Recent PGA Tour winner joins growing list of withdrawals at Valspar Championship

Recent PGA Tour winner Akshay Bhatia has withdrawn from this week's Valspar Championship.

Bhatia, 24, who recently claimed the biggest victory of his professional career at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, was due to tee off from the first hole at 1:03pm EDT on Thursday.

He was in a marquee group alongside two-time major winner Justin Thomas and 2026 Players Championship runner-up Matthew Fitzpatrick.

But he has decided not to play, with the official PGA Tour communications department confirming on Wednesday that Bhatia has been replaced in the field by compatriot Sam Ryder. 

No reason has been given for his absence. 

It is the latest withdrawal in the $9.1m tournament. 

Keith Mitchell, who finished T46 at Sawgrass, was among the first to pull out on Sunday evening. 

Sudarshan Yellamaraju, the surprise story of last week's Players, then followed Mitchell out the door. 

The Canadian, who has never had a golf lesson, appears to be enjoying a well-earned rest after a breakout performance that earned him $925,000.

PGA Tour winners Max Greyserman and William Mouw have also withdrawn. Doug Ghim, Andrew Putnam, Kris Ventura and Joel Dahmen now have tee times at the Copperhead Course. 

Scotland's Robert MacIntyre was the highest-ranked player in the field but also dropped out of the Valspar after falling agonisingly short last week. 

A run of late bogeys at the PGA Tour's flagship event saw the Oban man finish fourth. 

He was attempting to become the first Scot since Sandy Lyle (1987) to win the Players. 

Viktor Hovland defends

Meanwhile, Viktor Hovland returns to Innisbrook Resort as he looks to successfully defend his title. 

This time last year, Hovland produced a performance out of nowhere to capture his first PGA Tour title in more than 18 months. 

Hovland has a new golf coach and explained his rationale in his pre-tournament news conference on Tuesday. 

The Norwegian also lauded the fact the PGA Tour now have real leadership. 

Brooks Koepka rule

Additional tweaks to the Valspar Championship field on Monday saw Seamus Power and Matt Kuchar added, bringing the total number of players to 135. 

The field size was increased because former LIV Golf recruit Brooks Koepka is playing. 

Sponsor exemptions for this year’s event have been awarded to Adam Hadwin, Matt Kuchar, Brandt Snedeker and Jackson Suber.

The Valspar marks the final stop of the Florida Swing and the 11th event of the 2026 PGA Tour season. 

It also represents one of the last opportunities for players to secure a place at The Masters, with just three events remaining before Augusta.

The tournament will once again be held on the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort, one of the best golf courses in Florida.

After this week, the PGA Tour heads to Texas for back-to-back events in Houston and San Antonio before the season’s first major gets underway at Augusta National