RADIO
The PGA Tour makes it's way to the final leg of an electric Florida swing with a trip to the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort for the 2025 Valspar Championship. I expect it to be yet another examination of ball striking, and we have a stacked field of hungry-for-a-win talent ready for the challenge.
I have carefully evaluated the players to project proper course fits and looked into how they are performing in the categories that matter the most, specifically at Innisbrook.
Let's look at my Top-10 Power Rankings for the 2025 Valspar Championship:
No. 10 - Taylor Moore
- The 2023 Champion at this event followed that up with a T12 here last year.
- Moore has been dominant in SG: OTT. He ranks 8th best in the field and has gained 10+ OTT in his last three starts.
- Much improved chipper around the greens. With the low GIR rate and Innisbrook, the ability to get up and down is heightened.
No. 9 - Michael Kim
- In the midst of the best run of his career. Kim finally missed the cut at The PLAYERS but this should present him a good bounce back opportunity.
- Ranks #1 in the field in bogey avoidance over the last 24 rounds. Kim has been excellent at scrambling.
- Before this year, Kim had never played well in Florida. He played all three events this year and shot a combined -23.
Put up a good fight but a bad lip out on 17 got me. Still proud of the round. I’m just gonna blame it on the wave split haha
— Michael S. Kim (@Mike_kim714) March 14, 2025
No. 8 - Luke Clanton
- Currently the #1 ranked amateur in the world. Clanton earned his PGA Tour at the Cognizant Classic with a T18.
- Ranks #1 in the field in SG: OTT over his last 24 rounds. Clanton is a stripe show and should thrive on a course with tight lines like Innisbrook.
- Earned his second collegiate victory of the season last week with his win at the 2025 Seminole Intercollegiate. Watch out.
No. 7 - Akshay Bhatia
- Top-10 in SG: Approach and Putting at The PLAYERS. Finished T3.
- Ranks 3rd in SG: OTT on courses with hard to hit fairways in regulation.
- Rounding into confident form with three 9th-or-better finishes in his last four tournaments.
No. 6 - Xander Schauffele
- Another week in unfamiliar territory for Schauffele, down to the six slot in the power rankings after a 72nd place finish at The PLAYERS.
- He wasn't good in any category at The PLAYERS, the fact that he made the cut is a testament to his ability but he just doesn't have it right now.
- T5 at this event last year and T12 in 2022. A great course fit if you believe the form is coming.
"I'm supposed to [be restricted in practice], but about to blow that out of the water this afternoon."
Xander Schauffele was brutally honest in today's post-round press conference. pic.twitter.com/SRI54v0r4V
— GOLF.com (@GOLF_com) March 14, 2025
No. 5 - Shane Lowry
- Lowry is excellent playing off the unique turf conditions in Florida. Dominated at API and the Cognizant and just finished 4th in SG: Approach at The PLAYERS.
- Plays well in courses with tight windows OTT where he can thread his Driver into fairways at a high rate.
- Leads all players in the field in total strokes gained in the Florida-swing.
🚨👊🏻 | It’s a -5 (67) in the final round of @THEPLAYERS.
A superb round of golf which included SEVEN birdies. I think the other days he had one part of his game but today everything clicked for him & he was brilliant.
We’ll have to wait and see if it’s enough for a top-20. pic.twitter.com/Dx0rsGBoc8
— Shane Lowry Tracker (@Tracker_Lowry) March 16, 2025
No. 4 - Corey Conners
- 3rd place at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. 6th place last week at The PLAYERS. Conners is back.
- Since switching to a new putter, he's been vastly improved on the greens.
- +2.8 SG: Putting at API and was 21st in Putting at The PLAYERS. If he can roll it, Conners is one of the most reliable Ballstrikers on the PGA Tour.
No. 3 - Justin Thomas
- Ranks #1 in the field in SG: Approach over the last 24 rounds.
- Thomas finished T3 at this event in 2022 and he's hungry to capitalize on his form to get back in the winners circle.
- Shaky up and down week at The PLAYERS. We'll all remember the course record day, but the reality is that he shot over par in three out of four rounds.
Justin Thomas said to media after his 62 today it was "one of the best rounds" he's played.
In fact, it's actually THE best round (892 rounds).
Gained +9.4 shots on the field. Previous best (59 at Sony Open) gained just +9.3.pic.twitter.com/CQihRgIkgh
— Jamie Kennedy (@jamierkennedy) March 14, 2025
No. 2 - Sepp Straka
The Valspar Championship marks week #12 on the PGA Tour season and as we gear into Major Championship season, the man atop the FedEx Cup rankings may surprise you. It's Sepp Straka. The 31-year-old Austrian is poised to make another Ryder Cup and he continues to flash the best form of his career.
Straka has played a lot of golf in 2025. Why wouldn't he? He's finished in the Top-15 in seven of those tournaments and it's hard to make an argument that the most consistent player on the PGA Tour right now isn't Straka.
His iron play has been otherworldly all season, gaining at least two strokes on approach in every start this year except one. His putter is streaky but he's shown the ability to excel on these kinds of greens at Innisbrook, as shown in recent weeks. Straka has been a force in Florida and he looks primed to close out this leg of the swing with another win.
No. 1 - Tommy Fleetwood
Some would say it exudes bravery to write up a guy at #1 in your Power Rankings with 149 career PGA Tour starts and zero wins. Here we are, and welcome to the number one spot Tommy Fleetwood. He arrives in form off a T15 at The PLAYERS and T11 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Fleetwood also checks the course form box this week. He was T3 in his last start at the Copperhead Course in 2023 and was T16 the prior year. He's gained strokes in all four major stat categories across both career starts here.
This is a perfect Tommy Fleetwood golf course if there ever was one. Avoid bogeys, scramble well, think your way around the course, and play that tight little draw around the treelines at Innisbrook. Fleetwood is a bona fide Top-10 player in the world, and I think he finally breaks through this week on the west coast of Florida. Rejoice!
Enjoy The Valpar Championship, and thanks for reading! Good luck, RotoBaller family!
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