David Lipsky Golf: A flawless 65, yet still chasing Sungjae Im on Copperhead’s brutal edge
PALM HARBOR, Fla. (ET) — david lipsky golf became the headline inside the Valspar Championship’s shifting Friday leaderboard: a 65 in the day’s first group, a clean closing stretch under pressure, and still one shot behind Sungjae Im as the Copperhead Course played firm and fast.
How did Sungjae Im keep the lead when Copperhead turned firm, fast, and windy?
By Friday afternoon, Sungjae Im had protected his position through a round that refused to stay tidy. Im shot a 2-under 69 to reach 9-under 133, holding a one-stroke advantage into the weekend at Innisbrook’s Copperhead Course. The conditions were described as firm and fast, with a breezy afternoon adding another layer of difficulty.
Im’s scorecard showed the tension: three bogeys and two birdies on the front nine for a 37, then a steadier push on the back nine. He birdied the par-5 11th and par-4 12th, and later broke a tie for the lead with a 7-foot birdie putt on the par-3 17th.
Im framed the path in blunt terms, speaking through a translator: keeping drives in the fairway was the priority because, as he put it, “There’s just a lot of danger out there on the course. ” He added that patience would be essential with the weekend forecast he anticipated: more wind and greens getting firmer.
What does David Lipsky Golf reveal about who is actually controlling this leaderboard?
David Lipsky’s Friday was the kind of round that usually changes a tournament’s gravitational pull. Lipsky fired a 65 while playing in the first group of the day off the first tee, building momentum immediately with birdies on the first two holes and four birdies in the first six. He then added birdies on holes 10 and 11 and parred the final seven holes—an ending stretch he acknowledged as “obviously tough. ”
In Lipsky’s assessment, the round was complete: “It was excellent. I did everything well. ” He described a plan rooted in execution rather than perfectionism—missing “in the right spots, ” holing putts early to create momentum, and preserving the score late by saving pars on 16 and 18. The result left him one stroke behind Im entering the weekend, a narrow gap that also underscored how little room the course is offering.
The contrast at the top is striking. Im arrived at 9-under with a round that bent under pressure but didn’t break. Lipsky arrived with a 65 that never openly wobbled, yet still sits in second. The truth of the leaderboard is that Copperhead is not rewarding beauty; it is rewarding survival and timing.
Who is positioned behind them—and who failed to survive the cut?
Just behind the leaders, Chandler Blanchet and Doug Ghim sat at 7 under. Blanchet posted a 66 but closed with a bogey. Ghim shot 67, highlighted by an eagle on the par-5 11th, then surrendered ground with bogeys on 15 and 16. Ghim’s own takeaway was measured: he wanted a better finish, but called those mistakes “Two bad holes” that do not necessarily “ruin a good day. ”
Brandt Snedeker, who received a sponsor exemption, slipped to 5 under after a 72. Snedeker, a 45-year-old U. S. Presidents Cup captain, pointed to the course’s difficulty as a reason to stay positive, calling it “really tough and tricky this afternoon” and emphasizing that he “hung in there when things weren’t going great. ”
Also at 5 under were Jordan Smith, Matt Fitzpatrick, Marco Penge, and Alex Smalley. Jordan Spieth stood at 3 under after a 70 and described a split between days: he said he hit it better the previous day and putted better on Friday, with the weekend goal being to put both together. Brooks Koepka was tied for 10th at 4 under after a 67, a round that included a missed 3-foot birdie putt on his final hole. His message was simple: keep doing what he’s doing because he likes the way he’s striking it.
Not everyone made it through. Defending champion Viktor Hovland missed the cut after rounds of 70 and 75, a result that sharply contrasts with the steadiness required at the top of the board.
As the weekend begins in ET, the tournament’s central tension is intact: Im leads by one, Lipsky is closest, and the rest are spread across a course that is increasingly defined by firmness, speed, and consequence. If the winds rise and the greens harden as anticipated, david lipsky golf will be measured less by how many birdies it can produce—and more by whether its controlled finish can be repeated when the margin is one shot.
