Love wasn’t in the air for everyone at Valspar Championship. Tempers were flaring

The Valspar Championship likes to bill itself as the most colorful tournament in the world because its sponsor is a paint company. A few players added their own color to a wild week of tempers at Innisbrook.

First came Patton Kizzire, who had missed the cut in six straight tournaments and then missed a 5-foot putt on the 15th hole in the opening round. Frustrated, he punted his putter high in the air, and then tapped in with the blade of a sand wedge. He then withdrew with a back injury.

Kizzire took to Instagram on Monday to apologize.

“It wasn’t my putter’s fault,” he said. “I just lost my cool and it’s unacceptable. I’m looking forward to being a better version of myself and I appreciate you guys understanding.”

Next it was Sahith Theegala, now on a streak of 10 straight PGA Tour starts without a top 10. He was so disgusted with his swing on the par-3 fourth hole in the second round that he dropped the club, then picked it up and violently heaved it toward the ground.

Adam Hadwin might have topped both of them. He was walking toward the 10th green when he slammed his club into the ground. It struck a sprinkler and set off a gusher.

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Jordan Spieth also was caught on video screaming a four-letter expletive (it wasn’t “Fore”) at the ground after a flop shot behind the green.

Golf can do that, and three moments caught on camera made it look to be a vexing week.

Hadwin was not the first to set off a sprinkler. Davis Love III caught a plugged lie in a bunker at Bay Hill in 1999, watched the shot roll through the green and smacked the sprinkler with his sand wedge. It shattered the valve and water gushed into the sand.

That was before social media and the response was different. Instead of it going viral, Love received a note in his locker the next day from tournament host Arnold Palmer. It was a mock bill — $3.50 for parts, $175,000 for labor.

They all bring to mind a famous observation by Bobby Jones, who once said, “Golf is usually played with the outward appearance of great dignity. It is, nevertheless, a game of considerable passion — either the explosive type, or that which burns inwardly and sears the soul.”

These were the explosive types.

Scheffler’s secret spot

Scottie Scheffler has won the Masters twice in the last three years, and he has embraced everything about Augusta National from the time he arrives.

“You pull in, and everything else just kind of melts away,” he said on a conference call.

He said his favorite spot on the property was outside the locker room upstairs, where he can sit alone on a patio that loops around the back and gives him a view of the first tee and 10th tee and as much of the golf course he can see.

“I sit up there and just watch what’s going on and nobody really knows that I’m up there,” Scheffler said. “Just kind of sitting there watching the crowds, enjoying the sights and sounds of Augusta, and nobody really knows that you’re there, so it’s pretty nice.”

And then he realized what he said.

“I kind of just gave myself away with that one,” Scheffler said. “That’s tough. Maybe everyone will know now.”

On the rebound

He was so caught up in the mechanics of his swing that he wasn’t playing freely. The Valspar Championship was another important step for Davis Riley.

Riley got off to an atrocious start this year, going the entire West Coast Swing without playing on Sunday. He shot 80 in Kapalua and 80 in the opening round of The American Express. His scoring average for those five tournaments was 73.6.

The culprit was a two-way miss.

“That creates a lot of anxiety on the golf course because you don’t know where to miss, you don’t know what side of the golf course you’re missing on, all of a sudden you start steering golf shots,” Riley said. “It was a very uncomfortable feeling.”

The Mississippi native found more comfort when the PGA Tour reached Florida. He had a pair of top 10s in the Puerto Rico Open and the Valspar Championship. Riley found a predictable shot pattern and is back relying on a tight draw.

“A lot more freedom and better scores,” he said.

Argentine star power

The PGA Tour Americas kicks off a six-tournament swing through South America and Mexico this week in Argentina. The field for the 93 Abierto del Centro — a tournament that dates to 1927 — includes players who have combined for six PGA Tour wins and two majors.

The bulk of that comes from Angel Cabrera, whose three PGA Tour titles include the 2007 U.S. Open at Oakmont and the 2009 Masters. Cabrera was eighth on the alternate list for the PGA Tour Champions event this week.

Also playing is Andres Romero, who won the Zurich Classic in 2008, and two-time PGA Tour winner Fabian Gomez. Both are listed as having Korn Ferry Tour status (the circuit is off this week), while Cabrera is playing on a restricted sponsor exemption.

The tournament is in Cabrera’s hometown of Cordoba. He is in an eight-time winner of the event.

The total purse is $225,000.

Policy board

The PGA Tour in 2022 decided two players from the Player Advisory Council would be elected co-chairmen and then move onto the board. Webb Simpson and Peter Malnati won and began a three-year term the following year.

Both are off the board after this year, and the PGA Tour is going back to one PAC chairman.

Maverick McNealy is on the ballot for PAC chairman for the second time. He is joined by Rickie Fowler and Keith Mitchell. Whoever gets the most votes (voting ends April 14) will serve a four-year term on the policy board. The co-chair with second-most votes serves a three-year term.

Previously, PAC chairmen served three-year terms on the board. Starting in 2026, they will serve four years.

“These governance changes will improve year-to-year continuity among the six Player Directors and allow the Policy Board to make informed decisions more quickly and effectively,” Commissioner Jay Monahan said.

Fowler is on the PAC subcommittee that oversees tournaments, fans and sponsors. McNealy and Mitchell are on the PAC subcommittee for business affairs.

Divots

Ian Poulter had cause for celebration. His son Luke, a sophomore at Florida, birdied the last hole to win his first college tournament at the Schenkel Invitational ... In Viktor Hovland’s last two PGA Tour victories, he led the field in making putts longer than 10 feet — 12 of them at the Valspar Championship, 13 at the 2023 Tour Championship. ... The LPGA Tour resumes its domestic schedule in Arizona with a field that has 19 of the top 20 players in the women’s world ranking.

Stat of the week

Players from five European countries have won six of the 13 tournaments on the PGA Tour schedule this year.

Final word

“One thing I’d say to people trying to do it as a career, that moment is the most fulfilling thing in the world and it’s worth it. So stick in and hopefully you’ll get rewarded one day like I have today.” — Richard Mansell after winning his first European tour title in the Singapore Classic.

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf