2026 Valspar Championship leaderboard: Sungjae Im on top, Jordan Spieth rallies late
PALM HARBOR, Fla. (AP) — Sungjae Im held on to the lead on a windy Friday afternoon at the Valspar Championship, rallying on the back nine to edge out David Lipsky in firm and fast conditions on the Copperhead Course in Innisbrook.
After missing two straight cuts in his return from a wrist injury, Im shot a 2-under 69 to get to 9-under 133 – one shot ahead of Lipsky. On Thursday morning, Im carded two eagles on a 64 for a one-shot advantage over Brandt Snedeker.
“The most important thing, the most important thing, is that I can hit my drives in the fairways,” the 27-year-old South Korean said through an interpreter. “If I do that, then I can give myself a good chance. There are just a lot of dangers on the course.”
On Friday, I made three bogeys and two birdies in a 37 on the front nine, then birdied the par-5 11th and the par-4 12th. He broke a tie for the lead with a 7-foot birdie putt at the par-3 17th.
“I really want to concentrate and be patient because I have a chance this weekend,” Im said. “This weekend I think the wind will blow and the greens will get firmer.”
Im has two PGA Tour victories, the 2020 Honda Classic and the 2021 Shriners Children’s Open.
Lipsky had a score of 65, playing in the first group of the day from the first tee. Winless on the PGA Tour, he birdied the first two holes and four of the first six, added two more on 10 and 11 and birdied the last seven.
“It was excellent. I did everything well,” Lipsky said. “I missed it in the right places, made the putts early on to give some momentum. That final sequence is obviously tough, so I was able to save a few pars on 16 and 18 and really continued the round.”
Chandler Blanchet and Doug Ghim were at 7 under. Blanchet closed with a bogey for a 66. Ghim shot 67, making an eagle on the par-5 11th, then returning shots with bogeys on the 15th and 16th.
“Obviously I would have liked to finish a little better,” Ghim said. “Two bad holes don’t necessarily ruin a good day.”
Snedeker had a 72 to fall to 5 under. The 45-year-old U.S. Presidents Cup captain was granted a sponsor exemption.
“The good thing is that the game is very tough and tricky this afternoon,” Snedeker said. “Try to take the positive out of it. I stood there when things weren’t going well.”
Jordan Smith (68) was also at 5 under with Matt Fitzpatrick (69), Marco Penge (68) and Alex Smalley (69).
“I definitely hit better yesterday and I hit better today,” Spieth said. “So just try to get the two of them together on the weekend.”
Fitzpatrick finished second last week at the Players Championship.
Brooks Koepka was tied for 10th at 4 under after a 67 in his return to Innisbrook. He missed a 3-foot birdie putt on his final hole.
“Just keep doing what I’m doing,” Koepka said. “I play well, like the way I hit.”
Jordan Spieth (70), who was in contention after the first round, went 2-under on the front nine before saving his second round by going 3-under on the back. He sits one shot behind Koepka, six behind Im heading into Moving Day.
Defending champion Viktor Hovland missed the cut with rounds of 70 and 75.
