Palm Harbor, Fla. — Viktor Hovland has been stable amid the wild Saturday at the Valspar Championship, winning a three-way tie for a lead at Innisbrook, with two dozen players still getting so many in the mix.
Jacob Bridgeman first showed many mettles as a 36-hole leader, collecting 1-under 70, four shots behind on the turn, sharing the lead with Hovland (69) and Nico Echavarria (66).
They were at 206 under, and at first glance everyone was holding their heels. That includes Justin Thomas, who left Friday. He shot 30 on the back nine with a 65. I filmed his lowest round at Copperhead course in Innisbrook, delaying two.
Jordan Spieth was just as fun as ever, and he has to make two birdies in the woods, miss a short putt and settle for 67 people.
Byeong Hun An was the only player to reach nine with a birdie on hole 11, but only made five bogeys on the final seven holes of 72.
Hovland is willing to come in the week to seek his swing and go back to another coach and take as much time as necessary to figure out where the ball is heading. So far, he has been working out positively with him.
“It’s fun to compete, but it’s a little more stressful if you don’t feel very comfortable with the ball,” Hofland said. “But man, it’s fun to see a few putts in and the ball ends near the hole and put some good scores there.”
Echavarria, who won Japan with her second PGA Tour title last fall, went far ahead of the final group, played bogey-free at 66 and made a noticeable birdie on all three of the back nine par-3s.
The Colombian didn’t expect to have a share of the lead when he finished, but he knew at least he had a chance.
“This is on the golf course and you don’t have to start getting leaders and take the lead,” he said. “We’ve seen it being a hard golf course, and you have to drive the ball very well here, you have to hit the green, it’s tough around the green.
Most impressive was Bridgeman, a second-year player who started the third round by missing a 3-foot par putt. He also took two straight bogeys to finish the front nine and was behind. But then he hit the wedge three feet for a birdie on the 10th and came back. At one point, Bridgeman had seven straight holes without par.
“I was just bowing my head and grinding as much as I could,” Bridgeman said. “I wasn’t hitting it well. I wasn’t hit hard, I wasn’t going crazy. But I knew I would be fine as long as I could get the ball on the fairway.”
He said after 10 birdies, his caddy GW Cable slapped him in the back and said, “Let’s go.”
“And I kept it,” Bridgeman said.
Thomas and Spice were frustrated that longtime friend Thomas, who posted a birdie about five hours before his leader, didn’t make up much of the ground until he drilled an Eagle Putt from within 30 feet of the par-5’s 11th hole. Thomas birded the next three holes, and at one point he was one shot behind.
“We did a little four holes there, and that could be a difference between setting fire for a week or not,” Thomas said. “Hopefully that’s what will burn the week.”
Ricky Castillo had 68 and was one shot behind. Thomas and Shane Lowry (70) were among five players with a 5-under 208. Lucas Glover (69) was part of the group, with four people behind Spieth.
“The leaderboards are stacked. There are probably people like 25 guys (30 guys) who can win this golf tournament,” said German Jeremy Paul. “I’m trying to put together a good round and see where it puts me.”