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Following Phil Mickelson’s playoff win over Justin Thomas at the WGC-Mexico last week, the PGA Tour heads to Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor, Florida, for the 2018 Valspar Championship. The field isn’t nearly as strong as last week’s World Golf Championship event, which isn’t surprising, but it’s still a good one with some firepower, as Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, Sergio Garcia, Justin Rose, Henrik Stenson and Tiger Woods headline.
Television coverage of the Valspar will be split between the Golf Channel (Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday) and NBC (Saturday and Sunday). If you don’t have cable or can’t get to a TV, you can watch both of those channels live on your computer, phone or streaming device by signing up for one of the following cable-free, live-TV streaming services:
Hulu With Live TV: In addition to a Netflix-like on-demand streaming library, Hulu now also offers a bundle of live television channels, including both NBC (live in select markets) and Golf Channel. You can sign up for “Hulu with Live TV” right here, and you can then watch a live stream of Golf Channel or NBC on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the Hulu app.
FuboTV: NBC (live in select markets) and Golf Channel are both included in the “Fubo Premier” channel package. You can sign up for a free 7-day trial, and you can then watch live on your computer via the FuboTV website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the FuboTV app.
Sling TV: NBC (live in select markets) is included in the “Sling Blue” channel package, while Golf Channel is in the “Sports Extra” add-on. You can get both by signing up for a free 7-day trial, and you can then watch live on your computer via your browser, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the Sling TV app
DirecTV Now: NBC (live in select markets) is included in all four channel packages, while Golf Channel is in the “Go Big” and “Gotta Have It” bundles. You can sign up for a free 7-day trial no matter what package you choose, and you can then watch NBC or Golf Channel live on your computer via the DirecTV Now website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the DirecTV Now app.
Note: In addition to being able to watch Golf Channel and NBC live via the above streaming services, you can also watch on your computer via NBCSports.com, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the NBC Sports app. You’ll need to sign in to a TV provider to watch this way, but you can use your Hulu, DirecTV Now, FuboTV or Sling TV credentials to do that.
PGA Tour Live: You can also watch early Thursday and Friday action before Golf Channel coverage begins via PGA Tour Live, which costs $5.99 per month or $39.99 per year. You can then watch on your computer via PGATourLive.com, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the PGA Tour Live app.
Preview
Spieth is the clear favorite, which isn’t really surprising. Not only has he strung together three consecutive Top-20 finishes, including a T14 in Mexico last week, but he has excellent course history at Innisbrook with a pair of Top-10’s and a win (2015) in four starts.
But let’s not crown him quite yet, as there will be plenty of top-level competition. McIlroy will be making his debut at this tournament as he continues to look for his first win since the 2016 Tour Championship. Sergio is five-for-five in cuts made here, though his last Top-10 was five years ago. Stenson hasn’t played since a 60th-place finish at the Maybank Championship over a month ago, but also owns the best career scoring average at Inisbrook:
A quick look at that list and you’ll notice all are elite ball strikers. As such, Justin Rose should find himself in contention, while guys like Byeong Hun An and Ollie Schniederjans, who rank 10th and 12th on Tour in strokes gained approaching the green, are interesting potential sleepers.
Throw in guys like Paul Casey, Tiger Woods, defending champ Adam Hadwin, Tony Finau, Adam Scott and Matthew Fitzpatrick, and this is a sneaky deep field with the potential for a really entertaining tournament.