The quote belongs to Lucas Glover (-5) and refers to the Copperhead course in Tampa, home of the Valspar Championship. Glover has played nearly 600 tournaments valid for the world ranking in his career and has won a US Open. It’s not just anyone’s opinion.
The South Carolina golfer said it after finishing the second round with a score of 69 strokes. There are not even twenty golfers who have finished under par in the morning round of play. The wind has blown generously in the first two thirds of the day and golf has become a survival exercise.
“There aren’t many times when you make three birdies and find yourself here, talking to the journalists. It’s not usual on the PGA Tour. That’s what this course has when conditions get a bit complicated. It’s one of those courses and one of those days. For me it’s the best course in Florida and one of the best courses that nobody talks about. Whenever I can, I’ll try to come here,” Glover added.
Among his reasons for defending the quality of the course located at the Innisbrook Resort, he highlights that it demands to be good in all areas of the game. You can’t hide. “You have to hit all the clubs in the bag. There are par 5s that you can reach in two, others not, par 4s that you reach in one, the par threes are simply amazing…”, he explains. And today he had to hit an 8 iron 120 yards from the hole because of the headwind.
Needless to say, the players who went out early today were affected by the weather. Wind and rain were expected. The former arrived, but not the latter. In the first six holes of the morning, the intensity had already dropped a lot. So much so that there was a moment when the score of +1 had a chance to make the cut and now we’ll see if it doesn’t end up at -1. The course is still tough, but it’s not a slaughterhouse anymore, especially because the weather is humid and the greens are receptive. This same course with 30 degrees must be the closest thing to the most brutal US Opens.
As it stands, Kevin Streelman (-6) and Chandler Phillips (-6) are the provisional leaders. As you can see, waiting for the afternoon round to finish, the leader’s score is one stroke worse than yesterday. By the way, Phillips is a PGA Tour rookie from the top 30 of the Korn Ferry Tour in 2023. He has played six tournaments this year and his best result is a 24th place. His highest position in a ranking after any round is a ninth after the first day of the Cognizant Classic. He didn’t even go out to play the next day due to illness. He has been able to get the thorn out.
One stroke behind the leaders are Peter Malnati and Lucas Glover, while KH Lee is two strokes behind.
The Valspar has already claimed some illustrious victims. Brian Harman (+2), Ryan Fox (+3), Min Woo Lee (+7) and Kevin Kisner (+13) have missed the cut and if the +1 doesn’t make it, Jordan Spieth or Keegan Bradley will go home.
Jorge Campillo is playing in the afternoon. He has started the round with a PAR score.
