PALM HARBOR, Fla. — Sungjae Im, who missed two straight cuts upon his return from a wrist injury, found his form Thursday in the Valspar Championship with two eagles that offset a few late mistakes in his round of 7-under 64 for a one-shot lead over Brandt Snedeker.
The Copperhead course at Innisbrook was the third straight stop on the Florida swing where the conditions were firm and the greens already getting that yellow sheen. Im was up to the task by giving himself ample birdie chances and converting six of them.
He also holed eagle putts of 18 feet on the par-5 11th and 35 feet on the par-5 first after making the turn. Only a pair of bogeys over the last four holes slowed him.
The surprise was the 45-year-old Snedeker, the U.S. captain for the Presidents Cup, who received a sponsor exemption. He had a bogey-free round at Innisbrook for the first time in 14 years, running off three straight birdies to start the back nine in his round of 65.
Snedeker hasn’t won in eight years and had only two top 10s in the past year. But he switched to a mallet putter a few weeks ago and is starting to see some putts go in, particularly some long ones.
He started with a 20-foot birdie on No. 1 and had a 45-foot birdie putt drop on No. 12.
“Playing perfect the way we want to see it play, firms and fast,” Snedeker said. “Had a really good game plan — just relied on my putter. I putted great today, made a bunch of footage of putts, and put myself in position off the tee hit a lot of fairways and greens and made it stress-free which was nice. So really excited about how it started, but a long way to go from here.”
Snedeker led the field in putting and made nearly 150 feet of putts, which included a pair of par putts from just outside 10 feet.
Davis Thompson was at 66, with Billy Horschel among those at 67. Horschel, who missed The Players Championship last week, is running out of time to either win or get back inside the top 50 to qualify for the Masters.
Riviera winner Jacob Bridgeman also had a bogey-free round, rare at Innisbrook, by holing a par putt from just inside 10 feet on the 18th. He was at 68 along with another bogey-free effort, this one from Xander Schauffele.
“That was a big one, even more than a normal par save. That one felt good,” Bridgeman said. “To go around here bogey-free, it means you’re playing some good golf. I made a couple nice saves today to keep myself in it.”
Bridgeman and Schauffele were part of a large group that included Matt Fitzpatrick, who was runner-up at The Players Championship last week.
Corey Conners shot 69, an ordinary round except for an extraordinary moment when he made consecutive eagles. He dunked his shot off the pin from the 18th fairway for a eagle, made the turn and holed out from 40 yards in the rough at the par-5 first.
Also at 69 was Jordan Spieth, who had reason to expect more.
Spieth looked as though he might catch Im even while playing in tougher, gusting conditions in the afternoon. He was 5 under on the front nine and had a 4-foot birdie putt on the par-5 11th. But he missed that, missed a 3 1/2-foot par putt on the 13th and dropped three shots over the three-hole stretch known as “Snake Pit,” including a double bogey on the 16th by driving into the water.
Defending champion Viktor Hovland was 2 over through six holes and salvaged a 70, while Brooks Koepka made his return to Innisbrook with three birdies, three pars and a 71.
