Sungjae Im grabs Valspar Championship lead as Brandt Snedeker rolls back the years

After missing two consecutive cuts following a wrist issue, Im surged to the top of the leaderboard with six birdies and two eagles, including long-range putts of 18 and 35 feet on the par-5s. A pair of late bogeys slightly dented an otherwise dominant round.

Close behind is Brandt Snedeker, who rolled back the years with a bogey-free 65 - his first clean card at Innisbrook in 14 years. The 45-year-old, playing on a sponsor exemption, leaned on a hot putter to drain nearly 150 feet of putts, including lengthy birdies, after recently switching equipment.

"Playing perfect the way we want to see it play, firms and fast," Snedeker said. "Had a really good game plan - just relied on my putter. I putted great today, made a bunch of footage of putts, and put myself in position off the tee hit a lot of fairways and greens and made it stress-free which was nice. So really excited about how it started, but a long way to go from here."

A chasing pack sits within striking distance. Davis Thompson posted a 66, while Billy Horschel led a group at 67 as he looks to secure qualification for the The Masters.

Further back, Jacob Bridgeman and Xander Schauffele impressed with bogey-free rounds of 68, alongside Matt Fitzpatrick.

One of the standout moments came from Corey Conners, who produced back-to-back eagles - including a hole-out from the fairway - on his way to a 69. Jordan Spieth also carded a 69 but will rue missed short putts and a costly double bogey through the demanding "Snake Pit" stretch.

Defending champion Viktor Hovland recovered from a slow start to post 70, while Brooks Koepka returned to Innisbrook with a 71.