The PGA Tour will stop in Tampa Bay for the last event of the Florida Swing. Played in the same venue, Innisbrook Resort’s Copperhead Course, the venue of the Valspar Championship is expected to bring much drama thanks to the notorious ‘snake pit’. The par 71, 7340-yard layout has shattered the hopes of many, most famously of Ernie Els in 2012.

Last year, Taylor Moore waltzed to victory thanks to his final round 67. Moore will return to defend his title. Among past champions, Sam Burns (2021 and 2022) and Jordan Spieth, who won a dramatic playoff nine years ago, return to Tampa. Ahead of the $8.4 million purse tournament beginning on March 21, here is everything you need to know about the tree-lined layout designed by Larry Packard.

History of the Innisbrook Resort’s Copperhead Course

The Innisbrook Resort has played host to PGA Tour events since well before the inception of the Valspar Championship. The Tampa Bay course was the home of the JCPenny Classic, the mixed-gender event pairing PGA Tour pros with LPGA Tour players. Davis Love III and Beth Daniel were the first winners when JCPenney moved to Innisbrook, while John Daly and Laura Davis were the last winners of the tournament here. 

After the JCPenney Classic, Innisbrook became the host of the Tampa Bay Classic. The tournament was renamed the Valspar Championship after Valspar, an industry leader in painting and coatings, signed an initial four-year agreement with the PGA Tour in 2014. Aside from the Copperhead course, which hosts the annual PGA Tour event, there are three more courses: Island, North, and South. 

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The par-71 layout is a tough test for players. The frequent changes in elevation, an idea of golf course architect Larry Packard, forces golfers to strategize ahead. Home to ‘Snake Pit’, the final three holes are designed to create dramatic finishes much like what you witnessed at the TPC Sawgrass. 

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The Ryder Cup-winning US captain, Paul Azinger, once called it the “best course we play on Tour.” Ernie Els, who squandered his chances at the final stretch in 2012, dubbed it “the best course the PGA Tour plays in Florida.” But what makes it so famous yet so lethal?

Be aware of the ‘Snake’ at the Valspar Championship

“You are entering the Snake Pit. The Moccasin, the Rattler, and the Copperhead are among the most difficult finishing holes on the PGA Tour.” The plaque in front of the 16th greets you while entering. The par-4 16th, nicknamed ‘Moccasin’, was the ninth most difficult hole on the Tour last season. Last year, it had a scoring average of 4.366. Whereas, the par 3 17th, known as the ‘Rattler’, had 3.072, and the scoring average at the famed par 4 18th, ‘Copperhead’, was +4.144.

Comparably, the 17th at TPC Sawgrass had a scoring average of +3.0,89, and the 18th had 4.250. Interestingly, aside from the final stretch, the par-3 13th will also be a test for the golfers at the Valspar Championship. Last year, it ranked 31st on the list of the toughest holes on the PGA Tour.

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