Viktor Hovland was steady amid a wild Saturday of charges and collapses at the Valspar Championship, leaving him in a three-way tie for the lead at Innisbrook with two dozen players still very much in the mix.
Jacob Bridgeman showed plenty of mettle in his first time as the 36-hole leader, falling four shots behind at the turn and rallying for a one-under 70 to share the lead with Hovland (69) and Nico Echavarria (66).
They were at seven-under with seemingly everyone on their heels. That includes Justin Thomas, who left on Friday hopeful he would make the cut. He shot 30 on the back nine for a 65, his lowest round ever on the Copperhead course at Innisbrook, to finish two behind.
Adam Hadwin smashed his club in the ground, which broke and set off a hidden sprinkler at the Valspar Championship
Jordan Spieth was entertaining as ever, twice making birdie from deep in the woods, and along with missing a pair of short par putts, and having to settle for a 67.
He still was only four shots behind going into a Sunday in which 23 players were separated by four shots.
Byeong Hun An was the only player to reach nine-under with a birdie on the 11th hole, only to make five bogeys over the final seven holes for a 72.
“It’s fun to be in contention, but it is a little bit more stressful when you don’t feel super comfortable over the ball,” Hovland said. “But man, it’s fun to see some putts go in and still see the ball end up close to the hole and put some good scores up there.”
Echavarria, who won in Japan last fall for his second PGA Tour title, finished well ahead of the final groups and played bogey-free for his 66, remarkably making birdie on all three of the par 3s on the back nine.
“This is a golf course where you don’t have to be one off the lead starting to get the leaders,” he said. “We have seen that it’s a hard golf course. You have to drive your ball very well out here. You have to hit the greens. It’s tough around the greens. So we’re going to have a chance tomorrow having a good round.”
Sam Ryder made the crowd go wild as he hit an epic hole in one on the 204-yard 17th hole
Ricky Castillo enjoyed a 68 and was one shot behind. Thomas and Shane Lowry (70) were among five players at five-under, with An and Billy Horschel (69) in the large group another shot behind. Lucas Glover (69) was part of the group with Spieth at four behind.
“The leaderboard is stacked. There’s probably like 25 guys – 30 guys maybe – that can still win this golf tournament,” said Jeremy Paul of Germany, who shot 70 and was in the group two shots behind. “Trying to put a good round together and see where it puts me.”
Who will win the Valspar Championship? Watch throughout the weekend live on Sky Sports. Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW.
This news was originally published on this post .
About the author
Lakers coach JJ Redick: Team must ‘get into championship shape’ next season
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Hours after his team’s season ended unceremoniously in five games in the first round to the Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick looked ahead to next season and challenged his group’s conditioning.“I’ll start with the offseason and the work that’s required in an offseason to be in championship shape,” Redick said Thursday in a news conference. “And we have a ways to go as a roster. And certainly, there are individuals that were in phenomenal shape. There’s certainly other ones that could have been in better shape. That’s where my mind goes immediately, is we have to get in championship shape.”AdvertisementThe Lakers sputtered in the fourth quarter of all five games in their 4-1 series loss to the Timberwolves. Minnesota outscored Los Angeles 127-85 in the collective fourth quarters, a decisive advantage that swung […]
MLB made a change that players say shrank the strike zone — and caught them by surprise
By Jayson Stark, Ken Rosenthal and Eno Sarris Last winter, Major League Baseball negotiated a seemingly simple change in how home-plate umpires are graded and evaluated. But now, a month into the season, its impact on balls and strikes has players asking questions about what they believe is a tightened strike zone — and searching for ways to adjust to a new wrinkle they say caught them by surprise.AdvertisementThat change, which was part of a new labor agreement with the Major League Umpires Association, significantly decreased the margin of error for umpires in their evaluations — and has resulted in fewer called strikes off the edges of the plate through the same point as last season.“Everybody’s zone has shrunk,” Angels catcher Travis d’Arnaud told The Athletic. “Every (umpire) across the league.”The actual number of pitches affected is relatively small. But […]
Leafs finally oust Senators, move on to Round 2: Game 6 takeaways
OTTAWA — For the time being, the demons circling the Maple Leafs and their lack of playoff success have been stuffed back in the closet.With a 4-2 win, highlighted by a late third-period goal from Max Pacioretty, the Leafs closed out the Battle of Ontario in Game 6 and won just their second playoff series since 2004. MAX PACIORETTY FOR THE LEAD!!! WHAT A GAME pic.twitter.com/ajpDySIJWY — Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 2, 2025There was an increasingly tense mood around the Leafs over the last 48 hours after their botched effort to close out the series in Game 5. Coach Craig Berube made efforts to quiet the noise around his team by keeping his messaging brief and punchy. But nothing would quiet that noise like a Leafs win against their provincial rivals. And they got that win by locking things down after […]
Marshawn Lynch-approved selection of RB Ashton Jeanty may seem like a Raiders home run — but it’s also in defiance of several NFL trends
As the Las Vegas Raiders selected Ashton Jeanty in the NFL Draft, Pete Carroll’s phone began lighting up.A running back, with the sixth overall selection?Fellow running back Marshawn Lynch wanted to celebrate with the head coach who oversaw four of his five Pro Bowl seasons. So he called. And called.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“He’s been calling all evening here about it, he’s pretty fired up,” Carroll said late Thursday as the first round wound down. “Throughout his career, [Lynch] found a physical way to bank off people and bounce and just keep alive. [Jeanty]’s a player who shows that kind of style — that’s one aspect of his style, the burst and other things he does as well.“There are similarities in his ability to make plays when it doesn’t feel like anything is there.”It’s too early to crown Jeanty as the next Lynch, who […]
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. crushes three-run home run, giving Blue Jays lead over Red Sox
Major League Baseball Video Details Vladimir Guerrero Jr. crushed a three-run home run to give the Toronto Blue Jays the lead over the Boston Red Sox. 1 MIN AGO・Major League Baseball・0:34
Com time reserva, Flamengo domina o Botafogo-PB, mas só marca no fim com o estreante Joshua
Um Flamengo quase todo reserva manteve o domínio da equipe principal diante do Botafogo-PB, pelo jogo de ida da terceira fase da Copa do Brasil, mas as peças escolhidas por Filipe Luís mais uma vez pecaram na pontaria. Sem Pedro, preservado, o ataque de peso formado por Bruno Henrique, Plata, Luis Araújo e Michael não foi capaz de transformar o controle de jogo em gols. Foi preciso que Joshua, meia de 17 anos, estreasse no profissional para fazer 1 a 0 nos minutos finais e tirar o time do sufoco. Antes do jogo da volta, dia 21, no Maracanã, o Flamengo vai com tranquilidade focar no Brasileiro, com o Cruzeiro pela frente, domingo, e na Libertadores, diante do Central Córdoba, na quarta-feira, em jogo importante para a classificação. A decisão de poupar boa parte dos titulares na Copa do Brasil […]
Related
Why making Sciver-Brunt England captain was ‘straightforward’
Charlotte Edwards has backed Nat Sciver-Brunt to lead England forward and insists she was a clear choice to take over as the team's new captain.Sciver-Brunt, who has been on maternity leave after the birth of her first child, succeeds Heather Knight as skipper, having previously served as vice-captain. Knight departed her post after nine years in the wake of England's 16-0 whitewash Ashes defeat, with Sciver-Brunt assuming the role with 259 appearances across all formats to her name."It was pretty straightforward. I was pretty sure it was going to be Nat," said Edwards."She leads from the front in what she does, she has the full respect of the group, and what I've been most impressed with are her leadership qualities. "She's pretty laid back, quite unassuming for one of the best players in the world. I'll just hand her the […]
Littler makes Premier League history by winning in Birmingham
Luke Littler captured a record fifth Premier league night of the season in Birmingham as he defeated Michael van Gerwen to make more history.With 35 points in the standings Littler is also in touching distance of breaking the record for most points. Twitter This content is provided by Twitter, which may be using cookies and other technologies. To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies. You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Twitter cookies or to allow those cookies just once. You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options. Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Twitter cookies. To view this content you can use the button below to allow Twitter cookies for this session only. Enable Cookies Allow Cookies Once Premier […]
Littler makes Premier League history by winning in Birmingham
Luke Littler captured a record fifth Premier league night of the season in Birmingham as he defeated Michael van Gerwen to make more history.With 35 points in the standings Littler is also in touching distance of breaking the record for most points. Twitter This content is provided by Twitter, which may be using cookies and other technologies. To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies. You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Twitter cookies or to allow those cookies just once. You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options. Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Twitter cookies. To view this content you can use the button below to allow Twitter cookies for this session only. Enable Cookies Allow Cookies Once Premier […]
Papers: Man Utd co-owner Ratcliffe ready to sell Nice to Saudis
The top stories and transfer rumours from Friday's newspapers...THE SUN Sir Jim Ratcliffe is ready to sell French club OGC Nice with potential offers from Saudi Arabia, according to reports.Arsenal vowed to take the "strongest possible action" after a video emerged of a group of fans appearing to racially abuse Paris Saint-Germain players.Marcus Rashford has flown to Dubai in a desperate bid to rescue his season. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim says he has been pleased with Marcus Rashford's performances at Villa Barcelona legend Xavi is the new favourite to replace Ange Postecoglou at Tottenham should he leave at the end of this season. Leeds United have joined Everton in the chase to sign Newcastle's Sean Longstaff. DAILY MAILRiver Plate midfielder Franco Mastantuono has put Manchester United on notice […]
Amorim: Nobody expected this result – but it’s not over
Man Utd head coach Ruben Amorim admitted "nobody expected" the magnitude of their 3-0 Europa League semi-final first leg win at Athletic Club but insisted the tie was still not over ahead of next week's return match.His side became only the third to win at San Mames since August and inflicted the joint-biggest defeat on their hosts at the stadium in over a decade, putting one foot in the Europa League final at the same stadium later this month - where they look likely to meet Premier League rivals Tottenham. United weathered an early storm from the hosts but took the lead through Casemiro's header, and then played much of the game with a man advantage after centre-back Dani Vivian conceded a penalty and was sent off for pulling back Rasmus Hojlund in his own box.Despite scoring three goals in […]
Amorim: Nobody expected this result – but it’s not over
Man Utd head coach Ruben Amorim admitted "nobody expected" the magnitude of their 3-0 Europa League semi-final first leg win at Athletic Club but insisted the tie was still not over ahead of next week's return match.His side became only the third to win at San Mames since August and inflicted the joint-biggest defeat on their hosts at the stadium in over a decade, putting one foot in the Europa League final at the same stadium later this month - where they look likely to meet Premier League rivals Tottenham. United weathered an early storm from the hosts but took the lead through Casemiro's header, and then played much of the game with a man advantage after centre-back Dani Vivian conceded a penalty and was sent off for pulling back Rasmus Hojlund in his own box.Despite scoring three goals in […]
Be the first to leave a comment