PGA Tour Valspar Championship opens on the 16th… Burns’ 3-game winning streak
The American Professional Golf (PGA) Tour, which has finished the Players Championship, called the ‘fifth major tournament’, will lead to the Valspa Championship (total prize money of 8.1 million dollars).
The Valspa Championship will be held for four days starting on the 16th (local time) at the Innisbrook Resort Copperhead course (par 71, 7,340 yards) in Palm Harbor, Florida, USA.
The Valspar Championship is held between the Players Championship (total prize money of $25 million), the highest prize money event of the season, and the World Golf Championship (WGC) Dell Technologies Match Play (total prize money of $20 million) next week, which is a ‘special prize’, and top players don’t play much
Among the top 10 players in the world ranking, Justin Thomas (USA), who is ranked 10th, is the only one to participate in this tournament.
Among the top 20 players, Matt Fitzpatrick (England, 13th), Jordan Spieth (USA, 14th), and Sam Burns (USA, 15th) were included in the list.
Among them, Burns is the defending champion of this competition, challenging to win for the third consecutive year following 2021 and last year.
After reporting his first PGA Tour win at the Valspar Championship in 2021, Burns won the Sanderson Farms Championship in October of the same year, and succeeded in defending the title by defeating Davis Riley (USA) in overtime at the Valspar Championship last year.
After that, he added a multiplier at the Charles Schwab Challenge in May of last year, and had 4 wins on the PGA Tour. The Valspar Championship accounts for half of his career wins.
If Burns succeeds in winning again this year, a player will become the first player to win three consecutive victories in a single event in 12 years on the PGA Tour since Steve Stricker (USA) of the John Deere Classic in 2009-2011.
Burns, who entered the top 10 twice in nine competitions this season, missed the cut in succession at the Genesis Invitational last month and the Arnold Palmer Invitational earlier this month.
As for the Korean players, Ahn Byeong-hun, Lee Kyung-hoon, and Kim Seong-hyun were named on the list.
Ahn Byung-hoon will compete in this tournament after finishing tied for 35th at the Players Championship, while Lee Kyung-hoon and Kim Seong-hyun dream of rebounding after missing the cut.
Korean players such as Justin Seo, Doug Kim, James Han, and Michael Kim (both from the United States) will also participate in this tournament. 안전놀이터
The LIV Golf League, sponsored by Saudi Arabia’s capital, will also be held this week.
After the first tournament of the new season was held in Mexico at the end of last month, the second tournament (total prize money of 25 million dollars) will be held at The Gallery Golf Club (par 71, 7,469 yards) in Marana, Arizona, USA for three days from the 17th.
After this tournament, the tournament will be held in Orlando, Florida, early next month, and then moved to Australia and Singapore.
Charles Howell III (USA), the winner of the individual competition at the opening game of the season, is attempting a second consecutive win, while leading players such as Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson (USA) are aiming for their first win of the season.