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Valspar Championship 2024

Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club
Palm Harbor, Florida
March 21-24, 2024




March Fun included joining Robert at the The 2024 Valspar Championship, which took place from March 21 to March 24, 2024. The competition is held on the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club in Palm Harbor, Florida. Located on the west coast of the Sunshine State, Palm Harbor is about 22 miles north of St. Petersburg and west of Tampa. Innisbrook – with its sloping fairways, bordered by tall pines and oaks – looks more like a golf course in Georgia or the Carolinas. This is due to Palm Harbor’s hilly geography which is unique in Florida.

The 2024 Valspar Championship, a prestigious event on the PGA Tour, recently concluded at the Innisbrook Resort's Copperhead Course in Palm Harbor, Florida. The Valspar Championship has been a part of the PGA Tour since 2000, initially known as the Tampa Bay Classic. Originally held in late summer or early fall, it transitioned to a March schedule in 2007. This year's competition was conducted March 21-24. Over time, the Valspar has gained prominence, attracting a strong field of players, and the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort has consistently challenged golfers, earning a reputation as one of the most demanding courses on Tour. Each year, the Valspar Championship features a field of 144 golfers, about half of which make the "cut" to play on Saturday and Sunday. The Copperhead Course, nestled within Innisbrook Resort, spans 7,340 yards and is a par 71 layout. Peter Malnati emerged as the winner in 2024, securing his second PGA Tour title after a nine-year gap.

Since Chick-fil-A was one of the event sponsors, Robert was able to secure for Jay a complementary parking pass and also a complementary gate admission. Very nice!

They went on Thursday, Day One, of the tournament, which is usually not as crowded as some other days, especially on Saturday and Sunday, after the cuts have been made. But the forecast said that Friday was going to be a very wet and rainy day, which had the tournament directors preparing options of play based on the weather. That drove more people to be there on Thursday.

A 7,000+ yard long golf course is spread over a wide area, so how to watch the competition requires some choices.

  • One choice is to arrive early and get a good seat near the green of one of the more challenging holes and be there to watch all 144 golfers in the competition play that hole.
  • Another option is to find one of the more famous golfers who are in the competition and follow that golfer around the course as he plays. A slight modification of that might be to follow those golfers on the top of the leaderboard.
Jay and Robert took a combined approach, watching a number of golfers as they came up to play the fourth green, which was the location of the hospitality area for military veterans and guests and also the location where Chick-fil-A provided free sandwiches, fries, drinks, and other CFA products free to those in the area. Yumm! They also went out on the course and followed Jordan Spieth for a few holes (and hopefully they weren't bad luck, because they learned on Saturday that Speith had not made the cut).

A good time!

(Click on any picture to enlarge it.)





 


 

At "Patriots" Point, a viewing area right off the Hole #4 green.
Chick-fil-A offered CFA sandwiches plus drinks and other
CFA products free to veterans and their guests.


           

 
The 4th Hole was a 190 yard, Par 3, and it was
amazing just how good were the pros in hitting the ball off the tee and landing on
the green for birdie tries or landing nearby for an easy pitch and one-putt Par.


 
Pictures of CFA people serving sandwiches and drinks to veterans and their families.




 


 



Jordan Spieth playing Hole #4. Pictures above show him warming up.



A very good day!


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