“Chess Game:” PGA Tour pros describe brutal conditions at Valspar Championship

The Tampa Bay area is no stranger to inclement weather, as severe conditions continue to impact Valspar Championship play this week.

The scores for the second round were inflated thanks to 30 mph winds blowing through the golf course. Rain is also expected to affect play during the afternoon waves.

“Every round today was a great round,” said Lucas Glover, who shot a 2-under 69 on Friday morning.

“Every round I had near par today was a great round.”

Innisbrook’s Copperhead Course hosts the Valspar Championship every year, but the field always stumbles due to its difficulty. The Valspar Championship in inclement weather now resembles scoring a major championship.

Added first-round leader Kevin Streelman, who shot a 1-over 72 on Friday: “Today is very much a chess game hole by hole.”

“It’s definitely a grinding round…on a course like this and on a day like this, you can’t just hit it as hard as you can in the fairway. You often miss it in the right spot. It’s all about the angle. It’s about not putting yourself in certain positions that are very difficult.”

Streelman had a great round Thursday with seven birdies and zero bogeys, posting a 7-under 64. He also led in strokes to the green in the first round, an important attribute of this course.

The Copperhead course, like TPC Sawgrass, is a course for ball strikers.

But in Friday’s tumultuous second round, Streelman struggled to gain momentum. As of this writing, he shares the lead with Chandler Phillips at 6 under.

“I knew it was going to be a very challenging day and it’s Friday so I’m not really worried about the leaderboard. Really just try to wait until Sunday afternoon,” Streelman, 45, said. added.

“Just take what the course gives you. Right now, it’s not giving you much.”

In fact, the course doesn’t give players any respite.

“It was a windy day. The conditions were pretty tough. But I tried to hang in there,” added KH Lee, who shot a 4-under 67 to improve his total to 4-under.

“I tried to be smarter and play more in the center of the green, and sometimes attack the pin if I had a good number.”

Another key to success at this most underrated golf course on the PGA Tour is patience.

Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images

“I think this place understands that not every hole is really attackable. Especially on a day like today, it’s the type of place where you first get it into the fairway and go from there. ” Glover added.

“I did a good job of that today. My only bogey was because I missed the fairway, and that’s what this place can do to you.”

Many notable players struggled on Friday, but none struggled more than Kevin Kisner, who signed with a 4-over 75. He opened with a nine-over 80 and will miss out on a spot.

So did Min Woo Lee, a young Australian who also shot a 4-over 75 on Friday.

But Jordan Spieth, who missed out on a spot at The Players last week, is in danger of missing the weekend again. He shot a 3-over 74 on Friday and is currently 1-over for the championship.

Spieth is currently watching on the outside, but that could change Friday as the wind continues to blow on the golf course. Still, there are no signs that the rough situation is going to subside any time soon, and it’s anyone’s guess what will happen in the second round.

Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through.Be sure to check it out @_PlayingThrough Cover more golf. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko In the same way.