2026 Valspar Championship preview: Expert picks and predictions for final event of PGA Tour's Florida Swing

A month in the Sunshine State comes to an end this week at the Copperhead Course

With the Players Championship in the rearview mirror, one eye inevitably wanders to a certain golf tournament in Georgia. Before trekking down Magnolia Lane, however, players must first put the finishing touches on the Florida Swing with the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook welcoming a full field to the 2026 Valspar Championship.

Even despite not holding signature status on the PGA Tour, the Valspar Championship welcomes a strong field full of players hoping to fine tune their games in what could be their final event before the Masters. Major champions like Xander Schauffele and Matt Fitzpatrick arrive following strong runs at the Players Championship that saw them fall just short of eventual champion Cameron Young.

Justin Thomas surprised folks as well in what was only his second start of 2026. After back-to-back 79s at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in his season debut, the two-time major finished T8 at TPC Sawgrass. Invoking plenty of confidence in his game, the American will hope to keep a good thing going at a golf course that has been more than kind to him in the past.

While Thomas has yet to win at the Copperhead Course, Jordan Spieth and Viktor Hovland have. Both players are in the field this week searching for answers to various questions in their games. While Hovland has struggled with the driver, Spieth has struggled to keep the big number off the scorecard. If either finds the solution around this par 71, they have shown the game to contend for the title late into Sunday.

Arnold Palmer Invitational winner Akshay Bhatia will tee it up for the third straight week, as will Genesis Invitational winner Jacob Bridgeman. Both players fared well at TPC Sawgrass and had their moments over the weekend. Meanwhile, Patrick Cantlay, Ben Griffin, Brooks Koepka, J.J. Spaun, Corey Conners and Sahith Theegala will round out the action in what is sure to be an exciting conclusion to the PGA Tour's Florida Swing.