Jordan Spieth starts hot, struggles to close at 2026 Valspar Championship as Sungjae Im takes early lead

Spieth was firmly in the hunt before dropping three shots on his final three holes

The first round of the 2026 Valspar Championship presented players with the kind of stern test that's typical of the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort. Those who went out early had the advantage of playing before the wind started to swirl; among the top 15 on the leaderboard, only four came from the afternoon wave as the weather picked up and caused serious problems.

Among those who had to navigate the challenging conditions in the afternoon was Jordan Spieth, who looked like he would put himself in terrific position after the first round. Spieth came out of the gates blazing with an eagle on the first and added three more birdies in the first seven holes to tear up the front nine with a 5-under 31. 

However, as the conditions got more challenging, Spieth cooled off some on the back nine. Still, he was able to remain at 5 under after a strong birdie on the par-3 15th. Unfortunately for Spieth, that was where the wheels started to come off as he made a brutal double bogey on the par-4 16th and then closed with a bogey after missing a 5-footer for par on the 18th. 

Getting rounds all the way to the clubhouse when he's got a chance to go low has been an issue for Spieth all season. That was the case in the second round of The Players -- when he closed with a double bogey on the par-5 9th after getting red-hot in the middle of his round -- and then again this Thursday when he put a 3 wood into the middle of the lake off the tee on No. 16 after getting back to 5 under. 

Spieth is still searching for his first win on the PGA Tour since the 2022 RBC Heritage, and his game appears closer to that kind of breakthrough victory than it has been in a few years. However, his issues keeping big numbers off the card persist, and if he's going to get that elusive 14th PGA Tour victory this week, he'll have to figure out how to keep a cleaner card on a challenging golf course.