than anything else (he has played as many as 35 tournaments in one year and in 2025, for instance, he played 31), but he certainly was not bored today: he recorded six birdies and two eagles, sinking a lot from mid and long range, although he also alternated those successes with some mistakes (he made as many as three bogeys) that denied him a truly eye-catching score
– One shot behind the Korean was Brandt Snedeker (-6), who had himself missed the cut in all four tournaments he has played so far in 2026. Nothing that should surprise too much from this player, who nowadays can be anything but consistent. He also missed many cuts last year, although he was capable of finishing inside the top ten in a demanding event like the Memorial… It is almost impossible to predict what Snedeker might do this week, but his opening round at this Valspar was anything but inconsistent, an interesting paradox, as he managed the small feat of returning one of the four bogey-free cards of the day. The other three are those of Xander Schauffele (-3), Jacob Bridgeman (-3), who also position themselves early as contenders for everything, as well as that of Alejandro Tosti (PAR), who carded 18 consecutive pars today, a truly paranormal occurrence…
– Special mention for the Copperhead debut of Blades Brown (-2), the very young American (he is 18) who earned a spot in this event with a fine third place in Puerto Rico and who delivered one of the best results of an afternoon tee time block in which playing conditions were noticeably tougher. Brown is no flash in the pan, although he should be allowed to progress at his own pace and not be crushed by excessive expectations. The youngster who broke Bobby Jones’s century-old precocity record by finishing first in the stroke play stage of the US Amateur 2023 at just 16 increasingly feels more comfortable alongside the world’s best, and that is saying something. Tomorrow he must confirm this notable start and enjoy playing the weekend, among other things to keep adding points to the non-members’ PGA Tour ranking, a ranking he currently leads
– On the less flattering side of the coin stand matching 77s posted by J. J. Spaun (+6) and Sahith Theegala (+6). The 2025 US Open winner, as can be seen, has yet to get this season underway, his best result so far being last week’s 24th place at THE PLAYERS. Tomorrow both will have to work hard to make the cut
