PALM HARBOR, Fla. — The defending Valspar Champion is at it again.
On a day where golfers were putting up good scores, Sam Burns is at the top again logging a 7-under par in a tie for first with three other players.
Despite Burns' success on the course, he is leaning into that too much entering the 2022 tournament.
"You know, the thing about last year is it has nothing to do with this year. So many things are different. There's not much correlation between the two," Burns explained. "I think just trying to treat this week as its own, go out there and prepare well to play good golf."
Burns knows hoisting that trophy again will not be easy, especially since 68 golfers are at 2-under or better.
Names like Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Xander Schauffele, Brooks Koepka and Collin Morikawa can all make a run in the final three rounds.
"It's a tougher golf course," Koepka, playing in his first Valspar Championship since 2014, said. "I think it's one of those ones where you got to put it in the fairway. You got to be a good ball-striker around this place to play well. I think that's suiting me. It was very, very easy. No stress. Stress-free. Three more of those, I should be right there."
It was also nice to see former Plant High School product and Ole Miss star Jackson Suber back in town. Suber said he played his first PGA Tour event in front of roughly 100 families and friends. He fired a 1-under par putting him in position to make the cut with a good Friday of play.
Suber is one of the best collegiate golfers in the nation and hopes to one day be back at the Valspar Championship on a more regular basis.
Suber will be back on the course at 9:41 a.m. on Friday with the first pairing starting at 7:40 a.m.
