Why was Valspar Championship field range expanded from 144 to 154 players? Technicality explored

The Valspar Championship field was expanded from 144 to as many as 154 players in 2024. The PGA Tour event is scheduled to take place from March 21 to 24 at the Copperhead Course in Palm Harbor, Florida.

The field initially had a size of 144 players but was extended to 154 players because the Tour wants to increase the playing time of players who have recently earned exemptions to compete on the PGA Tour in 2024.

The larger field will give players an extra opportunity to secure their Tour card by earning a good finish at the event. The Valspar Championship field was increased to 155 players. However, Garrick Higgo withdrew from the competition ahead of the start, leaving the field with 154 players.

The first round of the Valspar Championship will start at 7:35 a.m. ET on Thursday, March 21, with Matt NeSmith and Ben Griffin taking the day's first shot on the first tee hole. Luke Donald, Christiaan Benzuidenhout and Sam Stevens will tee off on the tenth hole at 7:40 a.m. ET for the first round.

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Valspar Championship field

Here is the field of the Valspar Championship 2024:

• Matt NeSmith
• Ben Griffin
• Tyler Duncan
• S.H. Kim
• Scott Gutschewski
• Jhonattan Vegas
• Kevin Yu
• Harry Hall
• Davis Riley
• Nick Hardy
• Webb Simpson
• Stewart Cink
• Daniel Berger
• Francesco Molinari
• Seamus Power
• J.J. Spaun
• Scott Stallings
• Camilo Villegas
• Adam Svensson
• Patrick Rodgers
• Michael Kim
• Joseph Bramlett
• Callum Tarren
• Kevin Tway
• Aaron Baddeley
• Hayden Buckley
• Ben Martin
• Roger Sloan
• Vince Whaley
• Nicholas Lindheim
• Chris Gotterup
• Raul Pereda
• Jimmy Stanger
• Pierceson Coody
• Norman Xiong
• David S. Bradshaw
• Greg Koch
• Aaron Rai
• Thomas Detry
• Ryan Fox
• Joel Dahmen
• Taylor Pendrith
• Greyson Sigg
• Peter Malnati
• Doug Ghim
• Min Woo Lee
• Brian Harman
• Taylor Moore
• Xander Schauffele
• Nick Taylor
• Keegan Bradley
• Jordan Spieth
• Brice Garnett
• Akshay Bhatia
• Billy Horschel
• J.B. Holmes
• Adam Hadwin
• Zach Johnson
• Maverick McNealy
• David Lipsky
• Carson Young
• Troy Merritt
• Dylan Wu
• Ben Taylor
• Ryo Hisatsune
• Erik Barnes
• Ryan McCormick
• Alexander Bjork
• Mac Meissner
• Blaine Hale Jr.
• Harrison Endycott
• Alejandro Tosti
• Joe Highsmith
• Hayden Springer
• Kevin Dougherty
• Kevin Aylwin
• Luke Donald
• Christiaan Bezuidenhout
• Sam Stevens
• Bronson Burgoon
• Robby Shelton
• Justin Suh
• Bud Cauley
• Sam Ryder
• Eric Cole
• Sam Burns
• Justin Thomas
• Sungjae Im
• Sepp Straka
• Tony Finau
• Cameron Young
• Brendon Todd
• Gary Woodland
• Adam Schenk
• Nico Echavarria
• Mackenzie Hughes
• Cameron Champ
• Keith Mitchell
• Zac Blair
• Davis Thompson
• Alex Smalley
• Matti Schmid
• Ben Kohles
• Rafael Campos
• Max Greyserman
• Ricky Castillo
• Victor Perez
• Chan Kim
• Jorge Campillo
• Adrien Dumont de Chassart
• Rico Hoey
• Fred Biondi
• Trace Crowe
• Tom Whitney
• Evan Harmeling
• Chesson Hadley
• Josh Teater
• Tyson Alexander
• Austin Cook
• Beau Hossler
• Justin Lower
• Richy Werenski
• Kevin Streelman
• Carl Yuan
• Matt Wallace
• Chez Reavie
• Kevin Kisner
• Lee Hodges
• Chad Ramey
• Ryan Brehm
• Lucas Glover
• K.H. Lee
• Aaron Wise
• Matt Kuchar
• Brandt Snedeker
• Andrew Putnam
• Charley Hoffman
• Taylor Montgomery
• Andrew Novak
• Ryan Palmer
• Ryan Moore
• Sami Valimaki
• David Skinns
• Jacob Bridgeman
• Wilson Furr
• Robert MacIntyre
• Chandler Phillips
• Kevin Roy
• Thorbjorn Oleson
• Ben Silverman
• Patrick Fishburn
• Parl Barjon
• Parker Coody
• Nick Gabrelcik