For the first time since 2006, the Valspar Championship is not part of the traditional Florida Swing.
After 13 straight seasons staged during March, the tournament has been moved to late April.
However, it remains at the Innisbrook Resort in Palm Habor, located around 20 miles west of Tampa city centre.
This is the 20th occasion the event will have been played over the Copperhead Course, one of four layouts at this tourist hot-spot.
Course details
Opened in 1974, Copperhead was given a facelift six years ago and remains a course which requires good ball-striking.
With tree-lined fairways, and numerous dog-leg holes, Copperhead demands accuracy from the tee, with water coming into play on seven holes.
And the stats show how difficult the venue can be. Between 2016 and 2020, it was ranked 29th out of 29 for Greens hit in Regulation.
It also earned a low position for Putting (GiR), and was not much higher for Driving Accuracy, when viewed as tournament averages.
During the 2015 renovation, greens were enlarged and reseeded with TifEagle Bermuda, to accommodate a greater number of potential pin positions.
The gently undulating fairways were all re-grassed with Celebration Bermuda, while the bunkers were re-built.
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Twelve of the tournament's 19 winners have been golfers from outside the United States, with just two home-grown champions during the most recent eight instalments.
Copperhead made its debut on the PGA Tour in 2000, with the first six events taking place late in the golfing year.
In 2007 it moved to March and became part of the Florida Swing.
There was no tournament in 2001, because of the terrorist attacks in New York, and last year's event was also cancelled due to the Covid pandemic.
On the tee
And to celebrate this year's change of date, the tournament has been rewarded with a decent field.
Four of the world's top-10 are teeing-up, as well as eight of the leading 25. These include the No 1 and No 2, Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas respectively.
Paul Casey is chasing a hat-trick of Copperhead titles having posted one-stroke victories in both 2018 and 2019.
The experienced Englishman has been in good form this year, highlighted by his victory in Dubai back in January.
Over the years, Copperhead has been a good location for solid ball-strikers, and not necessarily long ones.
Many of those mid-ranked pros in the Driving Distance category have performed well here, such as Patrick Reed, Adam Hadwin and Luke Donald.
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One player who fits the bill is Canadian Corey Connors who is currently ranked inside the top-10 for the category Strokes Gained: Off The Tee, but outside the top 100 for Driving Distance.
The 29-year-old is at a career-high No 38 in the world, on the back of four top-eight finishes from his most recent six starts. On his only previous trip to Innisbrook in 2018, Connors finished in a tie-for-16th.
Korean Sung Jae Im, who tied-fourth here in 2019, is another who impresses from the tee and during his young career has already enjoyed some strong performances on testing layouts.
His only PGA Tour victory to date came at PGA National, while there has been a brace of podium finishes at Bay Hill. Like Copperhead, both of these venues are in Florida.
Course Comparisons (1.1.16 - 31.12.20)
Driving Accuracy (%)
73.88: Sea Island (RSM Classic) (1/29)
57.68: Innisbrook (Valspar Ch`ship) (21/29)
52.24: Torrey Pines (Farmers Insurance) (29/29)
Greens in Regulation (%)
75.98: Sedgefield (Wyndham) (1/29)
59.95: Bay Hill (Arnold Palmer) (28/29)
58.99: Innisbrook (Valspar Ch`ship) (29/29)
Putting (GiR)
1.664: PGA West (host) (American Express) (1/29)
1.774: Innisbrook (Valspar Ch`ship (26/29)
2.668: Augusta National (Masters) (29/29)
Key: Above stats are for all 29 courses which staged four or more PGA Tour events between January 1st, 2016 and December 31st, 2020. To qualify for a ranking (between 1 & 29), tournaments must have a minimum of 50 players competing over the final two rounds of the event. Averages do not include players who failed to complete at least 54 holes.
Twitter: Andy Swales@GolfStatsAlive
MC* - Missed Additional 54-Hole Cut
Note: List Contains Leading Reserves