Punts? Tomahawks? Tempers flaring at difficult Valspar Championship

Tempers are flaring in Florida. At the Valspar Championship on Thursday, we saw Patton Kizzire punt his putter after missing a 6-footer for par. It was bizarre but also kind of hilarious because, well, how often have you seen a player punt a golf club?

(We don’t condone kicking or throwing clubs on the golf course, but the actual height and distance Kizzire got from the kick was impressive.)

Kizzire withdrew a couple of holes later.

This brings us to Friday at the Valspar, where Sahith Theegala reached the par-3 4th coming off a bogey on the previous hole (and readying for a hole he bogeyed Thursday).

Theegala swung, and the ball hadn’t even reached its apex before Theegala dropped his club in disgust. He hardly even finished his follow-through. But he wasn’t done. He picked up his iron and tomahawked it off the tee box. The gallery gasped, and his ball barely cleared the greenside bunker, coming to rest in the rough.

“That was two swings he made without the club in his hand, on the same hole,” joked one of the broadcasters on the ESPN+ featured group stream. “On the front nine he had so many swings with just one arm on the club. I’m sorry to laugh at someone else’s pain, but it is one of the funniest things cause we can all relate to the pain he’s going through right now and the frustration he’s feeling.”

Theegala still got up and down for par and signed for a one-over 72 on the day. At one under overall, he’ll safely make it to the weekend at Innisbrook Resort. And that’s no easy task.

While the outbursts by Kizzire and Theegala might be related to their own games, the Copperhead Course has been a difficult test through 36 holes, with wind gusts and cold temperatures giving players fits.

Five players finished the first round tied for the lead at four under, which was the highest score in relation to par after one round at the Valspar since 2016. The defending champion, Peter Malnati, didn’t even hit a fairway in the first round (the first player to do so at this tournament in over two decades). He shot 73.

“A lot trickier than what they might look on TV or people at home watching,” said Shane Lowry, who is four under. “I think you can’t necessarily feel the wind a lot around here as well, so you have to just, there’s a lot of trust involved. It was gusting as well. And it was cold. So there’s a lot of factors you have to take in with a lot of your shots.”

The cut line will likely be over par.

“When it comes to temperature, I feel like you can get the wind wrong or maybe some rain here and there, but if it says it’s going to be 50 it’s not like it’s going to be 70 this morning,” said Justin Thomas, who is one over. “It was cold as hell, so it was hard. But if you still hit good shots the greens were soft enough that you can make plenty of birdies. I just didn’t do it.”