South Korea’s Sungjae Im fired a seven-under-par 64 on Thursday to take the first-round lead at the PGA Tour’s Valspar Championship, one shot clear of American Brandt Snedeker.
Sungjae Im set the pace at the Valspar Championship with a composed seven-under-par 64, the best round of the day on the PGA Tour. The South Korean, who started his round on hole 10, made the most of the course’s scoreable par fives early in his round, eagling both hole 11 and hole 1 on his way to the clubhouse. Six birdies further supported his effort, and while three bogeys kept the round from being entirely clean, the overall quality of his scoring was clear. Im holds a one-shot lead heading into Friday.
One stroke behind sits Brandt Snedeker, whose bogey-free 65 was one of only four bogey-free rounds on the day across the entire field of 135 players. The American made six birdies without dropping a single shot — a measured and consistent performance that earns him sole second place going into Round 2.
PGA Tour: American players dominate the early leaderboard
Davis Thompson sits third at five under after a 66, highlighted by an eagle on the par-five 11th hole. He mixed four birdies with just one bogey, a round that carried real forward momentum throughout.
Three Americans share fourth place at four under par: Billy Horschel, Pierceson Coody, and Andrew Putnam, all carding 67. Horschel made six birdies against two bogeys starting from hole 10. Coody was the most active scorer in the group, registering seven birdies alongside three bogeys. Putnam matched that birdie count of seven and also gave three back.
A large group at three under 68 includes Xander Schauffele, who delivered a bogey-free round of three birdies starting from hole 10, and England’s Matt Fitzpatrick, who made four birdies and only one bogey. England’s Aaron Rai also finished at three under, posting five birdies against two bogeys. Webb Simpson, Doug Ghim, Ricky Castillo, Jacob Bridgeman — who was one of the four bogey-free players on the day — and Patrick Fishburn round out the group at 68.
Jordan Spieth carded a two-under 69 in an eventful round that included an eagle on the opening par-five hole 1, four birdies, but also two bogeys and a damaging double bogey on hole 16. Tony Finau also finished at two under with four birdies and two bogeys.
Hardest holes and DACH players at the Valspar Championship
The course showed its teeth at several points throughout the day. Hole 17, a par three, played as the hardest on the course with an average of 0.29 over par — 47 bogeys against just 14 birdies. Hole 6, a par four, was the second most difficult, yielding 41 bogeys and only eight birdies. The par fives, by contrast, were generous: hole 11 averaged nearly half a shot under par, with 68 birdies recorded there alone.
Among the German contingent on the PGA Tour, Stephan Jaeger managed an even-par 71 — five birdies offset by five bogeys in an up-and-down round starting from hole 10. Matti Schmid posted a two-over 73 with two birdies and four bogeys, while Jeremy Paul struggled to a five-over 76 with only one birdie and six bogeys.
This article was created with the help of AI and editorially reviewed.