“April comes in like a lion and out like a lamb, but it has to get through the #SnakePit first.” That’s the saying right?

World travelers

After a few weeks in California and Hawaii, the LPGA Tour ventures abroad for the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore. This is the first PGA or LPGA Tour event to be held in Asia since the pandemic began. Tee Times

International competitions, especially in Asia, are a huge part of the LPGA Tour’s DNA. Women’s golf is booming in many Asian markets, and a large share of the top-ranked players in the world hail from the continent. This made it tough for the LPGA Tour to cancel its annual Asian swing in 2020 as Covid-19 started making its way around the world.

Now, 18 months after the 2019 TOTO Japan Classic, the LPGA Tour is back. It’s not the full schedule that typically accompanies an LPGA trip to Asia, but it’s at least a glimmer of normalcy.

Trying something new

Prepare yourself for snake content because it’s time for the Valspar Championship! In this 20th playing of the event, the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Golf Resort awaits the likes of Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, and Patrick Reed. Tee Times

You may be asking yourself, “Why is this Florida Swing event being played more than a month after the Florida Swing ended?”

Well, over the past few years, the rearrangement of the PGA Tour schedule caused the Valspar Championship to get lost in the Florida shuffle. “Elevated” events like the Players Championship, the WGC Match Play, and the Arnold Palmer Invitational prompted top players to use the Valspar as an off week. Field strengths for the event had been declining before the 2020 edition was canceled because of the pandemic. It seems that the sponsor wasn’t happy. So here we are: a late-April/early-May Valspar.

The rescheduling appears to have had an impact already. Four of the top 10 and 18 of the top 50 players in the world are in attendance—an improvement on recent years. While it’s no longer part of the Florida Swing, the Valspar Championship might be better off where it is.

Quick Hooks

The Korn Ferry Tour moves down the coast from the Bayou to the Huntsville Championship in Alabama. Tee Times

Hard times continue for the European Tour. This week they visit yet another boring old idyllic island. Eddie Pepperell, Jorge Campillo, and Alexander Levy headline the Tenerife Open. Tee Times

Michael Visacki got through the Valspar Championship Monday qualifier and will play his first PGA Tour event this week. Visacki buried a 20-foot birdie putt on his final hole to make it through, and he had an emotional call with his dad afterwards. We are all Visacki fans this week!

Ranked outside the top 100 in the Official World Golf Ranking, it appeared that Rickie Fowler would miss his second major in a row at the PGA Championship. The PGA avoided that scenario, granting Rickie a special exemption into the field at Kiawah.

Korn Ferry Tour player Nick Volk had the elevator ride of his life last weekend. Heading out from his hotel to play the final two holes of his second round after a rain delay, Volk and his caddie found themselves stuck after the elevator stopped between floors. It became a race against time to avoid a DQ. Full Story from Brentley Romine

The Latest from The Fried Egg

Paulie’s Picks: Valspar Championship – The Copperhead Course at Innisbrook is not your typical PGA Tour venue. Let fantasy savant Paulie guide you toward the players who might do well here.

Shotgun Start: Snakepits, Monday Q PIP Impacts, and Burger Dog qualms

This Wednesday episode begins with Brendan having to answer to some angry Aussies and attempt to clarify his Leishman comp from Monday. It’s also a rambling episode with Andy on the road with a broken phone, an alarm clock that won’t go off, and a birthday date with Torrey Pines and Brendan trying to find a couple spare minutes in between childcare disruptions. There’s intel from the U.S. Women’s Open media day at Olympic, where Andy has some issues with the burger dog fixins and Brendan has some questions about the mowing lines. Eventually, they run through the shhhedule for the week, hitting on three things to watch at the Valspar, some amusing intel from another island pitch-and-putt on the Euro Tour, and some diminutive notables on the Champions Tour. They also discuss the viral video of Monday qualifier Michael Visacki and the authenticity of a story that PIP can’t account for. Listen on iTunes, Stitcher, and Spotify.

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As the PGA Tour moves back to 72-hole stroke play, we’re reminded that variety is the spice of life. So add a Fried Egg Alternate Logo T-Shirt to your rotation!