Valspar Championship Explained

Valspar Championship
Location:Palm Harbor, Florida
Establishment:2000
Org:The Copperheads
Course:Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club
(Copperhead Course)
Par:71
Yardage:7340yd
Tour:PGA Tour
Format:Stroke play
Month Played:March
Aggregate:266 Vijay Singh (2004)
To-Par:−18 as above
Current Champion: Peter Malnati
Map:USA#USA Florida
Map Label:Innisbrook Resort
Map Relief:yes
Map Size:200
Coordinates:28.11°N -82.76°W

The Valspar Championship is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, played annually on the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club in Palm Harbor, north of St. Petersburg, Florida.

History

The tournament was founded in 2000 as the Tampa Bay Classic, and was originally an alternate event in autumn and late summer. It replaced the JCPenney Classic, held annually in central Florida since 1960, and at Innisbrook since 1990. It was opposite the Presidents Cup in October 2000, and the same week as the WGC-American Express Championship in September 2002. It was scheduled for the same week as the WGC-American Express Championship in 2001 in mid-September, but the September 11 attacks (on Tuesday) forced the cancellations of both tournaments.[1]

From 2003 to 2006, the Tampa Bay event had a slot in the schedule to itself in late October (and early November in 2003) as the last full-field event before the Tour Championship. The Chrysler Corporation was the title sponsor.

Since 2007, the Tampa Bay event has been played in March, as the Players Championship moved six weeks later, to mid-May.

For a time, the tournament was without a title sponsor, leading to speculation on its fate beyond 2007. Then, on January 24, 2007, tournament officials and the PGA Tour announced a six-year sponsorship agreement with PODS of Clearwater, Florida.[2] However, the company chose to exercise an option to withdraw as title sponsor after the 2008 event, and tournament officials searched to find a replacement.[3] On June 4, 2008, Transitions Optical, Inc., the photochromic lens manufacturer headquartered locally in Largo, was announced as the new title sponsor.[4] Transitions left the event after the 2012 season. Just two weeks before the 2013 tournament, EverBank agreed to be presenting sponsor for the tournament.[5] In September 2013, Valspar Corporation signed a four-year deal to become title sponsor of the event, now named the Valspar Championship.[6] On March 9, 2016, the PGA Tour, Valspar Corporation, and Copperhead Charities – the Valspar Championship host organization – announced a three-year title sponsorship extension, thus carrying Valspar's commitment to the tournament through 2020. This extension occurred in the midst of the original contract period, which was from 2013 to 2017.[7]

Vijay Singh set the tournament record in 2004 with 266 (−18) and won by five strokes.

Winners

YearWinnerScoreTo parMargin of
victory
Runner(s)-upPurse
($)
Winner's
share ($)
Valspar Championship
272 −12 2 strokes 8,400,000 1,512,000
274 −10 1 stroke 8,100,000 1,458,000
Sam Burns (2) 267 −17 Playoff 7,800,000 1,404,000
267 −17 3 strokes 6,900,000 1,242,000
Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic[8]
Paul Casey (2) 276 −8 1 stroke 6,700,000 1,206,000
274 −10 1 stroke 6,500,000 1,170,000
270 −14 1 stroke 6,300,000 1,134,000
277 −7 Playoff 6,100,000 1,098,000
274 −10 Playoff 5,900,000 1,062,000
277 −7 1 stroke 5,700,000 1,026,000
Tampa Bay Championship
274 −10 2 strokes 5,500,000 990,000
Transitions Championship
271 −13 Playoff 5,500,000 990,000
269 −15 1 stroke 5,500,000 990,000
271 −13 1 stroke 5,400,000 972,000
Retief Goosen (2) 276 −8 1 stroke 5,400,000 972,000
PODS Championship
280 −4 2 strokes 5,300,000 954,000
274 −10 1 stroke 5,300,000 954,000
Chrysler Championship
K. J. Choi (2) 271 −13 4 strokes 5,300,000 954,000
275 −9 1 stroke 5,300,000 954,000
266 −18 5 strokes 5,000,000 900,000
272 −12 3 strokes 4,800,000 864,000
Tampa Bay Classic
267 −17 7 strokes 2,600,000 468,000
Canceled due to the September 11 attacks
271 −13 3 strokes 2,400,000 432,000
Note: Green highlight indicates scoring records.

Multiple winners

Four players have won this tournament more than once:

External links

28.111°N -82.754°W

Notes and References

  1. News: 2001 PGA Tour Schedule . . March 16, 2011 . December 17, 2001.
  2. News: Tampa Event Named PODS Championship . . January 24, 2007 . March 1, 2016 .
  3. News: Rodney . Page . Finding sponsor top priority . . March 8, 2008 . April 6, 2008 .
  4. Web site: Transitions Optical preserves Tampa leg of Florida swing . PGA Tour . June 4, 2008 . September 24, 2008 .
  5. News: EverBank to sponsor PGA event at Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor . . Drew . Harwell . March 1, 2013 . March 12, 2013.
  6. Web site: Valspar commits to four-year sponsorship of PGA Tour event in Tampa Bay . PGA Tour . September 6, 2013 . September 6, 2013.
  7. Web site: Valspar extends title sponsorship of PGA Tour’s Valspar Championship through 2020 . March 9, 2016 . PGA Tour . March 13, 2016.
  8. News: PGA Tour cancels Players and other events thru April 5th . Golf Channel . Ryan . Lavner . March 12, 2020 . March 12, 2020.