Wyndham Clark had an up-and-down opening round at the Valspar Championship, best encapsulated in a two-hole stretch where he made bogey after setting the record for longest drive this season, and then promptly followed with an eagle on the par-5 11th.
It all amounted to a 1-under 70 for Clark who sits tied with a dozen other players at 37th through 18 holes.
The tee shot on No. 10 was the biggest highlight of all despite the net loss of a stroke. Clark drove the ball 446 yards off the tee — 35 yards longer than the previous long for 2026. Though, there was an assist.
The shot hit the asphalt on the nearby cart path multiple times before rolling past the flag at the 437-yard, par-4 hole.
“I’m up at the green, the ball is past pin high,” Smylie Kaufman said on the Golf Channel’s live broadcast. “I’ve never seen a ball go that far.”
Kaufman was following Clark’s group that included Jordan Spieth and Jacob Bridgeman.
Clark is coming into the tournament after ending his partnership with longtime caddie John Ellis. He now has Dave Pelekoudas on the bag at the Copperhead Course.
Spieth had his own roller-coaster afternoon, falling out of the top 10 after one point being tied for third at 5 under through 15 holes. He sits a stroke above Clark on the leaderboard after shooting a 2-under 69.
Bridgeman also is on the right side of the leaderboard — in fact, he’s higher on it than his counterparts after a bogey-free 3-under 68. It’s become expected for the reigning Genesis Invitational winner who is looking for his eighth straight top 20 finish to start the season.
“I was in the last group on the last day and that was just kind of my first time seeing that and feeling that feeling. I think I expected to be a little bit more nervous than I was last year and I got up on the first tee and almost felt comfortable — it was odd,” Bridgeman told reporters on Thursday. “I’m more used to it now. I’m excited to kind of hopefully get back in the hunt.”
Bridgeman, who finished third last year at the Valspar, is set to play in his first Masters. He currently sits atop the FedExCup standings as the Tour ends its Florida swing this weekend outside of Tampa Bay.
“It doesn’t really matter a whole lot at this point in the season, but it’s kind of a nice little thing to chase after,” Bridgeman said. “I would like to stay up there see if I can keep pace.”
Here’s when the Bridgeman-Clark-Spieth group is going out on Friday and how to watch them and the rest of the Valspar field.