2019 Valspar Championship

The PGA Tour heads to Palm Harbor, Fla., this week for the final leg of its Florida Swing โ the Valspar Championship on Innisbrook Resortโs difficult Copperhead Course.
While the atmosphere wonโt be as intense as last weekโs Players Championship โ and not a lot of tournaments are โ you can bet that the Copperhead Course will require a playerโs undivided attention.
The stellar field heading straight over from Ponte Vedra, includes defending champion Paul Casey, world No. 1 Dustin Johnson, Jason Day, Jon Rahm, Patrick Reed, Sergio Garcia and Players runner-up Jim Furyk.
RELATED: Hereโs how the caddie picks have fared through the 2019 Players Championship
So which players should you be keeping a close eye on at what is one of the hardest courses on the PGA Tour each season?
We reached out to three caddies on the ground for answers. To protect their identity, each caddie anonymously gave us three players to watch and the reasons why.
Hereโs who they likeโฆ
Caddie 1
- Kevin Kisner. โKevin has been getting his game back together of late. Solid performances in a handful of recent events (has finished no worse than T28 in each of his last give events and hasnโt missed a cut since the beginning of November) suggests momentum is swinging his way. Innisbrook can be a punch in the face at times, so you need to be tough to win there. Thereโs not many tougher than Kevin.โ
- Lucas Glover. โIโm so invested in Lucas Glover that I canโt turn my back on him now. Missing the cut at last weekโs Players was a huge surprise to me after three consecutive top-10 finishes heading into TPC Sawgrass. Iโm sure that didnโt settle well, and heโll be firing on all cylinders this week. Not unlike the rest of the Florida Swing, thereโs no accidental winners at Innisbrook. You must hit it from the middle of the club face a lot, and LG is doing this right now.โ
- Patrick Reed. โAlthough he hasnโt been a fixture at the top of leaderboards this season, he still hasnโt played poorly. He has been there about. He has good history at Innisbrook with a couple recent runners up, and heโs driving the ball great โ a key factor in winning on this track.โ
Caddie 2
- Brandt Snedeker. โBrandt had a good finish at The Players with a T5 that included stellar weekend rounds of 65-69. He was in the last group here at Valspar last year, but finished with a disappointing 78 to tie for 31st. Heโs got some unfinished business here. Plus, heโs back to a familiar coach in Todd Anderson, so look for him to have a strong week.โ
- Charl Schwartzel. โItโs hard to believe, but Schwartzel has only two victories on the PGA Tour (heโs got 11 on the European Tour). One was the 2011 Masters and the other was right here at the 2016 Valspar Championship. Not bad at all. Itโs a course that rewards ball strikers and heโs one of the best. The ball-striking and the good vibes at a place where heโs won before should serve Schwartzel well this week.โ
- Jon Rahm. โJon had a disappointing finish last week at The Players (T12), where he took a one-stroke lead into the final round, but heโs good enough to leave it behind him. Heโs got five top-10 finishes in eight starts this year, so heโs definitely due to pick off his first Tour win since the 2018 CareerBuilder Challenge.โ
Caddie 3
- Ryan Moore. โThis course puts an emphasis on accuracy. Ryan is one of the straightest guys on Tour. Heโs got a couple of top-5 finishes at Innisbrook previously, so the course is one that fits his eye.โ
- Patrick Reed. โThe reigning Masters champ has been a runner-up at Innisbrook twice before. Though he hasnโt made a ton of noise this season just yet, he has been incredibly consistent โ hasnโt missed a cut in eight starts and six of those yielded a top-25 finish. He could win at any time. Maybe that time is this week.โ
- Dustin Johnson. โNo. 1 in the world, three top-10s, including a win, in his last three starts. When DJ is in the field, you donโt bet against him.โ