Updated March 20, 2026, 7:09 p.m. ET
We are through 36 holes at the 2026 Valspar Championship. What’s in store for the third round at Innisbrook Resort’s Copperhead Course in Palm Harbor, Florida?
Get caught up with all of the Friday leaderboard updates, scores, highlights and more.
Keep tabs on the Valspar leaderboard all week. Here’s the top of the board after 36 holes:
Pos.PlayerTotalThru1Sungjae Im-9F2David Lipsky-8FT3Doug Ghim-7FT3Chandler Blanchet-7FNeed a news break? Check out the all new PLAY hub with puzzles, games and more! Sungjae Im takes solo lead after 36 holes at Valspar
Im had three birdies over his last eight holes Friday, including a 2 at the par-3 17th, to get to 9 under and take a one-shot lead over David Lipsky halfway through. Im has two PGA Tour wins but before this week he had only two starts, both of them missed cuts. Im had lengthy layoff while nursing a wrist injury but is rounding into form.
Im said he injured his right wrist hitting balls on the cold turf of Korea. “It’s getting better,” Im said, and his scores this week seem to back that up.
Doug Ghim and Chandler Blanchet are tied for third. There’s a five-way tie for fifth at 5 under between teh English trio of Marco Penge, Matt Fitzpatrick, Jordan Smith, Alex Smalley and Brandy Snedeker.
What’s the cut at the Valspar Championship?
The cut came it at 1 over. The top 65 and ties make the cut Friday night for the weekend and that meant 74 golfers advance.
Who missed the cut at the Valspar?
There were some big names who missed the cut, including the tournament’s defending champion.
Brooks Koepka closes with a birdie flurry
Koepka made five birdies four birdies in a six-hole stretch, including three in a row on Nos. 13, 14 and 15 before closing with three pars for a 67. He was T-11 after signing his card on a course he’s familiar with.
“We played it a bunch growing up when we were kids, Florida junior tour events. I played it probably 10 times as a junior. So I mean, it’s only about almost four hours from my house, so we used to play events here a lot,” he said. “So I feel comfortable, I know the golf course, it really hasn’t changed and just got to put it in play.”
Sungjae Im climbs back into a tie for the lead
Im made birdie at the 12th to get it back to 8 under and reclaim a tie for the lead alongside David Lipsky.
Brandt Snedeker makes eagle, now tied for second
Snedeker rolled in a birdie on the 10th hole and got it back to 6 under. He broke free from a nine-way tie at 5 under and has solo fifth to himself for now. About an hour later, on the 13th hole and sitting at 5 under, Sneds holed out from a bunker for eagle to get to 7 under and into a tie for second.
That eagle just moments after Patrick Cantlay holed out from a bunker on the 11th.
Brian Campbell WD’s from the Valspar Brooks Koepka makes amazing fairway bunker shot
Koepka was just even par through four but maybe this will spark his round.
Lipsky shot a second-round 65 and has it to 8 under, making him the clubhouse leader. Chandler Blanchet, who made a run at the Puerto Rico open two weeks ago, is also at 8 under but he’s got 2 holes to play still on Friday. Lipsky is 37 and winless on the PGA Tour. He is making his 145th start this week. He does have three international wins in 2012, 2014 and 2018. He has one career second-place finish and two thirds on the PGA Tour.
Doug Ghim takes lead with eagle
Using an eagle on the 11th hole, Doug Ghim has shot up the leaderboard on Friday morning, and as of 10:45 a.m., he’s sitting in solo first at 9 under.
Ghim opened the day at 3 under but posted four birdies on the front nine. Ghim has made five starts on the Tour this year, missing the cut in two of the five, but his best finish was in his last, when he finished T-26 at the Puerto Rico Open.
Jordan Spieth gets in the mix early
Jordan Spieth had three birdies in his first four holes on Friday, moving to 5 under as of 9:30 a.m., just two shots back of leader Sungjae Im.
Spieth finished the 2025 FedEx Cup playoffs at No. 54 in the standings, failing to secure status in the signature events for 2026 and dropped to No. 61 by the conclusion of the FedEx Cup Fall. He said in the Bahamas that, “I want to work my way into events. I don’t want to use exemptions. I don’t want to ever have to use that again. It’s sucked the last couple years.”
Spieth has come out gunning for bear in 2026, finishing in the top 35 in five of his six starts, including a T-11 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Blades Brown still looking up to Snedeker
18-year-old phenom Blades Brown isn’t afraid of some hard work. In fact, after a stretch earlier this year where he played eight rounds in eight days between the PGA Tour and the Korn Ferry Tour, Brown worked his way into the field at the Valspar and finished 2 under in the first round to sit in prime position to make the weekend.
Brown, who was named the 2024 Rolex Junior Player of the Year, hails from Nashville, and he made six Tour starts in 2025, making the cut in two of the six.
Growing up, Brown was a fan of Brandt Snedeker, who also hails from Nashville, and he’s excited to be playing in the field with him this week, even if he trails his mentor by four strokes heading into the second round.
“I grew up playing the Sneds Tour and there was — how funny is this? So, one of the tournaments — Sneds is a very busy guy. FedExCup champion, very prestigious, right? There was one tournament he was able to go to, and that was when I was I think nine years old. And I remember, I was over about an eight-foot par putt. And I get over it, do my preshot routine, and then I see out of the corner of my eye — because you can tell, like in junior golf, who is watching you. And I look up and I see it’s Brandt Snedeker. And I go — so I have to back off, and luckily I make the putt. But like, he just played such an influential part of my golf career, the Sneds Tour, and it brings me a lot of joy knowing that he’s still got it out here.
“He’s what, 45? And I’m 18. So every time I see him in the hallway or on the range I give him a little fist bump and we talk for a second. But he’s just one of the most positive guys ever. He has been such an influential and just a big inspiration of my golf career and I’m really excited to see he’s playing well.”
What’s the weather on Friday at the Valspar?
Should be a picturesque, albeit a bit windy day at Copperhead.
Who’s in the field at the 2026 Valspar?
Defending champ Viktor Hovland is there. Xander Schauffele, Justin Thomas and Akshay Bhatia are there, too. So is Brooks Koepka. All in all, it’s a pretty good field for Innisbrook.
What are the hole locations on Friday at the Valspar?
Here’s where they’ve tucked the pins for the second round.
The last 10 champions of the Valspar Championship
Six of the last 10 winners of the event are back in 2026. The only past champs not in the field this year are those who left for LIV Golf.
2025: Viktor Hovland2024: Peter Malnati2023: Taylor Moore2022: Sam Burns*2021: Sam Burns2020: Cancelled due to COVID2019: Paul Casey2018: Paul Casey2017: Adam Hadwin2016: Charl Schwartzel*2015: Jordan Spieth*
(* won in a playoff)
Where is the Valspar played?
The Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort hosts the Valspar. Designed by Larry Packard, the course opened in 1970 and has been the site of the Tour event since 2000. The Copperhead will play to 7,352 yards with a par of 71 for the Valspar.
