2026 Valspar Championship leaderboard: Sungjae Im on top heading into final round
PALM HARBOR, Fla. (AP) — Sungjae Im was in position for a wire-to-wire victory at the Valspar Championship at Innisbrook after a slow start in his return from a wrist injury.
Brandt Snedeker was right by his side during the final pairing – with a brand new putter in the bag.
I made a stunning 13-foot birdie at the par-4 18th hole Saturday for a 2-under 69 and a two-shot lead over Snedeker, the 45-year-old U.S. Presidents Cup captain playing on a sponsor exemption, and David Lipsky.
Snedeker birdied three of the first four holes in a 67, and Lipsky carded a 70 on this sunny afternoon with a high in the low 70s and wind gusts reaching 15 mph.
After missing two consecutive cuts on his return, I trailed by one stroke after each of the first two rounds in firm and fast conditions on the Copperhead course, shooting 64-69.
“I couldn’t train for two months,” Im said. “So I think a lot of my shots that I didn’t like from last year, I was able to correct them, once I started practicing, and it just kept getting better and better.”
On Saturday, Im played the front nine in 3 under, with birdies at Nos. 1, 7 and 8. He bogeyed the par-4 12th and the par-3 13th, and knocked the putt left-to-right on 18 to get to 11-under 202.
“I was really happy that my game was good down the stretch, from 16 to 18,” Im said. “And I’m really happy with the birdie on the last hole and to have a two-shot lead going into tomorrow.”
The 27-year-old South Korean player has two PGA Tour victories, the 2020 Honda Classic and the 2021 Shriners Children’s Open.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve been in the lead like that,” Im said. “I’m sure I’ll be nervous, but the best I can do is play my own game.”
Snedeker won the last of his nine PGA Tour titles in 2018 and had just two top 10s last year. He switched to a mallet putter a few weeks ago and has been on a tear on and around the greens this week.
“I finished strong and made some good swings down the stretch,” Snedeker said. “Rolling the ball so well, shredding it so well, if I can kind of control my long game a little bit, we’ll have a good chance tomorrow.”
Lipsky made five birdies and four bogeys. He is winless on the PGA Tour.
“It was up and down,” Lipsky said. “I didn’t hit as many fairways as I wanted, or greens. But overall, the short game and the putter really saved me and kept me in the game.”
Matt Fitzpatrick, second last week at the Players Championship, was minus-8 with Marco Penge. They each shot 68.
Brooks Koepka was tied for 16th at 3 under after a 71.
