Sunday is going to be fun. Nine players are within three shots of the lead after the third round of the Valspar Championship at Innisbrook Resort’s Copperhead Course in Palm Harbor, Florida.
However, everyone is chasing Adam Schenk, who’s playing in his 10th straight event and 17th of the season, second most on Tour. Then there’s Jordan Spieth, who won the Valspar Championship in 2015, and Tommy Fleetwood, who remains in search of his first Tour victory, who are a shot back.
If you missed any of the action Saturday, no worries, we have you covered. Here’s everything you need to know from the third round of the 2023 Valspar Championship.
Valspar: Full leaderboard | Photo gallery | Sunday tee times
Schenk the marathon man
With a baby on the way, Adam Schenk is playing in as many events as he can. The Valspar Championship is his 10th straight start on Tour, and he finished strong to maintain his lead heading into the final round.
Schenk birdied the 18th hole and shot 1-under 70 on Saturday and sits at 8 under for the tournament. He was 1 over thru 15 before making birdies on 16 and 18, two of the most difficult holes on the course, to retake the lead heading to Sunday, where he’ll search for his first Tour victory.
“Battle all day. Not a ton went our way early,” Schenk said. “We really hung in there. David did a great job of telling me that everybody’s going to struggle today, it’s windy, it’s difficult. You’re going to get some bad breaks, you’re going to get some good breaks, just wait for ’em. We got ours on 16 and 18. The birdie on 18 was just an added bonus.”
Schenk’s best finish in his recent stretch is T-20 at the Farmers Insurance Open, and he missed the cut last week at the Players Championship. Come Sunday, he’s playing for a lot more.
“If I win, great,” Schenk said. “If I don’t win, that’s fine too. I mean, obviously I want to be a PGA Tour winner. I played out here for 6 years, not that I’ve done everything except win, but I’ve done, you know, plenty, played a lot of years. Winning would be everything and awesome.”
Jordan Spieth's roller coaster round
On his first tee shot of the day, Jordan Spieth quickly took a hand of his driver and acted as if it was going to be a poor shot.
It went 343 yards down the center of the fairway. His approach shot went to 7 feet, 11 inches. He drained the eagle putt, and his wild round was underway.
There was no shortage of excitement during his roller coaster third round, but he certainly kept fans on their toes with essentially every shot. Spieth shot 2-under 69 and sits at 7 under for the tournament, which he won in 2015.
“I’ve kind of not really had my best stuff the last two days with my swing and today I managed it really well around here,” Spieth said. “And it was kind of lag putting and some chipping that hurt me. But really a great start to be at even par or 2-under through 4, sorry and 3-under through 5. From there the rest of the golf course was just trying to maybe try and get one more before you get in 18 fairway. I made a few too many mistakes, but overall in these conditions, I think I would have signed for 2 under.”
Also that year? Spieth won two majors and the FedEx Cup.
His round Saturday consisted of the opening eagle and then five birdies and five bogeys. After each of his first four bogeys, he followed them up with birdies. The only hole he didn’t? The 18th, when he failed to get up and down from a greenside bunker for the first time this week (he was 8 of 8).
If Spieth were able to win Sunday, it would be the second event he has won twice, joining the John Deere Classic. He’ll be in the final pairing with Schenk.
“I’ve been trying to not talk as much and just kind of hit and go and hit the next one,” Spieth said. “But luckily it was Saturday and so I gave myself an opportunity to change that for tomorrow.”
Tommy Lad looking for first Tour win
When you think to his career, it’s hard to imagine Tommy Fleetwood hasn’t won on the PGA Tour.
He has had four runner-up finishes in his career, but he remains in pursuit of his first Tour victory. He has won six times on the DP World Tour. Come Sunday, he has a chance to change his record in the United States.
Fleetwood matched Spieth with a 2-under 69, a round that featured two birdies and no bogeys. It was only the third bogey-free round of Saturday. He’s tied at 7 under with Spieth and will be in the final penultimate group with Webb Simpson, who shot 3-under 68 on moving day.
The chasing pack
Simpson moved eight spots up the leaderboard as he seeks his first Tour title since the 2020 RBC Heritage and the eighth of his career. He’s in a three-way tie for fourth at 6 under with Taylor Moore and Cody Gribble.
Moore shot 2 under on Saturday while Gribble fired a 1-under 70. Gribble had a chance to become the fourth player ever to make birdie on each hole of the Snake Pit (Nos. 16, 17 and 18), but his putt on the final green narrowly missed.
Patton Kizzire, who shot 4 under Saturday, is at 5 under, along with Wyndham Clark and Matt Wallace.
Shot of the day
Jordan Spieth continues to be magical with long-range bunker shots, even landing this one in the rough to kill the speed.
Insane touch from @JordanSpieth 🤯 pic.twitter.com/dHxWuIwupd
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 18, 2023
Sunday's weather forecast
According to Windy.com, winds are projected to reach the mid-teens on Sunday with gusts up to 25 MPH possible. The temperature will hover around 60 degrees in the afternoon. Heavy cloud cover is expected all day.
