PGA Tour Power Rankings: Valspar Championship

After a thrilling Players Championship finale with Rory McIlroy beating JJ Spaun in a three-hole play-off, the PGA Tour heads to Innisbrook for the final leg of the Florida Swing at the Valspar Championship.

A gruelling test, the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook requires pin-point accuracy off the tee and on approach, as well as a supreme short game to deal with the inevitable missed greens throughout the week. A challenging course will be made all the more difficult by wind late on Thursday and early on Friday, punishing around half of the field on the wrong side of the draw.

Xander Schauffele, Justin Thomas and Tommy Fleetwood all feature in this week's field, but who makes our Valspar Championship Power Rankings top five? Find out below.

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5 - Michael Kim

Few players in the world are operating at a higher level than Michael Kim right now.

The day after his 25th birthday, Kim won his first PGA Tour event at the John Deere Classic, but lost his tour card in 2021, regaining it the following year and is now playing the best golf of his life.

Despite not being the strongest driver of the ball, Kim has been solid off the tee this season, while his iron play, short game and putting have flourished.

The missed cut on the number at the Players will have hurt, but in the five events prior to that, Kim was playing at a level to rival the best players in the world and will hope last week was a mere blip.

4 - Justin Thomas

While we're starting to see the Justin Thomas of old, it's hard to know exactly which Justin Thomas we'll get on any given day never mind at any given tournament.

The two-time PGA champion started well at TPC Sawgrass last week before imploding to record a 78 that threatened his weekend spot. Thomas remarkably improved by 16 strokes the following day to make the cut, eventually finishing a respectable 33rd.

This season in seven events we've yet to see Thomas finish between 10th and 25th, suggesting it's a bit all-or-nothing, but the 31-year-old is showing signs that his iron game is getting back to its old levels, and he'll look forward to returning to a venue where he's finished in the top 20 in four of his six outings.

3 - Shane Lowry

Although he's on the wrong side of the draw, the wind shouldn't bother links specialist Shane Lowry too much. Innisbrook will punish anyone found wanting with an iron in their hands or off their game around the greens, and they're the two strongest tools at the Irishman's disposal.

Without getting all that close to the winning line, Lowry's showing signs of returning to his 2023 peak with three straight top-20s. A wretched week with the flat stick put paid to any hopes Lowry had of taking the Players Championship last week, though his superb Sunday round of 67 saw stellar play on approach and with the putter.

If he can carry that into this week, he could well improve on his 12th-placed finish at the Valspar from last year.

2 - Sepp Straka

Not yet as fashionable a name as many of his peers, Sepp Straka will be a shoo-in for a second straight Ryder Cup appearance if he maintains the form he's shown in 2025.

While the big Austrian isn't the longest hitter, he's supremely accurate off the tee and is one of the best iron players in the game, gaining at least one stroke per round on average since last September, with the exception of the Genesis Invitational.

Since that missed cut at Torrey Pines, Straka has finished in the top 15 at three hugely different tests in the Cognizant Classic, the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Players Championship.

1 - Tommy Fleetwood

Tommy Fleetwood is unlikely to get a better chance to win his first stateside event than at this year's Valspar Championship.

Fleetwood hasn't won since the Dubai Invitational in January last year but has been in sparkling form over the last few months.

From the Olympics last August, where he took the silver medal, Fleetwood's worst finish in 14 events is 22nd at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Since then, at three more Signature Events, Fleetwood has come fifth at the Genesis Invitational, 11th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and 14th at the Players Championship.

He's gained strokes on approach in each of his last 14 events which should prove pivotal at the Copperhead Course, and the forecast wind won't pose any concerns.

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