Valspar Championship

(Redirected from Tampa Bay Classic)

The Valspar Championship is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, played annually on the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club in Palm Harbor, north of St. Petersburg, Florida.

Valspar Championship
Tournament information
LocationPalm Harbor, Florida
Established2000
Course(s)Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club
(Copperhead Course)
Par71
Length7,340 yards (6,710 m)
Organized byThe Copperheads
Tour(s)PGA Tour
FormatStroke play
Prize fundUS$8,400,000
Month playedMarch
Tournament record score
Aggregate266 Vijay Singh (2004)
To par−18 as above
Current champion
United States Peter Malnati
Location map
Innisbrook Resort is located in the United States
Innisbrook Resort
Innisbrook Resort
Location in the United States
Innisbrook Resort is located in Florida
Innisbrook Resort
Innisbrook Resort
Location in Florida

History

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The tournament was founded in 2000 as the Tampa Bay Classic, and was originally an alternate event in autumn and late summer. It replaced the JCPenney Classic, held annually in central Florida since 1960, and at Innisbrook since 1990. It was opposite the Presidents Cup in October 2000, and the same week as the WGC-American Express Championship in September 2002. It was scheduled for the same week as the WGC-American Express Championship in 2001 in mid-September, but the September 11 attacks (on Tuesday) forced the cancellations of both tournaments.[1]

From 2003 to 2006, the Tampa Bay event had a slot in the schedule to itself in late October (and early November in 2003) as the last full-field event before the Tour Championship. The Chrysler Corporation was the title sponsor.

Since 2007, the Tampa Bay event has been played in March, as the Players Championship moved six weeks later, to mid-May.

For a time, the tournament was without a title sponsor, leading to speculation on its fate beyond 2007. Then, on January 24, 2007, tournament officials and the PGA Tour announced a six-year sponsorship agreement with PODS of Clearwater, Florida.[2] However, the company chose to exercise an option to withdraw as title sponsor after the 2008 event, and tournament officials searched to find a replacement.[3] On June 4, 2008, Transitions Optical, Inc., the photochromic lens manufacturer headquartered locally in Largo, was announced as the new title sponsor.[4] Transitions left the event after the 2012 season. Just two weeks before the 2013 tournament, EverBank agreed to be presenting sponsor for the tournament.[5] In September 2013, Valspar Corporation signed a four-year deal to become title sponsor of the event, now named the Valspar Championship.[6] On March 9, 2016, the PGA Tour, Valspar Corporation, and Copperhead Charities – the Valspar Championship host organization – announced a three-year title sponsorship extension, thus carrying Valspar's commitment to the tournament through 2020. This extension occurred in the midst of the original contract period, which was from 2013 to 2017.[7]

Vijay Singh set the tournament record in 2004 with 266 (−18) and won by five strokes.

Winners

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Year Winner Score To par Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up Purse
($)
Winner's
share ($)
Valspar Championship
2024   Peter Malnati 272 −12 2 strokes   Cameron Young 8,400,000 1,512,000
2023   Taylor Moore 274 −10 1 stroke   Adam Schenk 8,100,000 1,458,000
2022   Sam Burns (2) 267 −17 Playoff   Davis Riley 7,800,000 1,404,000
2021   Sam Burns 267 −17 3 strokes   Keegan Bradley 6,900,000 1,242,000
2020 Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic[8]
2019   Paul Casey (2) 276 −8 1 stroke   Jason Kokrak
  Louis Oosthuizen
6,700,000 1,206,000
2018   Paul Casey 274 −10 1 stroke   Patrick Reed
  Tiger Woods
6,500,000 1,170,000
2017   Adam Hadwin 270 −14 1 stroke   Patrick Cantlay 6,300,000 1,134,000
2016   Charl Schwartzel 277 −7 Playoff   Bill Haas 6,100,000 1,098,000
2015   Jordan Spieth 274 −10 Playoff   Sean O'Hair
  Patrick Reed
5,900,000 1,062,000
2014   John Senden 277 −7 1 stroke   Kevin Na 5,700,000 1,026,000
Tampa Bay Championship
2013   Kevin Streelman 274 −10 2 strokes   Boo Weekley 5,500,000 990,000
Transitions Championship
2012   Luke Donald 271 −13 Playoff   Bae Sang-moon
  Jim Furyk
  Robert Garrigus
5,500,000 990,000
2011   Gary Woodland 269 −15 1 stroke   Webb Simpson 5,500,000 990,000
2010   Jim Furyk 271 −13 1 stroke   K. J. Choi 5,400,000 972,000
2009   Retief Goosen (2) 276 −8 1 stroke   Charles Howell III
  Brett Quigley
5,400,000 972,000
PODS Championship
2008   Sean O'Hair 280 −4 2 strokes   Stewart Cink
  Ryuji Imada
  Troy Matteson
  Billy Mayfair
  George McNeill
  John Senden
5,300,000 954,000
2007   Mark Calcavecchia 274 −10 1 stroke   John Senden
  Heath Slocum
5,300,000 954,000
Chrysler Championship
2006   K. J. Choi (2) 271 −13 4 strokes   Paul Goydos
  Brett Wetterich
5,300,000 954,000
2005   Carl Pettersson 275 −9 1 stroke   Chad Campbell 5,300,000 954,000
2004   Vijay Singh 266 −18 5 strokes   Tommy Armour III
  Jesper Parnevik
5,000,000 900,000
2003   Retief Goosen 272 −12 3 strokes   Vijay Singh 4,800,000 864,000
Tampa Bay Classic
2002   K. J. Choi 267 −17 7 strokes   Glen Day 2,600,000 468,000
2001 Canceled due to the September 11 attacks
2000   John Huston 271 −13 3 strokes   Carl Paulson 2,400,000 432,000

Note: Green highlight indicates scoring records.

Multiple winners

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Four players have won this tournament more than once:

References

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  1. ^ "2001 PGA Tour Schedule". USA Today. December 17, 2001. Retrieved March 16, 2011.
  2. ^ "Tampa Event Named PODS Championship". Golf Channel. January 24, 2007. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
  3. ^ Page, Rodney (March 8, 2008). "Finding sponsor top priority". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved April 6, 2008.
  4. ^ "Transitions Optical preserves Tampa leg of Florida swing". PGA Tour. June 4, 2008. Retrieved September 24, 2008.
  5. ^ Harwell, Drew (March 1, 2013). "EverBank to sponsor PGA event at Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved March 12, 2013.
  6. ^ "Valspar commits to four-year sponsorship of PGA Tour event in Tampa Bay". PGA Tour. September 6, 2013. Retrieved September 6, 2013.
  7. ^ "Valspar extends title sponsorship of PGA Tour's Valspar Championship through 2020". PGA Tour. March 9, 2016. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
  8. ^ Lavner, Ryan (March 12, 2020). "PGA Tour cancels Players and other events thru April 5th". Golf Channel. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
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28°06′40″N 82°45′14″W / 28.111°N 82.754°W / 28.111; -82.754