Two of the twentysomethings atop the leaderboard heading into Sunday at the Valspar Championship are searching hard for something.
One is looking for his first PGA Tour victory. The other is trying to find his swing.
Not that you’d know it from the numbers.
Judging strictly by his scorecard, you wouldn’t guess that Viktor Hovland has been lost in the wilderness of late, burning through swing thoughts and instructors. Because there he was on Saturday, posting a tidy 2-under 70 on Innisbrook’s demanding Copperhead Course to claim a share of the 54-hole lead.
“It’s golf, it’s a crazy game,” Hovland said.
Deceptive, too. Because judging strictly by appearances, you also wouldn’t guess that Jacob Bridgeman has never been in this position before. But there he was on Saturday, too, a 25-year-old without a win on Tour, looking poised alongside Hovland in the final group, overcoming a shaky start to finish the day in a tie for first.
Bridgeman will go out last again tomorrow along with Nico Echavarria, who posted a 68 to join the three-way lead at 7-under. Hovland will be right ahead of them with Ricky Castillo.
“As experiences go, this is going to be a cool one,” Bridgeman said. “Never done it. Never really been in, I don’t know if I’ve ever been in the final group at all so to do it back-to-back days will be fun. I look forward to the challenge.”
On a packed leaderboard that includes Justin Thomas and Shane Lowry just two shots back, the frontrunners aren’t the only group to watch. However, Hovland and Bridgeman stand out as a study in contrasts, in part for the gulf in their experience but also given their recent divergent paths.
The past 12 months have not been kind to Hovland, a six-time Tour winner and the 2023 FedEx champ. Known for tinkering like Thomas Edison, even when his game seems fine, the 27-year-old Norwegian star has been forthright in his frustration while describing his experimentation with coaches and swings. Since finishing third at the 2024 PGA Championship and T2 at the FedEx St. Judge, he has slipped from No. 3 in the world to No. 19.
Bridgeman, meanwhile, has been on a swift ascent. After missing the cut in three of his first four starts in 2025, the former Clemson star has reeled off a string of strong showings, including a T2 at the Cognizant Classic and a T15 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, that have vaulted him more than 100 spots in the world ranking.
On Saturday, Bridgeman bogeyed the opening par 5 and played the front nine at two-over par before steadying himself with dead-eye putting that produced four birdies on the back.
“I was just head down and grinding the best I could,” Bridgeman said. “I wasn’t hitting it great. I wasn’t flustered. I wasn’t really freaking out, but I knew if I could get the ball in the fairway, I would be fine.”
Hovland wasn’t hitting it great, either — not by his standards.
“There’s one thing that I’ve been working on and it’s been helping out a bit,” he said. “I just wish it would fix me overnight, but that’s not where we’re at.”
He’ll keep searching Sunday. He won’t be alone.
