PALM HARBOR (Fla.) Adam SchenkHe is playing on the PGA Tour for the 10th consecutive week and finally seeing some positive results. Friday’s putts gave him a 2-under 69, giving him a 1-shot lead heading into the Valspar Championship.
Schenk shot four birdies, all of them within 10 feet. Schenk finished with a bogey in the bunker just short of the 18th hole on Innisbrook’s Copperhead course.
Because of the 20-foot putt he made to par on the eighth par-3 hole, the 10-footer for Par he made on 10th par and the long up/down for Par on the 5th 11th par-5, that didn’t bother him too much.
“I feel like you shoot 2 under a lot of the time and then you’re like, It could’ve been 6 or 7′. It couldn’t be better with the amount putts that I made,” he stated.
He was at 7-under 135 and 1 shot ahead Kramer HickokHe had a 68.
Jordan SpiethThis was a large part of the weekend, and he wasted a lot of time driving with some questionable short irons. He still managed a 70, and was only 2 shots behind.
Nick Gabrelcik (who grew up 10 miles away) is also part the weekend — he works the range, carries signs, and serves as a caddy in the pro-am. Now, the University of North Florida junior is on the field as a sponsor exempt.
Gabrelcik lost in the semifinals of Oakmont in 2021 U.S. Amateur opened with 75 and responded with an easy 67 to make it through. He was even-par at 142.
“Going into the round, I was like, “We have nothing to lose, we are 4 over, so let’s just have fun.” Gabrelcik stated that it might be the last round or not. “I started the putter early, made four birdies on my first five holes, then was like, “All good, let’s just keep it all together, let us not be defensive now.
“It’s an incredible feeling making my first cut.”
The cut was also made by Ludvig AbergThe No. The world’s No.1 amateur. Aberg also attended Bay Hill for the weekend.
Tommy FleetwoodHad a 69, and joined Spieth in group 2 shots behind Cody Gribble(65) Davis Riley(68), who lost in the playoff to Sam BurnsLast year, Innisbrook.
Burns, the two-time champion, is trying his best to be the first player to win the tournament three years in a row. Steve StrickerAt the John Deere Classic 2009-11 He shot a 73 and was 7 behind.
Justin ThomasHad a 70 and was in group at 3-under 139.
Schenk had experienced a few close calls while trying to win his first victory. These included the Shriners Children’s Open at Las Vegas in 2021, and the Barracuda Championship that same year.
He plays a lot of games, as usual, but this year, his wife is expecting their first baby, a boy, in just over a week.
Schenk stated that he was trying to maximize his time so that he and his wife can spend as much time together as possible.
He began his year in Honolulu, at the Sony Open, and hasn’t taken a week off since then. He has been to California, Arizona, as well as every stop on the Florida swing. He was No. 72 in the FedEx Cup and had made it to the top in all but two of them. 72 in the FedEx Cup
It is possible that the Players Championship missed cut last week might have helped.
“I was home for 3½ days and didn’t touch a club,” Schenk said. “I would have practiced but the weather was so bad here in Indiana, I really couldn’t.” So we flew to Valspar Tuesday afternoon, did some practice, and then played nine holes. We then teed off in the pro-am.
The cut was at 1-over-143. The U.S. Open champion was among those who were missing. Matt FitzpatrickFitzpatrick, who has missed three of his six previous tournaments’ cut. Fitzpatrick shot a 9 on the third hole and never recovered.
Harry HiggsHe had the latest big score. He scored an 8 on the par-3 thirteenth hole. Higgs shot an 81, with two double bogeys.
