The PGA Tour has been hit with another row of withdrawals. Multiple pros have exited from the last event of the Florida swing days after their participation was confirmed. Interestingly, all of them were in action at TPC Sawgrass.
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As PGA Tour Communications reported, “Valspar Championship field update: Keith Mitchell WD / Doug Ghim IN, Robert MacIntyre WD / Andrew Putnam IN, Sudarshan Yellamaraju WD / Kris Ventura IN.”
Keith Mitchell, Robert MacIntyre, and Sudarshan Yellamaraju were all on the field for the PLAYERS Championship. In fact, the latter two also delivered strong performances at TPC Sawgrass. They finished at solo fourth and T5, respectively. Meanwhile, Mitchell managed a modest T46 finish, alongside Rory McIlroy & Co.
Neither of them has explained their withdrawal so far. However, MacIntyre had stated how stressed he was after receiving the poor lies at TPC Sawgrass. That may have led to his exit from the tournament.
It could also be the fact that the Scottish pro had played two consecutive weeks of stressful golf. He competed at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the PLAYERS Championship against very strong fields.
Mitchell also did the same and more. Before the trip to Bay Hill, the 34-year-old was at the PGA National Champion Course playing in the Cognizant Classic. While he wasn’t competing for the title at Sawgrass, he was in contention three weeks ago as he grabbed a T9 finish at Brooks Koepka‘s home course.
Yellamaraju also had a similar schedule to Mitchell. However, instead of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, he was competing at the Puerto Rico Open. While the field might not have been as challenging in the alternate event, the Canadian pro must have still experienced some fatigue traveling to the island.
Valspar Championship field update: Keith Mitchell WD / Doug Ghim IN Robert MacIntyre WD / Andrew Putnam IN Sudarshan Yellamaraju WD / Kris Ventura IN
Next week's Valspar Championship - the final event of the Florida Swing - features seven of the top 20 players in the Official World Golf Ranking, including defending champion Viktor Hovland, Xander Schauffele and Justin Thomas. Field for the Valspar Championship:
Despite these withdrawals, the Copperhead course will still host some big names this week.
The Valspar Championship still boasts a strong field despite Robert MacIntyre & Co.’s withdrawal
Losing high-ranked golfers like Robert MacIntyre & Co. might lower the rating of the Valspar Championship 2026. However, the field for the $9.1 million event is still strong enough to attract great viewership.
A number of big names are still committed to playing at the Copper course this week. They include former major winners like Patrick Cantlay, Jordan Spieth, Xander Schauffele, and Justin Thomas. Notably, two of them finished inside the top-10 at TPC Sawgrass. That would excite a lot of fans eager to watch the event.
The field at the Copperhead course also includes Brooks Koepka. The five-time major champion delivered one of his best performances at the PLAYERS Championship. He had also finished at T9 in the Cognizant Classic a few weeks ago. With the Valspar Championship being the last event in his home state, fans will be eager to see how Koepka performs.
